(Bob Gregg, 7:00 am) (Posted to: Main, Wine)
2007-09-18: Piedirosso
Tried another new varietal tonight - Piedirosso. The name basically means “red foot” in Italian; it’s a red, indigenous grape from Campania in southern Italy (the region where Naples is). Other indigenous Campanian grapes that are gaining notoriety (and that we’ve tried recently) include Aglianico, Falanghina, and Fiano. From what I’ve read, Piedirosso doesn’t get made into a varietal that much today; it’s mostly used as a blending grape, especially to tone down Aglianico. However, quality is supposedly improving, and Piedirosso is just starting to make a name for itself.
This bottle was the 2005 Piedirosso dei Campi Flegrei from Cantine Grotta del Sole. Dark red color, first taste was of plums, opening later into some cherry and nice tannin structure with a decent finish. I served this with steak au poivre and some sweet potato frites. The wine stood up to the food well enough, so that’s good. Sonnet pointed out that it was kind of one-dimensional, though, and I sensed that too.
What I paid: $13.99
What I would pay next time: $10.00
Not bad, but there is better red wine to be had for less. Still, I’m glad we tried it.