All posts by The Savvy Lush

Liber Pater Cirò Rosso from Ippolito 1845

Cost: Average price $14

Where buy now: Solo Vino, Zipp’s, Sentyrz, Sunfish Cellars, France 44, Premier Liquors

Grapes: Gaglioppo

Region: Italy

Vintage: 2011

Liber Pater Cirò Rosso

I’m not going to grumble about how this was the worst winter in the history of the world and I’m on more meds now than ever. What I’ll do instead is recount how I made it through the doom and gloom: by finding comfort.

In times of strife, we look for a comfort zone, that place of stability often called a “happy place.” My “happy place” happens to snuggle between a good bottle of red wine and a delicious hand made pizza.

I found nirvana, if for only an hour, with a bottle of Ippolito Liber Pater Cirò Rosso. Why was it so comforting? So familiar? So enjoyable? Could it be that this wine hails from Calabria where half my maternal ancestry is from?

When referring to Italy as boot-shaped, Calabria is the region in Southern Italy that forms “the toe”. This red wine is 100% gaglioppo (gah-L’YEE-OHP-poh) hand harvested grapes that are locally grown. Liber Pater (meaning Free Father in the fancy, dead language that is Latin) Rosso includes flavors of smoke, earth and sour cherry hitting your tastebuds with soft herbs and lingering tannins haunting you after you’ve swallowed.

I was recently tipped off to St. Paul’s Morelli’s Market. Have you been? http://www.morellismarket.com/Morelli’s Market Morelli’s isn’t going to blow your mind. it’s nothing much to look at on the outside nor the inside. It’s not full of sexy gimmicks, or newfangled splendor. It’s a no frills, get in and get out kinda haunt. But, they’ve been doing it for decades and that’s gotta count for something. From what I could tell, it does. Likely (and appropriately) it was grandfathered in as both a deli and a liquor store, fully equipped with an old man delivering your libations to the car. [Oh, and did I mention this place is cash ONLY?] I walked up to the freezer “aisle” and saw made-in-house frozen pizzas. I grabbed a sausage and mushroom topped pie, probably a vino of some kind, and off I went.

To home I sped, sliding along the frosty roads, to find my happy place. Turned on the oven to preheat, and cracked open the Liber Pater Rosso so it could breathe a bit. When the pie finally finished, I pulled it out of the oven, and, it was kind of, well, beautiful. The crust crisped to perfection and oozed creamy mozzarella over the sides. Homemade sausage and plump mushrooms glistened as if proud to be on this masterpiece. One sip of the Liber Pater Rosso to marry the flavors in my mouth made me want to get down and thank God for my taste buds. I was home, I was comfortable and I was whole.

If you’re looking for a dose of comfort and stability, or your boss is being a dick and you need an omni-pleasing, hit the spot sensation, grab a bottle of Ippolito’s Liber Pater Cirò Rosso and a Morelli’s pizza. Even if you’re not Italian, you can take their (our?) cue to eat, drink and enjoy life like one.

A conversation with Jess Kubis: Learn by tasting

Learn by tasting

New Vintage fun with Jess Kubis (left) Photo courtesy of T.J. Turner

When you think of someone who partakes in wine tastings on the regular, who comes to mind? Perhaps you drum up an image of someone with a great deal of wine knowledge, able to detect hints of pear, oak, leather, or the area of the world where the wine is from with a simple sniff, swirl, and sip of the liquid. Someone who has a special fridge full of expensive wines, who always knows which wine to pair with any dish. Well, I am here to prove you wrong. I can’t really do any of those things, but I love going to wine tastings.

I had my first experience ordering wine in a fancier restaurant in my early 20s; three friends and I had formed a book club that also heavily featured wine consumption, (with the main criteria for wine purchases being ‘inexpensive’) and had decided to venture out and discuss our book selection at Lucia’s Wine Bar in Uptown Minneapolis. After we chose one of the less expensive white wines on the menu, the waiter brought the bottle to the table and inquired who would be sampling to see if it met our standards. My friends immediately volunteered me, even though my only standards for wine at the time were ‘alcoholic’ and ‘not Merlot.’

The waiter poured a small amount into my glass, and then patiently waited for me to taste it. I, in turn, picked up the glass, gave it a meager swirl (I had seen that on TV somewhere,) and then slammed the wine sample in one gulp. “Yep, that’s great,” I said, as the waiter stood there looking kind of stunned. I had no idea one was supposed to sniff and swish and savor the sip to truly take it all in before finally swallowing and making a decision. What for? At that point in my life, I had rarely met a white wine I wouldn’t drink, even if it wasn’t spectacular. I mean, I was regularly buying Two-Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s. What did I know?

