wine recs

If you are not that into wines you probably should not read this post. But before you leave... Did you check out Caroline's paintings in the post before this one? She is really good. She clearly has a talent for this, and she is having a lot of fun doing it. Brava, Carolina!

If you are into wines, I thought this would be a good time to share with you all some of our good finds here in Italy. See what you can get at your local wine shops, and let us know what you like. The ideas to post this came to me because Caroline forgot to mention Montefalco in the list of destinations in Umbria we saw while Frankie was here. Montefalco, as it turns out, is the home of the Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG red wine. At dinner there we sampled a bottle of the aforementioned wine and it was marvelous. There was also a certain novelty factor because the wine was served in glasses that looked more like hurricane lanterns. They were HUGE. You could almost fit your whole head in the glass.

Anyway, I thought this might be a good chance to fill you in on some of our good wine finds here in Italy. Bring a bottle to that holiday party and park yourself next to the host so that you can get a taste when they open it. I am learning a lot, and it is pretty complicated. I will spare you the lesson and get to the recs. We are still totally ignorant in terms of the big picture of Italian wines, but these are the types of wine we have had so far that we look for when we go to the market.

DOCG Reds (Denominazione di Origine Controlata e Garantita, which means pricier, usually anywhere from 8 to 60 euro or more depending on the vintage and the producer. We don't buy these on a regular basis, but they are certainly some of the best we have tasted here)
1) Sagrantino di Montefalco- lighter than a cabernet, brunello, or a chianti, but complex and tasty
2) Vino Nobile di Montepulciano- sort of like a pinot noir but a bit more complex and a little heavier
3) Chianti Classico- it's everywhere and for good reason in my opinion.
4) Brunello di Montalcino- one of the more famous reds from Italy. We tasted a bunch of these with Lisa and Jer while we were in Montalcino (in a wine bar that is inside the medieval fortress), and they were all pretty good. One or two were exceptional. Personally, this is my least favorite of the DOCG's we have tried (which is sort of like saying its the least talented of the Rockettes), but I suspect that if you shell out the big bucks ($50 plus) you won't be disappointed. I also suspect that this wine will age very well if you have a cellar going.

DOC Reds (Denominzione di Origine Controlata. These range in price from 4 euro to 30 or more. You can most likely pick these up for less than $20 in the US)
1) Rosso di Montefalco- the poorer cousin of the Sagrantino. a bit less complex, but very tasty.
2) Rosso di Montepulciano- poorer cousin of the Vino Nobile. tasty.
3) Barbera d'Asti- we found a bottle of this for less than 10 euro that rivals the best wines we have had here. Others are pretty ordinary, but still good and a good value.
4) Barbera d'Alba- I had an awesome one at Trimani (a reputable wine bar) in Rome.
5) Teroldego Rotaliano- we have only had one bottle of this, but it was very good.

IGT Reds (Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Usually cheaper than the other two, i.e. DOCG and DOC, but not always.)
1) Toscana -a solid Tuscan red wine. Cheaper than the "big" ones. Huge differences from producer to producer and from town to town. If you find a good one, it can be a great value.
2) Umbria (usually a Merlot from what I can tell). These have all been very tasty so far. The "Falesco" label is one that we have liked (and the only one I can remember).

DOC Whites
1) Orvieto Classico- a nice balance of light and sweet. definitely something to try if you are getting sick of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

White Varietals (these ones aren't classified in the Italian system, but they are readily available here. I have definitely seen them in the states too.)
Arneis- this is a very interesting white that tastes sort of like a Viognier as far as I can recall. If you are sick of the same old white wine flavors, give this one a try.
Falanghina- a dry wine that is great when it is hot out. Sort of like a pinot grigio, but I like this a lot more than Pinot Grigio.

That's it. Let me know if you find a good bottle. Ciao tutti!