An (Almost) Case of Questions with Christos Vassiliades, Vassiliades Expressions Winery

Spearheaded by the older guard, the Cypriot wine scene's transformation during the past decade has led to the appearance of new players who have rapidly established themselves and contributed their own creative touches to The Rock's wine.

One of these young 'uns is Christos Vassiliades, mastermind behind Vassiliades Expressions Winery in Chandria. I had the good fortune of paying him a visit on a frigid night back in February and left impressed by the quality of his dry Xynisteri, Sauvignon Blanc and dessert wine made with botrytized Xyn. Besides producing the only (I think) single varietal Cabernet Franc in Cyprus (one I haven't had the chance of sampling), what left me in awe of Christos' gun-ho attitude is that he had the cojones to plant that fickle damsel known as Pinot Noir at a very high altitude in the dear hope that it pans out. Here, Christos talks to us about his passions, plans and personal favourites.

Why wine?

Christos Vassiliades (CV): For me, wine is a cultural symbol and a sign of progress. It forms the path that connects tradition and avant-garde innovation. Wine is also a timeless delectation, the result of a constant flirtation between the earth and the vineyard. Wine cultivation is the interface, which creates mythical stories, traditions and legends.

First wine that really captured your attention? How old were you?

CV: The first wine that captured my attention and is always on my mind because it reminds me of my childhood and my family’s tradition is my grandmother’s wine. She’s both my tutor and inspiration. She has been a winegrower working with traditional urns, and the pleasant scent of her basement during the fermentation period is the most indelible memory of my life. 

All-time favorite bottle of wine?

CV: My all-time favourite bottle of wine is the Antonin Rodet Bourgogne Pinot Noir. An exceptional Pinot Noir produced by an important winegrower in Burgundy. It’s an amazingly balanced objet d’art with the essential elements of elegance of a Pinot Noir. I am grateful because I have the opportunity to not only taste it but also procure it in Cyprus.

Favourite wine-producing region? Why?

  

CV: My favourite wine-producing region is Sonoma County in California. A polymorphic region, both geologically and climatically, that helps it produce wines with special characteristics: a huge variety of wines in different styles and ideal for every occasion. It is actually quite impressive the way this region produces wines of the highest quality such as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel.

Your favourite food-and-wine pairing?

CV: If I take into account the variety available in the international culinary and wine scene, there are innumerable ‘pairings’ and, by extension, answers to your question. So I would prefer stating the Cypriot variety called Maratheftiko, which perfectly matches beef liver on the grill or even better on the barbeque. I would not omit to mention the combination of our winery’s dessert wine “HW,”a late harvest botrytized Xynisteri that makes a perfect match with every single traditional Cypriot dessert from fruity spoon sweets to syrupy ones.

What is Cyprus missing when it comes to wine?

CV: Personally, I am convinced that if local winemakers had the same approach towards issues like our understanding, our cultivation, the vinification and the better promotion of indigenous varieties, even the forgotten ones, it would be a huge step forward for the quality of our wine production at a national level. As a result, Cypriot wines would be better promoted and, as a consequence, they would be treated better abroad.

What do you foresee for Cyprus’s wine industry?

CV: Lately, in Cyprus, interest in the wine industry has increasingly developed, and this is very promising for the future of the local industry. Despite the progress made, there´s still a long way to go to reach our objectives, which is no other than to create a strong vinous education on the island. For a country with such winemaking tradition and historical background, it is almost obligatory for us to get to know wine better and in a less superficial way. We will never achieve our aim if customers, consumers and professionals won’t pay the attention required.

Cyprus’s wine industry improves day by day. It is crucial for rising winemakers to have a plan and a philosophy in order to contribute to and facilitate the resurrection of the Cypriot vineyard. Exporting wine means exporting culture. Therefore, wine is not just a common product of alcoholic consumption but a piece of art that involves vision, knowledge, passion and aesthetics. For a country like Cyprus, because of the limited range of wines, improving the current situation is very difficult and requires so much effort from the wine industry’s professionals.

What do you enjoy most about your work in the food & wine world?

CV: The most enjoyable time of the year is the harvest period. It is the moment you realise that all of your hard work during the year finally pays off, and you come face to face with both the past and the future. That feeling is indescribable. You finally ‘decode,’ smell and taste your own brainchild, a creation you can experience with all of your senses.

