WINE TASTE @ VINTAGE ESTATE WINE AND BEER, BOARDMAN, OHIO

Saturday was a beautiful day for a road trip to Ohio to attend our monthly wine tasting at Vintage Estate Wine and Beer in Boardman, Ohio. We started out having our favorite salad & gigantic baked sweet potato for lunch. Then onward to the wine taste. This month VE was celebrating "Christmas in July". There is always a fun time at the VE even if they are not having a special program going on. There you can purchase a single bottle or two of great beers or a favorite wine and sit on their patio or in their lounge. If hungry you can order one of their great tasting flatbreads from their selection. Phil & Sandy always do thier best to make you feel welcome. 
This month the tasting featured 7 unique wines from Italy. 


                                    SPECIAL GUEST from Italy !

Leonardo Stroppiana

presented 

the

"Barbera d'Alba Doc"

Red Wine

He  signed his bottles if you purchased one.

I have a hard time pronouncing the wines, let alone spelling them. Even being of part Italian heritage I am unfamiliar with the pronunciation. So it is a good thing you can read this and not have to listen to me struggle with the wordage. The first wine we sampled was Lugana di Sirmione Doc. It was a medium bodied dry white wine. Very tasty and appealing with notes of peach & almonds. It was grand with the cheeses which were provided by the VE to accompany the wines. The second was a sparkling white called Prosecco Spumante V.S.A.Q Caviti which also was a dry white wine. Very fruity and also went well with cheese. Next we tried the Garda Classico Rosso Doc, moving on the the reds which I so love. Even though I am finding whites I enjoy and drink again, I still love my reds! This wine was light & dry on the palate. It was a blend of groppello, barbera, sangiovese,marzemino grapes......blended to perfection. The taste was described to us a prune, vanilla & wild red fruits. The presentation of the wines was wonderfully done by a beautiful young Italian woman presenting the wines who also as the tasting went on entertained us with her lovely singing. This wine went well with the salami & cheese selections provided by the VE. They always have a wonderful spread of appetizers for us to fill our bellies with. This wine also went well with the petite brownies drizzled with chocolate sauce they provided. There never is a reason to go hungry at the VE's tastings! Number 4 was a Chianti called Cianti Torre del Sasso Dogg. It was a light, dry, fruity tasting wine of sangiovese & canaiolo grapes. It had the specific taste of chocolate and fruits. I would love to have this wine with a giagantic bowl or dish of spaghetti & meatballs & a nice hunk of fresh Italian bread. Oh my...yum, yum, yum! My imagination ran wild with this wine! The next wine was Barbera d'alba Superiore Doc which was a medium bodied fruity tasting wine made from barbera grapes. Cherries, vanilla & chocolate were the tasting of this wine. This also was perfect with the tiny brownies.I just love dark chocolates with my red wines. Tons of antioxidants from the red grapes and the cocoa invading my body! This is how I choose to look at it. I choose to drink red wine for health reasons, as my neurologist suggested years ago. I do limit my intake to 1 small amount in my crystal wine glass about 5 times a week. On an occassion I will have 2 glasses. But that is rare. I have learned to savor and enjoy the taste and make it a pleasurable time of my day where I look forward to  having my glass of wine and relaxing with no other thoughts racing through my mind. And then I start to wonder about what grapes were used, what the vineyard looked like, who harvested the luscious grapes from the vine, who bottled it and then I become thankful for all the hard work involved just so I could sit and enjoy the "fruit of their labor". Then I get out The Wine Bible and learn about what I have just drank. This to me is relaxing. We all need to find what helps us relax and momentarily get out of this rat race of a world in which we live in. My friends & I find taking our monthly trip to the VE when able a great experience and we always are refreshed afterwards. Even if we are tired at the end of the day after the drive home, it somehow leaves you refreshed and you look forward to the next time. 

The 6th wine we tasted was Sogno Mediterraneo  Igt Super Tuscan. It was a dry red wine with a blend of alicante, sirah, petit verdot, sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes. The taste was very intense and again a favorite of mine. Blueberry, blackberry & licorice tasting with an oaky aroma. I would love this wine with a thick steak grilled to perfection! Oh what a dinner that would be! Salad on the side and chocolate cake for dessert & it would be a dinner to not forget! The final wine of the taste was Lambrusco Amabile Rosso "Stella Italia" made from lambrusco maestri and ancellotta grapes. It was a semi-sweet, sparkling red wine. It was a cherry, berry taste with a light hint of pepper.

All of these wines are available for purchase at the VE and range in price from $10.99 to $29.99.

Thank you VE for making our visit a pleasurable one! Keep up the great work! It is appreciated. 

Salute' !