Today's Sponsor
 California Wine Club
Enter our raffle to win Monterey County's 9th Annual Great Wine Escape Weekend!
www.cawineclub.com

In This Issue
 Sangue di Giuda "Judas's Blood"? How in the world did a frothy little Northern Italian party wine get a name like that?
 Bruno Verdi 2004 "Sangue di Giuda" "Paradiso" Oltrepò Pavese ($11.99) Light, fizzy and off-dry, this charming little wine carries a back-story as offbeat as its grapes.
Administrivia Change E-mail address, frequency, format or unsubscribe.

 Learn about our RSS Feed

Sangue di Giuda

One of the most harmlessly perverse joys of wine for me, as regular readers will surely know by now, is the pleasure of discovering another offbeat and unusual wine, one that comes from an exotic grape or region, delivers an unexpected aroma and flavor profile, or carries a charming story.

Today's wine hits the trifecta: This odd but appealing Northern Italian red ticks off every one of those criteria. It comes from the little-known region Oltrepò Pavese ("From Pavia on the far side of the Po") ... it's made, mostly, from the seldom-seen grapes Croatina ("The Little Croatian Girl") and Rara Uva (literally, "Rare Grape") ... and get this for a story: Its name, Sangue di Giuda, recalls Judas, the 13th apostle who, according to the Gospel story, betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

"Judas's Blood"? What kind of a wine name is that!

Enrica Verdi, with Azienda Bruno Verdi, the seven-generation family producer of today's featured wine, responded (in English, thankfully) to my E-mail question: "Local legend has it that the name ... was given by friars who disapproved of its stimulating and aphrodisiac effects. Today, Sangue di Giuda is enjoyed as a country wine but still - so it’s said - enjoy its more 'exciting' attributes!"

Don't look for an alcoholic knockout effect from Sangue di Giuda, though. This wine draws its party style not from full body or strength but from a light (7.5 percent alcohol), slightly sweet and frothy character that invites quaffing, laughing and maybe a round or two of karaoke.

And there's no need to let the gory name nor the story of Judas's betrayal get you down: This odd but amiable little wine comes from a vineyard named ... Paradiso.

TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE
If you'd like to ask a question or comment on today's topic (or any other wine-related subject), you'll find a round-table online discussion in our interactive Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, where you're always welcome to join in the conversations about wine.
http://www.myspeakerscorner.com/forum/index.phtml?fn=1&tid=66998&mid=575991

If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.

PRINT OUT TODAY'S ARTICLE
Here's a simply formatted copy of today's Wine Advisor, designed to be printed out for your scrapbook or file or downloaded to your PDA or other wireless device.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor1/print051005.html


Sangue di Giuda Bruno Verdi 2004 "Sangue di Giuda" "Paradiso" Oltrepò Pavese ($11.99)

Very dark reddish-purple, almost black; a line of bubbles circles the edge of the glass. Intriguing sweet dried-fruit aromas are reminiscent of spice cake, an impression borne out by a flavor that's both sweet and tart, with dried-fruit and spice character that follows the nose, a gentle prickle on the tongue and a hint of hot cinnamon candies in the finish. Odd but intriguing. I suggest serving it slightly chilled. U.S. importer: Rosenthal Wine merchant, NYC. (Sept. 16, 2005)

FOOD MATCH: Like the Lambrusco that it somewhat resembles, this light and slightly sweet wine invites a non-traditional match with hot-and-spicy fare. It paired beautifully with a Cajun-style sausage and seafood gumbo.

VALUE: No qualms at all about this unusual and intriguing wine at the $12 price point.

WHEN TO DRINK: Its fresh, frothy fruit is best enjoyed while the wine is young. Drink it up this year, then look for the 2005.

WEB LINK:
Bruno Verdi has an in-depth and informative site about the family winery, its history, vineyards and wines, online in Italian and English. Here's the English-language home page:
http://www.ete.it/50z00001.php3?idart=z1&area=verdibruno
For quick access, the U.S. importer has similar information in English plain-text format:
http://www.madrose.com/verdiprint.html

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
This is another from a case of affordable wines that I bought from New York's Chambers Street Wines, where they specialize in offbeat wines of value. Check
http://www.chambersstwines.com/
and use the "Search for Items" link near the bottom of the page to search for "Verdi." ("Giuda" won't bring it up due to a misspelling in the database.)

To find other vendors for Bruno Verdi wines, check the databases on Wine-Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Bruno%2bVerdi/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP


SUBSCRIBE:
 WineLoversPage.com RSS Feed (free) XML
 30 Second Wine Advisor, daily or weekly (free)
 Wine Advisor FoodLetter, Thursdays (free)
 Wine Advisor Premium Edition, alternate Tuesdays ($24/year)

ARCHIVES:
For all past editions, click here

CONTACT US
E-mail: wine@wineloverspage.com

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:
For information, E-mail wine@wineloverspage.com


Administrivia

To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record.

We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com

All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2005
Copyright 2005 by Robin Garr. All rights reserved.

Subscribe to the 30 Second Wine Advisor

Wine Advisor archives