Brachetto Carignan Tocai Friulano 12 Ship Free Items

Brachetto is a delicate red wine grape grown predominantly in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, where it has been cultivated and used in the production of a range of wines for centuries. The grapes usually hold delicate flavors of summer berries, most notably strawberries, and are used to make light bodied, extremely drinkable wines perfect for hot sunny days. Their thin skins mean that they are usually low in tannins, which results in a silky smooth, mild red wine. Because of their lightness and fresh, summery flavors, they are also used to make excellent sparkling wines, similar to a Lambrusco. They are a highly aromatic grape varietal, and in recent decades they have started to be planted in many New World countries with similar climatic conditions to their native Italy.

Carignan is an ancient blue-skinned grape varietal, thought to be indigenous to the Aragon region of Spain. However, today it is most commonly associated with the fine wines of southern France, and has been grown in many countries around the world which have the warm and dry conditions it requires to thrive. Carignan is recognized as being quite a sensitive vine, highly susceptible to all kinds of rot and mildew, although producing excellent results when given the right conditions and handled correctly. Its high tannin levels and acidity make the Carignan grapes very astringent, and as such, they are often used as a blending grape to give body to other, lesser bodied varietals. Despite this, with careful treatment, Carignan can produce superb single varietal wines packed full of character and unique attributes.

The Tocai Fruiliano grape varietal has been grown in and around the northern regions of Italy for centuries, and is still widely praised for its distinctive character and beautiful set of flavors and aromas. Despite the name, the Tocai Fruiliano varietal is not actually related to the famous Tokaji grapes of Hungary, or the Tokay d'Alsace grapes, but is actually the same species as Sauvignon Vert. Wines made from the Tocai Fruiliano grape are generally a pale straw yellow in color, and are recognizable by their aroma of wild flowers and orchard fruits such as pears. The flavor of the wines varies from vineyard to vineyard, and the Tocai Fruiliano grape is renowned for having a broad set of flavors, although citrus notes are usually detectable in most bottles.