The Story The Riondo Prosecco Spago Nero is 100% Glera grape from the DOC portion of the Prosecco region of Veneto in Northern Italy. The Spago Nero differs from the usual Prosecco in that this is Frizzante which refers to the pressure (atmospheres) inside the bottle. A typical Prosecco will have about 3 atmospheres of…
Read More
The Story The Grifone 1967 Toscana 2014 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s wine, sourced from grapes from the Tuscany region of Italy. This wine is also known as a “Super Tuscan“, which is Sangiovese blended with French varietal grapes, in this case 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Syrah. There is a story about how these IGP…
Read More
The Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio Rosé 2017 is a $5.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, it is one of Bronco Wine Company (2 Buck Chuck) extensive line of wine brands, this one is sourced from vineyards near the town of Verona in the Veneto region of northeast Italy, Prosecco is in the same general area. This is…
Read More
The Mionetto Prosecco Brut DOC is made rom the Glera grape sourced from vineyards near the town of Valdobbiadene inside the Treviso appellation in the Veneto region (near Venice) of Italy. Mionetto has been producing wine since 1887 and all Prosecco is made from one grape varietal, the Glera grape. There are 2 main growing areas in…
Read More
The Indigenous Nebbiolo d’Alba 2015 is 100% Nebbiolo grape sourced from a family owned Estate in the Roero district of Piedmont in northern Italy. Indigenous Selection is an importer representing a carefully curated portfolio of wineries mainly in the Piedmont and Tuscany areas of Italy. The Indigenous label was created to be an old school second…
Read More
The Lagaria Pinot Grigio 2015 is sourced from vineyards in the Val Lagarina (Lagarina Valley) in the Venezie district of northwest Italy. You may have noticed that many of the Italian Pinot Grigio on store shelves come from the Alto Adige area of Venezie, the Adige is a large river that runs thru this region and…
Read More
The Jellybean Vineyards Pinot Grigio is a non-vintage wine sourced from vineyards in the Puglia region of southern Italy if you can remember your 7th-grade geography glass, Puglia is the heel of the boot. This Pinot Grigio is classified an IGT wine. Italian wine is governed differently from the US wine industry. Most US rules have…
Read More
The Locations “I” (Italy) Red Blend is a blend of Negroamaro and Nero d’Avoloa from Puglia Southern Italy and Barbera from Piedmont in Northwest Italy. Italy is a land of 2,000 indigenous grapes that have existed very happily until Dave Phinney hit. This is an Italian wine made with California rules. This ain’t DOCG, this ain’t DOC,…
Read More
The IL Nespoli Sangiovese 2012 is 100% Sangiovese sourced from Poderi dal Nespoli 1929 (name refers to the year the winery was founded) family owned estate vineyards located near the village of Nespoli in the Romagna region of Emilia-Romagna in north-central Italy. Emilia-Romagna is the part of Italy where Ferrari, Maserati and most of the…
Read More
The Poderi dal Nespoli Pagadebit 2014 is 90% Bombino Bianco and 10% Sauvignon Blanc sourced from Poderi dal Nespoli 1929 (the winery, which was founded in 1929) DOC vineyards, located in the Hills of Forli area of Romagna, Italy. There are hundreds of different White grape varietals in Italy, each region and almost every town…
Read More
The Roccafiore Prova D’Autore 2012 is 40% Sagrantino, 30% Montepulciano and 30% Sangiovese sourced from Cantina Roccafiore certified organic vineyards near the town of Todi in the Umbria region of Italy. Sagrantino is a grape that is indigenous to Umbria. Umbria is a landlocked area south of Tuscany and about 90 miles north of Rome….
