Wine on the Radio - May 10, 2004

Italy Overview                          Recommendations

 

Some of our favorite wines come from Italy.

Italy is a great wine country offering a terrific variety of wines both produced and exported - from everyday sipping to classic long-lived collectables. And while there are twenty wine regions, the best known are probably Tuscany and the Piedmont.

Tuscany for the wonderful sangiovese wines of Chianti, Carmignano, Montalcino, Montepulciano and Scansano. And the Piedmont for Italy 's classiest reds, the Nebbiolo of Barolo and Barbaresco . . . not to mention Barbera.

But there's a whole lotta wine experiences from other parts too!

In the northeastern Friuli and Trentino area it's Pinot Grigio and the Veneto gives us the fun of everyday Soave and rustic Amarone. From Umbria there is crispy white Orvietto.

And in the south there's Puglia with its Primitivo, or Italian Zinfandel.

Wine is part of the soul of Italy . . . north to south, east to west . . . the wines give us a taste of the land and culture in any direction.

Salute!

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Italy Sampler - Our Picks and Recommendations . . . All Prices Approximate 

1997 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella $50
WS 90 points, Big and powerful red. Lots of raisin, with hints of smoke and charcoal. Full-bodied, with fruit and black pepper character. Long and juicy

Michele Chiarlo 2000 Barbera dAsti $12
Piedmont, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Pure, ripe plum and strawberry fruit flavors underscored by a crisp acidic note and a hint of earth mark this charming

Il Marroneto 1996 Brunello di Montalcino $50
Tuscany, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
A very elegant Brunello. Ruby red in color with a subtle perfume of dried fruit

Banfi 2000 Rosso di Montalcino $25
Tuscany, Italy
wine.com Notes
Very deep red color with violet hints. The bouquet is of red fruits, raspberries and cherries, with a sweet hint of cream

2000 Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino $25
The ruby-colored 2000 Rosso di Montalcino offers sweet black cherry and strawberry jam aromas as well as a velvety texture

Cecchi 2001 Chianti Classico $15
Tuscany, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Ruby red color and a dry well-balanced, soft and velvety taste Frescobaldi 1998

Nipozzano Chianti Riserva $18
Tuscany, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Considered by many experts to be the finest Chianti Riserva, Nipozzano is distinguished by a delicate bouquet, a rich velvety texture, and an elegant long-lasting finish

Badia a Coltibuono 1998 Chianti Classico Riserva $30
Tuscany, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Chianti Classico Riserva 1998 has an intense ruby colour. Its aroma is packed with berry fruit and flowery overtones, harmoniously woven with a spicy-vanilla note from the wood

Produttori del Barbaresco 1997 Barbaresco $30
Piedmont, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Barbaresco is a dry, elegant, full-bodied red wine, rich in tannin, with a very complex nose

A. Mano 2001 Puglia Primitivo $12
Southern Italy, Italy
Winemaker's Notes
Think of this wine as old vine Zinfandel at an amazingly good price! Hand-crafted from indigenous Primitivo grapes (the original source for Zinfandel by the way...) it burst with dark, spicy ripe fruit. Another great value from Southern Italy!