Here’s the scene- it’s Christmas Eve, Moxie is making her grandmother’s famous Holiday Crunch for dinner (a pasta casserole) and I am having to pick between four different bottles to try. Eenie meenie moe and voila- the Vino Rosso beats the Barolo, the Gigondas and the Cab Franc.

No idea what the blend is until I pour the wine, it’s gotta be a Sangiovese. Light purple, totally see through and obviously Italian. The nose gives me muted cherry, raspberry and cedar plank. On the palate it is very soft and easy drinking. Strawberry and cherry give it away. Very little tannin make this super light weight and easy without any astringency or acid. The mid palate is a red fruit melange plus some plum that takes me to the short lived finish. Right at the very end I sense some acidity taking hold, but it’s not jaw dropping. A tasty wine that will go well with our pasta dish which normally gets smothered in hot sauce. 86 points and 2 stars for this $19 charmer. Drink now. Salut….