Open Meeting Friday February 5th

8PM till decanters are empty. Stay tuned for more info.

The oldest Chianti to date

Le Cinciole
Chianti Classico
2007
Bevmo $17.99

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Simon's house; Musical backdrop random mix including Foo Fighters & Dire Straights. Tortellini with bell peppers and mushroom made by Simon( !)

Initial Impressions:
"Like a silky velvet fist" -SP
"Ok, I know why I'm feeling this way... 14% alcohol by volume" -AP

Descriptive terms:
smokey, fully developed, like an elder statesman, easy like sunday morning and refined ruffness.

Character Comparisons:
Obe Wan Kenobi, Winston Churchhill, JFK and Aretha Franklin.

Overall Rating and Conclusions:
AP rating 4.25 corkscrew turns. (CST's)
SP rating 4.0 corkscrew turns. (CST's)

It really is a good wine, either as a Chianti or otherwise. Being the oldest wine we've tasted, makes our untrained pallets wonder about the influence of age. Finally, we suggest this course of action. Buy it, drink it, enjoy it.

Slumming it in style...

Ruffino Chianti 2008 Chianti $9.98 Safeways

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Simon's house; Musical backdrop random mix including Foo Fighters & Dire Straights. Tortellini with bell peppers and mushroom made by Simon( !)

Initial Impressions:
"It tastes like red Windex, but a good year" -SP
"I am dangerously close to saying that this is not a Chianti" -AP

Descriptive terms:
Lightweight; vinegary gummy bears; salty; feathery; juvenile; still plays with barbies; .

Character Comparisons:
Reese Witherspoon (In Legally Blond) C-3P0 in the Phantom Menace

Overall Rating and Conclusions: AP rating 2.75 corkscrew turns. (CST's) (but give it a shot)
SP rating 3.5 corkscrew turns. (CST's)
This is an enjoyable wine, but you will need to excise some patience with it childish playfulness. Tastes the least like a Chianti than any of the Chiantis that we have tasted. Andrew enjoyed drinking this wine regardless of what it said on the label. If you drink Merlot, this could be a nice segue into the more alluring and grown up world of Chianti. It is not a great Chianti but there is nothing wrong with this wine.

Sir Anthony Hopkins on Chianti

Click on the picture to hear Dr Lecters classic pairing recommendation...

The Night of Classicos....

Castello D'Albola 2006 Chianti Classico $13.99 BevMo

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Simon's house; Musical backdrop Faith No More; Roundtable Pizza (large with pepperoni and olives - Just a couple more slices..)

Initial Impressions:
"Ooh, It's like a Snuggie for your tongue" -SP
"It's like being invited to a college keg party, just after you graduated" -AP

Descriptive terms:
No nonsense; curvy; subversive; like a mouth condom; healthy; lubricant; easy going.

Character Comparisons:
Marilyn Monroe; John Candy; (But not quite Chris Farley) Dom Delouis; Betty Boop.

Overall Rating and Conclusions:

AP rating 3.75 corkscrew turns. (CST's)
SP rating 4 corkscrew turns. (CST's)
OVER ALL RATING 4 CST's
This is hands down my favorite so far. Andrew spilled the last of this, I will probably stab him while he is asleep. You can see where the extra money went with this wine. And it went to a good place.
If I was going to buy another bottle of Chianti, I would buy this one.
In a week of stormy weather, lightening struck twice in the same place. That place was Simons House.

We broke our "Classico Cherries" this evening. It was gentle, but will I have its respect in the morning?

Castello Di Bossi Chianti Classico 2005 $19.95 Genes

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Simon's house, Mixed musical backdrop consisting of Ben Folds Five & Black Grape , Roundtable Pizza (large with pepperoni and olives)

Initial Impressions:
"This is the thinking mans Merlot" -SP
"I would never want to add water to this." -AP

Descriptive terms:
Woody, warm, playful, teasing, christmassy, bright, chameleon-like, esoteric

Character Comparisons:
Fletch; Chelsea Handler; A Circus clown.

Overall Rating and Conclusions:

AP rating 4 corkscrew turns.
SP rating 3.75 corkscrew turns.
OVER ALL RATING 4 corkscrew turns
Tastes different with every sip, but kind of tastes like grape juice.
Flat on my tongue but rounded in the back of my mouth.
This is Andrews favorite to date. The less light that shines through it, the more satisfied he feels.
This is the wine that first showed its strength and subtlety simultaneously. The result is a new level of satisfaction for Andrew.

It's Friday...

The Chianti Song

Please listen and enjoy the "Chianti Song". I think it has exactly the right energy for this endeavor.

Thanks to the Followers and the Rating System.

Just wanted to thank our 5 followers. You are truly the lucky ones getting in on the ground floor as you have.

