Red Wines
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Light-bodied, fruity, soft red, little or no wood | Medium-bodied, concentrated red, some wood | Full-bodied, rich, tannic red, usually with oak |
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Grilled meats, rich pastas, carpaccio, ossobuco, lamb, and caramelized peppers. | Grilled chicken, pasta in spicy tomato sauce, small game birds, grilled veal, and mushroom dishes. | Spicy pastas, red meats, grilled steak, braised hare and game. |
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Perfumed, fresh, extremely quaffable wines versatile enough to pair with fish. | Rich in concentrated fruit and soft in tannins, these wines create a variety of food pairings; best when drunk between 1 and 5 years from vintage. | Fleshy, meaty, large-scaled wines meant to age and develop in time; better balance of freshness and complexity when young. |
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Valle dell'Asso Galatina Rosso 1999. Squeaky clean, fruity blend of organically grown Negroamaro and Primitivo grapes from one of the most forward thinking estates in Apulia. Supple and round on the palate, with juicy cherry and plum flavors supported by good acidity, fine spices, and a hint of meatiness, this is a wine for easy drinking that should be served slightly chilled. | I Campetti Castruccio Rosso 1999. From the warm and green countryside of the Maremma in Tuscany, just a few miles from the Tyrrhenian Sea, comes Castruccio, a Sangiovese blend (with a little Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo) of earthy, intense aromatics well integrated with supple and rich flavors. Enjoy this wine young, when its fragrance is at its peak. | Grillesino Morellino di Scansano 1998. Not far from Italy's west coast, the Sangiovese-based wines produced around the town of Scansano in Tuscany have become Italy's favorite. Under the supervision of Antinori, Grillesino produces an entry-level Morellino that is aromatically pleasant and technically flawless, rich in fruit (blackberries and currants), with gamey, spicy qualities. |
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Cantine Sant'Agata Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato "Na' Vota" 1999. Ruchè used to be the best-kept secret of all Piedmontese grape varieties, but recently this aromatic and elegant wine has become more visible on the American market, with 90 percent of total production being exported. Enjoy its perfumed aroma of red roses, violets, and cinnamon, and think of a variation on the theme of Pinot Noir. | Conterno-Fantino Barbera d'Alba "Vignota" 1999. Charming example of varietal Barbera from an award-winning young Piedmontese winemaker. The wine offers sweet ripe fruit aromas and flavors (plums, raspberries, and cherries) intertwined with fine, round tannins, a mere hint of wood (it ages in oak barrels for 7 months), and the bright acidity that makes Barbera one of the most versatile reds in the world. | Arnaldo Caprai Rosso di Monte- falco 1998. Before reaching for Sagrantino di Montefalco, the flagship wine of this Umbrian estate, try the simpler but extremely drinkable Rosso, a silky blend of Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Merlot, and Montepulciano grapes. Its medium concentration allows for better integration of tannins and fruit (blueberries and plums), the right degree of acidity, and a clean, licorice-scented finish. |
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Elisabetta Foradori Teroldego Rotaliano "Vigneto Sgarzon" 1998. The Teroldego Rotaliano grape and the Foradori estate are always pronounced in the same breath, as the best wines made with this Trentino classic variety come from this winery. The old Sgarzon vineyard gives a light purple wine with vibrant pomegranate and cherry flavors, plenty of spice, and a long, classy finish. | Ronchi di Castelluccio Ronco delle Ginestre 1997. This estate in the hills around Modigliana, in Romagna, has produced Sangiovese di Romagna of world-class quality since the early 1980s. The best comes from a 5-acre vineyard named after the wildflowers (ginestre) that used to grow there. Dark and concentrated, aromatically potent and fine (wild berries, toasted almonds, violets, and black pepper), it has enough structure to last at least 10 years. | Guicciardini Strozzi Millanni 1998. The historic Tuscan estate of Guicciardini Strozzi in San Gimignano, which has been producing quality wine since the fifteenth century, presents this classy and powerful wine made from a modern blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Aromas of black fruit, coffee, and a grassy note give way to a sumptuous and warm palate; the elegant, fine tannins in its structure allude to good longevity. |
