Just because Italy has been producing wine for thousands of years doesn’t mean that they’ve given up on innovations.
Take the 2017 Tiberio Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo Rosé($22.99). Although it is a rosé, it comes in a dark Bordeaux bottle, normally reserved for reds, not pinks. Usually rosés are found in clear bottles.
But when you pour a glass of the Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo, you get another surprise. It displays a beautiful Burgundian red colour. It looks like a red.
Made from Montepulciano grapes from the Abruzzo region of central Italy, the fruit is hand harvested on the estate from 52-year-old vines. Unlike many vineyards that have one clone of a grape variety, the Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo vineyard has a wide variety of clones so that there is more complexity to the wine.
Before fermentation, the grape skins are in contact with the juice for only 20 minutes before the skins are removed and fermentation begins. Because the Montepulciano skins have high amounts of pigment and tannin, a very short time is all that is needed to extract colour and tannins. Rosés often spend eight hours or more steeping on the skins, but not the Tiberio.
Normally, rosés should be drunk immediately, but the Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo can improve with a year or two of cellaring. Yet, it is delicious today to enjoy as a sipper or when dining.
The Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo has a generous fruity nose of cherries, raspberries and hints of cinnamon. The juicy flavour tastes of rich red fruit, with a tartness that makes this wine refreshing when you chill it for an hour.
There are also gentle tannins that give this rosémore body and structure than you’d expect. And the tannins makes it a great food wine with a variety of dishes, including grilled Italian sausages, salad Niçoisewith tuna or grilled eggplant and zucchini.
The Tiberio Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo is available at Richmond Brighouse and Ironwood government stores.
Looking ahead, I’ll be reporting on two new French wines that are giving a new flavour to Malbecs from Cahors.
And there’s a new winery that opened in downtown Penticton last month. The Time Winery is another milestone in Harry McWatter’s 50-year love affair with B.C. wine. In the weeks to come I will be talking to the new director of wines, Graham Pierce about what’s new with Time Winery and Encore Vineyards.
As we move into September, look for a column on Steveston’s new wine bar, The Porthole, “Steveston’s Hidden Gem.” It’s all about wine, craft beer and tapas.
Eric Hanson is a Steveston resident and wine educator
Ehanson0705@gmail.com
