Behind the Cork™ - Wine Carriers by meori

I recently discovered a bunch of handy carriers for my wines!

These meori collapsible wine carriers come in various different sizes to transport and store your wine and glasses. They are great for transporting wine home from the grocery shopping, or for taking wine to a dinner party, a wine-tasting, or to give to your favorite wine lover. They’re also perfect for the car when traveling on vacation or for all yours stops while visiting wineries.

Each wine carrier holds bottles upright and padded to keep them safe when traveling and holds up to 65 pounds. When folded flat, they are compact & easy to store in the car, pantry, or wine cellar.

The wine carriers and six bottle wine tote each include removable collapsible dividers that are also great for storing and transporting glassware as well as beverages.

The insulated two bottle wine tote keeps your bottles cold. It can hold two bottles, or one bottle and two stemless glasses with a padded layer to keep each glass safe. It also has an adjustable strap and zippered compartment for things like a cork screw or bottle opener.

Check out all these great options from meori on their website. Cheers!

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

Samples Provided by meori Inc. Seattle WA

The Wines of Sicily

Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and has been making wine since 4000 BC. Its dry, warm climate, regular sunshine and moderate rainfall is well suited for winemaking.

Marsala is Sicily’s most famous wine - a fortified wine. But, Sicily also produces both red and white varietal wines.

There are three key red grapes in Sicily - Nero d’Avola, Frappato and Nerello Mascalese.

Nero d'Avola (also known as Calabrese) is the most widely planted red wine grape variety in Sicily. Its name comes from the town of Avola on Sicily’s southeast coast along with the fact that “nero” means "black" referring to the grape's dark color. Nero d'Avola has traditionally been used to add color and body to wines but has also become a popular varietal wine.

Cherry-colored, aromatic and low in tannins, Frappato wines are light bodied and somewhat like France’s Beaujolais wines. While winemakers do make single variety Frappato wines, it is most commonly blended with Nero d’Avola to soften and lighten it.

Nerello Mascalese grows mostly on the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. Its wines are fresh and fruity with herbaceous flavors, good minerality and earthy tones. This grape is also used in a variety of blends including Nero d'Avola.

The key white wine grapes of Sicily are Catarratto, Grillo and Inzolia.

Catarratto is the most widely planted grape in Sicily. Catarratto produces soft, dry wines and is a component of in the production of Marsala. Grillo and Inzolia are also used in the base blend for Marsala.

It should also be noted that Sicily’s winemakers are also making wines with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The White Wines of Piedmont Italy

Piedmont may be best known for its red wines but this famous wine region in Italy also produces several white wines of note.

The Moscato Bianco (moe-ska-toe bee-an-ko) grape is most notably from the Asti region of Piedmont. This grape is used in the production of Moscato d’Asti which is a sweet, semi-sparkling wine and Asti Spumante which is a refreshing, slightly sweet, sparkling white wine. This grape is also used to produce still wine (i.e., not a sparkling wine) and sweet dessert versions.

But the top white grapes of Piedmont are Cortese and Arneis.

Cortese (kort-tay-zay) is the white grape that is most famous for producing Gavi which is named for the town of Gavi in the southern part of Piedmont. Bright acidity, apple, peach and honeydew flavors are commonly associated with wines produced from this grape, along with lime, almond and light herbal or grassy aromas.

Arneis (Ar-NAYZ) is yet another grape that has recently been brought back from near extinction. Wines produced from the Arneis grape are known for their minerality along with flavors of peach, apple and hazelnut. The best Arneis wines are from the sub-regions of Roero and Langhe.

Finally, there are two other white wine grapes grown in Piedmont - Erbaluce and Nascetta. Neither of these grapes are are widely planted outside of northern Piedmont.

Erbaluce is used in the production of dry wines that are light-bodied with crisp apple flavor. Sparkling wines exhibit minerality, bold acidity and fresh, fruity flavors. Along with dry table wines, Erbaluce is used to make sweet wines with deep golden coloring, such as Passito.

Nascetta was also revived in the mid-1990s. It produces crisp wines with apple and citrus flavors along with notes of honey.

So, there’s a short overview of the variety of white wines produced in Piedmont. Next time, we’ll continue our wine tour of Italy. Until then, Salute!

Behind the Cork™ - Beronia Crianza

2017 Beronia Crianza ($7.99 and $14.99)

This week’s Behind the Cork™ features two bottles of Beronia Crianza - the traditional 750 ml bottle and a 375 ml bottle that’s perfect for single serve meet-ups with friends at a distance. In this new era of socializing, the smaller bottle helps you take your own bottle at a manageable size.

This wine is imported by González Byass which is headquartered in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. It is a family-­owned collection of wineries that was founded in 1835 and spans across Spain’s most important wine producing regions.

This Beronia Crianza, from the Rioja region of Spain, is made from 94% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha and 1% Mazuelo (a.k.a. Carignan). By Rioja regulations, a Crianza (“kree-ahn-tha”) wine must be aged for a total of two years with at least one year in oak barrels. In the case of this wine, its one year of barrel aging was done in barrels made of American oak staves and French oak ends. It was then bottled and left to rest for three months prior to its release.

This wine is medium ruby in color and has nice aromatics including red fruits (cherry and raspberry), fig, tobacco and wood. On the palate this Beronia Crianza has big red fruit flavors, medium tannin and a really nice lingering finish with a bit of crisp acidity. And, amazingly, I really believe that small addition of Mazuelo enhances the cherry/cranberry/raspberry flavor of this wine.

This Beronia Crianza Rioja is imported by González Byass USA and nicely fits as an affordable and attainable Behind the Cork™ wine of the week! Cheers!

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

Samples Provided by Donna White Communications

Piedmont: Another Top Wine Region in Italy

We’ve recently been exploring Italian wines (Borolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Montepulciano, Soave and Super Tuscans), grapes (Sangiovese and Nebbiolo) and regions (Tuscany and Chianti).

So, now let’s take a closer look at another of Italy’s great wine regions - Piedmont (or Piemonte, pronounced pee-ay-MON-tay).

Piedmont is located in the western-most part of northern Italy. With the Swiss Alps to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, it is yet another perfect region for wine. It is the home of more DOCG wines than any other Italian region.

In Piedmont, Nebbiolo is not the region's most widely planted grape, but it is the grape that is most notable. Nebbiolo grapes are prominent in four of Piedmont's DOCGs: Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara and Roero.

It is Barbera that is Piedmont's primary grape and the most widely planted. Piedmont's best Barbera wines are from Barbera del Monferrato, Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba. Barbera is thought to have originated in the hills of central Piemonte, where it has been known since the 13th century.

The third major grape of Piedmont is Dolcetto (Dol-CHET-oh). The top sub-regions of Piedmont for Dolcetto are Dogliani, Dolcetto di Diano d’Alba and Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore. Meaning the "little sweet one," Dolcetto produces dry red wines that are generally made to be enjoyed young. Unfortunately, Nebbiolo and Barbara steal the show in Piedmont and seem to leave these wines a distant third. But, Dolcetto certainly should not be overlooked. 

So, that’s just a very quick overview of Piedmont and its three most notable red wine grapes. Next time we’ll take a look at some of the white wines of Piedmont. Cheers!