While at the Second Cup today and I got a good tip on a rather intriguing grape from Hungary — kekfrankos . Toni Burzotta tells me that it’s one that will appeal to people that appreciate a well structured, smooth and easy drinking red. The kekfrankos grape is one many people are probably familiar with as the principal grape in Egri Bikavér (Bull’s Blood) — the first that always jumps to my mind when anyone mentions Hungarian wine. It is a unique varietal, indigenous to Hungary and has been grown there for centuries. Toni says its smooth, soft and supple and most important for we Ontarians is that it will be available at your local vintages starting October 13th from the Villa Stephen. My palate is watering already. It represents a great value for taste and we can all appreciate that.
I will probably betray my rather unrefined palate with post, but its all about honesty right? Tasted a grape that I hadn’t tried before on Monday night. The Italian Primitivo. Its apparently a relative of the Zinfandel and is harvested from the heel of the Italian boot…so appetizing. Apparently both the Primitivo and Zinfandel can be traced to vines originating in Dalmatia sometime in the seventeenth century. The Primitivo is generally fairly high in alcohol content, yet it tends to be more on the fruity side, with a spicy finish. I was quite impressed. I’ll have to get the label off the bottle I had.
I did find a 2003 A. Mano Primitivo (product id 972588 — can’t link directly to a page in their less than user friendly site) at LCBO vintages and it was quite delicious another American site mentions the American winemaker in Puglia who is actually fashioning this fine stuff. So, I throw this out to you as a Shawn pick for all that’s worth.