Heat Wave, Gruner, and Scandlebergers.

HEAT WAVE IN NYC LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!!! Well ... its not that hot. But 50 degrees is something when just a couple weeks ago I was freezing my you know whats off in 3 degree weather. This turn of events is okay by me.

With Spring around the corner, I want to talk about an amazing bargain play in the white wine world. To all you red wine drinkers out there who are not fans of white wine, you need to branch out. White wine is the real deal, Fo Shizzle. Some of the more memorable wines I have had in the past year have been white, and even some ROSE's (Row-zays). "Wait a second Andy ... do you mean to tell me that a Handsome Masculine Latin man like yourself drinks Rose? Sounds a bit..." DON'T SAY IT! And you better believe I do. Why? BECAUSE IT IS DELICIOUS!!!! I'm out and I'm proud, I drink Rose. :Exhale:

"Oh big burly hairy chest ... you feel so much lighter."

I am actually here to talk about Gruner Veltliner (Grew-ner Velt-Leener), an indigenous grape varietal to Austria. Yep, that Austria, the one that is the size of Maine and home to Hans and Frans. Following in Germany's foot steps, Austria is turning into a mecca for top notch white wines. They’re even adding their own grape to the mix, the fore mentioned Gruner Veltliner. It wasn't always this way though, they used to just plain suck at making wine for a while. Actually it wasn't until the early 1980's that they started to produce quality wine. That's right, while we were hanging with men from a land down under, Searching for the Lost Arc, and only a few years away from finding The Right Stuff, there was a major scandal happening in Austria that would change their wine scene ... FOREVER!

Wait a minute a Scandal? Yes
As Scandalous as Queen Latifah being nominated for an Academy Award? No Way, she’s a Hack.

Here are the 2 scoops. Two things happen after World War I for Austria. They lost some of their land (that sucks) and they were left in economic ruin. There was no longer enough finances to allow their wine industry to boom so it fell into making cheap, sweet wines that became the joke of the wine world. Think Boone Farms with an unpronounceable label. Even Bartles and James had a good laugh over Austrian wines. So basically some Austrian dudes, we will call them, Sigmund Freud and Amadeus Mozart, decide that they want to make some money in this depleted wine market.

So what did they do? They basically started blending their wines with Anti-Freeze. No joke here folks. Well not exactly anti-freeze but a chemical that is one of the major components of the stuff. Apparently it made the wines taste fuller and even sweeter. They were able to sell their Anti Freeze Wines for a higher price because they now mimicked higher quality wines. To make a long story short, lets just say Ziggy and the Moz man were caught. They were pretty lucky though, nobody died, but they basically killed what little demand Austrian wines had to begin with. This turned out to be a great thing for Austria. With no money to be made in the wine world, only passionate wine makers who did it for the love of it were still making wine. And in the span of approximately 25 years this new foundation of quality wine making has now made them a huge player in the wine world.

Gruner Veltliner is thus far Austria's greatest stamp on the wine world. Its bright, fresh and crisp; tasting of peaches, apples and stones. At times it has a hint of sparkle to it and a unique characteristic that is its trade mark, white pepper. When you swallow Gruner you get a little tingly light pepper thing that is awesome and makes an ideal pairing for sausages. Good thing Austria does that well. WeinerSnichel is the traditional food pairing for this wine. So if you have some time to pound out some veal, bread it, then pan fry it, go for it. Gruner is a very versatile wine. They do make some high end Gruner that can fetch a pretty penny, but where it realy shines is on the basic level. Usually coming in a 1 Liter bottle with a screw top or even a beer style "POP" top, you can easily find these wines for less than 15 bucks... perfect to bring to parties. Its a crowd pleaser.

Funky Fact:
For those of you who thought the Croissant came from France, you are wrong. It in fact is an Austrian creation. In the late 1600's the Turks occupied Austria believing it would act as a great staging point for taking over Europe. Well the resilient Austrians ousted them out of the country and in commemoration of their success the bakers of Vienna created the Croissant that was in the shape of the crescent moon on the Turkish banners. How you like them apples?

Wine Night W/ TakeDown. A Narative...Sort Of.

