Primitivo in the Springtime

Well, it’s a balmy 13 degrees here in Winnipeg, so it finally feels like spring. And in spring, a young man’s heart turns to thoughts of…wine? Doesn’t sound quite right, but I hope it will do.

April is one of the in-between months in Winnipeg. Right now it’s beautiful. Tomorrow, it could be nice again, or it could snow. You never know. So I try and aim up the middle. Rich whites and medium-bodied red wines are my April favourites. And a safe bet for this time of year is a bottle of Primitivo, specifically the Pasqua “Terre del Sole” Primitivo. Yum. Can’t beat this one for the combination of taste and price ($12-ish at the private stores).

Primitivo has identical DNA to California’s well-known Zinfandel grape, and both are related to an obscure Croatian red grape. But (at least in Winnipeg) Primitivo is generally a much better bargain than Zinfandel. You get the same kind of flavour in the two wines (lots of spicy berry fruit with a long, velvety finish), although the Italian wines have a bit more earthiness and acidity.

But a decent Zinfandel will set you back at least $17-18 in Winnipeg. So I’d recommend a Primitivo any day. The private stores have a good range, and so does the MLCC.

What’s this all about?

So what’s this all about? Well, I’m a resident of Winnipeg who enjoys wine. I work part-time in the “field” and I really enjoy what I do. And sometimes I get frustrated when I read the wine columnist in our local paper. It’s not that I disagree with him. He has his own opinions, and I have mine.

Instead, I don’t think he gets what people in Winnipeg really want to see in a wine column. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not presumptuous enough to think that I know what people want either. But after nine years of working in a wine store and answering a lot of questions, I think I can hazard a guess.

What do I think people are looking for in a wine column? Well, this is Winnipeg and we do love our bargains. People here want to know about well-priced, tasty wines. They don’t (for the most part) want to hear about expensive wines that you’ll never find in our local stores.

So you won’t find a lot of reviews of the latest cult Napa Valley wines. I’m not going to huff about the quality of this year’s Bordeaux harvest versus the 1990 vintage. Instead, I’m going to write about the wines that most people (including me) buy - namely those under $20 (CDN).

Beyond this, I plan on talking about all sorts of wine-related topics based on questions people have asked me over the years - namely details on different wine grapes, regions, producers, local restaurants, aging and so on. Wherever possible, I’ll try and include a Canadian perspective, since I believe that the Canadian wine industry is totally under-appreciated and doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

And I hope to do so in a non-pretentious way. Wine should be fun and accessible. I don’t have the patience for long-winded wine writers. There are enough of them around, so I plan to do things my way. On that note, you’ll find some links to other wine sites on the sidebar. Consider these folks my influences, I’ve learned a lot from them.

And finally, I welcome comments. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them. But I would really like to keep the tone of this blog as positive as possible, so please bear that in mind when posting a comment.

(Just a few caveats)

1. This blog represents my personal opinion (not that of my employer), so take it for what it’s worth. After all, wine is all about individual tastes.
2. Most wines I review here are purchased at my own expense. I do have some very generous friends, so every now and again I’ll write about something I didn’t buy.
3. I still work for one of the private wine stores in Winnipeg. It doesn’t matter which one, but to be fair, I will try to only write about wines that are widely available - either in the MLCC or in all of the private wine stores. I don’t want to be seen as favouring one system over the other.
4. It has come to my attention that a private wine store here in Winnipeg has registered a domain name very similar to this blog. Just to be absolutely clear, there is no affiliation between this blog and the website operated by Deluca’s Fine Wine. I shop there, but I don’t work for them. If you’re in town though, be sure to check their store (and their adjacent Italian grocery) out. You can find their website here.