Red Blends Other from Veneto, Italy

Corvina 70%, Rondinella 10%, Corvinone 10%, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon 10%

Purchase Price: $15.99

Wine Enthusiast 90, ElsBob 91

ABV 13.5%

A medium garnet with a tawny rim in color. A medium-bodied wine with aromas of cherries and coffee. On the palate a touch of sweetness and plums, easy tannins and an acidity that provides a refreshing finish.

An excellent table wine at very nice price. Current price is about $17.00.

Trivia: Veneto wine region of northeastern Italy stretches from the canals of Venice to the Alpine foothills. Viticulture here dates to Roman times, with early vineyards tended by local tribes. During the height of the Venetian Republic, paralleling the fortunes of Florentine Renaissance, Veneto became a hub for wine blending and trade, shipping its product throughout the Mediterranean Basin, Byzantine and Ottoman Territories, Northern Europe, and along the Silk Road all the way to Mongolia. This hemispheric reach not only spread winemaking techniques but elevated the reputation of Veneto wines.

At the end of Republic in the 1797 winemaking was in a slow, constant decline. The erosion of trade routes, driven by the Republic’s ossified and hidebound bureaucracy and maritime collapse, decimated the region’s commercial infrastructure. Recovery began in the late 18^th and into the 19^th century, not as a revival of trans-national trade but as a scientific and agrarian rebirth. Improved farming techniques and increased vineyard plantings were initially focused on local consumption. Today, Veneto is Italy’s top wine-producing region, accounting for roughly 25% of the country’s output and over 35% of its exports. Prosecco and Pinot Grigio occupy the region’s power positions in volume, anchoring its global presence.