Its 9:05pm and I am pissed. My store closed 5 minutes ago and there is still a guy in here asking why they don't list the grape varietals on french wine bottles. I'm trying to be polite but I’m thinking, "Dude, DON'T YOU KNOW ITS WINE NIGHT". Its 9:12pm and I’m finally setting the alarm and locking the door behind me. As I’m sitting on an uptown 2 train salivating at what I'm about to put in my mouth, I somehow hit one of those magical patches of MTA underground cell phone service and receive a couple text messages. The first is from my buddy saying he will be 10 minutes late and the second asking me to pick up a couple of steak dinners at the Cuban place around the corner from his building. I realize I am starving, which is a good thing cause if the steaks didn't take my mind off him being late, I probably would have whacked the Puerto Rican dude sitting next to me reading the paper. 80th and Amsterdamn, Cafe con Leche (of course thats what its called), I’m sitting at the bar waiting for the order when my buddy, who shall be known as TakeDown, finally shows up. Just in time to split the bill so I don't have to put the whole tab on my depleted debit card. Our "Res con Cebollas, arroz, y frijoles negros" showed up, we payed, and headed out towards the wine chamber where we were about to give up the next 4 hours of our lives to the wine Gods.

What awaits us? 1997 Opus One Proprietary Red.
Will we drink it? OH HELLS YEAH!

For those of you who don't know, there’s this winery in Napa California called Opus One. It is the joint venture of Robert Mondavi (who hasn't heard of this guy) and Baron Phillip Rothchild of Chateau Mouton Rothchild. A 1st growth bordeaux house. (1st growth bordeaux = one of the top 5 wineries in the most famous wine region in the world). Needless to say, this wine is important and there probably isn't a person in the wine business who hasn't heard of Opus One. Its like the Charles Barkley of wine.

After some small talk with TakeDown’s roomates, one of whom I think is a great guy and always greets me with a smile and a hand shake, and the other who always seems like he wants to kill someone (someone = Me)... the cork is popped on the first bottle. TakeDown and I decided to book end the Opus with the 2 bottles of wine I have contributed to this monumental evening. First up is an '03 Shafer Relentless, and for what will constitute as dessert, a fantastic German Riesling that I would tell you what it was called if I could pronounce the name. Those silly Germans. I have had this particular Riesling 3 times before and has always been fantastic. I have been sitting on the '03 Shafer for over a year now, and it is the wine in my collection I am most curious about. The food at Cafe Con Leche is fantastic. I have to say that Cuban food is a really great paring for wine. You have to skip out on the spicy sauces but it always delivers and kinda just goes with whatever wine you throw at it.

The Shafer is probably the biggest wine I have ever had. Heavy and rich and just gigantic in the mouth. At first it was not showing like a Syrah (which is what it was, with some Petite Syrah as well) but more like a Cabernet Sauvignon with big Black Currant fruit on the attack. As it opened up, the dark syrah notes started showing and by the time we had the final glass we saved for the end of the night, it smelled and tasted like chocolate milk. By far the choclatiest wine I have ever had. TakeDown didn't approve, but I loved it. Hot in the back that really didn't allow it to linger long but the chocolate and blackberries were so delicious. My boy showed well and I was a proud pappa. Even TakeDown had to admit, though it wasn't his style, he shined. Some point about 2/3s through the Shafer, I heard the all too familiar, very dear to my heart, popping sound of a cork being yanked out of the neck to expose the delicous juice to its, hopefully, first breath of air. It was a clean sound, a good sound, a perfect sound. The cork looked and smelled fine, we were in the clear with a good bottle.

"Bordeaux" TakeDown said extremely confused. "It smells like Bordeaux". I agreed.

If you didn't see the label on the bottle you would not be able to guess it was from California. In the glass he had that brownish tint that age puts on a wine. The nose on this wine was unlike any nose on a wine I have ever had out of my home state. Insane nose. By the time I was done listing the notes on the nose this is what I had: Black Currants, Cherries, dried fruits, Spicy Toast, Licorice, Mushrooms, Dirt, Fresh Crispy Green Pepper, and season 1 through 3 of "24". HOLY CRAP!!!

