Wine

A June Monsoon of Maroon, Um, WineIf your dinner is watching its weight, this is not the wine to serve. Time for another parade of wines and the accessories that love them. If you haven't seen our special summer wine shipping policies, get familiar with them before you roll out the barrel. It's just one more way we make summertime the season of wine.

A June Monsoon of Maroon, Um, WineMake sure you have some sunglasses handy. Because you're gonna put your party ... on ice.Time for another parade of wines and the accessories that love them. If you haven't seen our special summer wine shipping policies, get familiar with them before you roll out the barrel. It's just one more way we make summertime the season of wine.

I recently realized that for someone who grew up on Italian wines, I have seemed to cast them aside over the past five years. Until I started blogging, I think I believed that wines were only made in Italy. Now I know better. That may be the single most important thing I learned because of my blog. This week, I decided to get back in touch with the fantastic wines I have always loved. So, for the rest of June I'll be drinking only the wines of Italy.I am starting with a region of Italy that I have little knowledge of. I have tasted only a few of the wines from the Veneto wine region. Veneto is a wine region in north-eastern Italy, one of a group of three highly productive Italian regions known collectively as the Venezie (after the ancient Venetian Republic) and the biggest DOC producer of the three. Although the Venezie collectively produce more red wine than white, the Veneto region produces more whites under DOC and is home to the famous Soave wines. For now though, I am tasting their fabulous red wines.The first wines of Veneto that I opened were produced by the Allegrini Estate. Based in northeastern Italy, the Allegrini Estate is steeped in the culture and heritage of Fumane di Valpolicella, a small village just north of Verona. Since the 16th century, the Allegrini family has handed down grape growing and wine producing traditions from one generation to the next. Records reveal that the family played a prominent role in the local community as one of the most important land-owners, involved in agricultural work and upholding local traditions. In modern times, the well-earned Allegrini reputation is considered to be a direct result of the intelligence and hard work of Giovanni Allegrini, an instinctive man who dedicated his resources to the land and innovative wine-producing techniques. Giovanni was among the first to question local viticultural procedures, and as a result, he revolutionized accepted practices, while combining the science of enology with strict grape selection to create several of Valpolicella’s most famous wines. Today, Giovanni’s children continue his legacy.Photo by ShirleyDisclaimer: Samples submitted for review.First evening, with cheese pizza, we opened the Allegrini Valpolicella 2011 (SRP $15). Valpolicella is arguably the most famous red wine to come out of the Veneto wine region in north-eastern Italy. The red wine known as Valpolicella is typically made from three grape varietals: Corvina Veronese, Rondinella, and Molinara. Allegrini is made of 65% Corvina, 30% Rondinella and 5% Molinara.Aromas were all cherry with a little blackberry and ripe black plum. On the palate I got all light red cherry with some acidity and hints of spice. The finish was moderate with ripe fruit and spice. A very nice light and versatile red wine that paired well with the cheese pizza. This wine will also be a very nice summer BBQ wine paired with chicken, veal or a mixed grilled veggie dish. Add some pepperoni or burger meat to your pizza, or try with pasta and your favorite red sauce. Very Highly RecommendedThe Valpolicella, I thought, would be hard to follow, but the Allegrini La Grola 2009 (SRP $28) was so much more impressive. A very rich ruby red color lead to aromas of cherry, blackberry, black currant with hints of freshly roasted coffee beans and herbs in this blend of 80% Corvina Veronese and 20% Syrah. A very smooth mouthfeel with lots of ripe berries and some tobacco and some licorice notes. The finish was very lengthy with tons of ripe cherry and a little toasted oak. We served this wine with Chicken Parmesan and pasta. Much more full bodied than the Valpolicella and much more eloquent. My favorite Italian dish has always been Chicken or Veal Parmesan and I instinctively always lean towards Chianti or Brunello and have not given a chance to the wines from Veneto. That will have to change after tasting the Allegrini La Grola. For heft

The Days of Wine and Lavender at Matanzas Creek Winery on Saturday, June 29th from 12 to 4pm is back! This popular, annual wine event offers an immersion of the senses as guests stroll through vibrant lavender gardens while sipping Matanzas Creek's bright and refreshing wines. The Bennett Valley winery's two-acre lavender garden will be in peak bloom, with its more than 4,500 individual lavender plantings creating a sea of purple and perfuming the air with their heady scent.

The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men rather than for what unites them. - John Buchan Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art. - Ralph Waldo Emerson No man enjoys the true taste of life, but he who is ready and willing to quit it. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca Taste is the common sense of genius. - Victor Hugo Beauty fades, but dumb is forever. - My Grade 5 Teacher Here’s the previous round of wine quotes if you’re thirsting for more.

A June Monsoon of Maroon, Um, Wine"Al dente" refers to pasta cooked firm. "Ardente" refers to what you should be drinking with the pasta.Time for another parade of wines and the accessories that love them. If you haven't seen our special summer wine shipping policies, get familiar with them before you roll out the barrel. It's just one more way we make summertime the season of wine.

A June Monsoon of Maroon, Um, WineNothing's so delicious that caramel can't make it deliciouser.Time for another parade of wines and the accessories that love them. If you haven't seen our special summer wine shipping policies, get familiar with them before you roll out the barrel. It's just one more way we make summertime the season of wine.

You know how much we love the High Line, it just keeps getting better and...

A June Monsoon of Maroon, Um, WineThat's, like, four rows per bottle.Time for another parade of wines and the accessories that love them. If you haven't seen our special summer wine shipping policies, get familiar with them before you roll out the barrel. It's just one more way we make summertime the season of wine.

Robert Mondavi in 1966  My friend Robert Mondavi would have turned 100-years-old today. To commemorate his 100th birthday, and acknowledge how much he influenced the lives of so many of us living in Napa Valley, Margrit Mondavi, and Bob’s eponymous winery, hosted a birthday party of sorts this afternoon. Margrit Mondavi and Genevieve Janssens, Director of Winemaking. Some 200 guests assembled on the lawn at the foot of Bob’s favorite vineyard, To Kalon, and toasted to his memory with a glass of perfectly chilled Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc. Bob would have loved it. Margrit spoke and said that her 28 years married to Robert were among the most cherished of her life. Genevieve Janssens, Director of Winemaking at Mondavi, spoke and said that going forward, all Mondavi Reserve Cabernet bottlings would, for the first time, be made exclusively with fruit from the To Kalon vineyard, which Bob identified as being the most important, best producing, vineyard in the valley. “Mr. Mondavi always urged us to keep improving our wines,” said Genevieve. “From now on, we will only use fruit from To Kalon in our reserve Cabernet... which is one more way to keep improving our wines,” she added. To make better wine, to make wine as good as, or better than, the wines coming out of the Old World, that was Bob’s passion. And boy, did he make a difference and prove his point. I remember nights in the winery’s Vintage Room, well beyond 1 am, spent with Bob and one of his visiting Great Chefs of France, like Jean Troisgros, or Paul Bocuse, sipping and comparing Mondavi Cabernets, or Mondavi Pinot Noirs, with French selections from Bordeaux, or Burgundy, respectively. The chefs always agreed that Bob was on to something... that his wines complemented their dishes equally as well as any wines they brought over from France, and quite a few chefs agreed, off the record in our late night tasting sessions, that they liked Bob’s Napa Valley wines more. Happy Birthday, Bob, wherever you are. I raised a glass to your memory this afternoon, and I shall do so again tonight. It’s an ideal occasion to pull an old Mondavi Cabernet out of the cellar and thank you, one more time, for having introduced me to Napa Valley.