Saturday I discovered three fun Italian wines in Sonoma…Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar in Washington, DC that is.

The first wine was over dinner (very good food by the way) and part of the Tiny Bubbles wine flight, a comparison of sparkling wines. The flights at Sonoma are generous pours so you really get a taste for the wine.

Quattro Mani Franciacorta Brut

• Grape Variety: 80% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Bianco, 10% Pinot Nero from Lombardy, Italy
• Aroma & Taste: A combination of fruity and slightly yeasty/bready (like you get from Champagne)
• Price: $15
• My thoughts: This was a combination of grapes I hadn’t tried before and in a sparkling wine. It was a combination of a brut sparkling wine and a prosecco. Fun and different!

We served the second and third wines at my birthday party we held here Saturday night.

Terre Grillo IGT Sicilia 2008

• Grape Variety: 100% Grillo, an ancient grape variety from Sicily, estate where the grapes come from founded in 1875
• Aroma: White flowers and tropical fruit
• Taste: Lively, round body, melon and citrus
• Price: $9
• My thoughts: This was my drink of choice at the party! Really great wine … a cross between a Viognier, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. Definitely want to find this one for home!

Terre Negroamaro IGT Puglia 2008

• Grape Variety: 100% Negroamaro grown in Lecce in Puglia (the heel of Italy’s boot)
• Aroma: Red fruit with touch of earthiness (my girlfriend said almost mushroomy)
• Taste: Medium bodied with red fruit and spice
• Price: $9
• My thoughts: Another really nice wine at a great price! I discovered this grape on our trip to Puglia last summer. Puglia is Italy’s largest wine producer. Negroamaro means ‘bitter black’ and produces a big wine. This wine wasn’t too big probably due to the fact it is aged in stainless steel tanks. The label has a great illustration of the region’s trulli on it, round limestone buildings with conical grey stone roofs dating back to the Middle Ages that served as peasant homes.

Cheers to new wine discoveries!

The great thing about wine tastings at a wine shop or wine bar is the opportunity it gives you to taste several wines side by side. Most people don’t usually open up three to five bottles at home to try at one sitting. Wednesday night’s wine tasting with Timothy at neighborhood wine shop, Planet Wine, gave customers the opportunity to travel around the world with the Pinot Noir grape tasting what this varietal can be like coming from France (Loire Valley and Burgundy), New Zealand and the United States (Oregon and California).

The similarities and difference you discover through these kinds of tastings are always fun! Pinot Noir is a light grape overall but coming from each region you get different aromas and tastes from it. As we moved around the world, the wines got more body and spice but each is lovely in its own way showing you the beauty of each wine region around the world.

Domaine Naudet Jean & Michel 2008 Sancerre Rouge

• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley, France
• Aroma: Bright berry
• Taste: Tart cranberry and cherry with mineral and herbal tones
• Price: $22.00
• Thoughts: The first in the line up was the brightest in color of the wines, almost rosé looking, and brightest in taste. France does not allow vine irrigation in any wine region and this definitely impacts the grape depending on the year’s weather. Here you have a lighter Pinot Noir. I love Sancerre in a white wine so neat to try a rouge.

Domaine Maillard Pére et Fils 2009 Bourgogne

• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Burgundy, France
• Aroma: Round cherry
• Taste: Cherry with hints of chocolate, vanilla and earthy
• Price: $22.99
• Thoughts: Second in the line up and also in France, this wine has more body, slightly more red color in the wine and more complexity of flavors with cherry, chocolate and vanilla.

Saint Clair Family Estate 2010 Vicar’s Choice

• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon, U.S.
• Aroma: Ripe cherry and strawberry
• Taste: Cherry, strawberry with spice and earthiness
• Price: $26.99
• Thoughts: Fourth in the line up, we moved to the U.S. Willamette Valley in Oregon known for Pinot Noir and Burgundian in style (like the Domaine Maillard Pére above although this wine has more body and is more round). I love Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs!

Ampelos Cellars 2007 Pinot Noir-Lamda

• Grape Variety: Pinot Noir from Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
• Aroma: Deep cherry
• Taste: Cherry, herbal, licorice
• Price: $26.99
• Thoughts: Last in the line up, we moved south in the U.S. to California. The Sta. Rita Hills are known for Pinot Noir. This wine was the fullest in body and darkest in color but still great clarity. Really nice wine and neat winery worth checking out (they also have a bed and breakfast in Greece…thus the Greek influence on their wine names).

Cheers to Pinot Noir!

In Healdsburg, California last month on our Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, we stopped into the great little home furnishings store, Lime Stone (owned by Charlie Palmer’s wife Lisa), and found my new favorite wine gadget, The Wine Finer.

This 4-in-1 wine accessory is a brilliant design from Marcus Vagnby and Nuance, a Danish kitchen appliance, home and barware company. It does everything you need:

• Wine Aerator: With 32 aeration and filter vents, it decants a whole bottle of red wine in 30 seconds. You can hear it as you pour the wine into each glass. Aerating red wine is good as thorough oxidation brings out the best tastes (I’ve also used it on whites).
• Fine Strainer & Filter: An inner stainless screen filters out any sediment as you pour it into the glass.
• Non-Drip Wine Pourer: Just insert in the bottle, pour and no drips!
• Wine Stopper: Made of solid silicone, it fits tightly in the bottle and serves as a stopper for drinking later.

It was only $29.95! Now also in a deluxe version. No need to decant a full bottle at once…you can do it one glass at a time.

Cheers to the perfect wine gadget!