Infused: Review Volere Wine in a Purse

I was asked to review a wine.

Wine in a purse to be exact.

As a wine drinker, and fan of cool purses, I was intrigued.

The Volere box arrived and I found inside a sassy red handbag made of recyclable materials filled with a Merlot-Pinot Noir blend. Hmmm... compact size, cute container and disposable without guilt. All pluses so far.

Volére is the carry-with-you boxed, ahem... purse line of three artisan wines: Pinot Grigio (Tan/white purse), Merlot/Pinot Noir (Red purse) and Rosé (Pink/white purse). Price point is $14.99. The wine producer is Cantina di Soave from Italy’s Veneto region. Price is comparable with box wines and the packaging lands squarely in the omg-that's-so-cute, I-must-have department. 

Each purse holds 1.5 liters (two bottles worth) of the Italian wine making it very user friendly. No more lugging two clinking glass bottles and an opener, and no more worry about dispensing of breakable glass. Nice. Okay, but how does it taste? Because no matter how adorable, how efficient (great compact size for two bottles' worth) and how affordable it is, if its taste gets it thrown away with most of the wine still inside, it's a no-go anywhere wine.

The label on the Merlot/Pinot Noir blend describes it as "silky, vibrant red with delightful notes of red berry, cherry and currant, with a hint of vanilla."

Definitely the berry/cherry was present and that hint of vanilla was exactly that. A hint. Not overpowering, not even strong. This bright, delightful (yes, they described it accurately) Italian blend perfectly matches its exterior. Sassy, playful and flirty.

This is a fun wine. If you give it even 30 seconds worth of thought, you have over thought the situation. It isn't meant to be discovered, allowed to breathe or contemplated ~ simply enjoyed.

Food pairings? Again, simple is the solution. Salmon or tuna, and cheeses such as asiago, brie, gouda pair nicely to keep it light.

As I mention in this early review (click to read) the central part of wine enjoyment is food pairing; however, that wine connects with other factors to create an entire experience. Drinking wine while overlooking a lake is a different experience than that same wine being enjoyed while snuggling in front of a fireplace.

Music also plays a role along with the food, wine and atmosphere, detracting or enhancing the mood and experience as well. Match it all the way through for success.

My motto: Wine + food + environment + music = great experience.

My choice of music: For this wine, with an outdoor-grilled, or picnic-like light meal, I would select conversation-friendly music as you will undoubtedly be sharing this with your friends on a deck, boat or at that favorite amphitheatre. You can't go wrong with 80s music such as Cyndi Lauper or Cher, or any decade's pop music. Nothing heavy, depressing or too straight-laced for this flirty red.

Would I serve this to a Master Sommelier? Not a chance. But there are fewer than 200 of them in the world. Would I serve it to a wine snob? No way. But I would serve it to my friends in a heartbeat.

Bottom Line: Volere "wine in purse" is fun, fashionable and flirty in taste, and perfect in size for a few friends. I anticipate a line of attache-case wines in the near future for those larger parties.

Images and sample supplied by Cantina di Soave Vineyards.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated fine-living, travel columnist, freelance writer, and performing arts and restaurant critic. Read her new column, Infused, at GottaGo.us and FoodandDrinkDigital.com and catch her as Indy’s Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC. Gotta Go is published on Gottago.us, BroadwayWorld.com, in M and Retired Living magazines and several Indianapolis area newspapers. Follow her on Twitter @GottaGo, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Wine Review: Easley Winery Governor's Merlot 2010

I stopped by Easley Winery, 205 N. College St., Indianapolis, the other day to give an out-of-town visitor a view of Indy's downtown winery and to pick up  a few bottles of Monument and Riesling wine. While there, owner Meredith Easley had a bottle of the recently released Merlot for me and asked for my thoughts on their latest red.

Please note that I am not a sommelier, but an everyday, average wine drinker. Easley is aware of that fact as you, if you read my column or blog regularly, know also. With that said, I am always ready and willing to try out a new wine. Although I have been a wine drinker for many years, and written this column (and now blog also) for going on five years, it is my first official wine review.

The Governor's Merlot 2010 is 13 percent alcohol by volume and label-described as "wonderful, mellow, dry, red wine. It was aged in oak barrels that were grown in Hoosier National Forest. It is an excellent wine paired with beef, pork and pasta dishes."
The wine was named after the 5th Governor of Indiana, Noah Noble. The land where Easley Winery sits today was once owned by Governor Noble. Nice homage.