White Wines
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Light white | Medium Bodied, fruity | Full-bodied, complex white, some wood |
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Light dishes with rich flavor; seafood, antipasti, simple pasta. | Seafood, frittatas, white meats, lighter truffle dishes. | Grilled fish, flavorful pastas, lemon chicken, white meats. |
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Refreshing acidity, pure fruit flavors, clean, crisp finish, absence of evident oak. | Most versatile whites; rich in texture, complex in flavor. | More powerful, fleshy wines with less pronounced aromatic profile and fruit flavors, suitable for aging. |
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Castello di Spessa Collio Pinot Grigio 1999. A lake of quaffable, characterless, and simple Pinot Grigio is offered today on the American market. The Castello di Spessa winery in Friuli-Venezia Giulia goes against the grain without raising the price: its Pinot Grigio is elegant and bright, with uncommonly vivid fruit flavors featured with extreme cleanliness and high-definition precision. | Settesoli Mandrarossa Bianco di Sicilia 2000. An unusual combination of flawless technology, quality viticulture, and reasonable pricing policy makes this large Sicilian co-op winery a true find. Its Bianco, a modern and fresh combination of a local grape (Grecanico) and a French import (Chardonnay), is clean, correct, and surprisingly crisp all the way through the fruity finish. | Sella & Mosca Vermentino di Sardegna "La Cala" 1999. Made with partially air-dried Vermentino grapes grown in sunny Sardinia, "La Cala" is a wine of rich substance with a fresh, intensely aromatic nose. A combination of seductive fruity and floral scents is laced with a surprisingly refreshing acidity, some spice (ginger comes to mind), and a grassy, crisp finish on the palate. |
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Lupi Pigato "Le Petraie" 1999. From the sparse, narrow, and rocky Ligurian vineyards comes this distinctive and unique white wine, produced with the local Pigato grape. A bouquet of flowers, figs, and dried peaches precedes a medium-rich, soft, and clean palate characterized by a dry finish with some hints of white pepper. | Pieropan Soave Classico Superiore "Calvarino" 1998. An almost Burgundian rendition of a classic wine from the Veneto produced by one of Italy's most celebrated winemakers. This single-vineyard Soave is refined and well-structured, with an impressive aromatic combination of fruit (pears, apples, and apricots), a palate consistent with the nose, and a vivid finish that lingers past any expectations. | Feudi di San Gregorio Fiano d'Avellino 1999. This ancient variety, cultivated in Campania since well before the Romans, rises to world class standards in the hands of this prestigious estate located in hilly Irpinia. The wine is broad and intense, with a clean, well-defined aroma of honeyed fruit, spice, and roasted nuts, a well balanced, powerful, and elegant palate, and a long, expressive finish and aftertaste. |
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Ferrando Erbaluce di Caluso "Cariola" Black Label 1998. On the steep hillsides of northern Piedmont, the Erbaluce ("shining grass") grape can produce distinctively spicy, complex, and aromatic wines. This is a barrique-aged, unique single-vineyard Erbaluce that is late-harvested and carefully vinified to deliver a fairly rich, bright wine with floral accents and a nutty and spicy quality that protracts itself through the long finish. | Gravner Breg 1997. There is incredible concentration and complexity in this blend of Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Ribolla, and three other grapes, all estate-grown on the outskirts of Gorizia, in Friuli Venezia-Giulia. This is a wine to see develop over time. Its waxy texture and explosive fruit (apples, apricots, peaches both fresh and dried), nuts, vanilla, honey, and pepper are so thickly layered that they last forever on the palate. | Edoardo Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 1997. The lowly Trebbiano grape, overcropped everywhere across Italy, becomes world-quality, refined, and ageworthy in Edoardo Valentini's hands in Abruzzo. The wine, best after years in a cool cellar, shows a kaleidoscope of flavors that are creamy and crisp at once, ranging from freshly toasted hazelnuts to coconut shavings, and has an underlying bracing acidity that lends it an uncanny capacity to age. |