What is your “Five Year Plan” for your career/business?

CV: The philosophy that encloses the establishment of our business is very clear and simple.  Our winery ‘Ekfraseis’ attempts to take advantage of the great geological and morphological conditions of the area as best as possible. The Pitsilia area’s aforementioned conditions and especially the Madari mountain where our winery is primarily located give us the ability to successfully cultivate our indigenous, international and Greek varieties such as Mavro, Maratheftiko, Xynisteri, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Assyrtiko, and expand the local oenophile public’s choices. The future plan for the business is to keep up the hard work and one day expand the amount of the production based on the capacity of the vineyard, but I prefer taking one step at a time.

Who is your favorite wine personality? Why?

CV: My favourite wine personality is Dr. Richard Smart, the Australian viticulturist whose aid has provided a real breakthrough in numerous aspects of modern viticulture at an international level. He is the creator and the inspirer of many modern trellis systems and scientifically proven ways of growth management and quality improvement of the crop. 

Of course, your all-time favourite island wine?

CV: In a Mediterranean island like Cyprus, with high temperatures throughout the year and an extended summer period, I would strongly recommend white and rosé wines with a light and fruity flavour. They can easily replace summer cocktails that are often consumed during the summer. I wouldn’t say no to a light red wine, even if it’s mainly imported to Cyprus because, as we all know, the variety of local red wines is much more intense that the ones imported, but there is always room for exceptions to the rule.

You can reach Christos via Facebook and Instagram.

[Said Subject]

Imagine spending two and a half hours over a fancy steak dinner talking about one of your favourite subjects with friendly and garrulous people who share your passion and (better yet) have barrels of knowledge on said subject that effortlessly make up for your amateuresque delusions of grandeur. 

In Cyprus, for example, said subject (I've come to reckon) could be how your football team is being robbed every weekend, German cars, French and Italian handbags, the struggling economy, grilling pig to succulent perfection, real estate horror stories, and erasing that stubborn line penciled in years ago in green that separates the panhandle from the wok. Here, everyone is an expert on any or all of said subjects; no matter who you speak to, they will always know more than you do and let you know in screams.

I was fortunate enough to spend the evening of November 3rd chatting with Carob Mill Restaurants' sommelier Panayiotis Daniel and consultant, WSET instructor and Greek wine blogger Gregory Michailos during Laiko Cosmos Trading's private dinner to promote Costas Lazarides wines in Cyprus. The event, held at Fogo & Brasa Churrascaria in Nicosia, gathered journalists, chefs and other wine personalities to sample latest vintages as matched with tasty food by the Brazilian eatery's chefs and receive ample information from Gregory and Chariton Maronikolakis, Costas Lazarides' PR & Marketing Manager, on the winery, its history and wine portfolio. 

Gregory Addressing the Crowd

Following this dinner, I gained a newfound appreciation for Costas Lazarides' wines. I hadn't tasted them in ages given my current infatuation with Cyprus, Naoussa and Santorini, and came out impressed. What really struck a chord with my palate was the high level of consistency; across the board, all wines were well-made, balanced, refined and quite tasty.

Starting with the highly aromatic, tropical-ish and thirst-quenching 2015 Amethystos White (a 85% Sauvignon Blanc & 15% Assyrtiko blend), the wines that evening shone bright. In my opinion, some of the highlights included the 2015 Assyrtiko from Drama, a less mineral, less acidic yet fuller expression of Greece's darling variety with lovely hints of stone fruit and white flowers, and the 2013 Amethystos Red, a Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (20%) and Agiorgitiko (10%) blend, a wine still in its infancy with notes of black forest fruit, plums, sweet spice, coffee and green peppers that showed plenty of unbridled potential.

Veggie Risotto with Assyrtiko

All this segued into the star of the night and the winery's pride and joy: the 2008 Cava Amethystos, a 100% Cabernet Franc that is well structured and round and carries with it aromas of red berries, herbs and sweet spice. In the past, this wine used to be primarily made with Cabernet Sauvignon; however, as shared that night by Gregory, once acclaimed Bordeaux oenologist Michel Rolland laid eyes on Costas Lazarides' Cabernet Franc vineyards ("...some of the best in all of Europe..."), he motivated the winery in his position as consultant to scrap the Sauvignon in favour of the Franc.

