VOLUME V / ISSUE IV / JULY-AUGUST 2021
Road trip Wines
2017 INFINÉ 1937 PINOT GRIGIO TRENTINO DOC When I was opening a well-chilled bottle of Infiné 1937, one of my friends glanced at the label. “Pinot Grigio?” she said facetiously. “I thought you can do better”. We all laughed. I poured the wine and we tasted. “Whoa!!!” my skeptic friend exclaimed. David S. Taub was known as “The father of Pinot Grigio” as recognition for introducing the wine to America. His lifelong passion for Italian wines and specifically Pinot Grigio culminated in the creation of Infiné. Coming from an unusually high elevation site of 1,300 feet in the mountainous Northern Italian region of Trentino, the grapes pack intense flavors as well as high acid lending to an impressive concentration in the resulting wine. The fruit is hand harvested page 168
and gently pressed to ensure the purity of the juice. Infiné 1937 is a serious, full body Pinot Grigio with a multi-layered structure and good aging potential. It offers well balanced structure with flavors of grapefruit, guava, apple, and herbaceous notes of cumin and fennel. In the mouth, the wine persists with a long mineral finish. 2017 PARPINELLO MONICA DI SARDINIA Later that day, after sunset, we were grilling some meats. I pulled a bottle of 2017 Parpinello Monica di Sardinia; a lighter wine from what I would usually choose for a meat-fest but, considering the 92 degrees at 9:30 p.m., I decided to keep it frivolous. Monica is a red grape variety native exclusively to the Island of Sardinia. Believed to be brought there by the Spanish conquistadors, the grape is
one of the most common grapes in the region. Its main allure is its familiar simplicity. Usually priced under $20 a bottle, the wine is of medium to light body with enticing flavors of red mountain berries, pine cone, white pepper, and hints of gaminess. We prepared BBQ ribs, grilled sausages, and pork chops and the wine’s unpretentious versatility paired seamlessly with all of them. I was reluctantly leaving Palm Springs. San Francisco’s forecast was showing low 50s with gusty winds. After 8.5hour drive, listening mainly to Leonard Cohen and Joe Cocker, I was crossing the Bay Bridge. The car thermometer was showing 51 and the violent, cross winds were jolting my Mini Cooper. I resigned: San Francisco summer is a hoax. CEZAR KUSIK WINE CONTRIBUTOR POLO LIFESTYLES 2021