I've been having fun experimenting with different wines from a tiny shop in upstate New York lately. When I taste something I enjoy, I call them, tell them what it was, and they make recommendations for other wines of a similar style. Inevitably, as the conversation gets going, they'll get excited and share a few other things they're enjoying. Before long, I've got the makings of a case.
This is how I ended up with a few bottles of the 2017 Cantina Sociale Cooperativa Copertino Rosso Riserva ($16.) Made predominantly from negroamaro grapes grown way down in the very heel of the Italy (which is its own peninsula called Salento,) this nine year old wine is shockingly fresh and easygoing. It's also got plenty of both fruit and acidity, making it a versatile food wine. It's also got enough complexity to be attractive to many tastes. Around 300 growers from the region combine their harvests each year to make this cooperative wine. How they are able to age it in bottle for so long and keep the price so low is a mystery. If it's not in your local market, it sohuld be pretty easy to find online.
