Mom-Tepulciano

Back when physical media was a thing, the arrival of each month's Wine Spectator magazine was marked on the calendar and eagerly anticipated. You remember those - the outsized, glossy-covered tome of wine media? Kind of funny that that's how we consumed our wine information for so many years. Each month, though, there was undoubtedly a pearl of wisdom within, only visible to those willing to actually read. One was a study that stuck with me, and I reminded my customers of this on the daily: in short, women's palates are, on average, about 15% more sensitive than those of men. 

So, in essence, why the heck are you taking advice from me? Well, I've been lucky enough to work alongside and serve some seriously powerful and smart women who also possessed incredible palates. They'd find the most subtle notes within wines that would have otherwise been glossed over, something previously indescribable, and almost re-create the entire experience for me once again. And what did they so often reach for - something that was rarely on a BTG list or in Parker's ratings? Montepulciano. 

It's been more stuck in my head since we started importing Montetino, but Montepulciano is so wondrous, so complex - and in the Cerasuolo type of style, utterly slurpable - that I question my own self for not having it around more often. Thank god for moms, for that extra 15%, because otherwise maybe I would have missed out more than I already have. And a Happy [early] Mother's Day from all of us :)