Ever Wonder about Montepulciano Wine?

Montepulciano (mon-ta-pull-channo), as you might guess by its name, is an Italian wine. You might also guess that it’s from a region or town of Montepulciano, Italy. There, you’d be wrong.

Montepulciano is a beautiful medieval town in Tuscany, in central Italy. But, oddly enough, Montepulciano wines are not produced there.

Instead, Montepulciano wines are from Marche, Molise, northern Puglia and most notably, Abruzzo. All of these regions are along the eastern coast of Italy and benefit from the cooling winds off the Adriatic Sea.

So, Montepulciano wines are made of Montepulciano grapes but they have nothing to do with the town Montepulciano.

To make things even more confusing, the wines that are produced in Montepulciano are, like most Tuscan wines, made from Sangiovese.

Montepulciano is the second most planted red grape in Italy. Sangiovese, the grape used to make Chianti, is the most widely planted grape of Italy.

Montepulciano has long held a reputation for being low-priced fruity red wines that go well with pizza and bold tomato-based sauces. This reputation is true. But, there are many producers, especially in Abruzzo, that are making some very well-structured wines displaying notes of cherry, crushed herbs and tobacco.

Finally, for a wine to be a certified Montepulciano d’Abruzzo it has to comply with the following rules:

• It must be made with at least 85% Montepulciano grapes (up to 15% Sangiovese is allowed)

• The wine must be aged for at least 5 months before it is released

• To be labeled as a Riserva, the wine must be aged for at least two years including a minimum of nine months in wood barrels

Although a bit confusing, Montepulciano wines can be quite good and, as the most exported Italian wine to the U.S., it can be very reasonably priced. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Ravines Wine Cellars Maximilien

2017 Ravines Wine Cellars Maximilien ($24.95)

Ravines Wine Cellars is an artisanal winery in the flourishing, world-class wine region of the Finger Lakes, located in upstate New York. It is the passion of Morten & Lisa Hallgren, a European Winemaker/Oenologist and his Chef wife. Together, they have created a small, distinctive winery, crafting elegant and expressive wines using Old World winemaking practices.

Maximilien is an old Roman mane used throughout the centuries for saints, emperors, revolutionaries and philosophers. Ravines Wine Cellars considers Maximilien “a honest name for this blend of two noble and historic varieties.”

This Ravines Wine Cellars Maximilien is a blend of 54% Merlot and 46% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Knowing this is a Merlot/Cab blend, I was most surprised to see that this wine is light in color - a pale to medium ruby, almost like a Pinot Noir or a GSM blend. On the nose it has cherry and plum with a bit of a sweet note. On the palate this wine is medium bodied, medium tannin with flavors of tart cherry, cranberry and raspberry, moderate acidity and a refreshingly long finish. This wine definitely expresses its Finger Lakes terroir.

If you are not familiar with wines from the Finger Lakes region I’d definitely recommend that you check out Ravines Wine Cellars Maximilien as well as their Dry Riesling and White Springs Dry Riesling. The are all very affordable and worthy of being Behind the Cork™ wines of the week. Cheers!

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Ravines Wine Cellars

Ever Wonder About the Italian Wine Soave?

Fifty years ago, Soave was the most popular Italian wine in the U.S., it even outsold Chianti.

Soave (“swah-vay”) is an Italian white wine made of Garganega (“gar-GAN-nehgah”) grapes grown around the village of Soave in Northern Italy.

Soave means "soft" in Italian, and the soft floral bouquet and fruit flavors help it to live up to its name. It is considered the most famous white wine in Italy.

Soave is a light-to-medium bodied white wine, with fruity flavors and moderate acidity. Overall, it falls between a Pinot Grigio and a Chardonnay.

By Italian regulation, Garganega grapes must make up at least 70 percent of a Soave wine, while a maximum of 30 percent Chardonnay and Trebbiano di Soave (Verdicchio) are allowed.

Common flavors of Soave wine include Peach, Pear, Honeydew, Citrus Zest, and sometime a bit of saltiness.

Depending on the aging process, Soave can taste either lean or rich. The more affordable wines are typically aged in stainless steel tanks. These wines have brighter fruit flavors. Soave that is aged in oak barrels tends to be rich with notable nutty flavor.

By the way, there is also a bubbly Soave Spumante version and a very sweet version, produced by drying the grapes slightly before fermentation, which is labelled as Recioto di Soave.

Soave wines are very affordable. So next time you see one, pick it up and give it a try! Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Ravines Wine Cellars White Springs Dry Riesling

2017 Ravines Wine Cellars White Springs Dry Riesling ($22.95)

Ravines Wine Cellars is an artisanal winery in the flourishing, world-class wine region of the Finger Lakes, located in upstate New York. It is the passion of Morten & Lisa Hallgren, a European Winemaker/Oenologist and his Chef wife. Together, they have created a small, distinctive winery, crafting elegant and expressive wines using Old World winemaking practices.

The White Springs Vineyard is a unique site with protected slopes of limestone soil. The vineyard is located in the northern part of the Finger Lakes region and was one of the first farming sites in western New York to have a sophisticated irrigation system installed over 150 years ago. With many older vine-plantings, significant slope and perfect eastern exposure, this large 59 acre vineyard site produces ripe, pristine grapes with nuances and complexity.

This White Springs Dry Riesling is golden yellow in color with pear, apricot and tropical fruits on the nose. On the palate it has bright fruit flavors, good acidity and a wonderful finish. At 12.5 % ABV it is indeed a dry Riesling.

Having received multiple 90+ point ratings, this Ravines Wine Cellars White Springs Dry Riesling is a good one!

• 92 points Decanter

• 91 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

• 92 points Vinous Media

• 91 points from Wine & Spirits Magazine

• 90 points from Wine Spectator.

If you are in the Finger Lakes area be sure to check out their two tasting rooms, one in Seneca Lake and one in Keuka Lake. Or, simply checkout their award winning wines at RavinesWine.com

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Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Ravines Wine Cellars

Ever Wonder About Cooking Wine?

When a recipe calls for wine, one option is to use ‘Cooking Wine.’ But, have you ever wondered if ‘Cooking Wine” is the same thing as drinking wine?

Well, there is such a thing as Cooking Wine. You’ll generally find it in the grocery store near the salad dressings, the cooking oil and vinegar. But like so many products, Cooking Wine can be many things. It can range anywhere from what you might call an inexpensive table wine to a product that is called “Cooking Wine” that includes salt, sugar and other artificial flavors.

Depending on the dish you are preparing, the salt, sugar and other flavors might work. But, in general, when a recipe calls for wine, I’d suggest using something from the wine aisle, not the cooking products aisle.

A common recommendation is that you shouldn’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. This doesn’t mean you need to spend big bucks on a wine for cooking. There are plenty of wines, generally on the bottom shelf, that sell for $5 to $10 and are plenty adequate for cooking.

My guess is that the recommendation to cook with a wine you’d like to drink has more to do with the quantity of wine used in most recipes. If your recipe calls for a half-cup (4 oz) of wine, that would mean that you’d still have approximately 21 oz of wine left in the bottle. And, since you can’t put the opened bottle back on the shelf or keep it for more than a few days in the refrigerator, you’ll have the rest of the bottle to enjoy with the meal!

So, next time a recipe calls for wine, skip the “Cooking Wine” and choose something from the wine aisle. Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc work great for recipes that call for white wine while a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot will give nice flavor to a recipe calling for red wine.

Cheers!