I’d love to say we’re wine snobs, but if we were we wouldn’t be able to afford to sail.  We’ve got a great wine locker in the galley where we’ve got a case of red and white ready to open at any point. But lugging bottles (both full and empty) to and from shore gets old fast.  I’ve been on the hunt for a decent boxed wine for years.  Trip and I can agree that it should be red (neither of us are much into white wine), but I could never find one that a) we both liked, and b) would be light enough for summer drinking.

Enter Fantini.  It’s not widely available but I found it at a local wine store.  We tasted it that night and I went back and cleared out their inventory the next day.  Here’s to day drinking this summer!

Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC (Box): New from Fantini. The same Montepulciano wine, now available in a three liter box. 100% Montepulciano from vineyards located within the townships of Ortona, San Salvo, and Pollutri and covering a total of 825 acres. The grapes undergo soft pressing and de-stalking, before maceration on the skins and fermentation for 15 days. Ruby red with garnet reflections, the bouquet is fruity and quite persistent, reminiscent of red fruits, marasca cherries, and plums with vanilla nuances; full-bodied, with good balance and firm tannins, flavorful and long on the palate, immediately appealing and versatile.  http://www.empsonusa.com/Wines.php?prod=72