NO CHIANTI
If you want to have some Italian dish and don’t want to enter into a cliché or you want to be more creative in the wine selection here are 3 wines that are more interesting than the trusted and well known Chianti
Barbera d Alba – Great dry red wine, that have a very good deep flavor and with the perfect acidity for those tomato dishes, it has a fruity flavor that balances the perfect tannins, even have that great raspberry and cherry flavor in the palate that goes well with any meat and cheese that you used in your typical Italian dishes, also goes great with some sea food, the advantage of this wine is that is that you have more intense flavor that with a Chianti, and much less acidity, and the price point is very similar.
Corvina – If you wanted to try the famous Amarone wine, but you don’t want to break the bank, this is the wine for you, it’s made with the same grape variety, it has an amazing complexity, it has that peppercorn flavor profile that you find in the Shiraz, and the cherry flavor that goes very well with anything, it’s a very intense dry red wine that needs to be aged and decanted, but if you decanted the wine for 30 minutes you will find a gem, and it will elevate any dinner to the next level.
Montepulciano – everyone needs a fun wine, a wine that you can open without any guilt in any occasion from a nice steak Florentina to a frozen pizza in a Wednesday night, this wine has a perfect acidity that goes well with any fatty food, and has an amazing plum flavor, woody and blackberry makes it the perfect selection for any occasion, this wine can make any dinner more fun and different.
These are some alternatives to the any Chianti, and the best part is you will pay similar prices to the Chianti, and at the same time you will try new and exciting new grapes.