It’s not only the first letter of my name, but the letter “R” made for a fantastic wine tasting theme when it was my turn to host the Fabulous Girls Wine Society this month.
Turns out that finding varietals that begin with the letter R is a bit difficult, but proven worth the challenge. The wines that I found were all fantastic. The theme was inspired by a special wine I purchased over the holidays that was made with a rare grape called Recantina (previously featured on this blog). After meeting the winery owner Joe Giusti and hearing his fascinating story about the grape, I couldn’t wait to share the signed bottle with my wine club! So the “R” wine collection began and I pulled together, with the help of the experts at Bin 104 and Vines in Edmonton, this fabulous line-up:
The “R” wine tasting series: Riesling, Rose, Recantina, Ruche, Ripasso, Roriz
Here are the “R” wine series stories, in order of my preference:
The Guiseppe Campagnola Ripasso was my favourite of the evening, and is made up of an “R” grape know as Rondinella, blended with Corvina and Corvinone Veronese. Ripasso is not a grape, but a wine making process. The story of Ripasso starts with Valpolicella, then Recioto then Amarone. It’s so interesting! We all know Valipolicella as a nice, fruity, inexpensive Italian wine. When the Italians wanted to add some oomph to the wine they started partially drying their grapes which became a sweeter wine known as Recioto. When the wine meant to be Recioto was accidentally left to ferment too long, it resulted in a dry, more bitter (in terms of sweetness) wine known as Amarone. Then this happened… after pressing the dry grapes for Amarone, winemakers re-used the skins in a second fermentation of Valipolicella resulting in this fabulous wine called Ripasso. Ripasso means “re-pass” or “go over again”. Ripasso is exactly the middle ground in terms of flavour and price between a bottle of Amarone (may be $50 – $100) and a bottle of Valpolicella ($15 – $25). You get the fruitiness of the classic Valipolicella and the tannins and flavour drawn out of the dried grape skins from the Amarone resulting in an interesting, delicious wine.
The Tinta Roriz made by PORTAL Douro – we all know this grape as Tempranillo, but the Portuguese (specifically the Dao and Douro regions) grow it as Tinta Roriz. Typically it is a blending grape, but Portal makes a 100% Tinta Roriz wine – perfect for my “R” themed wine tasting. I have tried this wonderful wine before, mainly because of the label. I obviously have a thing for purple doors. 
Recantina from GIUSTI Wines in the Veneto region of Italy, was the grape Napoleon didn’t like so he ripped it out of the ground. Isn’t that crazy? Well the roots of its vines were discovered in the Giusti vineyards and now cloned to produce a really awesome wine. We enjoyed one of the 8000 first bottles produced, and autographed by Ermenegildo “Joe” Giusti as previously shared on this blog. The Fabulous Girls Wine Society agree this is a wonderful wine and we are all anticipating the second release. Click here for a must-read article of Giusti’s Recantina. 
The story of GIUSTI Wines, best known for Prosecco, is really so fascinating, and with a Canadian connection. Keep an eye on my blog for more on this winery coming soon!
The Ruche Clasic made by FERRARIS Wines in Catagnole Monferrato is really special and the area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The historic cellar of the Ferraris family has an “infernot” – a hand-dug cave dated back to the 19th century (check out the photo!), where the family’s oldest bottles of wine have rested for decades. This will be one winery on my Italian wine tour bucket list someday.
In the meantime, I will definitely buy another bottle or two of the Ruche Clasic. Made with 100% Ruche Piedmont grape, the aromas of rose petals and the flavours of cherry jam and forest fruits intertwine perfectly with a peppery finish.
While Rose is not a varietal, it is an awesome wine, my go-to summer sipping wine, and starts with the letter R. This wine is from a region I have never tried before, the Loire Valley. Made in Chinon with 100% Cabernet Franc grapes by Domaine de Lanoblaie, this Goutte De Rose is worth the sip! This region is historically famous as the place Joan of Arc asked Charles VII for the chance to lead his army. One of the bravest and visionary women in history whose story ended much too soon. 
Riesling from FORIS, a winery in the Rogue Valley, Oregon. As Riesling is typically quite sweet, I wasn’t sure about this wine, but it was refreshing, and uniquely dry, with flavours of pineapple and quince. Quince, for those like me who don’t know what that is, are those little orange berries that are usually used as a garnish. Now that you know, you will definitely taste that in this wine. I really liked this wine and it is a great choice if you are having Thai and Vietnamese food! A cool fact about FORIS Wine is that the winemaker is a woman – more on Stephanie Pao and the Gerber family who pioneered the vineyards and their winery in this region here
Bottom line is that all of these wines are really fantastic and in the price range of $20 – $50. My favourite letter in the alphabet delivers gReat taste in wines!
My Wine Playlist 