One item is left pending from my night with the Costas Lazarides crew. Chariton mentioned in passing that one of his favourite wines in the company's portfolio is the Chateau Julia Refosco Agiorgitiko blend, a bottling that is not currently imported by Laiko Cosmos and that sounds awfully intriguing given the distinct combination of Greek and Italian varieties. Maybe that merits a trip to Northern Greece to pay them a visit, share another steak dinner and fill up the tank with yet more lengthy and entertaining conversations on my favourite said subject.

In Our Element

Cellar at Zambartas Wineries

As a (pseudo) wine blogger, I am not industrious enough to visit and write about The Rock's wineries on a semi-regular basis. Financial constraints, the size of my liver and The Wife, Ph.D.'s indecisiveness put a damper on any desire I might have to hit the winding roads each weekend, tour a handful and load up my station wagon with cases of Xynisteri, Maratheftiko and Shiraz. Once in a while, though, my bullheadedness barrels through and The Wife, Ph.D. can only nod as I lead her up the mountain into the arms of a local winemaker.

So in an obvious lapse of parental judgment, the stage was set a few weeks ago for Little Miss Despot's first winery visit—a long drive to Zambartas Winery, one of The Rock's best and most consistent wineries, a didactic presentation on wine-making, a tasting of six excellent wines, great conversation, and multiple breastfeeding and diaper changing sessions in the back seat of my soccer mom car. My Zolpidem Supplier, Radio Free Cyprus and Cousin #2, brave enough to join us on our adventure, can attest to the stink that emanated from inside our vehicle.

A piece by Hambis in the tasting mezzanine

The Dijon-mustard-toned winery (which doubles as Mr. Akis Zambartas' residence) sits at the edge of Ayios Amvrosios, a village just northwest of Limassol, and overlooks a sprawl of vineyards and hills. What first captures your attention upon walking in is the oenologist's wonderful collection of engravings by his close friend and noted Cypriot artist Hambis Tsangaris decorating its walls. A touching portrait of Mr. Zambartas hangs as centerpiece on a living room wall and several other pieces are showcased on the metallic stairwell that descends into the tasting and vinification areas. The tasting room, a welcome addition since my last visit pre-blog, is a modern yet warm mezzanine with shiny red cabinets for storage, lacquered barrels topped with clear glass as bars, and a long plastic white table to accommodate the imbibers. From the balcony, one can peer down and see the many steel fermentation tanks, each with its own humorous moniker, standing in a row like shiny, metallic watchtowers. Overall, the winery's facilities are not extravagant and might convince the foolish and/or uninitiated (like Radio Free Cyprus and myself) that all one needs to make good wine is a medium-sized warehouse and some start-up capital to buy the necessary equipment. And that's precisely why my nous is better suited to "write" (cough, cough) than to keep a business afloat.

Akis Zambartas in his element!

Mr. Zambartas, former winemaker and general manager at KEO, led us downstairs for the educational component of the tour, a detailed explanation on the agricultural, biological and chemical processes involved in wine-making. Following an informative (chemists rejoice!) and engaging 25-minute session, we headed back upstairs to the tasting mezzanine where wine glasses and a simple white bread and cheese platter awaited. The Zambartas lineup consists of two whites, one rose and three reds, each among the best of their kind on The Rock. The 2012 Zambartas Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend recalled grapefruits, pears and a touch of white flowers on the nose and had a bewildering hint of spicy Turkish  Cypriot delight and honey on the palate. The 2012 Zambartas Rose, a wine which I have waxed ecstatic about in the past, is as good as ever, likewise the 2011 Zambartas Maratheftiko, a favorite of mine, and the 2011 Shiraz Lefkada, arguably Zambartas's most refined, powerful and intriguing wine. The 2011 Zambartas Epicurean, a Merlot and Lefkada blend, though, surprised me the most. This wine's 2010 vintage combined Maratheftiko, Merlot, Shiraz and Lefkada and, in my opinion, paled in comparison to the new-and-improved bottling which had interesting plum and dark forest fruit notes and was a lot more focused, leaner and elegant.

L.M.D. in her element?

