Really? Stylish Wine?

My boyfriend sure knows the way to my heart... cookies and a bottle of Ecco Domani 2007 Chianti! After one of the longest Fridays of my life (hyperbole, clearly... I say that every week), J and I went for some sushi and then he surprised me with a new bottle to review. That, my friends, is true love. So let me jump right on it (the bottle that is).

The bottle itself is unassuming with its black , "I am chic because I am Italian" label which did not immediately impress, but I was still excited to give it a taste. I should also note that I always read a label completely before I try it, including any descriptions of the juice, alcoholic content, sulfite info, website, etc... and I was surprised when I saw that Ecco Domani's label touts that it supports designers. I guess when you think about it it's not that odd for wine and fashion to intermingle... a nice little harmony if you ask me. But Ecco Domani did throw me for a loop when I went to its website at http://www.eccodomani.com/ and it referred to itself as the "Stylish Wine." Excuse me Mr. or Mrs. Domani, that will be for the Vino-Verde to decide!

Now on to the juicy stuff (teehee). Initially, my reaction was typical, which, quite frankly, is not what I was hoping for. It just had that smell of your average warm, acidic red wine (but I admit I have always been told that Chiantis can start off that way... not as fruity smelling as their taste would have you believe). I decided I would try and do this the "right" way this time... so I noted the deep blood-red color of the wine and the heavy legs that it left on the side of my glass. As I took my first sip, I stuck my nose as far into the wide-mouthed glass as I could so that I would try and decipher exactly what was causing the strong smell of the wine. And much to my delight, it had a "wow that is not what I was expecting," strong flavor. I mean, initially you smell the oak tones, but it really was surprisingly fruity. It carried strong tastes of cherries I think, although it took me a second to figure out exactly where these fruity notes were coming from. There were hints of cinnamon and cherries in the deep red juice that ended up falling pretty lightly on the tongue. It lingered in the mouth for quite a long time, and ended more acidic than what I prefer. The aftertaste almost doesn’t want to leave you and it ends up being very drying on the tongue, and pretty acidic.

Just because I love my fellow Verdes, I did a little bit of homework on what I should be looking for when I am tasting a wine (so I don’t sound like a blubbering idiot if a non-vino-verde stumbles across this blog), and I learned a little bit about these so-called tannins that all official wine reviewers rave about. For a little bit of a more scientific explanation of what I am about to give, check out http://www.wineanorak.com/tannins.htm where the author goes into the chemical reactions that wine goes through and the importance of tannins to that process. I, on the other hand, am going to give you a vino-verde breakdown.

Apparently, tannins in wine, usually reds, give us both the “bitterness” and the astringency that we taste in our wine. Winos officially refer to the way a wine feels in your mouth as the wine’s “Mouthfeel” (yes, this is a true statement), and scoff at us vine-virgins for not being able to differentiate between bitterness and astringency. So here is my take on it: Bitterness is easy for the tongue and palate to acknowledge because it is one of the basic tastes that human tongues are wired to recognize. The astringency, however, is not "bitterness" but more of the dry feeling you get in your mouth after you swallow the wine. Hence, dry reds have more tannins. Ok, hope that helped all you wannabe winos out there. Next time you are at a swanky event feel free to utilize this knowledge to sound like you are the connoisseur we all wish we were.

Back to the wine. I think this is one of those wines that a guy (or you carnivorous ladies out there) would love with a big fat steak or even a light meat-based pasta dish. Although I have not even touched on my thoughts on pairings with wine, fear not my fellow vino-verdes, that too will come. And most likely that will be sometime after final exams end in December.

So my rating? Now that I appreciate the reason for that dry-mouth feeling I got after this Chianti, I would give the Ecco Domani Chianti 5 fab points out of 10. You can buy the wine thought Ecco Domani's website at http://www.eccodomani.com/italian-wine/chianti.asp or at your local grocery at about $10 a bottle. While Ecco Domani refers to themsleves as stylish, I do not necessarily disagree, but rather proffer this: It just isn't my style...

Until my next bottle,

Nic