This romantically-named Italian blend is called “wine of one night” (vino di una notte) because the peels remain in contact with the must for only a short time, giving the wine its lovely peach color. It comes from the region of Lake Garda, home of Beautiful Man Gaius Valerius Catullus.

Catullus had a few words to say about wine, though (rich playboy that he was) he seems to have spurned the local stuff in favor of expensive Falernian vintages, which he took at full strength instead of mixing with water:

Boy, server of old Falernian,
Fill me a cup of the dry 
As mistress Postumia commands,
Drunker than the drunken grape.
Away with you, water, killer of wine!
Get thee hence to the killjoys.
This is pure, unmixed Bacchus.
(Carmen 27, translated by Linnet)

According to the producer Avanzi, the Chiaretto is “delicate, flowery, fresh, with notes of strawberry, white peach and a slightly bitter almond aftertaste.” It’s a fair description, though I noted honey on the nose, and instead of bitter almond, I detected a slight hint of raisin. 

Related articles

• Can I call it “Heaven Lake Garda” (mymamacancookblog.wordpress.com)
• Chiaretto Classico 2012 (thecellarmistress.wordpress.com)