Even though Marcos Zambartas, the younger half of the wine-making team and latest interviewee on the blog's "Case of Questions," was busy tending the vines, Mr. Zambartas and Marleen Brouwer, the winery's social media, P.R. and marketing machine, sat with us and discussed what the future beholds for the family business. Like Tsiakkas and Kyperounda wineries, a high-quality Commandaria is in the works (barrel aging right now!) and should be released in 2014. Furthermore, simple and affordable red and white wines will soon be for sale in restaurants and hotels, a clear sign of the industry's need to cater to tourists and the lighter wallet during these times of recession. Overall, our hosts' graciousness, hospitality and vats of knowledge, combined with the inviting setting, make Zambartas Winery an ideal place to learn about and taste some of Cyprus' best wines.

On our way out, I purchased half a case of wine, including two bottles of the Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc blend as a puppy treat for The Wife, Ph.D., being such a good sport. We stopped at the beautiful Apokryfo Traditional Houses in Lofou for lunch at Agrino Restaurant (unfortunately overrated!) and then rushed back to Nicosia before Little Miss Despot woke up, begging once again for wine-spiked milk and a wet cotton-ball scrub down. For better or for worse, this is our new element.

Where's All The Si-Silliness Gone?

Allow me to be serious for once in my life. All I hope is that this very brief overview of Nero d'Avola, Sicily's premier red indigenous grape, is not overbearingly pedantic. Or taken over by one hefty paragraph lifted from a revered wine publication since I have never set foot on what I assume is a lovely Italian rock occasionally run asunder by slick-haired mobsters and tempestuous old ladies swinging ratty brooms at immature miscreants for stealing over-sized undergarments that have been hung out to dry.

According to Decanter's March 2012 issue and its sponsored guide on Sicily (pages 70 through 84),

2008 Zisola "Doppiozeta"

"It's the [island's] reds...that have captured the interest of an international market. Nero d'Avola became fashionable in the 1990s, and for good reason. Its bright cherry and plum fruit can be delightful, and more serious, oak-aged versions can have an appealing savoury intensity and lush texture...The heartland of Nero d'Avola is the region north of the coastal town of Agrigento, although Noto in the southeast is often thought to produce the finest and best quality."

The two excellent Sicilian wines I tasted along with The Wife, Ph.D., and My Zolpidem Supplier came from the Zisola Mazzei Estate located in Noto and can be purchased at Cava Inon Pnevmata in Nicosia.

2009 Zisola Mazzei Sicilia IGT (Nero D'Avola) - Nose recalls cherries, raspberries, powdered chocolate, pepper and some greenness. A meaty wine of medium length with juicy tannins and black cherry undertones. 87/100.

2008 Zisola "Doppiozeta" Noto Rosso DOC (60% Nero D'Avola, 30% Syrah and 10% Cabernet Franc) - Leathery, smoked meats, red fruit, vegetables and loads of spice come together in a powerful nose. Some chocolate and vanilla and fantastic meatiness through the mid-palate. Sweet, caramel-like finish. I have another bottle which I will age for a year or two or three and see what's up then. 90/100.

Pastel Pink Mummies

The Wife, Ph.D.'s Latest Nightmare

One morning a few months ago The Wife, Ph.D., and I ran out of toilet paper. Colorful IKEA napkins and a couple packs of pocket-sized tissues were on standby just in case I couldn't track down extra-soft, fragrant and medicinal rolls at the convenience store just two blocks from our apartment. The selection wasn't remarkable, but a six-pack of pastel pink toilet paper printed with evenly distributed strawberries or dandelions (depending on the angle) caught my attention with its "Buy One, Get One Free" seduction ploy. Maybe it was the paper's shades of creamy-beetroot-and-mayonnaise salad that seduced me or the fact that deep down I stalk all types of bargains. The Wife, Ph.D., took one look at the puffy tubes and for a minute I feared she would wrap me in all that pink paper during my sleep, turning me into a flowered mummy Michael Kors would have been proud of calling his own creation. Her distaste for pink TP sparked my own revelation—Cyprus rosé season was upon us.

In the past, rosé wines never really rocked my kayak. However, as I sampled more and more of The Rock's rosé, the diverse bottlings made both with local and foreign varieties grew on me and have become a spring and summer staple chez nous. Unlike the toilet paper, The Wife, Ph.D., loves their fruitiness and freshness, and I agree with my friend AK-47 when he says that it's one of the better accompaniments to the schizophrenic spread—from crisp greens to grilled meats to saucy stews—known as Cyprus meze. Some bottles—the Zambartas rosé made of Cabernet Franc and Lefkada comes to mind—have become cult-classics, selling out quicker than the time it takes me to mock The Wife, Ph.D., on these pages. Besides Commandaria, I have no hesitation whatsoever asserting that, across-the-board, rosés are the best wines being produced on The Rock.

