Winey Tasting Notes: Taking Down the Decorations with Banfi Chianti Superior

As I write this, there is a bit of a moral victory being celebrated in the Winey household. Not by anybody but me, mind you, but it’s still there. That’s because the month of January is coming to a close and….the Christmas decorations have been down for three weeks!!

Now, I can hear some of you saying it: “So what? It’s January, they should be down.” And I’m with you on this one. However, various members of the Winey family (Hubby and Daughter) couldn’t disagree with me/us more. In fact, the house would still be decked with boughs of holly (not to mention very pointy dried out pine needles) if they had their way. But this year, I won.

It’s not that I am a Scrooge or a Grinch. Nope. I absolutely love decorating the house for Christmas. I love the colors and the velvet and the smell of our live tree and wreath. I love the twinkling lights and the window candles. The unspoken rule here is that they MUST all be up by the time Thanksgiving weekend ends. As well they should be.

But after 4 weeks, did you ever try to dust around a Dickens’ village? Have you ever had to wrestle away all the teeny fake pine trees from a puppy who thinks the ski village is there for her teething pleasure and hers alone? How about opening cabinets and having the pictures that would normally be sitting on a side table tumble out on you, because the winter inn and its accompanying waltzing reindeer are currently holding court on that table? And glitter. Don’t get me started. I would also argue that stepping on a Christmas tree needle in bare feet would rival any “stepping on a Lego block” pain out there.

So by the time the presents are opened, the dinner(s) are cooked and the New Year rung in, I really just want my house back. In my mind, all those decorations after the holiday is over and children are back at school are just depressing. And cluttered. So this year, I didn’t even discuss it. The weekend after New Years, I simply went into action. Hubby didn’t say much…I think he knew better. And the Winey daughter happened to be out for the day, so I was able to pack away in relative peace. (My task was also made easier by the fact that our Christmas tree had some sort of death wish this year – toppling no less than 5 times and destroying many ornaments. I am not happy about this in the least. But there was a LOT more room in the ornament boxes.)

And by that evening (after a little outburst from the daughter upon her arrival home), it was all gone. Back into the boxes to rest in the attic until next year. I had vacuumed and dusted and arranged and the house was back to its everyday self.

And then it was time for MY reward! I needed something to sip and savor the end of a productive day. So I turned to a bottle of Banfi Chianti Superiore (2010, 13%, Italy).  The nose on deep red wine was full of berries and black cherries with a faint tinge of bacon. It tasted tart in the front of my mouth – a bit plummy with some sour berries. The oak flavor showed up early and strong – I almost wished the fruity tartness had lasted just a bit longer before giving way to the oak. As you might guess, the finish was full of tangy tannins – very warm on the sides of my mouth and a little bit drying. Was it the perfect way to end my day? It came close.

For those of you who like your oak beating up on the fruit though, this might just be the wine for you! It retails for around $11 and would pair well with those winter pasta dishes we all crave as well as stews (beef or chicken).

But I’m happy. My house is back to normal and has been for a few weeks now. I will NOT be spending Groundhog Day packing ornaments and will instead devote the coming weekend to wishing the Cleveland Browns were in the Super Bowl. Or the playoffs. Or even the winning column. But that’s another story….

Cheers!

I was sent this wine for review purposes. The opinions are my own.