Throughout my 20s, I rarely ventured far from the type of wines I enjoyed: Riesling. Gewürztraminer. Moscato. Prosecco. The rare Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, or Sauvignon Blanc. I tended to avoid reds as a whole, as they were served at room temperature (wine should be cold), often left me with a headache, and always made me think of blood. (I read a lot of vampire novels as a young adult). Also, the first red wine I had tasted outside of church wine was Merlot, which I found abhorrent, and it tainted my entire view of the genre. I avoided rosé as well, because my mother favored White Zinfandel and I didn’t think it was very good. In truth, the color made me think of wine coolers or Boone’s Farm and I’d had enough of those between ages 18-21 to last me a lifetime. However, these last few years, I’ve opened up my mind and my mouth to all sorts of different wines, including rosés and reds. I attribute this to two things: a number of visits to nearby wineries and participation in New Vintage, a monthly wine tasting experience for those in their 20s and 30s, hosted by Minnesota Monthly and Solo Vino.

I’m a huge fan of visiting vineyards. I mean, what’s not to like? You pay a flat, reasonable fee and you get to try a lot of different kinds of wine. I haven’t made it to Napa Valley yet, but I always try to visit Midwestern vineyards whenever I’m on road trips with friends. I’ve been to Northern Vineyards in Stillwater a few times, as it’s not very far from my home. After completing the tasting, you can buy a glass or a bottle (which they’ll open for you) and take it up to their lovely deck overlooking the St. Croix river; you can even bring in snacks to enjoy with your wine. My favorite of theirs is Oktoberfest, as it’s very reminiscent of Riesling. One road trip let me to two wineries; Spurgeon Vineyards in Highland, Wisconsin and Galena Cellars in Galena, Illinois. While most of this trip is a blur (wine consumption was high), I purchased two red wines from Spurgeon to save for the holidays: Wisconsin Cranberry for Thanksgiving, and Winter Spice for the Christmas season. Turns out I’m a sucker for holiday wines, especially featuring cranberries. My favorite vineyard experience to date, though, has been at the Maiden Rock Winery and Cidery in Stockholm, Wisconsin. I’ve been there the last two springs in a row and it’s a delight, and not just because it combines two of my favorite beverages in one place. The owners, Herdie Baisden and Carol Wiersma, are fantastic and welcoming, their employees are delightful (shout-out to Bob), and their wares are stellar. It’s not all wine and cider, either. They’ve got mustards, jams, butters, and other delicious items to purchase that have found their way home with me. Both times I’ve visited, we have far exceeded the amount of wines and ciders usually offered at tastings; they’re very generous! (How very Wisconsin of them!) And while I am a big fan of their Honeycrisp Hard Cider, I’m also very fond of the wines they offer, not just from their winery, but from other parts of the state. It is here that I found Cedar Creek Winery’s Settlement Gold (white), as well as Von Stiehl’s Cherry Blossom Blush (rosé). Both are perfect for summer (remember summer?), as they are fresh, sweet, and make me immediately think of drinking on patios once opened.

In 2013, I started attending New Vintage with a group of friends. I cannot recommend it enough, and that’s not just because of the generous pours. Every month brings a new lineup of wines and a new venue to visit, all for $20. Chuck Kanski from Solo Vino chooses and talks about the wines, offering up tips and tricks to get the full enjoyment out of the beverage. I’d like to say that my wine aptitude has increased significantly from these lessons, but if it has, it can only be measured microscopically. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m supposed to be deciphering during a tasting. My expertise seems to be limited to those wines I never want to drink again: Merlots, French wines that taste of sadness, that one Rosé that tasted like motor oil. However, New Vintage is largely responsible for increasing my love of rosés and discovering that there are actually reds out there that I enjoy: Kirchmayr Zweigelt, a pleasant sipping red from Austria that is neither too heavy or too dry, and the sweeter Quattro Mani Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which is Italian. This wine club also is credited for me learning that great wines don’t have to be expensive, as there’s rarely a wine that Chuck offers that sells for over $30. Savvy, huh?