In the mouth this guy was not as successful. Most of the nose qualities translated to the palate. There was a fantastic attack, Medium bodied but as it reached the mid palate it hollowed out a little. It continued to hollow out in the back and, weirdly, finished in the front of the mouth where we were left with some great grippy tannins. Don't get me wrong, this wine was great in the mouth, there was balance and it was delicious but there were structural issues. Overall this wine exceeded expectations, though it was the nose where this guy shined. For me expectations were high. For TakeDown, he liked it and made this comment on his facebook page "Opus is OK and its wierd". If you knew TakeDown, you would know that this is a positive comment. The Riesling followed and only furthered its argument as possibly the best varietal on the planet (I will post my notes for this wine in another entry). Riesling is just unbelievable. I see many entries on it in the future of The Bin End. This was an extremely successful wine night. Our last one ended with an undrinkable bottle of 1971 Barolo, so we needed a good showing.

Throughout the course of the night there was some good conversation, watching of College Basketball, TakeDown talking about his lack of take downs, awkward moments with TakeDown’s murderous roommate... but in the end the Opus prevailed and gave us the highlight of the evening. TakeDown even let me keep the bottle. Thanks TakeDown. A "Great Success" of an evening I say.

The End

Wine For Your Meatballs

How many times a year do you eat pasta w/ red sauce for dinner? If you ask my girlfriend the answer would be 359. Every day except for Passover. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the stuff, but how good can pasta w/ red sauce really get? You can go to Whole Foods(aka Whole Paycheck) and pay an arm, a leg, an elbow, and trip kings for the freshest ingredients to make your own pasta and sauce from scratch. But then that really kinda defeats the point. We make pasta w/ red sauce because its easy. So, on to the question...

How can we make pasta w/ red sauce better? Emerils Lagasse's Caijun Seasoning perhaps? I say NOT!!!! Wine, my friends. Wine makes everything better.

A couple great wines from Italy that many people don't know about are Barbera and Dolcetto. These are wines from the Piemonte Region(the most north western part of the boot), which is most famous for their production of Barolo (made from the Nebbiolo Grape). Barbera and Dolcetto are 2 grape varietals that can quench your Italian thirst without busting your Italian purse (wow!). Chianti has always been the not-too-expensive-go-to Italian wine to throw on the table to go with your spagetti and Meatballs. But even good chianti comes with a price on it these days, and who doesn't want variety.

What do they taste like you ask?

Well Barbera has the big juice going on. It is a medium to full bodied wine that has big fresh red and black fruits aplenty. Like most Italian wine it has great acidity, which is what makes it go great with red sauces and other Italian dishes. It usually is low in tannin and is not a wine that needs aging. Pop and drink.

Dolcetto makes lighter bodied wines. Fresh red fruits that tend to have spicy and herbal notes. While not having the acidity Barbera has, it is still great with Italian meats and cheeses.

Something to be aware of. Both of these grape varietals are being produced in California. Not that they aren’t good wines there, but they are not the same. In California they tend to have higher alcohol, less acid, and a much sweeter fruit profile. This does not lend them to food as well as the ones from Italy.

You should easily be able to find these wines for under 20$. If you are on a search for these wines in a store, one thing to help you find a good one is when they are made in either of the two famous towns of Asti and Alba. So when looking for them, look for wines that say "Barbera d' Asti" or "Dolcetto d' Alba" This means they are from these towns and will definitely be at a higher quality.

MMM...Love me some Italian. The wine is good too.


Wine Tidbit: The US imports around 14% of the worlds wine production. Italy, as of the last few years, produces the most wine in the world.

Is that a dead bird in your Chile or are you just happy to see me?

Phylloxera (Phil-ux-era). No this is not the Vegas hotel where Chris Angel isn’t fooling anybody. It is a miniscule plant eating insect that pretty much destroys everything in its path. This tiny little bugger (get it?) is responsible for eating away the roots and destroying more vineyards in the world than anything else. So much destruction in fact, that pretty much every single wine region in the Frakin world has been almost completely decimated by it. Its like Dr. Evil except successful. Consider it like getting crabs for grape vines. Except instead of just causing major scratchage in your bathing suit area, it spread EVERYWHERE!!

-Where did it originate? America
-Where did it first reek Havoc? France, mid 1800s, after they imported native American grape vines that were infested with Phylloxera.
-How was it stopped? Indigenous American grape vines were immune to the thing. So the French started grafting their grape vines onto Native American roots. Oh America, trying to fix everybody else’s problems except our own.

(Even our friggin bugs hate the French.) Anyhoo….

There are only 2 wine regions in the world that have never been affected by Phylloxera. Argentina and Chile.

