The Italian Wine Club from Giordano Wines Offers Great Values for Wine Explorers
Over the past few episodes on Bacchus and Beery Wine Radio, Donna and I have been talking about getting bold and adventurous with your wine choices. That may mean trying a new variety, label or trying wines from a different country or region.
Wines from Europe can be confusing. Wines from the rest of the world are normally labeled by the grape variety and region such as Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley; simple enough. Wines from most of Europe are labeled by their region, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Chianti and many others. The reason is that Europe has much stricter regulations regarding what grapes are allowed to grow in each region. Therefore a red Burgundy will be a most likely be Pinot Noir and a white Burgundy, Chardonnay. Bordeaux will normally be a red blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot (depending on the sub-region) and to a lesser extent, other varieties such as Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Chianti is predominately Sangiovese. Continue reading »
