Imagine this, it's Friday night, you had a tough week, and some... As you go home for dinner, you feel jagged... and wired... You arrive, some music is blasting from the hi-fi... not the kind you would actually select at this particular moment...

But... the aromas coming from the kitchen are actually enticing... making you forget at least the music and the boat-like taxi ride home...

Then you sit at the table, and as your lovely partner serves you a delightful dish, you open a bottle of wine just just happened to grab from the wine fridge. not really looking but all the while mulling wether this could be just the wine to change your mood.. your fool mood...

As you eat and drink, suddenly you feel more lively, you smile more and life becomes gentle, light, and enjoyable, as those feel-good books tells you it should be...

You realize that not only the wonderful aromas and flavors of a nicely and lovingly made dish enlightens your mood but that the wine itself contributes a surprisingly large amount to this wonderful feel-good feelings you are experiencing now...

This was just about how it felt to drink Gianni Gagliardo's Serre Barolo 2005 last Friday. It was seductive in the way that it was smooth, lucious and silky on the palate. Seductive would be a better choice of words. This was reinforced by its delightful bouquet, fruity, perfumed, delicate yet enticing... just in the right amount to feel like being on a trip to some place exotic and far enough to forget what a difficult week it had been...

It certainly raised my spirits as i was drinking more of it. It's high alcoholic content contributing to a lovely feeling of well-being as it was warming up my belly and enliving the conversation i had with my lovely Maria...

The evening turned out to be so pleasant that we not only finished the bottle but we also put on a very funny Louis de Funes movie on the dvd and ended up enjoying a nice week-end indeed...

Sometimes, wine can act as a delightful mood enhancer....believe me...