Wine Wednesday: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Econo Boy and I will, in all likelihood, not be taking an immediate honeymoon. Much as we'd love to jet off to some exotic locale right after the wedding, scheduling-wise it just doesn't make sense for us. Instead, we've promised ourselves some sort of six-month or one-year anniversary trip.

If we were planning a honeymoon, I would push hard for a week of wine tasting in Italy, home of some of my favorite wines. Recently, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brechter of the Wall Street Journal wrote a column on great bargain-priced wines, and mentioned Italy's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo reds as a good bet:

"Dollar for dollar, we had few wines in 2008 that were as consistently charming as Italy's Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Whenever you are looking for a pleasant red that will be easy to drink over food and conversation, keep this name in mind."

Of course, Econo Boy and I had to try one, and our first, the Gianni Masciarelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2005, was lovely! It was fruity without being heavy, subtle and light without being boring, and a definite contender for the wedding's "light red" slot.

Image from www.shoppersvineyard.com

I cannot claim expertise on Montepulciano d'Abruzzo based on one bottle, but I will definitely be trying more!