Italian Penicillin

It’s Friday night. A little light Jazz is playing in the background. Time to decompress. Did you have a hard week at the salt mines, dear wine friends? I know you did. So did I. Come closer. Closer. Not too close! Yeah, that’s it. Let’s take a little trip to a Mediterranean island together.

To wash the week way, and to work on an attitude adjustment, let’s take a mental vacation to Sardinia, Italy. Can a mini-vacation be found in an alluring bottle of Cannonau di Sardegna? I’m here to tell you that it can. This wonderful, old world wine is the cure for the working persons’ blues. Think of it as Italian Penicillin.

This mini-vacation is incredibly inexpensive at just $13.00 a bottle. That cute little Travelocity gnome, and you have to admit that he’s pretty damn cute, could never offer you this kind of deal. Not convinced? Wait until I describe this wine to you.

There’s a mouthful of berries in every marvelous sip (or gulp if you’ve had a week like me), of this Italian wine from the island of Sardinia. It’s like what summer raspberries feel like in your mouth. You know how raspberries feel in your mouth, right? They have that amazing furry feeling on your tongue while bursting with refreshing berry goodness. The color is light purple the way I imagine happy, wild flowers must look on this island off the west coast of Italy. It smells like berries and picnic baskets filled with luscious, purple grapes and some hard cheese, and perhaps some olives and crackers as well. This medium bodied wine has nice acid that pairs well with red meat or pasta dishes.

This wine, at 13 measly Obama-bucks, is a great way to start the weekend. Have you put the long, hard week behind you yet? I have.


The Stats:

What: Dry red - Cannonau
Producer: Sella & Mosca
Vintage: Riserva 2005
Varietal: Cannonau
Alcohol by volume: 13.5%
Location: Sardinia, Italy
Cost: $13.00
Location purchased: Esquin Wine Merchants, http://www.esquin.com/, Seattle, WA