Read More
The Villabella Vigna Morlongo Bardolino Classico DOC 2013 is a blend of 55% Corvina, 30% Rondinella and 15% Corvinone grown in an estate vineyard on a hillside near Lake Garda in Verona, Italy. Those are local grapes, traditionally used in the production of Bardolino, it seems every Italian town has indigenous local grapes that are only…
Read More
The 2011 Secco (translates to dry) Italian Bubbles Rose’ Brut is a Sparkling wine sourced from vineyards in Veneto, Italy consisting of 80% Raboso Piave and 20% Pinot Noir. Raboso Piave is a grape indigenous to Veneto and by law must make up at least 70% of the blend. Secco Italian Bubbles is a project…
Read More
The 2012 Grifone Primitivo is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive, sourced from old vine vineyards in Puglia (the heel of boot) of Italy. Primitivo from Puglia and Zinfandel from California are the exact same grape, just different names and different soil and growing conditions, so they won’t taste exactly the same. The Primitivo/Zinfandel grape…
Read More
The 2010 Roccalta Sangiovese is a $3.99 Trader Joe’s import exclusive sourced from Sangiovese grapes grown in the Puglia (the heel of Italy’s boot) region in southeastern Italy. Sangiovese is the main grape used in Chianti and the lead grape in Super Tuscan blends. This is an IGT designated wine which means that the wine…
Read MoreWhen it comes to bubbly, I love a nice Prosecco. It’s Italy’s answer to Champagne. The difference? Well, both are sparkling wines from Europe that lean towards being drier than sweeter. Both have to be produced in very specific places and using very specific methods. Champagne is sparkling wine made primarily from only three grapes…
Read MoreThe Grandi Mori Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG is a $8.99 Sparkling wine imported exclusively for ALDI’s. This is an Extra Dry Prosecco, which is halfway between Brut and Dry (The Italians prefer their Prosecco to be Extra Dry). The Prosecco DOC is grown in the Veneto and Friuli region, the Valdobbiadene DOCG is a valley…
Read MoreThe 2011 Secco (Dry) Italian Bubbles Bianco (White) is a blend of 77% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Bianco (a mutation of Pinot Noir) and 8% Raboso Piave (a Red local grape) sourced from vineyards in the northern part of the Piave Valley of Veneto, Italy. This is a joint project with Charles Smith of Charles Smith Wines…
Read MoreThe Tenute Tomasella Ose-Rosato Demi-Sec is a Spumante or Sparkling wine grown in vineyards in both Veneto and Fruili in north-eastern Italy. The grapes used are Refosco (a dark skinned Red grape) and Verduzzo (one of the most planted White grapes from this area), the grapes are not picked a harvest, but left on the…
Read MoreThe 2011 Grecante Grechetto dei Colli Martani is 100% Grechetto grown on Arnold-Capri Estate vineyards on the Colli Martani DOC located on the left bank of the Tiber River in the Montefalco region of Umbria in Central Italy. The Grechetto grape made one of the most popular wines during the Renaissance and in Montefalco it was a…
Read MoreThe 2011 Attems Pinot Grigio is sourced from vineyards in the Collio Goriziano area of Venezia Giulia in Italy. Venezia Giulia is in the Northeast corner of Italy, near the Alps and the area is a mix of German, Slovakian and Italian influences. This is an IGT designated wine, which is similar to Vin de Pays…
Read MoreThe 2011 FUSO Verdicchio di Matelica (no not Metallica) is sourced from grapes grown by the Cantina Belisario Co-Op in the Matelica DOC in Marche, central Italy. Verdicchio is a popular White grape in Italy, back in the 1980s they grew so much Verdicchio that there was more Verdicchio grown in the world than Chardonnay….
Read MoreThe 2011 Le Vigne di Alice DOCG Extra Dry Prosecco is sourced from Glera grapes grown in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG (the area where the best Glera grapes are grown) of Italy. Le Vigne di Alice is a women owned and operated boutique winery and their motto is “Life is a Bubble”. This is a…
Read MoreThe 2011 Grate Red (Grate comes from the grilling surface of what looks like a Weber grill on the label) Toscana Rosso is a $4.99 Aldi’s exclusive. Aldi’s is an international company and the parent company of Trader Joe’s. In Europe, Aldi’s wines are treated something like how we treat Trader Joe’s, they have a…
Read More
