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I remember the first time I tried a Valpolicella wine. I loved how the name sounded and it stuck with me, as well as the rich, smooth flavour. It was the wine that converted me to give more reds a go and then changed my preference from white wine to red. It’s not one I tend to buy often but I was thrilled to try the Rubinelli Valpolicella Classico DOC 2018 from Independent Wines recently.
For this bottle Adam and I set ourselves up one evening with the wine and the absolute classic red wine dish – steak. I cooked the steak up in a griddle pan and we ended up having a really lovely evening chatting away with good food. This Valpolicella was quite light in colour compared to others that I’ve tried in the past but still had a lovely ruby colour to it. It was tart in flavour with notes of red berries and cherries but had a smooth, almost creamy finish. It paired perfectly with our meal and was incredibly easy drinking. Buying wine online is a really accessible way to try a variety of different grapes from different regions and Independent Wine make this super easy.
If you fancy pairing this wine with something different it’s a great alternative to Pinot Noir and will pair well with lots of Italian style poultry, seafood and grilled vegetable dishes. Originally, we planned to pair this with roasted Duck breast as I thought the berries and cherries tasting notes would complement it really well but sadly we couldn’t get the meal together. It was incredibly pleasent with steak and mushrooms however, and it went down easily. I often think the earthyness of mushrooms brings in fruity flavours really well in a wine.
I found learning about where this particular wine was from using the map and tasting guide on the website really interesting. It shows that this Valpolicella is from the Veneto region in Italy, close to Lake Garda, Venice in the south and the Alps in the north. Apparently, it’s a really productive region for wine growing. Perhaps with it’s proximity to Venice is another reason why Valpolicella has always appealed to me as it’s a place so high on my bucket list to visit, particularly during Carnival. I love the theatre associated with Venice and I guess this wine makes me think of that.
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