Wines of Italy

Our fabulous hostess, Angela, held the October VTB meeting at her home on Capitol Hill this Monday. She chose to structured it as a blind tasting, so prior to arrival, we all wrapped our bottles in paper or foil so that nobody would know what kind of wine we were bringing (except of course that it was Italian). Surprisingly, most of the wines came from Italy’s northern regions.



The first bottle we tasted was Maggie’s 2007 Inama Soave Classico from Italy’s northeastern Veneto region. This wine was made primarily from the garganega grape, and had a very light straw color. With honey and stone fruit aromas, and light nutty and citrus flavors, it’s dry, light finish made it a really vibrant and enjoyable wine to get things started.



The second bottle was Ali’s 2006 Andrea Oberto Dolcetto d'Alba from Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region. This wine was made primarily from the dolcetto grape, and although somewhat acidic, it was nicely balanced. It had an aromatic nose of berries and spice with a palate including plum and a fair amount of earthiness.



The next bottle was Jody’s Argiolas Costera Isola dei Nuraghi from the island of Sardinia. This wine was made primarily from the grenache grape which is called cannonau in Sardinia. With its deep purple color and opaque/ almost cloudy viscosity, I am curious what this tasted like a few hours after we left. The least agreed upon wine in the group, some detected a heavily perfumed and floral nose while others felt it reminded them of vinegar. This is the beauty of blind tastings- you know nothing about the wines so you really have to rely upon your senses. Ripe fruit flavors with notes of leather made this an interesting and enjoyable wine. Angela- did you try it the next day?



The fourth was Becca’s 2007 Bricco Dei Tati Dolcetto d'Alba from Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region. Grown on 80 year-old vines, it was very different from the dolcetto we had earlier in the tasting. With a nose of smoke and dark cherries, more than one taster noted a ‘chewy’ aspect to the wine. Big and round with dark cherries and red plums, it will go well with a hearty winter meal.



The last bottle of the evening was Jenn’s 2004 Giorgio Pelissero Barbera d'Alba Piani from Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region. This wine was made primarily from the barbera grape and had a sweet nose of ripe fruit. With notes of dark juicy fruits, it felt somewhat thin in the mouth. However, it had nice structure with low tannins and a pleasant level of acidity.



Not only was this a fun night with good food, but it was also the 6-month anniversary of Vines That Bind! Before beginning the tasting we toasted to its continued success. And on that note... next month we are headed to España for a night of Riojas. Additional details on our next meeting coming soon.