Sunday Rainy Sunday
While I thought moving to New York from Portland would permanently shield me from grey,
bleak, rainy winter days, I have to say that there are few better reasons to forgo the outdoors and
snuggle up on the couch with a little Nina Simone on the speaker and a glass of wine in hand.
Its days like this that helped me cement my love for deep, gorgeous, fruit-forward, full-bodied reds.Contrary to popular opinion, red wine doesn’t always require a steak to properly enjoy. Getting to experience the structure and body of a good red is almost better without.
Three of my most snuggle-worthy favorites:
BY GRAPE
Nero D’Avola (ner-o da-vo- la): Considered the aristocrative red grape of Sicily, its mouth-filling,
structured, chocolaty, plumy and totally elegant. Careful when drinking. Some say it can cause rather crazy dreams.
TheSipp Recommends: Start with Sicily and, if you can, look for Sicilian producer Planeta.
Malbec (mal-beck): indigenous to southwestern France, its best known as one of the 5 main red
grapes that can be blended to make red Bordeaux. While, it's less popular in Bordeaux these days, its pretty much a rock star in Argentina. Because it tends to be low in acidy and less tannic than steak loving reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, its fine to fly solo. Its soft, inky, mocha (are you sensing a pattern yet) and plummy. What more do you need?
TheSipp Recommends: An Argentinian from either the popular region of Mendoza or lesser known Salta region that sits high in the Andes Mountains. If you’re feeling really adventurous, ask your fav wine shop proprietor if they carry a CAHORS from SW France.
BY REGION
Priorat: a tiny wine region in the Catalonia region of Spain that produce red blends featuring
garnacha, cariñena (more popularly known as Carignan) cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and
tempranillo. Far from timid, Priorat wines are full throttle, deep dives into ripe blackberry fruit,
dense chocolate, lively licorice, and mineral flavors.
TheSipp Recommends: I do my best not to single out specific wines because honestly its hard to
actually, find a specific producer, but Alvaro Palacios’ Camins del Priorat is as beautiful to drink as its bottle is pretty.