We also wanted to take some time to explain our rating system (now that we have one). It is achingly simple and, at the same time, infinitely descriptive. As you begin to apply our ratings to your own Chianti selections, you will find your life enhanced to an immeasurable degree.
You're welcome.

We work on a standard 6 point scale, with .25 increments between. The units of scale are "Turns of the Corkscrew". Six full turns of the corkscrew is enough to completely remove a cork from a bottle of wine. A "Six Turn" score indicates that the wine is so sublime that you would want to bathe in its warm comforts and tell it your most intimate secrets while it strokes your hair. A "Six Turn" (6 CST's) wine is so magnificent, so captivating, you may consider embezzling company funds and leaving your wife for it.

By contrast, a "One Turn" (or less) denotes that the cork should NEVER be removed from the bottle. The bottle should then be sealed in concrete and buried underground. A "One Turner" (1 CST) will make you want to scrape off and disinfect your taste buds. You will very likely want to get treatment and intensive counseling for your month after this most heinous violation.

As you can see, everything else fits in between quite nicely. We are happy to continue sampling wines on your behalf and will relate the results using this scale. It is our hope that the service that we provide equips you with a degree of direction in the otherwise treacherous minefield of Chiantis.

"Let the Corkscrew be your guide"

Contadino 2007

$5.99 @ Bevmo

January 15, 2010

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Andrew's house, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 in the PS3, Last few slices of round table pizza

Initial Impressions:
"This wine made me burp" - AP
"That is some sharp tangy shit" - SP

Descriptive terms:
Acidic, burned jelly babies, like licking a basketball, Alien acid blood, wirey and like sandpaper

Character Comparisons:
Randy "macho man" Savage, Pip (from Great Expectations)

Overall Ratings and Conclusions:
Initially rated at a flat 1.0 turns of a corkscrew, but with a little time and air it reached the peak of 1.75 turns...

I might use it to flavor my favorite "red sauce". It's the type of vinegar that gives a headache. It is important to note that this Chianti aged well in the full 60 minutes of consumption. This puppy needs to breath. As a matter of fact you might consider "mouth to mouth" to afford it the opportunity to do something just less then impress.

Gabbiano 2008 Chianti

$9.98 @ Safeway

January 15 2010

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Andrew's place, Blue Ray version of District 9 on TV, two office\desk chairs for comfort.

Initial Impressions:
"I'm pretty well convinced this will be a better wine in a year" - AP
"This wine tastes bitchy. I feel like I wanna get on it's good side." - SP

Descriptive terms:
nylon, misses the tongue and hits the back of the throat, tinny (but not in a completely bad way), hallow, bitter, kind of aggressive, infantile, metallic, jam.

Character Comparisons:
Kelly Osborn, Violet Beauregard (of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

Overall Rating and Conclusions:

2.75 turns of the corkscrew

disappointing and feel like it let itself down.

this wine should go back to "mommas house" finish school reach the age of consent and call me then.

It's nearly friday. Can I open a new bottle now?

After thoughts...

Was expecting to have "a bit of a headache" this morning, but so far, nothing. This bodes well for the future of the FNCC.

Please note: Recently there has been a lot of interest in joining the FNCC. Founding members of the FNCC will consider any requests, but i will say this, those with good spelling and punctuation skills will be looked on more favorably.

Da Vinci 2oo7 $11.99 BevMo

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Simon's house, Modest Mouse musical backdrop, Last few slices of round table pizza

Initial Impressions:
"Pour me another glass" - AP
"Tastes like wine mayonnaise - but in a good way" - SP

Descriptive terms:
Soft, confident, round, combed, boobies, soft scented, primal, stern, solid.

Character Comparisons:
Orson Wells, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, B.B. King

Overall Rating and Conclusions:

3.5 corkscrew turns
Would skip a matinee to get this.
I'll bet this would taste good with some cheese. I will get another bottle, and drink it with some cheese.
I can dig it. Have enjoyed every swallow.

Primo Vino

Poggio Basso 2008 $5.99 Safeway

Environment and Extraneous Variables:
Simon's house, Godfather Theme musical backdrop, Roundtable Pizza (large with pepperoni and olives)

Initial Impressions:
"I gotta tell ya,so far, its not my favorite of the one that, we've tried." SP
"I'd like to be quoted as saying" "I gotta have a quote as well." AP

Descriptive terms:
thin, watery, bitey, cheap, subservient, spineless, vinegary, abrasive

Character Comparisons:
Burke (from Aliens), Fredo (from Godfather)

Overall Rating and Conclusions:

1.5 corkscrew turns
the best part of the wine is that we won't drink it next time.
this wine does not taste like bad bacon, unlike the worst tasting wine i've ever had the displeasure of drinking.
I'm ready for a new wine.