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.

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.