4 Seasons Wine Ad

We recently drank our way through Woodinville Passport 2008, in the ever-burgeoning Woodinville wine region just outside of Seattle, Washington. Here, we experienced wine tasting in warehouse office parks – and never was a more true and honest passion for wine represented without all the fancy mahogany tasting bars, and retail swag you find in other wineries. With a little help from some Woodinville winemakers, I share with you my top tips for how to attack a wine tasting festival.

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Last month we explored the wines of Mt. Vesuvius in Campania. This article will explore the wines from Italy’s other famous volcano, Mt. Etna. Mt. Etna is in the eastern portion of Sicily. It is the highest active volcano in Sicily at just under 11,000 feet often capped with snow. It is a beautiful place and mystical setting.

This is what happens when I find myself home alone on a cold rainy night with a lot of unopened wine and an iTunes habit that borders on obsession. This list, though somewhat thoroughly researched, is far from scientific. But hey, if VH1 can produce the Top 100 Child Stars of All-Time, why can't I make a similarly pointless wine song list? I have too much time on my hands. Cheers.

1. Scenes from an Italian Restaurant by Billy Joel

THREE PRICE POINTS SUITED FOR ANY POCKETBOOK

Elegance. Pearls and lace. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Port and cigars. The meal is over, relaxed guests retire to cozy corners to chat, and, unless relegated to the patio, just a few head down the hall to the parlor to partake in that traditional pleasure.

Do you wonder how party hosts select cigars and their sidekick ports?

With one last column before Christmas and New Years, I would like to continue talking about the wonderful sparkling wines of Italy. This four part series started with the wines of Asti in the Piemonte, then we explored the Franciacorta’s of Lombardia, and the last column discussed the ubiquitous Proseccos of the Veneto. All of these will make tasty and affordable additions to your holiday festivities.

In this article, I want to explore a wine that may be one of the most misunderstood wines not only in Italy, but anywhere. That wine is Lambrusco.

December, what do we do with you? So full of merriment, yet so manic. Emotions bubble to the surface like corks, dredging up memories of past joys, pains, laughter and tears just in time for you to tie a nice bow around them all and start anew in January. And what better tumultuous time of year to give yourself a kick in the pants and try something new, like ice wine?

Contrary to what you might think, ice wine is not a Cabernet Sauvignon-flavored popsicle (although, that’s a great idea….)

Continuing our Italian Sparkling wine Journeys (just in time for the holidays), we will continue to head east thru northern Italy. You may recall we started in Piemonte with Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti. Then traveled east thru Lombardia and their sparkler, Franciacorta. Continuing on east of Lombardia is the Veneto, home to some world class red and white wines and perhaps the best sparkling wine value (along with Cava from Spain) available on store shelves. I am talking, of course, about Prosecco.

Italy makes a wide variety of sparkling wines that are wonderful values and great tasting wines suitable for the holidays. In the last article, we discussed the sparkling wines of Asti in the Piemonte (Moscato d’Asti and Asti Spumante). I would like to continue to explore the sparkling wines of Italy. The first region one encounters when heading east from the Piemonte is the region of Lombardia. Lombardia is a landlocked region surrounded by mountains. Lakes Garda, Iseo and Como temper the climate. Lombardia is Italy’s largest and most populated region.