The wine was indeed oak-balanced. Although the label states it is a mellow wine, I would describe it as slightly heavy, rich with earth tones and that marvelous oak backdrop. This is not a wine to sip on the back deck while intermittently playing Frisbee with friends. This is a wine with a serious nature and one which expects your full attention. With its earthy layers, it has a certain agenda in mind and if you ignore that and treat it lightly, you will lose the entire purpose of this drink. Open the bottle and let it breathe while you slip on the appropriate music and fix the correct meal for this not-so-simple vine offering.

My suggestion for the meal: A thick steak, cooked to your liking (which I hope does not go past medium well) accompanied with mushrooms in some fashion. A cheese with this combination might be the Greek sheep's milk cheese, Kefalotiri which complements the Merlot, beef and the mushrooms. If you are not a fan of mushrooms, my choice would be an older Manchego (Viejo), a sheep's milk cheese from Spain. The aged variety has a peppery flavor which would pair well with Easley's Merlot. Both cheeses can be found in a gourmet-style food shop such as Whole Foods Market.

Photo by Bob Burchfield/AroundIndy.com

A central part of my enjoyment with wines is food pairing. However, I don't stop there. I believe that wine is one piece of several which make up the experience. Drinking wine while overlooking a lake is a different experience than that same wine being enjoyed while snuggling in front of a fireplace.

With that in mind, music can detract or enhance the mood and experience as well. For example, Governor's Merlot is not a Beach Boys kind-of wine and would lose the attention deserved to its deep layers if you were singing along with Good Vibrations.
Wine + food + environment + music = great experience. You get the idea.

My choice of music: For this wine, with that meal, I would have to go with music which draws you into it. If you are a Classic Rock listener, go for Turn the Page by Bob Seger or Knights in White Satin by The Moody Blues. If opera is your taste, perhaps try Philip Quast's Javert in Les Miserables. Whichever genre is your favorite, stick with something not too light. Special note: John Lodge, the Moody Blues' bassist and vocalist, just uncorked his own wine label Krisemma.

Bottom Line: Easley Winery's Governor's Merlot 2010 is layered with earthy flavors, balanced with oak and served best with a steak or thick burger. Enjoying a fine cigar with this wine would not be out of line.

For more information on hours, costs, tastings, Groovin' in the Garden, Taste of Indy, and Indy Wine Trail, visit EasleyWinery.com.
Photos: EJMusgrave; Bob Burchfield

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC, and follow her on AroundIndy.com, Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook.
Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.

Book Review: 100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes and 100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates

You feel sooo good. You've tasted more wines then you thought possible and have...finally...found one you like. In fact, you really like this one. You are not a failure...you can sip wine like all those wine wizards and metropolitan types. You are, in fact, quite giddy with the fact...as if you have overcome a rite of adulthood passage. You have reached the next plateau...

Now what?

Well, that depends on you, of course. Are you content with that glass of Chardonnay, Merlot or Sauvignon, or...is your stomach growling?

Deciding the cuisine and then the accompanying libation is quite normal and some would declare it the correct process. However, after discovering a new favorite wine, perhaps the opposite approach is more appropriate. Choose foods that complement your newly discovered favorite adult beverage.

Counter intuitive? Perhaps.

Effective? Absolutely.

  

Enter stage right...Jill Silverman Hough, author of 100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates (2010) and the newly released 100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes. Hough is a culinary instructor, food writer and recipe developer out of Napa, California. Besides the first two installments in the (hopefully) continuing series, Hough also developed recipes for NY Times best seller, "Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)" and regularly contributes to Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking and Napa Sonoma magazines, to name a few.

Written in a conversational tone, the cookbooks take you into the world of 12 commonly found wines, six white and six red. Hough gives tips on the varietals, culture and nuances while sharing personal notes including how she arrived at the place in her life to write these cookbooks. Each section announces the varietal, a brief history and its characteristics. Then she launches into numerous recipes and the reason each will pair well with that particular wine.

Like Pinot Noir? Try warm duck and raspberry salad. Are you in the mood for a lush German Gewurztraminer? Pair it with sticky Asian barbecued baby back ribs. Whichever of these 12 wines you enjoy, Hough has paired it well by flavor, characteristics and spices, using more commonly found ingredients.

As much as I would like to have seen Amarone, Chianti and Chablis listed, I am reasonable enough to realize that not every wine could be covered...yet.

Bottom Line: "100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates" and "100 Perfect Pairings: Main Dishes," take the mystery and the snob factor out of wine and fine cuisine pairing and places the joy squarely, without ceremony, into the hands of wine and food lovers with or without professional training.

Find more information on Hough at:
www.jillhough.com, Twitter-@JillSHough, FaceBook-Jill S Hough FB

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, music, restaurant and theater critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC and follow her on Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook.

Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, West Side Community News, New Palestine Reporter, West Indianapolis Community News, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.