It was 27 degrees outside and my turn to cook. My survival instincts told me I should probably work with what was already in the kitchen if I valued my digits. There was a fresh carton of half-and-half in the fridge, shrimp in the freezer, and an emergency bag of shells in the pantry. I think anyone would have made the same decision - shrimp and pasta in caper cream sauce. A touch of goat cheese brie on toast and the culinary improv was complete.
This called for an Italian wine. I suspect a 2nd grader might have also employed my country-matching technique. There was only one Italian bottle on our rack we were willing to open on that Thursday eve, and it was this 2005 blend. Regularly priced around $9.99, my roommate said she picked it up for a mere $6.99 on sale.
A little about the wine: it is grown in Umbria, vinified in stainless steel for 16 days, followed by 3 months in barrels from Nevers, one of the 5 forests used for French oak.
As it turns out, country-matching probably wasn't the best idea, because it didn't pair very well with the pasta. The caper cream sauce was surprisingly subtle, and the wine was ... not. It slips into your mouth and sets up shop, knocking around and killing any previous inhabitants. The flavor was alright - we actually caught a little of the dark fruit and oaky flavors alluded to on the back label - but the tannins were harsh. Inhaling while tasting this is not worth the awkward mouth maneuver - we were so incapacitated by the bitterness that any hidden flavors were lost in the pucker. There was quite a bit of sediment in the wine, and more CO2 bubbles than I have ever seen in a red. Overall, it wasn't a terrible bottle, but the pleasure came mainly from the company.
(photo by Caitlin)
Fabulous first post. I look forward to reading about your future frolics into the realm of "humble" wines. Hopefully your next bottle will be less stiff pucker and more of a sweet embrace.
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