Originally published on November 16, 2009.
Every year, the New York Times does a round up of wine suggestions for Thanksgiving. This year, one of the suggestions was the Il Frappato from Valle dell’Acate. We’ve carried this wine before and agree with Eric Asimov’s description that it’s a “kind of Sicilian Beaujolias.” It’s intensely aromatic, with floral notes and bright berries and a lovely pale ruby color that’s one or two steps darker than a rose.
I like the Il Frappato very much…..but….on the perpetual quest for something new, I was eager to get in the Frappato’s kissing cousin, a Lacrima di Morro d’Alba.
Honestly, Frappato and Lacrima di Morro d’Alba aren’t related at all. Frappato is grown in Sicily, in the south. Lacrima di Morro is a grape grown in a tiny wine region located in the Marche, on the east coast, a bit north of the middle of the back of the boot. But to my nose, they’re both “weird but good” in a similar way. Light- to medium-bodied but bursting with aromatic intensity – fresh flower gardens and bright berries. The Frappato is more red berry, while the Lacrima is a little more blue berry and the flowers are more purple, like violets and lavendar. The (three) Lacrimas that I’ve tasted also seem to have a little more earthiness to them, which is why I wanted to swap one in for the Frappato as the weather gets cooler.
But that’s sort of splitting hairs. Both grapes make for fresh, lively, yummy wines that are great for the long, heavy meal that can be Thanksgiving. And both should cost just under $20.
So pick up the Frappato, as mentioned in the New York Times.
Or be on the bleeding edge of coolness and pick up the even more obscure Luigi Guisti Lacrima di Morro d’Alba 2006. Consider it next year’s Frappato.
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P.S. If you do check this wine out on the Frankly Wines web site, you’ll see that we list Alba, Piedmont as the region. Ignore!! This wine has nothing to do with the Piedmont, although obviously, as you can see from my very own website, that’s not an uncommon mistake!