Wine knowledge is one of those things that seems mysterious to those who don't know much about wine, and sommeliers and oenophile are creatures who live in an exaulted world high above mere mortals who stumble over restaurant wine lists, cross-fingers when ordering, and hope they don't look like fools to their friends or, god forbid, business associates. So, being a mere mortal, joining in a Wine Blogging Wednesday is a bit scary. This month loveSicily is hosting Red Sicilian Wines.
But the best learning comes from doing, and so with the quest defined, I went to Everyday Wines for advice. Mary quickly recommended the 2004 Cusanamo Nero d'Avola. I also searched around town for other Sicilian reds that would not be too similar to the Nero, but the ones I found were beyond the budget I had set for this experiment.
We invited a pair of friends over for dinner and had a grand night feasting and enjoying the company. I opened the bottle about an hour before the main course, which was a simmered Sicilian chicken dish with a sweet marsala-based sauce. I was somewhat nervous about the pairing. I mean, a marsala flavored sauce with the nero d'avola wine? I had no idea how it'd work out. I'm not especially good at pairing wine with food -- I usually rely on an expert to point me to a good match -- but I can tell when a pairing is disasterous. And this one wasn't. (whew!) I suspect this Nero d'Avola may be a fairly friendly wine that goes well with a wide range of food.
When this wine has had some time to breathe, the fruit-like scents and flavors really come through. I'm not experienced enough to actually identify specific scents and flavors without being prompted, so I've included Everyday Wines more detailed assessment at the end of this post.
Bottom line: I liked it. Our friends liked it. This is a very affordable wine I can serve to my friends and feel comfortable that both the novice who is starting to move beyond sweet wines and the more knowledgeable will enjoy it. It is not, happily for me, what I would call "overly dry." (Kitchen Chick's definition of "overly dry": it leaves your mouth feeling like cotton has been stuffed in it.)
Click on the thumbnail image at left to read Everyday Wine's review of the 2004 Cusanamo Nero d'Avola.
Welcome to the wonderful world of WBW! Nero really IS a great food wine...and your chicken sounds quite tasty!
I would like to say, however, that oenophiles are NOT "above mere mortals"...I know it was said in jest...but I'm always one to battle wine snobbery of ANY sort :)
Anyway...thanks for participating...maybe eventually I'll be able to convince you to HOST your very own WBW!?!
Posted by: Lenn | April 13, 2005 at 11:43 AM
Well.. I meant "above mere mortals" in the sense of looking up to them and envying the relative ease of picking wines that their hard earned knowledge has given them, but with "wine snob" being a well known stereotype can see how it can be interpreted otherwise.
The few friends I have who genuinely do know a lot about wine have always been very generous in sharing their enthusiasm and knowledge.
Thanks for the welcome.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | April 13, 2005 at 11:54 AM