What to Sip during Covid19 Isolation? Tormaresca!

This week we have a report from Good Wine Gal Barb Wild’s and she shares her recent wine adventures and recommends Castel Del Monte Tormaresca Trentangeli 2016! Check out The Good Wine Gal site, and her previous picks here.

The sun is out. The trees are in full bloom. Spring has arrived on the West Coast and it’s glorious! I’m ready for anything. Anything that is that involves social distancing, staying at home and up-ing my chance of not catching Covid19. I’m protecting my mother! She’s 80, she’s special and she has COPD. A high risk you might say. So life has changed – maybe forever.

If it’s any consolation, the sales of wine, beer and cheap spirits are up. I guess you could say it’s good news for suppliers and retailers and one way to protect ourselves from the virus. My hope is it also translates to some economy for individuals who continue to work hard to keep us supplied. Stay safe and healthy.

Recommendations for wine in isolation are many and varied. Here’s why! I recently started a 505 Happy Hour – What are you sipping? Zoom call. It starts at 5 pm (PST) and is under way by 5:05 hence the name. It’s open to anyone who wants to share what is in their glass. Many wine friends join the call sipping something local – the new Frind Estate Viognier, Sperling Amber Pinot Gris, Blue Grouse Quill Gamay, Clos du Soleil Capella, Sychromesh Pinot Noir, Lightening Rock Blanc de Blanc, Black Hills Syrah – quality wine supporting the local wineries. Well done people! Others are digging into their cellars chasing a bottle that they have decided is perfect for quarantine – Pahlmeyer Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Trefethen Riesling, Tormaresca, and Silvio Nardi’s Manachiara Brunello di Montalcino.

What I’ve learned is: I can’t drink a bottle a day; the wine I can’t finish will last a few days in the fridge regardless of whether it’s red, white, rose or sparkling – if it’s good quality; leftover wine comes in handy when cooking – and we are all cooking, aren’t we?

My recent purchases include a trip to the BC Liquor Store to stock up for Southern Italian Reds – an online wine session with Mark Shipway. The Southern Italian reds are a bargain at the BC Liquor store ranging in price from $12.99 to $21.99 with grape varieties like Aglianico, Negroamaro, Nero d’Avola, Primitivo and regions like Campania, Puglia and Sicily. These tasty rustic styles are packed with black and red fruit with spice and herbs that suit barbeque burgers and pasta with meat sauce (which is where I add my leftover wine).  Take your pick. You can’t go wrong.

I particularly liked the 2016 Tormaresca Trentangeli Castel Del Monte, an interesting non-traditional red blend from Puglia, Italy’s heel of the boot. Reduced from $20.99 to $16.99, this Antinori project wine shows the elegant side of Aglianico (Barolo of the south) when blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The aromas and flavours of black fruit (bramble, berry, cherry), earth and spice (licorice) where supported by bright acidity in good balance with 14% alcohol, persistent intensity and nice complexity leading to a lingering finish. Bargain!

Let’s face it. Isolation and the catch phrases we didn’t know until March 9^th are here to stay for a while. I recommend you plan your meals and stock up on good wine. If you need any encouragement, call me! Or join our 505 Happy Hour – What are you sipping? Zoom room.

Remember – life is short. Drink good wine!