Malcolm Jolley recommends a $15.95 Sicilian red wine at the LCBO.
At $15.95 the 2013 Donnafugata Sedàra (LCBO# 900274) is a great value red wine full of fruit and a little bit of spice and the perfect antidote to a dragging winter. Look for it in the Italian (or Southern Italian) shleves in the Vintages section of the liquor store.
The house of Donnafugata is one of Sicily’s great table wine pioneers. It’s owned by the Rallo family, whose name is long linked to Marsala. At Donnafugata the Rallo’s recognized the potential for estate made wine from indigenous grapes decades ago ushering in the good wine revolution that today is making Sicily one of Europe’s most on trend wine regions.
Sedàra is a Nero d’Avolo dominated blend. They won’t say with what else, probably because it changes by vintages based on what’s available. My guess is that there’s a little Syrah in it, but I could be entirely wrong. It doesn’t matter, what matters is the deep blackberry to violet fruit in the wine balanced by a fresh acidity. This wine wants to be at the dinner table, and it’s not going to be too fussy about what it’s paired with. Lasagne seems to me to be ideal.
Malcolm Jolley is a founding editor of Good Food Revolution and Executive Director of Good Food Media, the company that publishes it. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
