I really like Italian wines that are big, bold, and full of flavors and complexities. We had a really good one recently - a 2001 Cantine del Notaio La Firma Aglianico del Vulture. This wine is from the southern Italian province of Basilicata, which is located in the arch of the boot. The aglianico grape is very unique to this area around southern Italy - there is an Aglianico Taurasi from the Campania area (towards Naples), and then there is the Aglianico del Vulture from the Mount Vulture region of Basilicata.

After a hard day of moving (see other blog post!), my husband and I and our son and his friend met for dinner at Baci & Abbracci, which is a great little restaurant in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn. They have a small but impressive wine list, to include this 2001 gem.

The wine was exactly what we needed after a day of moving. It was big, bold, lovely tannins, lots of jammy fruit flavor, and a wonderful complexity from the aging. It went perfectly with the braised lamb shank that we had; our son said that the wine went well also with the chicken with rosemary and lemon, and his friend said the same about the wine and the cioppino. Unfortunately, Aglianico is no more magical in its powers than any other wine - it was still raining when we left the restaurant (see my other post)!

A nice celebration to toast our son's new venture - and adventure - in New York! Cin Cin!!

The Aglianico - photo courtesy of my photographer son!