Cookin' With Aglianico

Here's yet another of those bargain wines from Trader Joe's. Julia Child once said that one should never cook with wine you wouldn't drink on its own, and that's a great rue of thumb. I think it was W.C. Fields who said "I cook with wine, and sometimes I add it to the food." Today, it's the 2024  Epicuro Aglianico Puglia IGP.

Freshness and ripeness comes courtesy of the aging process in steel tanks rather than oak. I bought this wine for cooking, but I enjoyed some while the sauce was simmering. I always try to have a red Italian wine on hand for pasta sauce. Alcohol checks in at 13% abv and the price can hardly be beaten, $6 at Trader Joe’s.

This wine is fresh and fruity. The medium ruby tint looks like Pinot Noir. The nose gives red and black fruit aromas, while the palate brings cherries, blueberries, and blackberries to the forefront. It is a clean sip, with no oak coloring the fruit and gentle tannins that make for a nice wine to chill, if you want. 

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A Spanish Rosado, Redux

Today, we will revisit a Spanish pinkie. And no, I'm not referring to a member of Spain's Communist Party. It's a pink wine, y'all. 

I had an earlier vintage of the El Terrano Garnacha Rosado about five years ago. One of the Whole Foods beverage guys called it one of the choice wines from the Whole Foods "rosé garden."

Produced as a Vino La Tierra de Castilla, this pink wine is composed of mostly Garnacha grapes. They are grown in Cariñena, in the Aragon region of northeast Spain. Traditionally, the wines in that area were heavy on the alcohol, but winemakers began to go more for balance a couple of decades ago. This entry comes in at 12.5% abv and it sells at Whole Foods for about ten dollars.

The Spanish wine has an elegant copper-pink color. The nose is not exactly overpowering, but offers up some pleasant strawberry and cherry aromas. There's a slightly funky herbal tint, too. On the palate, the medium weight is abetted by an acidity that is a bit brisker than I remember it being. Red fruit flavors ride out front, while a barely chalky minerality makes things a little more complex. It serves well as an afternoon sip or a companion to a salad or sandwich. It will be a great pair with some leftover ham or turkey sandwiches on Black Friday. Stock up. 

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Blood Of The Vines - Claudia Cardinale Week

Pairing‌‌‌ ‌‌‌wine‌‌‌ ‌‌‌with‌‌‌ ‌‌‌movies!‌‌‌  ‌‌‌See‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌hear‌‌‌ ‌‌‌the‌‌‌ ‌‌‌fascinating‌‌‌ ‌‌‌commentary‌‌‌ ‌‌‌for‌‌‌ ‌‌‌these‌‌‌ ‌‌‌‌‌movies‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌and‌‌‌ ‌‌‌many‌‌‌ ‌‌‌more‌,‌‌ ‌‌‌at‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Trailers‌‌‌ ‌‌‌From‌‌‌ ‌‌‌Hell.‌‌‌ This week, we remember another fallen great, Claudia Cardinale.

Cardinale starred with Burt Lancaster in The Leopard, a 1963 epic historical drama about the turbulent times in Italy during the 19th century. When a film is called "epic," it means it's really long. 

When director Luchino Visconti hit the stopwatch after the credits, it read 3:25. That's hours and minutes, by the way. He said, "Whoops," or whatever whoops is in Italian, and trimmed ten minutes off. Like that made a big difference. I mean, there's a 46-minute ballroom dancing scene! Oof, madone!

Every time someone takes control of the reels of this movie, another ten minutes disappears, like witness protection. I think it's down below three hours now. Don't let that cable sports channel get hold of it. They condense Dodger games down to an hour. Come to think of it, trimming a Dodger game so the bullpen doesn't appear is not a bad idea.

Well, so it's a long movie. That means all the more time we get to look at Claudia Cardinale, so I'm not complaining. I hear that some people really like the way Burt Lancaster looks, too.

If it doesn't seem like you've been sitting down for three damn hours, it may be because the film is so damn beautiful to look at. One of our more enlightened TFH gurus said, "Every frame is a painting." At least not one of those paintings with eyes that follow you around the room.

The Leopard is set in Sicily, so you can probably guess where my wine pairing is headed. About a year ago I had the pleasure of sipping the 2020 Regaleali Lamùri Nero d'Avola, made from Sicilian grapes, dark and powerful, for just $16. 

1968's Once Upon a Time in the West was directed by the great Sergio Leone. Not only do we get Claudia Cardinale here, we also get a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. Finest kind. 

Uh oh, another epic movie. It's more like epic-lite. The Italian version of this one clocked in at nearly three hours, but the American release was just over two hours. There's probably no intermission, so let's all go to the snack bar before we take our seats.

The wine pairing for Once Upon comes from the wild west of Italy. At least the wild northwest. Riva Leone's Barbaresco has its Nebbiolo roots in Piedmont. Retail: $25.

It would be great if 8 ½ was the middle part of Federico Fellini's Numbers Trilogy, the one between 8 and 9, wouldn't it? But I'm not allowed to just make up stuff here. Who am I, Il Presidente?

The film was shown at Cannes in 1963 to what is described as "almost universal acclaim." Almost? I guess he got screwed by the fascist judge. 

Fellini used this film as a mirror, albeit a sort of funhouse mirror. It's a movie about making a movie, but the movie they're making is the one you're watching. Always remember, if you want people to think you're a genius, make yourself as incomprehensible as possible.

Varvaglione 12 e Mezzo Primitivo Salento, a bright red wine from Puglia, the sun-soaked heel of Italy's boot. Twelve e mezzo is Italimerican for 12 ½, which makes it the biggest stretch yet for a wine and movie pairing in this space. But records are made to be broken. Drink it, dream it, get lost in it. It's a $15 trip.

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Always Look On The Bright Side Of Wine

I love an unusual wine. I don't really care what makes it unusual, just as long as it offers me something different.

Tim Fulnecky, of the Paso Robles winery Mr. Brightside, is following his heart and making unusual wines. First, he exclusively uses Gamay Noir grapes grown in Monterey County's Arroyo Seco AVA. Second, they aren't all red wines. 

I picked up the 2023 Mr. Brightside Gamay Noir, Blanc at Joan's on Third in Los Angeles. I knew nothing of the winery, but I bought it specifically because it was different. A white wine made from Gamay grapes? I had to find out what this even was. Or, as the kids say today, what even this was.

Here is what Fulnecky says on his website about making Gamay Noir, Blanc: "I practice minimal intervention winemaking with all of the wines I make. These grapes were harvested and brought directly to the winery to be pressed onto dry ice. After settling the juice, it was gravity racked to a stainless steel tank to ferment. It was a slow and naturally cool fermentation that lasted for 19 days. After fermentation it was immediately racked to stainless steel drums and sulfured to inhibit malolactic fermentation. It aged in stainless steel for 6 months before being bottled."

Just his description of the winemaking process tells us that we are in for something that's off the beaten path. And that's where I like to live.

Previous vintages had alcohol just over 13% abv, but the 2023 vintage is marked at 12% abv. The wine cost $28.

This wine has a yellow-gold color in the glass. The nose shows earthy notes of apricot and peach, with some Bosc pear appearing. On the palate, that fruit is dressed in salinity and abetted by a healthy zing of tangy acidity. It reminds me a bit of Trebbiano or Garganega wines, but with more character.

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