RICHARD GOODINE
Culinary & Wine Ambassador

Fine Wines and Creating Memories

I was fortunate enough this year to spend a fantastic Father's Day weekend on Galiano Island hanging out with my three grown sons. A fabulous weekend of golfing, goofing around, playing games, and of course eating. Hot summer days call for a differ- ent approach to food. Food that's barbecued, grilled, and often savoury. The type of food that I always jokingly say reminds us of our primitive instinct of eating outdoors.

What does one drink when you're eating corn on the cob, grilled pork chops with chimichurri, lamb sausages, and chicken kebabs in a rojo sauce?

I brought four interesting wines with me for the weekend that all ended up being standouts for different reasons. They're also unique wines that probably many of you have never tried, but I highly recommend giving them a chance.

Europeans, and especially Italians, have long known that food and wine are synonymous. And the wines I brought along have that same kind of personality, distinctive enough to match those big barbecue flavours, but with enough character to stand right up against them too.

The first two wines are both from the central part of Italy known as Emilia Romagna. Many will call this area the belly of Italy be- cause of the great food. You'll know it for its Parmigiano Reggia- no cheese for sure. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend grabbing a bottle of Lambrusco the next time you're planning on drinking wine in your backyard. The two distinctive styles tasted on this particular day are unique enough that one stands out over the other for different reasons, depending on your palate.

On the particular day that I opened Lambrusco Reggiano, it was definitely hot and sunny. I wasn't sure how it would be received by my sons, but it was extremely well liked. Bright fruit, the most per- fect subtle hint of sweetness, and just enough fizz to make this an incredible sipper. It's so easy drinking and definitely the type of wine that makes you want another glass. This may become my official summer wine. If you like classically made sangria but don't want to make the effort, you will love this one.

MEDICI ERMETE LAMBRUSCO REGGIANO
SUPPLIER: Medici Ermete
AREA OF PRODUCTION: Emilia Romagna, ITALY
GRAPES: 100% Lambrusco Salamino
ALC/VOL: 11.5%

Concerto is the world’s first single vine- yard vintage Lambrusco. A sparkling dry red wine, its lively bubbles are achieved through natural fermentation. Grapes from the prestigious Tenuta La Rampa- ta vineyard are farmed organically on Cordone Speronato (cordon trained and spur pruned) vines in clay soil with highly limited yields.

Inky dark-violet notes, both fresh and dried, dominate the nose, accompanied by an abundance of plum and blackberry aromas. On the palate, rich, succulent, and mouthwatering black cherries and currants take centre stage, creating a wine that truly tastes of zippy acidity and fine tannins providing a well-balanced structure, making this Lambrusco de- lightful and engaging. – Jeff Porter

LAMBRUSCO REGGIANO FRIZZANTE MEDICI ERMETE CONCERTO ORGANIC
SUPPLIER: Medici Ermete
AREA OF PRODUCTION: Emilia Romagna, ITALY
GRAPES: Lambrusco
ALC/VOL: 8.5%
SUGAR: 50 g/l.
ACIDITY: 7.50 g/l.

This is the drier of the two, but still very pleasant. Bright red fruit, including some plum characteristics, with exceptional savoury notes and hints of pepper. The effervescence together with the tannin at first can be a bit unique, but it leads to a wine that's soft, round, and easy drink- ing, with a pretty serious mouth feel.Fan- tastic with grilled meats and can easily stand up to a peppercorn sauce or spice.

Both of these wines were standouts, and their unique character led to some inter- esting discussion. At the end of the day, if you're a red wine drinker, you're a red wine drinker.

Here are two fabulous wines that both come from the same re- gion of Puglia (often called the heel of Italy’s boot shape) and from a producer called Lucarelli. These are exceptional value wines, and they always stand out to me as easy decisions and here are great similarities between the two, but there are enough differ- ences that you'll be satisfied by buying one of each and compar- ing them throughout the night.

NEGROAMARO PUGLIA IGT LUCCARELLI
SUPPLIER: Luccarelli
AREA OF PRODUCTION: Puglia, ITALY
GRAPES: 100% Negroamaro
AGING: Few weeks in stainless steel ALC/VOL: 13.5%

Value, jammy, delicious. Made from one of southern Italy’s native varieties, this Negroamaro offers great value. The aro- mas are intoxicating; sweet black cher- ries, black raspberry jam, fragrant roses and violets along with sarsaparilla. It is delicious and exceedingly approachable; generous fruit, supple weight and juicy demeanor. Pleasantly rustic, just enough to make it more interesting, and while straightforward, is not simplistic. Pair with stuffed eggplant, pizza, burgers or your favourite hearty pasta. 

For years, there have been discussions about Primitivo being the zinfandel of Italy. However, if you used to drink those jammy Zins from California, this will definitely surprise you. It's rich and fruity with lots of character, but still great structure, tannin, and dryness that make it excellent when served with meats.

PRIMITIVO PUGLIA IGT 2018 LUCCARELLI
SUPPLIER: Luccarelli
AREA OF PRODUCTION: Puglia, ITALY
GRAPES: 100% Primitivo
AGING: Few weeks in stainless steel ALC/VOL: 14%

Plush, charming, delicious. This south- ern Italian red varietal is one of Southern Italy’s most important grapes; it is also the father of California’s stalwart, Zinfan- del. It front-loads cherry jam and sweet plummy aromas, pipe tobacco and lico- rice with plenty of vanilla. The palate is plush with generous but juicy fruit. It is charming, expressive, and delicious from start to finish.

Don't be fooled by the translation of Negroamaro. It literally means black and bitter, but there is nothing bitter about this wine. It has rich, ripe fruit of dark berries and plum that lead to a palate that's savory, perfectly balanced, and the type of acidity that says, “please bring food.” These two dry reds are exceptional value, and you will not be disappointed by buying either of them.

Luccarelli is one of the most famous and successful wineries in Apulia – south Italy. The strength of its wines comes from the mastery of measuring the three main elements of the wine tra- dition in Salento: sun, sea, passion. The winery invests heavily in know-how, both in brand-new and up-to-date technology, as well as in highly qualified and experienced personnel. The winemakers are young and motivated, yet skilled with an international expe- rience abroad in the most important and advanced wineries of the world. As a memorable father - sons weekend comes to an end – a weekend of golf, dinner, fine wines and background music by Don Henley “The Boys of Summer”, I find myself thinking about these wines the same way I think about how summer fades, but the memories created will stick around long after it's gone.

As mentioned earlier, the four wines I chose to share with my sons all ended up being standouts for different reasons. They're also unique wines that probably many of you have never tried, but I highly recommend giving them a chance. I can't recommend enough that you break outside the norm and try these unique wines for yourself.