2011 Aes Ambelis Rosé (Maratheftiko & Lefkada)

Consumers, as well as the international and local press, seem to think alike. When I spoke to Theodoros Fikardos of Fikardos Winery at last year's Limassol Wine Festival, he pointed out that his clients' most beloved wines are his dry and medium rosés, Iocasti and Valentina. Furthermore, wine journalist Yiannos Constantinou extols on the virtues of The Rock's rosés throughout his Cyprus Wine Guide, probably the leading book on Cyprus wines. Likewise, year in, year out, Angela Muir, regional chair for Central & Eastern Europe in the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), highly recommends these wines to visitors but warns consumers to stick to the current year's vintage to enjoy maximum freshness and flavor. Personally, I find it mind-boggling that (last time I checked) The Mall's Carrefour still shelved many bottles of the 2007 (?!?) Sodap Kamantarena rosé, a wine that's definitely way past its prime and might taste like some of the really old plonk I uncorked as a joke with My Zolpidem Supplier one merry Sunday morning. This oversight is a true pity since this wine's 2010 vintage won a Silver Medal at last year's DWWA. 

What's great about The Rock's rosés is that wineries are crafting them with many different varieties, creating a wide array of distinct aromas, flavor profiles and vibrant hues. Meant to be drank young, these playful wines explode upon being uncorked with the scent of raspberries, cherries, cranberries, strawberries, pomegranate, red roses, violets and/or wild herbs, among others. To the palate, the drier ones are fresh, crisp and abundantly acidic, while those with some residual sugar (off-dry) feel weightier yet remain thirst-quenching when served at a temperature between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius. Ultimately, they are not ultra-complex but they do a fine job once the scorching heat rolls in and you spend your afternoons preparing asparagus omelets with the sidewalk as a skillet. Keep in mind that not all Cyprus rosés are great but lately I haven't come across a disappointing bottle. Besides the aforementioned, some of my favorites are Aes Ambelis (Maratheftiko & Lefkada), Ezousa (Maratheftiko) and Hadjiantonas (Cabernet Sauvignon & Shiraz). Additionally, people I trust—Cousin #2 and Radio Free Cyprus—rave about Tsangarides Winery's rosé (Shiraz), a wine I have not had the good fortune to try. The day I do, though, rest assured I will spill some all over a white tablecloth and force The Wife, Ph.D. to pat the splotches dry with some sea salt and bargain toilet paper.

2011 Aes Ambelis Rose (Maratheftiko & Lefkada) - I chose this wine to launch our humble abode's 2012 rosé season. Vibrant aroma of roses, strawberry and pomegranate. Candied strawberries and other red berries on the palate. Syrupy with good length and a nice lingering sweetness. 87/100.

2011 Zambartas Rose (Lefkada & Cabernet Franc) - Lovely red fruit (cranberry and pomegranate) on the nose with just a hint of sweetness. Bright red fruit (red apple?) throughout the palate with a tangy finish. Good acidity but not as remarkable as past years' vintages. 86/100.

2011 Tsangarides Rose (Shiraz) - Tame nose with hints of sour cherries and cranberry. Dry to the mouth with notes of raspberry and a lively acidity. In my opinion, lacked some flavor and length. 85/100.

Off The Rock: Vienna

Day One: Coffee Among Ghosts

Melange at Cafe Museum

Vienna's coffee culture is undoubtedly the best in Europe. Give me a second to take cover from Italian, Dutch and Greek gunfire. Okay, I think they've stopped aiming for my nether regions.

Along with Double Trouble, who became my partner-in-crime for the daylight portion of my sojourn in Vienna, we hit up as many historical coffee shops as possible without sacrificing valuable time that'd be better spent visiting museums and speed-walking our way through downtown's cobble-stoned streets. We gulped a Wiener melange at Cafe Museum—only a few hundred meters away from The Secession building—and occupied a red sofa probably once used by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele (my new favorite painter) and Koloman "My Name's Unfortunate" Moser. A string quartet serenaded us with waltzes at Cafe Bräunerhof, an old stomping grounds for Austria's literary bad boy, Thomas Bernhard. We shared a corner booth at the seriously hip Cafe Drechsler and then made our way to the cozy and bohemian Cafe Hawelka, where, if you have nothing better to do with your money, you can purchase a twelve Euro poster of its centenarian owner Leopold Hawelka and his late wife Josefine posing in full cafe regalia. Finally, this time accompanied too by The Wife, Ph.D., we split a Sachertorte and Apfelstrudel at Cafe Frauenhuber, one of Vienna's oldest coffeehouses that—trump this, Europe—saw live performances by both Mozart and Beethoven towards the end of the 18th century. After all that coffee and quality time among preeminent ghosts and tuxedoed waiters, the only thing left to do was to switch to wine.

