How simple is that?
How much information do you really need on a wine's front label?
The other day, browsing a local wine shop, I spotted a label on the shelf that takes minimalism about as far as it can go: In simple black letters centered on a plain white background, it read:
<center><b>Good
Chianti</b></center>
Wine just doesn't get much more simple than that, and if you're shopping for the basics and not interested in wine-geek complexity or nuance today, this label may just tell you everything you really need to know.
Just down the shelf from the Good Chianti, another label looked just about as basic, featuring only an abstract design with the name of the wine and the vintage at lower left:
<b>Casamatta</b>
<b>2004</b>
In both cases, the curious wine shopper who wants to learn more can get information by the simple expedient of turning the bottle around and reading the smaller print on the back of the bottle. Good Chianti, as it turns out, is a simple 2005 Chianti made by Casa Liliana in the Tuscan village of Figline Valdarno south of Florence.
Casamatta (which translates, literally, as "Crazy House") is a Toscana IGT, a Chianti-like Tuscan wine made predominantly from Sangiovese, one of the lower-price wines in the portfolio of artist-turned wine maker Bibi Graetz in Fiesole, just northeast of Florence.
The secret of the simple label, as we've discussed occasionally before, is a quirk of wine-label law: As long as all the legally required information is on the bottle somewhere, regulatory authorities like the U.S. Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau don't really care if it's on the front or the back of the bottle.
As far as the front label goes, these two wines easily pass the minimalist test.
<table border="0" align="right" width="170"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/graphics1/lili0819.jpg" border="1" align="right"></td></tr></table>Casa Liliana 2005 "Good Chianti" ($9.99)
Dark ruby, reddish-violet glints against the light. Spicy black cherries and a whiff of brown sugar. Light-bodied, juicy tart-cherry fruit and zippy acidity. Decent food wine, simple and fresh and mouth-wateringly acidic. Not a great Chianti, but yeah, okay, I'll go along with the label: Good Chianti. U.S. importer: Viniliandia USA, Deer Isle, Maine. (Aug. 19, 2007)
<B>FOOD MATCH:</b> In the mood for a summer salad but needing a food match that would sing with Chianti, I came up with an Italian variation on Thai beef salad: Thin-sliced cold rare beef tossed with romaine, fresh tomatoes and basil, Vidalia onions, Gorgonzola and Pecorino cheeses and a olive oil and lemon vinaigrette.
<B>VALUE:</B> A good Chianti for 10 bucks? No problem!
<B>WHEN TO DRINK:</B> This lightweight Chianti won't fade in a year, but it's not made for the cellar. Keep it on the wine rack and enjoy it until it's gone.
<B>WEB LINK:</B>
The U.S. importer's Website has limited information about Casa Liliana at this link:
[url=http://www.vinilandiausa.com/mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=921&page_id=131]http://www.vinilandiausa.com/
mod.php?mod=userpage&menu=921&page_id=131[/url]
<B>FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:</B>
Look up retail vendors and compare prices for Casa Liliana's "Good" wines on Wine-Searcher.com:
[url=http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Liliana%2bGood/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP]http://www.wine-searcher.com/
find/Liliana%2bGood/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP[/url]
<table border="0" align="left" width="170"><tr><td><img src="http://www.wineloverspage.com/graphics1/casa0818.jpg" border="1" align="left"></td></tr></table>Casamatta 2004 Toscana ($15.99)
Dark ruby, reddish glints. Dark cherries and kirsch cherry liqueur. Juicy and surprisingly ripe, tart-cherry fruit and a touch of anise, well shaped by bright, snappy acidity and a hint of red-clay earth. On the simple side but appealing and fresh, very good food wine. Loses much of its fruit within an hour of opening, suggesting limited aging potential. U.S. importer: Michael Skurnik Wines, Syosset, N.Y. (Aug. 18, 2007)
<B>FOOD MATCH:</b> Couldn't ask for a better match with a char-grilled local free-range hen.
<B>VALUE:</B> Decent table wine, but frankly pushing the edge of value in the mid-teens.
<B>WHEN TO DRINK:</B> Drinking well now, but as noted, the wine's behavior in the glass, particularly with its undersize, synthetic-plastic plug, advises against cellaring. Drink soon.
<B>WEB LINK:</B>
Here's a fact sheet on Casamatta from the U.S. importer's Website:
[url=http://www.skurnikwines.com/wines.cgi?rm=view_detail&wine_id=8220]http://www.skurnikwines.com/
wines.cgi?rm=view_detail&wine_id=8220[/url]
<B>FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:</B>
Look up retail vendors for Casamatta Toscana on Wine-Searcher.com:
[url=http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/Casamatta%2bToscana/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP]http://www.wine-searcher.com/
find/Casamatta%2bToscana/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP[/url]
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