Showing posts with label Italian Wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian Wine. Show all posts

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Wine Review: Santa Cristina's Toscana



Santa Cristina’s Toscana offers a dark ruby red wine that tastes of berries and flowers; touch of tobacco. Alcohol content, tannin levels, acidity and residual sugar is well balanced. There are legs on this wine. For a red wine, it is light tasting with a medium body making it versatile. You will not be disappointed by the quality and price of this affordable table wine.

This wine is a bend of 60% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah giving it an interesting taste to the palate. It pairs well with meat, steak, meat sauces, grilled foods, burgers, and other greasy and high tasting foods. Poignant cheeses, such as brie, would work well with this flavor.

Santa Cristina is bottled on a hill near Tuscany near the town of Cortona. The winery is relatively new and established in 2006 under the tradition of an older wine. The first Santa Cristina was produced in 1946. The town of Cortona is ancient and was discussed in literature by people ranging from Herodotus to Dionysius.

The city is so old and part of history that it was expanded by the Etruscans, became a Roman colony, and was sacked in the Gothic War (535–554). Legend has it that even Noah’s son liked the area so much that he built the town 273 years after the great flood. There is even two famous churches’ that represent the Renaissance styles. Cortona is still a major tourist attraction for history buffs from all around the world. 



 


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Wine Review: Bell'Agio Chiani



Bell’Agio’s Chianti  comes in a traditional straw fiasco and liter bottle. Chianti is an Italian wine that maintains a dry and smooth taste with cherry and berry fruit. It is made of 90% Sangiovese grapes and 10% anaiolo Nero, Trebbiano and Malvasia. It is this blend that gives Chianti its unique taste and texture. 

Chianti pairs with a number of different foods. In general, it pairs with tomato based pasta, light chicken, or pork. It can also go well with garlic and a number of different vegetables. Because it is a light red wine it is better to pair with light tasting foods so as to offer a proper blend. 

The Chianti wines come from the Middle Ages from three villages known as the Lega del Chianti (League of Chianti). The area was certified as a special wine making area in 1716 by Cosimo III de’Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Even though the Chianti wine is often associated with the Renaissance and the reformation of the region, its influence is still apparent today.