Wine of the Week: Re Midas Corvina delle Venezie IGT

Wine: Re Midas Corvina delle Venezie IGT

Grape: Corvina

Region: Soave, Northern Italy

Vintage: 2012

Price: $3.99

Availability: Lee's Discount Liquor

In the glass: Re Midas wine is a fine, deep semitranslucent garnet-red color with a firm, deep core going out into a slightly tinged garnet-red rim definition.

On the nose: There is a lovely basket of freshly picked ripe red Morello cherries, cherry compote and cranberry juice with just hints of aged wood, soft vanilla, mixed baking spices and a touch of warm minerals.

On the palate: This is one of the lighter styles of Italian reds with nice density and that classic high acidity of cherry fruit right upfront, then a mellowing of the red fruit flavors with fruit roll-ups going into the midpalate. The finish is really suave and soft with red berry crush, nice balance and a fine lingering aftertaste.

Odds and ends: Having just returned from a trip to Northern Italy, among other places, I can totally vouch for this wine. It is perfect for the summer, because it is one of the lighter-style reds produced in that country. It is made with corvina grapes, which are indigenous to that part of Italy, from slopes to the north of Soave, which is between Milan and Venice, hence the designation of Venezie IGT on the bottle. This part of Italy is mountainous and provides for ample grape cultivation, the way it has been done for thousands of years. It is also one of the most beautiful regions in Europe to behold with the vineyard-strewn slopes of the Dolomites and the charming lakes. The Cantina di Soave, which specializes in white wines from the famous Soave DOCG, shows that they know how to craft good drinking reds as well. This wine is found at the utterly ridiculous price of less than $4 and you get free wine charms in the neck-hanger of the bottle. It's an unbeatable wine for pizza any time of the day. Drink it now through 2016.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears on Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89106-0749, or email him at gil@winevegas.com.