The 42nd installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday is hosted by Andrew Barrow of Spitton. His challenge for us is to describe an Italian red wine in JUST SEVEN WORDS.Well, I have to admit this exercise is really fun but also very difficult, especially for folks like myself whose first language is not even English. Fortunately, Super Bowl XLII bailed me out in helping me to find the appropriate description for the Sicilian red I tasted. (It is a coincidence that this is also the 42nd installment of WBW)
The wine : 2005 Planeta Cerasuolo di VittoriaThe description : The Patriots' Collapse in Super Bowl XLII
I have to apologize here that my phrase will not make any sense to folks who are not familiar with American football or NFL. So, I provide a a little background on Super Bowl XLII and why I choose this phrase to describe the 2005 Cerasuolo di Vittoria:
The New England Patriots and the New York Giants played on Feb 3rd, 2008 for the 42nd championship game of National Football League (NFL). The game is called Super Bowl XLII. The Patriots had touted an explosive offense and a strong defense throughout the entire football season. They had won every single game coming to the Super Bowl with an 18-0 record. However, during the game of Super Bowl, their offensive performance did not exhibit the expected explosiveness. Instead, it was actually quite light weight and one dimensional throughout. Their defense also fell flat and fizzled in strength. Ultimately, the Patriots collapased and lost to the Giants by a score of 14-17 thereby falling short in finish; abruptly ending a dream of 'the perfect season'.
If my short summary of Super Bowl XLII is confusing, NFL.COM provides a much better coverage on this event.
Now to the wine, Cerasuolo di Vittoria is produced by the Planeta family in Sicily. They have a very nice website in English. This wine is composed of two indigenous varieties: 60% Nero d’Avola and 40% Frappato. All the grapes of this wine are harvested from the Dorilli vineyard.
This wine has ABV of 13.5% and I paid $19 for it. (Sadly, with the weak US/Euro exchange rate, the 2006 vintage is selling for $22 - $25).
Tasting notes:
Nose: Explosive aroma of raspberry.
[ Analogy: the initial showing of the Patriots’ explosive appearance ]
Color: Clear ruby.
Palate: Fairly one dimensional with flavor of mostly strawberry and raspberry. Very fruit forward with notes of pepper. Good acidity but not particularly mouth coating.
[ Analogy: appearance of the Patriots’ one dimensional performance during the game ]
Body: Light to medium
[ Analogy: Patriots showing up as a light weight team ]
Finish: Mostly red fruits. Clean but short finish.
[ Analogy: abrupt finish to the Patriot’s season, falling short of expectation ]
Comments:
Planeta Cerasuolo di Vittoria reminds me of a mid-level Beaujolais. It is actually a good food wine to pair with for light fares such as roasted chicken or roast beef sandwich. However, for $20+, the QPR value on this wine is just barely ok.
6 comments:
i'm on the wrong side of the pond to being even half-way to understanding :-)
Hey Andrew,
Are you a soccer fan? Did you remember the 2002 World Cup opening match when Senegal defeated defending champion France 1-0 forcing France's early exit in that year? The Patriots' collapse in Superbowl XLII is on the same magnitude.
Cheers!
I must say it required an explanation even for someone on the left side of the pond (though admittedly, I'm not a football fan). But I like it. Nice work.
I have to chuckle by your description of the Patriot’s offense being weak. No excuses for the Pats. If I may help rephrase this, try “The impressive Patriots offense was effectively shut down by a well prepared Giants defense”. That way, it doesn’t sound like my grandmother could have sacked Tom Brady. Although this does not fit your disappointment in your wine, it does offer better comfort to us in the Boston area. Congratulations to the Giants.
David - Glad you like it, I have to admit that sports analogy to a wine generally is not the best idea.
Taster A - Thanks for the correction. Yes, I like your summarization a lot.
I love the "clean but short finish" to summarize the collapse of the Patriots. Nice analogy!
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