Fiat Vino

Can you say magnum baby? We finally cracked this for the two year old's birthday party. It was crisp and bubbly and balanced and complex all at the same time. J makes a fine sparkler.

Beautiful straw color. Apple, vanilla, peach, full bodied, new world (N Zed), buttery with a nice acidic zing that brings it all in balance. Should go well with our fish pie.

I was headed for the bargain burgundy but Lady Odd Bins up sold me by a pound and I'm glad she did. Nice balanced wine with subtle but present fruit and strong mineral tones and a touch of oak. Definitely worth going back to.

I've had and been impressed with a few other Mosswood wines from down under, most notably their Pinot noir. This is a Bordeaux blend. A bit young and tannic. I didn't do it any favors by popping and pouring and mismatching it with my dinner selection (chicken Marsala) but it gets two big thumbs up for the name, which my wife Amy particularly liked.

As I was standing in the Pinot Noir section at Total Wine talking with the guy, a woman interrupted us in order to squeeze through and grab two bottles of this. She knew exactly what she came for. As she hustled away I asked her about it, she replied, "it's a staple at our house." Done deal. I grabbed one. For $12, this is another sweet deal. It is a very European style Pinot. Light, mineraly, and slightly musky. You don't see many of these lighter ones coming from California. People want to lay on the oak and let the fruit over ripen into a Cab in a bottle with hips. Don't call me a hater, I like those too. But sometimes you just want a more mellow glass to play nice with a meatball sandwich on a Thursday night.

Made with the Nebbiolo grape which I am growing to like a lot. Nice fruit and medium body akin to Pinot noir but with more tannins and bit of Italian leathery dirt. Not the finest wine but fir under £10 this one did the trick.