Why Argentina? I’ll tell you later
Why Chile? I’ll tell you now

Chile is 110 miles (on average) wide and about 2,700 miles long. This John Holmes like country is protected on both sides. The Andes Mountains to the east and the lesser known body of water to the west. The small pond known as the PACIFIC OCEAN! This complete isolation has prevented Phylloxera and other major vine killing bacteria from ever reaching this fine phallic land. Not only is this thing free from most pests, it is also pretty much one of the most ideal wine growing regions in the world; With natural irrigation from the water run off of the snow capped Andes mountains, and the frequent warm days and cool nights during the grape growing season. (ideal from most grape varietals)

So seeing as this seems like wine making paradise, why isn’t Chilean wine more on our radar? And why was Fred Savages character in The Princess Bride a Bears fan?

Wine has been made there for hundreds of years. The only problem is there were no real wine laws in this country until the 1980s. So there were a few….how do I say… sanitary issues. Besides having bugs and rodents (and I wouldn’t be surprised, pee) being a common frequenter to the many fermented grape juice swimming pools that people would eventually drink from, birds would literally drop from the sky into open aired tanks of fermenting wine (like... EWW!).

Back in the day they had these giant concrete bowls that were built into the ground where the wine fermentation would take place:

Fermentation= Yeast is added to the sugar to make alcohol.

In these concrete bowls Carbon Dioxide is produced and released during the fermentation process. As the Co2 would climb into the air, birds passing by would catch a wiff, pass out, and drop from the sky into the vats. Scouts Honor!!

I can only imagine this made for some pretty delicious wine… NOT!

In my research for this fine blog entry I have stumbled across a tasting note from the early 20th century from the great wine writer Juan de la Vega Gonzales Amigo. Here is what he said. (Loosly translated of course)

Looks cloudy in the glass, deep crimson color with a kind of yellowy brown core.

Smells kind of funky. Like wet feather. Definitely some dirt and something else I can’t quite pinpoint.

Just tasted and am now able to pinpoint what I smelt. Its like dirty wet concrete mixed with wormy bird breath that finishes with mule butt and grasshopper. There is nice acid though but that could just be from the pee.

Fast forward to the 1980s after many great wine makers from all over the world have caught on to the ideal grape growing region, and a few wine laws are in place, we now have the Chilean wines we know today. They are producing, I feel, some of the best value in the market. Their 15$ cabernet sauvignon price point I think is on par with the 30 to 40$ price point of California Cab Sauvs. Absolutely fantastic, rich, and complex wines are coming out of this region. Any wine appreciator needs to put their explorer cap on and start drinkin these wines. We are lucky here in the US as we import a crap ton of the stuff. Only 2 other countries do we import more wine from: France and Italy. High end wines from Chile are now recognized as being as good as most high end wine from most other major wine players, and are still selling for under 100$. At the important consumer value ratio of quality/price, Chile is unmatched. Like I said the 15$ price point on Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon is the best value in the market. And it is only a matter of time before these prices start jumping.

Mule Butt and Grasshoppers anyone?




Wine Tasted: Casa Lapostolle - Cuvee Alexandra - Apalta Vineyard - Cabernet Sauvignon - 2006

This winery is owned and run by Alexandra Marnier. Yes that Marnier. She is of the Grand Marnier family and moved to Chile to start the state of the art winery Casa Lapostolle. Many of her wines are regarded as being some of the best coming out of Chile if not the world.

Beautiful deep dark Black Cherry Red color. Almost kind of a magenta like brightness. Very vibrant color.

Coffee, Black Currants, Dusty Earth, Dry Stones. Tobacco. There is 14.5% alcohol on this thing but I am not feeling that on the nose. Good start so far.

Wow this is a BIG BOY!!! Don't let him sit on your lap. Very dry. Pomegranites on the attack. There is some decent grippy tannin on this guy. Gets a little hot in the back. Definatley some spicy black currants. Plums. Spicy wood as well. I really like the spice on this guy. Nice structure. Really great mouth feel for a wine of 15$. Graphite/pencil lead, hint of cocoa. Really lush mouth feel. This guy needs a big ol' steak. The finish is decently long with lots of spicy wood lingering in the mouth. Really enjoyable this wine is (says Yoda). I am telling you this 15$ Chilean manchild is drinking as well as some 30$ even 40$ California Cabs. There is not the big juicy fruit that you find in most of those Cali boys but there is alot going on. If you need a cab fix and want to spend less than 20$. You will not be able to come close to this. Do yourself a favor. buy 2 bottles. You will be happy you did.

