Chianti, Chianti, Chianti.
The very name Chianti used to conjure up memories of cheap Italian restaurants with red and white checkered tablecloths and jug bottles of wine wrapped in raffia way past their expiration.
In fact, for several years I refused to drink Chianti because of the flashbacks to bad restaurant versions of Chianti that I had back in my early twenties.
The scene was Boston back in the ’90s and I was on a date (honestly I forgot his name) at an “Italian restaurant” and I use those words loosely.
“Excuse me, sir may I see your wine list?”
“Wine list? No. We have red or white.”
“Um, okay red please.”
My date is smiling. He’s so proud that he’s picked a restaurant with actual cloth tablecloths instead of the pizza counter we normally eat at. Which honestly had I known the sad state of the food, I would have preferred our neighborhood pizza joint.
The waiter whips out a huge raffia wrapped jug of suspect red wine. Pours generously. Glug. glug. glug.
He’s waiting for me to taste it.
My date eyes me, and motions for me to taste it.
I sip. I want to cringe. I smile and nod.
The waiter pours more and throughout the night, constantly refills the goddamn glass without even asking me.
The food was bad, the date was milquetoast, and the night was forgettable.
Anyways fast forward 20 years later. I’m a sophisticated, fancy wine drinker. 😉
I’ve had some Chianti’s that left me speechless, so I’m always up for a good one.
So, when I was planning on making my cacio e pepe recipe for dinner on the cheap, what would we drink? Red or white?
Adventure Series Chianti Wine Review – A Mini Getaway in a Bottle
I decided to go with red wine. Now, if you’ve been a reader of mine anytime you know I love buying wine at Aldi’s.
Aldi has a wonderful wine selection that’s always budget-friendly and the 2018 Adventure Series Chianti DOCG (made from mostly Sangiovese) from Tuscany, Italy at $5.50 per bottle is a steal of a deal.
It’s a medium-bodied garnet colored wine, that’s a little funky on the nose and finishes with a lingering bit of warm spice.
Packed with black cherry, red currants, violets, cranberry, a little hit of mint, a touch of leather and dirt gives this medium-bodied wine a solid mouthfeel and great value for the tiny price tag.
The tannins are soft which makes this an easy sipping wine. You won’t get swizzled at 12% alcohol.  I would pair this with any tomato-based or vodka-based sauce.
It also pairs perfectly with antipasti salad, hard cheeses, lamb, meat, sausage, pepperoni, or pizza of any kind. I wouldn’t pair this with shellfish or fish or light-lemon based sauces.
If you’re having a dinner party buy several bottles and you will be the hostess with the mostess as this wine will complement your entire meal from appetizers to the main course.
Adventure Series Chianti is definitely Wine & Drama approved.