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

I am a big fan of these wines.  They are great at the end of a meal.  Sweet with some effervescence and low alcohol (5%abv).  Pale golden in color with a nice froth to it.  The nose is nice with some apples, baked peaches and a bit of a floral note.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is sweet but not cloying.  The bubbles, the acidity and the sugar all dance together on the tongue.  Nice finish.  This is lovely on its own and works well with a less sweet (plain) cookie or cake.  Drink now.  

Made from the Negroamaro grape in the heel of Italy's boot.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice; dusty with cherries, tobacco, black pepper and anise.  Nice texture.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, flavors of black cherries with some chocolate and slight anise on the long finish.  This is nice on its own but better with food.  It needs full bodied food at this point and would work well with Orecchiette in a heavy sauce.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc, 15% Merlot, and 5% Petit Verdot from Tuscany.  Purple in color with some garnet swirls, mostly opaque and bright.  Great nose with cassis, black cherries, graphite and clay.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, flavors of cassis, clay and a bit of chocolate.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now and should have another eight to twelve years left.  Nice on its own, this would be a nice match with Spaghetti Bolognaise.  

This is made from the Aglianico grape in the arch of the boot in Italy.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep with black cherries, plums, spice, char and slight anise.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Well balance.  Nice texture.  On the palate, this is tasty with black cherries and plums over some spice and smoke.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work very well with most foods (not seafood).  It went great with a Margherita Pizza.  Drink over the next eight to fifteen years.  

This is a very nice Barolo that is reasonably priced.  Light ruby in color, clear and bright.  The nose has cherries, some sour cherries, char and spice.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this has some depth.  It seems to be drinking well now though and about at peak.  Flavors of cherries with some spice and char.  It really needs food to show its best (what a shock for a Barolo).  Good finish.  This will be great with braised meats but also a nice mushroom pizza.  Drink over the next eight to twelve years.  

From Magnum.  Nice showing at age 25.  Brick red in color but no browning, clear and bright.  The nose is great with cherries, dust, dried flowers and a hint of anise.  Medium bodied.  Medium tannins.  Nice acidity.  On the palate, this has depth and some complexity.  Flavors of cherries with some anise and light char.  There is some oak showing but it seems mostly integrated.  Good finish.  This needs food to shine (duh).  It would be great with a plate of pasta with a mushroom cream sauce.  In regular 750ml format, it probably should be consumed in the next five years or so.