That's Amore

La Giaretta Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore 2014......that's a mouthful, eh?

Ok real talk. I am formally switching my preference to Italian wines. Italian wines are huge here in Toronto and I've been to quite a few wine bars in a short time (would you expect anything less from me?)

So this wine was a game changer for me. Ordered it in a restaurant called Michael's on Simcoe, which is phenomenal by the way, I highly recommend their ribeye and Mac n cheese.

This one you will probably have to special order, although they have different years available at LCBO (if you're in Canada) or you can ask for a comparable at BevMo if you're in the states.

So...

If you're a fan of Malbec's you will love this wine. Malbec's are my go-to wine, and I'll tell you why.

So every country has liquor laws, right? There are rules and regulations that vary by country concerning what can go into their wines and what cannot. Argentina, Spain and Italy have some of the strictest liquor laws in the world, so their wines are top quality. The States on the other hand, doesn't really give a sh*t: "throw the dirt and faces in there, it'll be fine, it adds flavor!"

"Two Buck Chuck" is two dollars for a reason. You can get good wines for 10 bucks, but please please please, do not buy two buck chuck. That's dirt.....literally.

So fun little side story about how I went about ordering this wine. I went on to this restaurant on a date and the guy I was with was a beer guy, didn't know much about wines, *as most guys in their 20's don't.*

So the Sommelier comes over and asks me what kinds of wines I like and we start chit chatting about wines from different regions, etc, etc. Then the sommelier proceeds to ask my date, "So what kind of price range are we looking at?"

*Mind you, this is a nice place, and the wine list was an entire book, anyone who knows even a little about wines knows that when there's a whole book, you can bet there are bottles around 10K.*

"Oh don't worry about price range, anything is fine."

As much as I appreciate him trying to impress me, he's in his mid to late 20's, I know he can't afford that haha. So I interject quite blatantly and laugh a bit.

Sommelier looks at me: "under $100?" and gives me a wink. I simply nodded and giggled.

So you're welcome Mr. Big shot. *curtsy*

He had no idea haha, it was cute. He thought the most expensive thing would be a couple hundred. Ha!

Needless to say, he was relieved that I didn't take advantage of that.

Anyway, it was $90 in a nice restaurant so I was pleased to learn that it is only $30 in store.

So getting into the flavour of this wine. When the sommelier brought the bottle and let me sample, I was blown away. The aroma was intoxicating, no pun intended. It's fruity, yet bold, but not overpowering on either side of the spectrum.

Tastes of cherry and even a bit of blackberry, it is sweet and smooth and has a medium body to it. A bit earthy and acidic at the end but it compliments well with the notes of berries.

Overall, whether you are a complete wine snob and know what you like, or you're a beginner who likes a milder wine like a pinot noir, this wine is a worldwide favorite and ranks top 1% in the world.

If you have the opportunity to get your hands on a bottle of this, I highly recommend this bottle, if you can't, ask for a comparable for this Ripasso and any sommelier worth their salt should give you something nice.

#wine #winereview #redwine #ripasso #toronto