2011 Vienna "Christkindlmärkte" @ City Hall Glühwein - Served piping hot in a tacky mug I brought back (probably like thousands of lame tourists) to The Rock. Cuddly aromas of cloves, vanilla, cinnamon, cherries and oranges. Had two mugs and could've kept going if it hadn't been for The Wife, Ph.D. who cut off both Double Trouble and me. Off-the-charts rating given the setting and evening chill factor. 

Day Two: Sunday With McCoy 

Near Stephansplatz

Our first dance as a couple was to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman's rendition of Irving Berlin's "They Say It's Wonderful." My studio apartment in La Jolla was filthy that night. An empty case of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was staggered across the kitchen floor like fallen bowling pins. Warm pisco sour coated the sides of my blender and patches of the white counter. A couple loads of dirty laundry spilled out of a rattan basket next to the radiator and the beige carpet needed vacuuming, its creases revealing mysterious signs of life. Nonetheless, we were oblivious to the staleness of our surroundings and we swayed our bodies like two buoys in calm waters and we leaned into each other as if we had never heard truer words..."they say that falling in love is wonderful"... than those suavely being trickled out by Hartman.

McCoy Tyner was the pianist on that recording, and, at the ripe young age of 73, performed that Sunday night in Vienna at Porgy & Bess, a former X-rated movie theater converted into a world-class jazz venue. The Wife, Ph.D., and I hid behind a bar, barely within view of the stage, where we drank Austrian red, nibbled on some tapas and became possessed by the legend's music. After a few instrumental pieces, Jose James, an up-and-coming jazz vocalist, joined McCoy and broke out several Coltrane and Hartman classics including "You Are Too Beautiful." Only then did I inform The Wife, Ph.D., that the show was a tribute to their music and reminded her of that romantic dance almost eight years ago. She gave me a blank stare and wondered out loud whether the owners had properly disinfected the joint before going from screening ass to hosting brass.

2010 Günter & Regina Triebaumer Blaunfränkish - Red currants, some cherries and plums. What stuns, though, is an explosion of black pepper—chillies even—towards the mid-palate. Rounded out nicely by a sour cherry finish. Short and medium bodied wine. 86/100. 

Day Three: Gustav Klimt's The Kiss (or The Dream of Every College Girl) 

Mulled Wine and Mug

Back in college, I would peruse poster sales for revolutionary art and inevitably stumble upon a reproduction of Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. I pictured young coeds buying a copy of the Austrian's masterpiece to decorate their candle-scented rooms. They'd then stare at it for eons and daydream of Prince Charming—maybe the third-string quarterback or the comical boss-man of an A cappella ensemble—tenderly engulfing them with a golden blanket and kissing them goodnight under a bed of flowers. Very romantic and very beautiful but nothing like the Austrian artist's Death and Life, which elicits similar though less sexual emotions as The Kiss but includes a stark reminder that death is right around the corner waiting to consume us. I sat before both—the former at the Belvedere, the latter at Leopold Museum—and must admit the latter's balance between dark and light sold me on it. In my book, a hint of darkness is always good. Keeps things real, you know?

2009 Giuseppe Gabbas Cannonau di Sardegna (Grenache) "LiLLovè" - Red fruit (raspberries and cherries), leather, tobacco, spice and a herbal (parsley) finish. Surprisingly light bodied, smooth and simple, perfect accompaniment for our pizza at Regina Margherita. 14.5% alcohol is hardly discernible. Great wine and our first from the Italian rock of Sardinia. 89/100.

2007 Casa Valduga Cabernet Franc (Serra Gaucha, Brazil) - Red fruit, cinnamon and vanilla, soil or fertilizer and a hint of green beans. Drinkable with mild tannins but too much oak for my taste. 84/100.