Casa Lapostlle makes an estate bottled cab for 10$ that is fantastic for that price as well. Not in the same league as the Cuvee Alexandra I reviewed above. But nonetheless a rediculous buy for 10$ and under cabs. By far the best cab I have ever encountered for that price. BUY BUY BUY.

Readily Available Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Producers of note;
Casa Lapostolle
Concha y Toro
Montes Alpha

Port-O-Party

Taylor Fladgate, Dow, Warre. These are some of the heavy hitters in the Port world and I got say something, THEY SURE AS FRAK DON'T SOUND PORTUGUESE TO ME.
Here's the scoop. Port is pretty much a British invention. Well they didn't exactly invent it but they pretty much put it on the world map. I see it going down like this. Way back in the day, Chappy McGnarlyteeth (our British hero) gets pissed off at the French. I mean they are so Pompous right. So Chappy vows to stop buying French wine and sets out to find the greatest beverage on earth elsewhere. So he hops down to Spain and is checking out the digs and drinks there when he stumbles across this river (Duero River). As he heads west along this Granite Cliff lined river he comes accros these vineyards that are perched on plateaus that have literally been blown out of the granite cliffs that lead down to the water. Dorthy's not in Spain anymore. He has in fact crossed into Portugal, more specifically The Douro Valley. Stunned and dazed by this amazing discovery, Chappy trips over a laborer working the vineyards and rolls down a hill and lands at the doorstep of this small run down casa. There is a sign out side the door that says "Get-your-ass-in-here-and-taste-the-heavens" (in Portuguese obviously). So he goes in and this old man in an Iron Maiden T-Shirt (I'm reachin on that one) is sippin on this wine and offers him a swig. He obliges and what he tastes is so transcendent that the very next day he has his chaps from the motherland come on down to start making the stuff to send back to the...uh...motherland. Many other winos from Britain come down and set up their own shops and start shipping the stuff all over. That is why we have a bunch of British names on bottles of port. There are many native Port producers that have become house hold names like, Quinta do Crasto and Fonseca but it is because of the ol Blimey Brits that Portugal is a major force in the wine world.

What is port? Well it is basically 3 parts red wine 1 part brandy. Thats right. Delicious sweet red wine mixed with friggin Booze. ARE YOU SERIOUS? Yes ... Yes I am.

There are 2 basic styles of Port.

1. Tawny Port(the sweeter and paler in color one)

-Basic Tawny Port is aged less than 3 years and from grapes that make a lighter color wine
-Aged Tawney Port is aged from 8 years and up. The age will be specified on the bottle. The longer the contact with the wood the more the color and sweetness mellow out.

2. Ruby Port

- Basic Ruby Port is the the entry level point of Port. It can be fruity and simple. Made from grapes from less prestigious vineyards.
- Late Bottle Vintage(LBV) Ports are made from top quality vineyards in non Vintage Years. They are aged for up to 6 years in wood to try and mimic the power and depth of Vintage Ports. These are probably the best value for top quality Port.
- Vintage Ports are the Grand Machismo of all Ports. The are only made in the best years. 2003, 2000, and 1997 being the last 3 in release right now. Huge Tannic Monsters that need considerable bottle aging before they are truly ready to drink(recomended 10 years). But are the most concentrated and rich Ports. And the most expensive.

There are other styles of Ruby Ports but it gets really confusing outside of these major styles. (if that wasn't confusing enough)

Below are tasing notes for the basic Tawny Port from the producer Quinta do Infantado. This producer, I feel, is the best bang for your buck in the Port market. Their basic Ruby and Tawny ports are under $20 and their Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) is under $30. Believe me these wines are fantastic. They make a dryer style port that is more about finesse rather than just being overly sweet. Plus they still use traditional methods of wine crushing. Their feet. And really nothing makes wine taste better than feet.

Port is really out of fashion in the US right now so the price points on Port are really low. Some of the highest end Vintage ports from top producers can be found for under $100. Oh and drink Port out of a regular wine glass. Those little small aperitif glasses really don't give you the full experience.


