In this series of blog posts, we open a bottle -- and a browser -- to investigate where the wines we love come from. A mini travel experience without leaving the couch!
Today, we had to write about Soraie from the Cecilia Beretta winery, one of Eliza's favorite wines. It was fun to pour a glass and Google away to see where this bottle of goodness originated.
Taste: This is a full bodied red that is delicious and smooth. This wine is made in the amarone style, something we discovered on our last trip to Italy, where the grapes are partially dried before being pressed, giving a really deep flavor to the wine. We find that this wine is best in the larger Old World Syrah Riedel glasses -- giving the wine room to breathe, and let's be honest, it makes you feel like you can really rule the world from your couch with glasses as big and awesome as these. ;)
Buy: Trader Joe's for $9
Where it's made: In the northeastern part of Italy, not too far from Venice. It seems this area is more known for white wines, but this Soraie proves it can hold its own with the reds, too!
Google street view shows us that the area seems pretty rustic, which is cool:
At the moment, the Cecilia Beretta website seems to be down for a redesign, and is linking out to another, perhaps partner winery, called Pasqua. According to wine.com, Pasqua is one of the largest family-owned wineries in Italy. Not sure what the connection between the two may be, but we're happy to support either winery!
Overall rating: We give it a 5 out of 5 -- this bottle seems to make its way into the cart on most Trader Joe's visits! It's a great wine to pair with big flavors -- pizza and pasta on a chilly night hold up well to this full-bodied wine. And checking out the rustic area it comes from keeps us dreaming about our next trip to Italy...
