Italy

• Abruzzo
• Alto Adige
• Apulia
• Basilicata
• Calabria
• Campagna
• Emilia-Romagna
• Friuli-Venezia Giulia
• Liguria
• Lombardia
  • Franciacorta
• Marche
• Molise
• Piedmont (Piemonte)
• Sicily
  • Mt. Etna
• Trentino-Alto Adige
• Tuscany
  • Brunello di Montalcino
  • Chianti
• Umbria
• Valle d'Aosta
• Veneto
  • Prosecco
  • Soave
• Sardinia

This beautiful red is from Sardinia, Italy.  It is a blend of Bovale Sardo, Carignano, and Cannonau.  Garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, slight plums, sea air, and floral notes.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is interesting as well as tasty.  On the palate, cherries with some herbal notes and a bit of smoke.  Complex.  This is drinking well now and probably has another five to seven more years at peak.  It is very food friendly and would be great with fowl but also a nice plate of Gnocchi with roasted veggies.  

Interesting to taste this after recently trying the 2021 (https://www.intowine.com/reviews/2021-arnaldo-caprai-grechetto-colli-mar...).  Light golden in color,  clear and bright.  The nose has a nice minerality but the fruit seems faded.  Some chalk and earthiness.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, lots of minerality with a slight peach note.  Good acidity.  Bitter almond note on the finish.

Tasted at a wine bar in Charlotte, North Carolina.  $33 off the menu.  Great wine and worth twice the price.  Deep garnet in color.  The nose has cherries, slight dried cherry, and spices.  Great texture.  Great acidity.  Delicious.  It will be better with food.  A rich pasta dish would be great.  Drink over the next five to eight years. 

This is a new producer for me, and it showed very well.  Purple in color, some browning, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with red and black cherries, slight dried cherry note, and smoke.  Medium bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, lots of black cherry fruit.  Interesting as it seems a bit old and not quite fully open at the same time.  It does come together a bit with air.  Good finish.  I don't think the the tannins will ever resolve so best to east this with bigger or fatty foods.  A nice beef stew with an Italian bent should be perfect.  Drink over the next few yea

This is from the Tuscan branch of Gaja, more widely known for their wines from Piedmont in northern Italy.  It is a blend of 55% Merlot, 35% Syrah,  and 10% Sangiovese.  Purple in color with ruby swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, black cherries, sandalwood, slight chocolate and spice.  Firm tannins.  Full bodied.  On the palate, cassis, black cherries, slight forest floor and chocolate.  Long finish.  This is tasty now but obviously young.  It could use a few more years of cellaring and then drink for ten to fifteen after that.  Nice on its own, this would w

Lugana is a wine region in Italy along the southern side of Lake Garda.  The grape is Turbiana, previously known as Trebbiano di Lugana.  13% abv.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is spicy with slight peach.  My guess is that on release, the peach notes were stronger but have faded over time.  Slightly oily texture.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, there is some sweetness to the wine (demi-sec?).  Also apples.  This bottle seemed well past prime but it may not have been a proper bottle as it has some mustiness to it.  Was it TCA or just bottle stink?  Not sure.  Hopefully, I can

Served blind.  Light golden in color with a touch of copper color making me think Pinot Grigio.  The nose is nice with lots of minerality.  Also dust, apples and some initial sulfur notes (which blew off).  Slightly oily texture.  Medium bodied.  A fair mount of oak showing but it somehow works.  On the palate, limes and apples.  Good acidity.  This is an excellent winery with good values.  Drink over the next few years.  This will work on its own or with a pasta with a cream sauce.

While common in Italy, and a grape native to the island of Sicily, you don’t find much Grillo is other parts of the world. And that’s okay as Italy does an admirable job with the grape. It offers good minerality, nice acidity and flavors of subtle lemon-lime, white peach, kumquat, apricot, resin and honeysuckle, light mango and other tropical fruit notes. In terms of food pairing, this is the kind of wine that is ultimately versatile, and Stemmari offers a terrific value. ORIGIN: Sicily, Italy. ALCOHOL: 13%

This is a blend of 90 Sangiovese and 10% Colorino from central Italy.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cherries, with some cranberries and slight spice.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, plums, slight chocolate and spice.  Clean.  This drinks easy.  Nice on its own, this is very food friendly.  A nice plate of pasta would work well.  Drink over the next seven to ten years.  Great value.  

Purchased about 15 years ago, this was opened and turned out to be corked.  Fifty-one years old and it was ruined the day it was bottled.  Sad.  It did seem like it had a bit of life left under the TCA.