2017 Reininger Sangiovese Grosso

Happy Sunday!  It's been thunderstoming and raining off and on all day today, which is good since I've spend much of it cooking (more on that in a bit).  In light of my dinner choices and since I just received a new shipment of this wine from Reininger Winery, my decision on what to drink tonight was fairly obvious.  I've decided to open a bottle of the 2017 Reininger Sangiovese Grosso, a 100% Sangiovese Grosso from the Seven Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley AVA of Washington.  Unlike a traditional Sangiovese, this wine is made from a clone of the varietal from Montalcino that is used to make Brunello.  As a big Brunello fan, I was tempted to let this one age for 10 years, and I have a few bottles for that, but I couldn't help opening up one tonight, so let's see how it tastes!

The wine is a bright ruby color in the glass with just a tinge of amber along the edges, just as you might expect from it's Italian cousins.  The nose presents aromas of ripe cherry, strawberry overlaid with hints of anise and tobacco.  The taste is a rush of ripe red fruit, cherry, currant and mulberry that transitions easily to some notes of dark chocolate and spice box midpalate.  The tannins are soft which combined with a kick of acidty, provides for a vibrant and voluptuous dry finish.

Overall, I would rate this wine a solid 9, as it's one of the best Sangiovese wines I've tasted from Washington.  This wine would pair well with a broad range of dishes, from classic Italian pasta with marinara, to Bisteca Fiorentina.  Tonight I've taken a completely different route, as my local supermarket had lamb rack on sale, so I decided to look up how to make the classic Hell's Kitchen herb crusted rack of lamb recipe (hat tip to the helpful video from Chef Christina Wilson here) along with potato puree, ratatouille with bravas puree and of course the lamb sauce, of a red wine and olive reduction.  And unlike my steaks, I prefer my lamb well done, so cheers!

2011 Il Giglio Chianti

So, my second wine blog from Prague features an Italian wine, the 2011 Il Giglio Chianti which I bought from a wine store at the mall for 190 Kc (about $10.50).  What was I doing at the mall you ask? Especially when you are on vacation in a lovely European capitol?  Funny you should ask, it seems last night I did something in my sleep and knocked my glasses off the night stand and the frames broke.  At first I thought a screw came loose, easy fix, but no, it was broken where the lens fits to the frame.  So my helpful front desk clerk, Pavel directed me to an eyeglass shop in the mall that was open today!  It took most of the day to fix them, but I have them back now and can see, but boy do I need a glass of wine!

This wine is quite typical of the lighter bodied Chianti being produced so widely now, so the color is a light ruby throughout, with very little opacity.  The nose is somewhat alarming with a robust aroma of wet dog or wool, but when that dissipates there is a strong aroma of berries and spice so typical of Tuscan wines.  The taste is surprisingly fruit forward, with a burst of fresh fruit, strawberries, ripe plums which transitions easily to a good bit of peppery spice midpalate.  The finish is somewhat abrupt, but still pleasant as I could see myself enjoying this one on a sunny patio over an afternoon.

Overall, I would rate this one a 7, if only for the wet dog on the nose, but once you get past that it's a really easy drinking wine, and I certainly can't complain about the price!  Tonight I will once again be pairing this with nothing since I'm enjoying this as an aperitif before heading off to dinner.  Tonight it's more traditional Czech fare at the Olympia Restaurant, so follow me on twitter if you want to see the meal!  But for this wine, it would be perfect with Italian dishes like a pasta with red sauce, or some grilled Italian sausage, as the fruit would really balance out the spiciness of those dishes.  Tady je na jiný dobrý den v Praze!

A wonderful Italian dinner!

Recently I had the pleasure of discovering a wonderful Italian eatery not very far from my home, of course I knew it was there, but I had no idea how good the food was!  The little gem is called Flo's Pizzaria Ristorante and Sports Bar, and I think it's the last part that threw me off.  Now to be fair, I had known about this place but had never been in, until I found out that one of my students from last semester's Finance Ethics class that I teach at Grand Valley State University was an owner of this place.  So, given I didn't want to have a conflict of interest, I told him I'd come out for dinner after the semester is over (you know how easy it is to bribe ethics professors with food right?) and recently I had the pleasure of dining in Belmont.

Now to be fair, we enjoyed a few items that were not regularly on the menu, but quite a few are there everyday, so for any local folks that would like a nice, tasty Italian dinner you can enjoy anytime, this is a great place.  We started with an eggplant parmigiana appetizer that was simply delicious, perfectly cooked (i.e. no bitterness in the eggplant) with lovely breading that offered great texture contrasts.  Then we had the main course, which was really four courses in one, sort of an Italian sampler that included Spitini alla Siciliana that was basically a beef tenderloin, sliced super thin, tenderized, then coated with a layer of breadcrumbs, ham and cheese (a secret family recipe) and rolled up and grilled.  I expected it to be very dry, but it was moist, and the flavors of the wood grill on the beef were outstanding.  Next was the classic Italian sausage and peppers (on the menu every night!) that they make themselves, and the seasoning was just perfect.  Trust me, having lived in New York with many close Italian friends, this is the real deal!

Oh yes, then there was the wine.  Davide Ucello, my student and the proprietor honored me with two bottles of wine that was produced by his uncle in the town where he was born, Partinico in Sicily.  The first was the 2006 Honoris Causa, a blend of Nero D'Avola (75%) and Syrah (25%).  This wine had wonderful aromas of black currant, ripe plum and leather, with just the faintest hint of anise. The taste was marvelously fruit forward, with ripe berries and a jammy like fruit, which gave way to a wonderful spiciness midpalate.  The finish was quite dry and long, with well structured tannins that supported the velvety finish.  Overall that would be an 8.5 in my book, even though I have no idea where I could get more!

Now back to dinner, on that platter of deliciousness, we also had some wonderful baked manicotti, stuffed with spinach and beef, it was all at once rich and fresh as the spinach was a nice counterbalance to the richness of the beef and sauces.  This one was Davide's mother's recipe and it was fabulous!  Finally, we had some fettuccine with Italian Gorgonzola sauce (this one is also on the menu everyday) which was simply delicious but deceiving, since it looks like plain boring fettuccine Alfredo, but once you taste it, the Gorgonzola blows you away!

Then of course there was the second bottle of wine, which I honestly can't tell you much about from the label.  The 2008 V90 Vinovantarossosicilia, which from what I've been able to find is a blend of Nero D'Avola (85%) and Merlot (15%).  This one is similar to the Honoris Causa, but the addition of the Merlot to the blend adds something quite different.  This one appears to be a somewhat lighter body, and the nose presents some lovely red fruit and floral notes, and a good bit of sweetness.  The taste is very fruity, with a lot of ripe blackberry and plum that transitions to a somewhat woodsy blend of earthy flavors midpalate.  The finish is quite nice, very rounded, almost voluptuous, with nicely balanced tannins to support the bright fruit.  Overall, I would rate this one a solid 8, as I just liked the first bottle a bit more.  The crazy thing is that these wines are quite good in their own right, but they aren't on the menu at Flo's!  We will have to do something about that.

So if you are in the Grand Rapids area and are looking for a nice Italian dinner, or just someplace to grab a pizza and watch the game, I can't recommend Flo's Pizzaria Ristorante and Sports Bar in Belmont more!  In fact, for you locals, I mentioned to Davide that I planned to try my best to make it up for dinner at least once a month, so on the third Saturday of every month I plan to be there.  Let's make it an event!