This week’s pick is another wine from Italy. What can I say, we love Italian wine and Italy offers some great values. Recently, we purchased a couple of bottles from this winery at a steal (purchased for $5.99 at the Wine House). While we liked both bottles, the “Violante” from Azienda Vinicola Rivera was our favorite. In this wine, the second and third generation winemakers from Puglia’s Azienda Vinicola Rivera’s goal was to highlight the violets and make the wine approachable in its youth. We think that they were successful.
The winemakers at the Vinicola Rivera strive to build a portfolio of wines from the Southern Region of Pugia (think heel of Italy). This portfolio offers a variety of white, red and rose wines from native Puglian grapes. These wines produced are both 100% varietal or a blend of the native Puglian grapes. This week’s wine is made from 100% Nero di Troia grapes.
Visually, the Vinicola “Rivera” Violante was clear with a medium ruby color. On the nose, the wine was developing with moderate aromas of cherry, plum, raspberry, strawberry and violets. On the palate, the wine had a medium acidity, medium plus tannin (and fairly drying), medium body, medium plus alcohol, medium plus intensity of jammy cherry and plum with violets and earth. Medium plus to long finish. Good to very good wine. I really liked it and the hubby liked it too.
