Incanto, Raboso Rosato

Incanto, Raboso Rosato, Rose, Veneto (Indicazione Geografica Tipica), Italy, vino frizzante, 11.5%, Trader Joes, about $8; September, 2008. This is a sparkling wine from Veneto in Italy. It is not corked as you would normally expect, having a fairly solid metal cap over the lip of the bottle which you need either strong fingernails or a metal tool to remove. Then you remove the normal wine cork (real cork). The color is a pleasing, light pink, and the nose is lightly fruity, Brigette says unripe nectarines. The wine seems to enliven the taste buds on the middle and back of my tongue. It is kind of puzzling to feel only the alcohol taste on the rest of it. So Incanto is rather thin, though mostly pleasant. I say mostly because of the alcohol taste, leaving a slightly bitter after taste. We drank it with a salad of iceberg lettuce, nuts, tomatoes, covered by a creamy dressing of blue cheese, with lots of chunks. The wine disappeared. So, it needs to be eaten with something very light. In that respect, I can’t give a “with food” review. But, on the basis of its taste, which I expect a sparkling wine to have some ability to stand on its own, I doubt that I will buy this one again. Of course, we finished the bottle.