Full of Wonder meets Italian armpits and heels

Jan 26th, 2014 Jayne Pearce Consume & Educate

This months Wines & Spines gathering brought together the combined efforts of a laugh and cry children’s book with two Italian wines. ‘Wonder’ by R.J Palacio is a poignant story of a boy with a facial anomaly struggling with being new and different when he starts school at 5th grade.

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The story sparked off a discussion about the social difficulties students face at school and the consequential pressures of seeking popularity. Human kindness is threaded throughout the story, particularly with the application of an inspirational teacher’s precept: “When given the choice of being right or being kind, choose kind.” I’d love to be able to find a way to tie this profound quote to the two wines tasted, but it would be tenuous at best. Sometimes a glass of wine is just about the wine when it’s not being matched with food, music and even books which I’ve attempted to do with previous W&S blog posts.

The white Janus Pinot Grigio 2012 Veneto - geographically called the armpit of Italy ($9.49 Angel price @ Naked Wines) and the red Sangiovese/Negroamaro 2012 from Puglia - geographically the heel ($10.49 Angel price @ Naked wines) provided a relaxing ambience for an entertaining book review.

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The Pinot Grigio is a crisp dry style with a touch of almond on the palate. The alcohol was refreshingly light making this a good aperitif wine although the bottle I opened was sadly slightly oxidised. The Sangiovese/Negroamaro had a very pleasing nose with hints of herbaceous. Cherry was relatively abundant in the mouth but the fruit had a sharp over-extracted way to it with sour and harsh tannins dominating.

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Despite this, given the price tag, it was a good opportunity to try this blend and I’m all for experimentation and the chance to uncover potentially a _wonder_ful wine. There, I said the connection would be tenuous and I wasn’t wrong.

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