Hofstatter, Meczan, pinot nero
Little-known factoids for Americans about Italy: The country shares a border with Austria. Pinot grigio isn’t the only pinot from Italy–pinot noir (nero) is grown too.
Put those two factoids to your use and try the excellent Hofstatter Meczan pinot nero 2005. Grown in the foothills of the Dolomites in the Alto Adige region, where a German dialect is more spoken than Italian, this wine that is light in color has excellent fruit, acidity and finish making it hugely food friendly.
A couple of weeks ago, we discovered this wine at Otto enoteca and pizzeria during a Saturday lunch. We ordered a quartino and had the bottle opened at our table–always a nice touch to ensure freshness (I mentioned this aspect of quartinos and carafes here). I searched for it online when we got home, found it locally for under $20 a bottle, and promptly ordered a case. We have been serving it to our guests ever since and have not yet managed to pull only one cork in an evening.
I also threw in a bottle of their 2005 De Vite pinot grigio–the other pinot (find this wine). It has such appealing notes of stones and flowers (stone-crushed flowers?) that want to order more. I just found it for the ridiculously low price of $11. Excuse me while I open a new browser and load some into my electronic cart…
Imported by Domaine Select Wine Estates.
tags: wine | food and drink | pinot noir
