Thursday, August 01, 2013

Tenuta di Forci.

I'm sad.  Last night I finished the last bottle of wine that I brought back from Lucca.  The Tenuta di Forci, 2011 Rosso (DOC Colline Lucchesi) was a wonderful wine.  This light to medium bodied red, a blend of 65% Sangiovese, 30% Canaiolo and 5% Colorino, was young, fruity (plum and cherry) and beautifully floral.  Purchased at La Grotta dell' Anfiteatro, on via Anfiteatro, Lucca, for €6.50 (about $8.00) this was a delightful wine that paired brilliantly with the pseudo-Italian dinner on my plate.  I wish I'd bought another, but weight restrictions...blah, blah, blah!  So sad.
I really like Italian wine labels.  They are very straight forward, but informative - I always learn something new from them.  Searches online for the definition of 'tenuta' mostly give 'estate' as a translation of the Italian, but I best like the definition below, which I borrowed from Do Bianchi.  (Thank you, Dr. Parzens.)
"Tenuta, a [land] holding or property, past participle of the Italian tenere, from the Latin teneo, meaning to hold, have, or keepTenuta is a term that you see applied across northern and central Italy. Its relation to the pre-industrial age, when land ownership denoted nobility, is clear."
I love, have always loved, and will always love, Italian wines.

5 comments:

Thud said...

We are back there in 6 weeks time,monkey and I will indulge.Verona for you next time I think then I can go and see Hellas Verona play.

New Hampshire Wineman said...

Sorry!
Vinogirl, I agree with you: "I love, have always loved, and will always love, Italian wines." However, with a million producers (all of them not equal), it makes for an interesting exploration. When people ask me what Italian wines I recommend, it's always Brunello and Prosecco, and I say that, because consistency is greater (in my humble opinion) than any other wines I know of, though Brunello is on the pricey side.
Another thought I have on Italian wines, is generally, you'll get a fair wine at a fair price which is probably only bested by Spanish wines.

Do Bianchi said...

isn't incredible how a humble Italian wine like that can transport you back to the place where you first tasted it?

Thanks for the shout out Vinogirl!

We love Italian wines, too. :)

buon weekend... j

About Last Weekend said...

Love how he's used the commas!

Vinogirl said...

Thud: Verona sounds good - I can feel myself going all Romeo and Juliet!

NHW: Italians know wine with food, they are masters at it...and that's how, in my opinion, wine is meant to be enjoyed. Love Italian wines.

2B: Thank you for doing all that research, so I can benefit from your PhD :)

ALW: Welcome back from your hols.
You'd have loved this wine better than you loved his commas :)