Wine Tasted: Quinta Do Infantado - Tawny Port

There is some surprising ruby redness in the center of this Tawny. It definitely a rusty color on the edges but there is some rich color to this bad boy. Not your typical Tawny color profile. The glass hasn't come within a foot of my face and I am getting major sweet delicious fumes wafting up my nose. Im telling you this producer is just spectacular.

Grainy Brown sugar on the nose. This port smells dirty. In a good way. Alcohol is in check. Some Ports singe your nose hairs. Tawny Ports have a slightly oxidized nose. This one is no different. But there is a kind of funky tart thing that is layering this nose. There is a nice freshness about it too. A little bit of minerality jumping up here as well. This is a fantastic nose coming off this supposed entry level wine. Swig and Slurp time.

Mouth filling. Very fine grained white sugar on the attack that carmalizes and leaves you with creme brule crust in the back. A hint of brown sugar. This guy is pretty sweet. Has a freshness about him that gives it a clean taste. This is a very bright Port. Really spicy. Crazy spicy. Im talkin Jalapeno spicy. Taste like one of my people played a little prank and dropped one of our green bad boys in the mix. Apropriate amount of alcohol in the back. Leaves my mouth watering. A hint of tanin on the inside of my cheeks. The finish tastes all over the entire mouth. It leaves this fantastic tingle that really lasts for minutes. Do not be fooled. This tawny has an aged quality on the nose and mouth. Much higher quality than most. By far the best young tawny I have ever had. These foots stompers really know what there doing. BUY BUY BUY!!!

Aglianico ROCKS!!!!

I have come to realize... I am a huge Aglianico fan. Haven’t met one I didn’t like. The 2 major regions, on my radar, that produce this fine Italian grape varietal are Campania, and Basilicata. Now!... in Basilicata (The Arch of the foot of the boot) there is this friggin Volcanic Mountain called Vulture. And they grow grapes on it. The soil is black...BLACK!!! from Liquid Hot Magma. So here is how I see it going down..... Way back in the day some Italian dude (or lady)(but probably a dude) was sitting with his buds, obviously hammered, and slurs to his cronies, (none of them are coherent at this point because if they had heard his idea they would have stopped him immediately.) "Heya guysa, Ima gonna go upa toa da Volcano. Anda make'a... some'a wine'a". Obviously he's so drunk he is speaking in English. So with the only objection being a sleep fart from his bro Luigi, this dude sets out and plants some aglianico vines in the black ashy volcanic soil of Vulture.

Thanks to this dude we have some of the most interesting value wines in the market today. In these wines you can taste and smell the black ashy soil that these grapes grow in. It is just awesome. As well as this varietal that just reeks and tastes of plums and black cherries. The Yum factor in this grape is wicked high. Great food wines and I guarantee it is only a matter of time before the US starts messing with Aglianico. I wanted to start this blog off with what I think is one of the highest value driven Varietals in the market today. Go out and pick up a bottle. You can probably find a great one for $12 bucks like the one I tasted below (although not from Basilicata). Yum Yum Yum for my Tum Tum Tum. Thank goodness for drunk Italian dudes and their crazy ideas. And sleep farts.


Wine Tasted: Aminca “Monsignore” – Aglianico - 2001

This wine shall now be known as "THE BLACK HOLE." There is a slight plumy deep redish hue to the edges of this wine but in the center is a big black abyss. I think if I stuck my finger in the glass I would be sucked in never to return. WOW, just wow. I mean screw seeing your fingers through it. I think if I held up the bat signal behind it I wouldn’t be able to see it.

Smells like some plumy cherry goodness. Some definite alcohol on the nose but not too bad. Wood chips, saw dust, stone as well.

Totally attacks like its gonna be huge and heavy but then floats down like a cloud. Pencil Shavings, plumy dark juicy fruit. MMMMMM! Nice grippy tannins on the mid palate. Gripping right smack dab in the middle of the tongue. Nice length. The fruit quality on this one is like a Black Cherry Hansens Soda. I grew up drinking those things. This wine is ridiculous delicious. I’m getting some sour cherry as well. Really Fun wine. Nice acidity. Clean, fresh and simple. This thing isn't going to challenge you to a chess match but he is so dang tasty. And in my book Tasty goes a long way. $12 bucks is what I found this guy for. Do yourself a favor and get to know Aglianico. Your mouth will be happy.

Great Aglianico Producers:
Elena Fucci (Basilicata)
Mastroberardino (Campania)