Tom and Melody's wine blog » Chianti

Placido Chianti (2008)

Tom & Melody — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:10:15 +0000

A beautiful June Michigan evening. The sun is shining brightly at 8:00 p.m., the birds are chirping and the temperature is in the high 70′s. Tom & I just finished our (last Friday’s) Wall Street Journal crossword puzzle. I am mentioning this tonight because we sailed through this particular puzzle. So, therefore, we are celebrating (natch).

We are very much enjoying this Placido Chianti 2008. We bought this wine at our local grocery store for $8.95. It’s very good. Placido Chianti is a fun, light-hearted quaff with a touch of floral on the nose. The taste is dry and slightly tannic.

For dinner tonight, we are having some leftover casserole that I made a few nights ago. The casserole was made with ground beef, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, cheese, etc.,. . .all yummy ingredients. That is reheating and I am making a fresh salad with lettuce and green onions from my garden (and my homemade vinaigrette).

Tom: This Placido Chianti 2008 is a very pleasant red, quite dry, with a floral (I’m copying Melody’s word) and peppery nose and a medium body. Very drinkable. I’m sure this wine is very Italian food-friendly: fragrant, pleasantly acidic. A fun discovery for $9.

Aquila D’Oro Chianti 2008

Tom & Melody — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 00:38:58 +0000

This Aquila D’Oro Chianti 2008 is pleasant and earthy, and very sippable.

Medium-bodied, and medium-dry/dry. Nothing striking in the nose, but also nothing off-putting.

I think we got this at Trader Joe’s and probably under $10.

An altogether pleasant Italian table wine.

Chianti Gabbiano

Tom & Melody — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:25:32 +0000

I have recently returned from a once-a-year committee meeting. This year’s meeting was in St. Louis, Missouri.

Our chair, Kurt, and fellow committee members Katie, Janis, Jeff, Nicole and I all went to dinner together at “Charlie Gitto’s Downtown” restaurant. We chose the Chianti Gabbiano (of which we ordered and consumed three bottles). The wine was light and pasta-friendly with a nose of berries and tobacco. The six of us had a lovely evening. . .processing and discussing the day’s meeting together, sharing bits of our personal lives (e.g., children, nieces and nephews choosing colleges, dogs, student loans, meeting our mates) and enjoying delicious Italian food and wine. It was a great way to wrap up a long day. The wine was reasonably priced at $29 (or was it $24?) a bottle.

To my fellow “NCAA Research Committee” members, until next year. . .cheers!

Bella Sera Chianti (2006)

Tom & Melody — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:12:25 +0000

I bought this Italian Bella Sera Chianti at our local grocery store for about $9. I chose this wine tonight to go with our spaghetti dinner. I started the sauce in the afternoon and it has been simmering in my big old cast iron skillet for hours. (There is something about spaghetti sauce in a cast-iron skillet; I am convinced it tastes better that way.) This was my third vacation day and I am loving my time off. I suppose many people would wish for some entertainment for their vacation, however, I just like being home and doing simple things. I really enjoy it.

This wine starts with a spicy nose. The taste is fruity (raspberries) and dry; to me, this is a very typical Italian table wine. It is light bodied with medium tannins. I would definitely purchase this again and I would save it for our spaghetti nights!

Crete Rosse Chianti (2007)

Tom & Melody — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:03:54 +0000

It is a rainy, cold April Monday night but we are cozy and happy inside. We have music on the Bose and our son, Tommy, and his girlfriend Amanda are out in the kitchen making a salad to go with our spaghetti dinner. Wow, it is nice to have them making the salad; it gives me time to blog!

The last time we had this wine, I found it to be. . .well, thin. Thin in taste and in the overall body and aroma. I don’t feel that way tonight. This is a light-bodied wine but the taste is fresh and spicy. I like this wine very much!

Tommy & Amanda just showed me the big and beautiful salad they made (romaine lettuce with dried cherries, walnuts, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados and bleu cheese) so it is time for me to start the water boiling to finish off the spaghetti dinner.

