Cristina Mariani-May is family proprietor and co-CEO of Banfi Vintners, America’s leading wine importer, and the award winning Castello Banfi Vineyard Estate in Montalcino, Tuscany.
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New Year’s Wine Resolution: Drinking Less but Drinking Better
Cristina Mariani-May
co-CEO Banfi Vintners
America's Leading Wine Importer
The decorations are put away and the holiday parties are over. We were pretty well behaved this season, we have to admit, but that little extra canapé here and that one more glass of bubbly there may have just put us a tad over the edge of where we would like to be. So we’ll take our pleasant memories and get back to the normal rhythms of life. But that doesn’t mean we have to give up wine! My New Year’s Resolution is simply to dial back from the holiday splurge and get back to a civilized pace. And my definition of civilized means moderation, not starvation, not deprivation. Heck, all signs are that the economy is on the rebound, and I sure don’t want to be the one responsible for a backslide!
So maybe I’ll skip the appetizer and have a nicer entrée, or skip the entrée altogether and spice it up with two or three little plates instead. Maybe instead of ordering a whole bottle of something economic for the table we’ll get a few really nice wines by the glass; or maybe instead of a justifying a couple of bottles for our little dinner party, we’ll get just one that’s a bit more special. Of course, we have learned our lesson about conserving, so value is still key here.
We’ll call this exercise a micro-splurge, or better yet, stimulus in a glass. We’ll spend a tad more than we normally would, but get great value for it. Here are some excellent choices for using some of the cash we saved in all those great holiday sales:
Big Whites – Dropping over $25 a bottle retail for a white wine that’s not Champagne sounds a bit extravagant, but one or two sips of Terrunyo Sauvignon Blanc will calm your fears. This is a very well crafted wine from a single block of vineyards that explains why Chile’s “Casablanca” seaside region has gained its fame for making gorgeous white wines, redolent of citrus, tropical and passion fruits intermingled with sweet green peppers. Don’t let the twist off cap throw you either – it is there to make sure the wine gets to you fresh and zesty as the day it was bottled.
Another pair of winners from Chile come from a cool climate slightly further north, called Maycas de Limari, offering a Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc in a steely, bracing style for about $23 a bottle retail. Again, these wines let you know you are alive, drinking white wine, and savoring it!
Bold New World Reds – Value is relative; so while $78 might seem like a big chunk of change to drop for a wine from south America, Don Melchor delivers the value you would receive in a wine twice the price from California and nearly three times the price from Bordeaux. This is a densely flavored, intense wine with old world sophistication and new world charm. For a few dollars more ($92 retail), you can find ‘G’ from Emiliana, an even more intensely flavored, deep, rich, complex wine that is Chile’s first bio-dynamic offering (and this is not just for tree huggers!).
Old World Classics – Sometimes value requires comfort and familiarity, and if that’s the case then nothing provides assurance more than an old world classic like Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino at $65 retail, or its sophisticated sibling Poggio alle Mura Brunello di Montalcino at $82, made from selected vines in prime vineyards of the same estate. Brunello is one of Italy’s most noble wines, long aged before release and worthy of lengthy cellaring for collectors but an impressive wine to drink at any stage – the 2004 is an excellent vintage and on the market now; if you are lucky enough to find the 2001, 1999, 1997, 1995 or older, you will see firsthand what “ageworthiness” really means and the value it delivers.
Whichever of these mac-daddies you choose, let’s raise our glass (just one) to a value-filled, impression-making new year!
