Serena Sweet Red

By Chris and Sherry Hardie

We enjoy the challenge of conquering the big, in-your-face red wines that declare war on your taste buds. Then there’s Serena. As its name suggests, this wine is quite serene.

Serena is made in the Piedmont region of Italy from the brachetto grape, known for its aromatic and slightly fizzy wines the Italians call frizzante. It must be related to concord because that’s the dominant flavor of this wine, which is low in alcohol at 5.5 percent.

Fortunately, there’s more to this wine than fizzy grape juice, as other red berry flavors fill out the palate. We don’t see this wine pairing with dinner, but it would make a perfect summer sipper or as an after-dinner dessert.

Sherry: “Very sweet grape and strawberry.” 3 stars

Chris: “A sweet fizz of strawberry and cherry.” 3 stars

Available locally for about $11.

Coming next week: Purple Cowboy