LCBO Sale Pick of the Week: Nov. 13

Zonin 2012 Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore (Veneto, Italy)

Sale $15.45, Regular $17.45
Discount (until Nov. 30): $2.00
LCBO # 170142 | 750 mL bottle

Tastes like: Cherry cola, sweet spice, coffee and Christmas spice.
Pairs with: Rich and savoury pasta, grilled and roasted meats, roast pork, aged hard cheese.
Good for: Daylight savings time. (When the lights are low…)
Drink this: Now through 2017.
Alcohol: 14%

Why we're drinking this
We love good Valpolicella—the wonderful blended red wine from Northern Italy’s Veneto region—just about any time, but a Ripasso is a special beast. The grapes are obscure. You don’t see Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara called out much. They aren’t too sexy, but these are the Valpolicella grapes. Ripasso is a technique in which the leftover grapes skins (pomace) from the making of Amarone wines are added to the Valpolicella batch and left to soak. This boosts the alcohol level of the wine and adds body, tannins, colour and flavours. Ripasso is a relatively new technique, introduced by Masi in the 1980s. These days, it’s a very hot style of wine. Read on to find out why…

Tasting note
This is a winter wine because, if you taste carefully enough, you can pick up those lovely sweet spices like clove, cinnamon and allspice that make you dream of Christmas. Grab your wine skin and fill it up with a rich, warming mix of black cherry, plum and coffee, with a definite nutty and toasty backbeat. The tannins are soft and the finish is long. This is good with food—or just a bowl of nuts, a wood stove and a warm puppy on your lap.

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This week's selection by kwäf Taste Bud  Dick Snyder