A new season of New Vintage just kicked off, and while I may never learn exactly what a swirl, a sniff, and a single sip is supposed to tell me, I do look forward to discovering new, affordable wines to add to my repertoire. If you’re a practical wine lover like me, I encourage you wholeheartedly to join me and introduce yourself. I’ll be the one at the table slamming my wine and saying, “Yep, that’s great.”

Wines I Recommend:

Sparkling:

Mionetto Il Moscato

Primaterra Prosecco

Baron de Seillac Brut Blan de Blanc NV

Whites:

Josef Drathen Riesling

Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Sweet Riesling

Northern Vineyards Oktoberfest

Cedar Creek Winery Settlement Gold

Domaine Arton Blanc

Rosés:

Von Stiehl’s Cherry Blossom Blush

Meyer-Nakel Rosé

Castillo Perelada Cava Brut Rosado (Sparkling Rosé!)

Reds:

Kirchmayr Zweigelt

Quattro Mani Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Mionetto Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore

Cost: $11.59

Where buy now: Costco

Grapes: Prosecco

Region: Italy

Vintage: N/V

Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore

New Savvy Lush mantra: When in doubt, drink bubbles.

In keeping with my recent Italian theme, let’s talk Prosecco. Prosecco, the sparkling white wine that hails from my motherland, Italy. I love it’s versatility. Drink it when you want to celebrate, drink it on a Summer afternoon, drink it on a cold Winter’s night and drink it when you don’t know what else to drink. Need to bring a hostess gift? Bring Prosecco. Want to freshen up the palate? Drink Prosecco. Out with your Boss and want to impress? Order a glass of Prosecco.

Bottom line: when in doubt, drink bubbles.

To round out my Costco “mini-series”, I proudly bring you Mionetto’s “Valdobbiadene” Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G. Wowza, that’s a mouthful! [That’s what she said?] Who cares how to pronounce it, you just gotta drink it. But if you don’t want to sound like a total buffoon, it’s .

Prosecco hails from the North Eastern Region of Italy, known as Friuli-Venezia Giulia. (free-OO-lee vehn-ETZ-yah Julia.)The region that borders Austria and Slovenia is where these grapes thrive. Prosecco is named from the village Prosecco near this region’s capital, Trieste. (tree-ESS-teh) You know famed chef, Lidia Bastianich? You guessed it, from Trieste. Enough about the geography lesson, wanna learn up go here: http://www.mionettousa.com/whyprosecco.php/Mionetto

Let’s get down to the what, where, why and how.

What: This particular prosecco, Valdobbiadene Superiore D.O.C.G., is some special hooch. It’s at the top of the food chain when it comes to Proseccos.

Where: Single vineyard grapes picked from a very small area known as the “Prosecco grape zone” between the towns of Conegliano & Valdobbiadene. That special area where only Prosecco D.O.C.G. can be labeled.

Why: This stuff is delicious! We’re talking 100% Prosecco; no half-assed mish-mash. This is a fresh and clean sparkler with green apple and light citrus aromas. Now for my douchey moment: I detect jasmine flower. Not all-up-in-your-face, Avon soap jasmine reek, but rather jasmine from afar. Not to sound like an ass, but I say this because I’ve experienced subtle wafts of jasmine first hand in Italy. The flavor is green apple, light citrus and stone fruit. It has a more rounded mouthfeel for a sparkler, too. If you or someone you know digs on Moscato, stretch the palate with this guy. Plus, you won’t get a headache drinking it. Need more reason? Clearly you’re a jerk.

How: Prosecco grapes are pressed into juice and fermented into still (not bubbly) wine. That wine then nestles into stainless steel tanks where it bathes in yeast for a couple months, creating a natural second fermentation. The longer it sits during this process, the more expensive the wine. This wine spends about 2 months in pressurized tanks before being bottled. That’s a relatively short amount of time, which is reflected in the price. Whereas most of your super-duper fancy pants Champagnes [read: pricey] sit for years and command a pretty penny, this beauty may be my first case investment in some time.

At Costco you can spring for Mionetto’s “Target” brand for $9 and change. BUT, for a measly two dollars more, you can upgrade to the Superiore. Two dollars! I’m not trying to clear you out of house and home, here, but, c’mon! You’ve already “saved” money on that giant aquatic toy, the 7,500 ct. generic Advil (a Savvy favorite) and 137 oz. vat of spinach and artichoke dip. Don’t get cheap now.

In fact, buy two- one for you and one for that future occasion when you can’t quite figure out what to drink. Now, you’ll never be in doubt.