Wow, I can't believe it's been over a year since we last posted to this blog. During this time we've certainly enjoyed plenty of wines but we've been working on our other web sites and restoring our 100 year old house and, simply put, something had to give. Updating this blog seemed to be the thing that fell to the bottom of our list of priorities.

Since our enjoyment of wine hasn't flagged, it's about time we shared a favorite of ours. Now I have to say that Chianti's are a real bone of contention between Wife and Husband. Wife seldom enjoys a bargain Chianti (and she's not shy about expressing her opinion when one of Husband's wine selections doesn't measure up). On the other hand, Husband is much more forgiving of modest Chiantis if the wine at least suits the meal. The good news is that here we have a wine that we both agree on: Basciano Chianti Rufina 2008.

Let's start with a description from the Wine Spectator (who, by the way, rated this wine a 90): "Smoky and intensely fruity, with a light grilled meat undertone. Full-bodied and silky. Ready to drink now." We would add that this wine is almost chewy, with a touch or raisins. Good Chiantis always have a touch of spice and this one is no exception.

The last time we had this wine we went real old school: spaghetti and meatballs with Chianti. The only thing missing was the red and white checked table cloth. I have to say though, this meal was anything but boring. Husband's 90 year old father contributed a classic slow-simmered meat sauce, a family favorite. Husband made the meatballs (consensus: good but not as good as his dad's). The sauce had a nice hot red pepper zing to it and the meatballs were loaded with spices. The wine provided a solid accompaniment and, with its smooth rich finish, a nice counterpoint to this hearty meal.



The Basciano Chianti Rufina is at the higher end of our price range but it is easily found between $12 and $14 which, given its level of quality, still qualifies it as a bargain. This wine is robust enough to accompany meat dishes as well as pastas and many other Tuscan style meals. It is much richer and more substantial than the Chiantis found in the $8 to $12 range. And let's not forget that this wine could help keep the peace between husbands and wives and that is certainly worth a premium.

We're always looking for an inexpensive yet satisfying wine, right? Maybe you're having a get-together or maybe you just want to keep something decent on hand. You've seen those big bottles in the wine shop. Did you pass them by?

My thoughts on the big 1.5 liter bottles have always been a little snobbish. I didn't think they were worth checking out. Lately, however, encouraged by our little economic downturn, I've taken another look.

Here's my rule of thumb: if the company does not also make a reasonably popular selection of normal size 0.75 liter bottles, stay away!

Why bother with the large size? Cause it's cheaper to buy the big bottle than to buy two of the smaller bottles, that's why. (After all, we're talking cheap wine here.)

So following my rule, we were led to Yellow Tail. They have a large selection of varieties in both bottle sizes. Our first choice was the Shiraz. We had a party, we served the Shiraz and there was wine left over. As a result we were able to drink the remainder of the bottle over several days.

The Shiraz was a simple quaff with hints of the things that make us like Shiraz so much. Yes, there was fruit, primarily cherry, and some spice but only hints of what would be available in a more up-scale Shiraz. Tannins were sorely lacking and there was a note of sweetness that was not necessary. On the other hand, the wine was light, easy to drink, had no annoying undertones and didn't deteriorate over several days.

After that reasonable experience, we decided to pick a large bottle of the Shiraz-Cabernet blend. We thought that maybe the addition of the Cab would add a little "oomph" to the simple Shiraz.

Unfortunately, the Cab didn't add as much as we'd hoped. Nevertheless, the blend was getting us in the right direction. The hints of tannins were a bit more noticeable, the fruit was still upfront and, though still a pretty simple wine, there were at least a few nice notes of plum and raspberry (as promised on the label).

These wines seem best as accompaniments to informal food. They're fine with burgers, chicken, a simply prepared pork loin or even pizza. They don't quite have the heft, though, to stand up to really serious food. (Note: the Yellow Tail Shiraz Reserve is plenty rich and sophisticated enough to go with a big steak or a spicy grilled salmon. But that's for another review...)

What a time it's been! Sick for a good week or so and unable to drink wine while taking antibiotics and swigging cough medicine with codeine. At last, I got over the flu and began to enjoy food and wine again. We were looking forward to reviewing some new wines for this blog and then our camera died. No pictures of wine bottles combined with our having fallen out of the habit of writing up the wines we drink has led to a dearth of posting.

So given there is no camera to shoot the labels of wine bottles and that we are not drinking wine as often as we used to, this seemed a good time to address a topic that I think is very important for anyone who is interested in wine. Today we want to talk about wine importers.

Obviously, since we are talking about importers it implies that wine from the U.S. will be excluded in today's discussion. That is unfortunately true but, since there are so many great wines from other countries that are worth trying, it is a minor limitation. In any case, let's get on with today's topic.

Why are importers important?

The best importers have a good palate. They are adept at finding good wines, often at different price points. Often, the wines may not be well known but may be quite delicious. Let's look at an example.

One of my favorite importers is Winebow. This company, led by Leonardo Locasio, selects wines from Italy and more recently from Spain. My experience with this importer is that its selections are always quite interesting and usually quite good for the money. They have a good list of wines that fit into our price range (under $15) as well as some more expensive wines that we have yet to try. A good number of the wines from Winebow that we have tried have become repeat buys.

One of the most important aspects of our respect for Winebow is that when we come across a wine we have never seen before, we are much more willing to try it if we see that it was imported by Winebow. Our experience with this importer has been consistently positive, the wines have been good values, great with food and very evocative of Italy. What more could you want?

Originally known for Italian wines, Winebow has begun to expand into representing wineries from Spain, South Africa, Argentina and other countries. Given our good experiences with their Italian wine selections, we will certainly be looking to try some of these wines from other locales.

Another importer that we have had some good experience with is Tempranillo. This is an importer of Spanish wine. In the last few years, Spanish wines have offered some of the best values around. The wines that we have tried that the Tempranillo company has imported were among the lowest price but best values we have experienced. This is a company whose wine selections we intend to continue to explore.

Read those labels!

So our advice is to always be sure to read the fine print on the labels of wines you enjoy. Note who the importer is. If you don't have a wine store near you where you have good confidence in the recommendations of the sales people, the next best thing is to trust the importer. You will eventually find those importers who consistently provide quality wines. And that can be your roadmap to some very interesting wine experiences.