Welcome to Wine Not – the blog that no one asked for, no one needed, and no one wanted, yet still managed to find its way into the world, much to at least 4 people’s (by my latest count) deep chagrin. But now that you are here, I’m glad you came 😊. What started off as a bad idea from my boss after I blabbed too much about wine one day at work has now taken seed, so if it turns out badly, we know who to blame (not me)!

First, a quick bit about me. I have no training in either wine, or in blogging, which leaves me eminently unqualified to be doing this. But as my wife (and friends) will tell you, I’ve never let a lack of skill, talent or ability get in the way of thinking I could do something. So here I am, trying to offer up each week a hopefully humorous and/or introspective look at some aspect of life and attempting to pair that with a nice bottle of wine. And hopefully share some of the interesting tidbits about wine that I have picked up in the process of drinking more than my share of it. Apologies in advance if I drank your share.

I can tell you are not thinking “Don, how did you pick the title ‘Wine Not’”? And even though you weren’t thinking that, I am going to answer it anyways. Partially it was because I liked the turn of phrase asking “why not”, only now it had wine involved. But mostly the reason was because my wife kept pushing me to call it “Wine Chump” and then laughing after she said it, so I had to come up with something else. But since she liked that so much, she shall now be known as Mrs. Chump. So there, I showed her.

In short that is what “Wine Not” is. Or at least hopes to be. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and check it out. I hope you will come back again soon and we can share a story or two and maybe a bottle or two. After all, wine not?

While you are here though, I would hate for you to go away empty handed. Since you were kind enough to come for my first blog entry, I would love to share with you my first wine recommendation – Duca di Saragnano Governo! I know, I know, you don’t recognize any of those words – I didn’t either when I first tried it at the Wine House in downtown Fairfax, VA, a place you will hear me rave about over and over. But this is truly a very drinkable wine at a very affordable price – a great combination! It is a Tuscan wine from Italy, made mostly from the Sangiovese grape (the same grape they make Chianti from). However, it is a blend that also has some cabernet sauvignon and merlot added in as well. What makes it special though is how they make it. Instead of using all of the grapes initially, some of the grapes are held back and dried, to almost raisin-like consistency. Then, after the initial fermentation is completed, the dried grapes are added in to spark a second fermentation. This helps give the wine a smooth, soft character, with flavors of black berry, black cherry and spices. To me, it has a medium-body feel to it with some smoothed out tannins, with just a hint of jamminess to it. Drinkable by itself or with food, it is absolutely delicious. Hopefully you get the chance to try it sometime soon!

Wine Stat Sheet – Duca di Saragnano Governo Toscana Rosso 2020