Cusumano Syrah IGT, 2012

When my mom is away, my dad and I like to sneak in the chance to drink red wines. My mom doesn't like them usually, so for a dinner wine, a white is more likely to please. On this day, she went out for dinner (and saw the Mayor, but did not give him a piece of her mind, alas), so my dad and I made a simple supper and opened one of my dad's LCBO finds. Described as typical for its region, this Syrah comes to us from Italy, and was bought because it was on sale, but even at full price it's $10.95 price tag is far from shocking. We drank it with chicken and mushroom sausages and roasted broccoli with cayenne pepper and smoked paprika. However, Truth Time. My Dad is an electrician and all around handyman. I am a grad student, with all the critical thinking skills that entails, and we were at first stumped by the cork. Because it isn't a cork...

It is a tiny glass stopper! Thank god we noticed before taking a cork screw to it! The stopper was neat, and the plastic grooves on it allowed us to seal it back up when we were done very easily and pretty securely. A strange compromise between cork, fake cork, and screwtop!

A - This one was both a little dry and a little soft all at once, with a bit of woodiness, but not at all as strong as in the Baco or an oaked white. It is very grapey tasting, but not fruity, just grapey, like eating red grapes, not grape juice. It is sweet-ish but not really sweet. Eating it with slightly spicy food brings out its fruitiness and kicks up the smoothness. It is a very good straight forward table wine. It is good with food and for sipping while cooking. It is not the most exciting wine I've ever had, but it is different and good. It is not as bold as a Shiraz but still a big bodied red. I quite like it for a change in wines. It is very easy to drink and gets fruitier with breathing. The food recommendation suggests that this was meant for eating with a heartier meal, but I felt it went well with plainer fair.

D - This is a very different taste, both from Canadian reds and Australian ones. I like that it tastes entirely different from any wine I've had. It has no real alcoholy taste and is very smooth. It is full-bodied and would work well with beef and spicy food. I quite like it as a red table wine, especially for a casual supper. My wife may even like it because it is not too dry and not too smokey, things she doesn't usually like in wines. For the price, this was a good wine to have with dinner . It is a bit unusual, but not weird, and a nice change.