Italian Red

A slightly effervescent red wine, light and refreshingly sweet, low alcohol, that should be served chilled. Made in Northwestern Italy's Piedmont region, this 100% Malvasia is a conversation piece of every dinner party. Aromas of rose petals, juicy grapes

Hand harvested and fermented in tank, this 100% Tintilia is a fascinating Adriatic red aged four months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. With a deep and vibrant hue, this 2016 is medium bodied, and richly aromatic with dark, tangy fruit of mor

Talamonti Tre Saggi Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2015

Native to the Veneto region, Tai Rosso is a red grape traditionally called “Tocai Rosso” until the European Union designated the Hungarian Tokaji the sole European wine allowed to use the name in 2012. Tai Rosso is a genetic match to Grenache, Cannonau an

Ottouve Gragnano 2018

Lovers of Nebbiolo-based wines like Barolo and Barbaresco might find the wines of Valtellina a bit surprising. The region’s location in northern Lombardy on the Italian/Swiss border produces a different style wine from this normally tannic grape. Higher a

Our host Maurzio Farro grew up among vines growing just west of Campania’s capital city of Naples. He, along with his brothers and cousins helped the family make sales and deliver wine locally, earning the nickname “Cantiniere”, or the little cellar worke

The 2015 Le Piane Maggiorina Vino Rosso is a hand-harvested unique blend composed of more than 13 different grape varieties from 25 separate vineyard sites, then co-fermented and raised in tank: Mostly 40- to 100-year-old Nebbiolo, Croatina, Vespolina plu

Ten year old wines usually show their, well, age. Wines from cooperatives can be very middling. Many wines from Puglia are ponderous because weather is warm and overripens grapes. Yet, every now and then a wine turns your head and upends all of your preju

Braida Braida La Monella Barbera del Monferrato Frizzante 2016

The hills of Florence or Colli Fiorentini was officially recognized in 1932, a denomination that covers 18 municipalities and restricts grape varieties and production yields. The Colli Fiorentini Consortium was founded in 1994. Now counting more than 30 w

Marianna Annio and her husband Raffaele founded Agricole Pietraventosa in the southeasternmost provice of Puglia, in 2009. Today they produce roughly 12,000 bottles of organically grown wine from a 13 acre estate. The vineyards lie about 1,250 above sea l

When you taste approximately 5000 wines per year you think you’ve seen and tasted everything, but then there appears a wine from somewhere on the earth of which you’ve never heard. Ischia is a 24 square mile (1/3 the size of D.C.) island 19 miles off the

Ettore Germano Barbera d’ Alba 2018

This 2012 Palistori Rosso is one of three wines made at the Valgiano estate. It is an honest and generous wine composed primarily of Sangiovese with small amounts of Merlot and Syrah blended to offer a structure that is traditionally Tuscan - stylisticall

The 2015 Pasqua Passimento is a super-Veneto blend of 40% Merlot, 30% Corvina and 30% Croatina, each hand harvested, then set aside to raisinate in small trays until the grapes lose 30-40% of their water content. This drying process, called appassimento (

This super friendly, light to medium bodied, yet grippy 2017 Massucco Dolcetto d'Alba exemplifies what we enjoy most in northern Italian reds - inviting perfume, savory red fruit and appetite inducing freshness.  It's unusual to find a wine under $15 that

Ferrando La Torrazza Canavese Rosso DOC 2017

Last born in the Casaloste family, it expresses all the refinement and power of the Sangiovese grape produced in the Chianti area. It is obtained by combining the balance of the grapes coming from the best selections of the Eastern and Western sides of th

Canicatti "la Ferla" Nero d'Avola 2016