Salice Salentino (2005)

Tom & Melody — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 23:07:19 +0000

It is Sunday evening and we are relaxing on this cool and rainy evening. We finished reading the Sunday paper because we had to cut short our paper reading this morning. I have a fresh chicken in the oven. I stuffed it was chopped celery because I read an article that suggested that this makes the chicken very juicy. The house smells quite fragrant so I think this will be tasty.

We had our cooking group gathering (for brunch) today. I brought “chocolate rasberry clafouti” which is a baked dessert with raspberries, milk, butter, cocoa, some flour and sugar. . .a custard like dessert with fruit.

This wine is not your usual Italian, austere red wine. The wine has a creamy texture. The taste is predominantly fruit and vanilla. I think this wine will benefit from breathing although it is perfectly drinkable right after opening.

I am serving our roast chicken tonight with mashed potatoes, a fresh salad, and steamed broccoli.

Torciano Crete Rosse Chianti (2007)

Tom & Melody — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:43:05 +0000

I chose this Italian Torciano Crete Rosse Chianti for our Sunday night supper. I am enjoying being home after a 2-day trip to Indiana, with my school’s Gymnastics team (it was our conference championship meet). I didn’t get home until very late and was unable to unwind enough to sleep — so, a short night for me. Then, up and out the door for my long run (11 miles). So, dinner tonight is simple: A batch of bean soup and a loaf of whole wheat bread. The soup is simmering and the bread is baking. . .and Tom and I are watching some of the basketball games (just watched Michigan State beat University of Southern California and Louisville beat Siena.)

So, back to the wine. This is a light wine. The nose is barely discernable. Perhaps it needs to open for awhile longer. The taste is understated and thin. This would be a great wine for new red-wine drinkers because it has a very mild taste. I’ll bet, though, that tomorrow the wine will have more character than it does tonight.

Pèppoli Chianti Classico (2004)

Tom & Melody — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:23:41 +0000

I chose this Pèppoli Chianti Classico 2004 from Italy for our Friday night feast. We are having spaghetti tonight. I purchased this wine at Kroger’s in Ann Arbor. It was a $27.78 bottle that was in a “discontinued” section for 50% off the price.

This is a quintessentially Italian wine. It is not fruity, yet it is bursting with flavor. The tannins are firm and the mouthfeel is crisp. The nose is pencil shavings and the finish is violets. Simply delicious.

Happy Friday everyone!

Ruffino Il Ducale Toscana (2004)

Tom & Melody — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:42:14 +0000

This Italian red is another one of the deals I found at my local Kroger this week. They had a table full of discontinued wines at 50% off the regular price. This one was regularly priced at $25.09. This is a lovely Tuscany wine with a delicate nose, an austere, yet fruity, palate and structured tannins. This wine will be perfect with our dinner of baked mostacolli and a fresh-from-the-garden tossed salad.

The four of us went canoeing this morning on the Huron River. It was about a 6 mile trip and it was beautiful. About half-way down the river, we stopped and had our picnic lunch in our boats. It was a great time. I think Tom will post some pictures here of our trip.

Castello della Paneretta Chianti Classico (2002)

Tom & Melody — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 23:36:56 +0000

Our son Tony gave us this wine for our birthdays. This Castello della Paneretta Chianti Classico 2002 is a deep, ruby red with a medium body. The nose is red cherries, vanilla, with a touch of tobacco. On the palate is red cherries, dark chocolate, plums, and luscious tannins. What more could you ask for in a wine? Tony really did a great job choosing this wine for us. Thanks, Tones!

Today is Tommy’s 24th birthday. He was born around 9:30 a.m. on April 6, 1984. Both Tommy and Tony will be coming to dinner at around 8:00 p.m. tonight. I have a cast-iron skillet in the oven with red potatoes that have been tossed with chopped garlic, rosemary, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and olive oil. On the stove is a skillet of highly-seasoned chicken that I browned and is now simmering. I have fresh baby-spinach leaves waiting to sautee and a loaf of Italian crusty bread for the oven. Oh, and a pan of freshly-baked dark-chocolate-walnut brownies. This is Tommy’s birthday dinner!

This wine is delicious and will be a great accompaniment to our dinner.