If you like Italian wine and you like great deals, then Nero d’Avola is a varietal you should get to know.  It typically offers the characteristics you’d expect from a good Italian red wine, such as vibrant acidity and rich tannins.  But it’s also typically much more affordable than some of the better known Italian wines, like Chianti, Barolo, etc.

Most Nero d’Avola, including this one, comes from Sicily, where it is the most planted red wine grape.  This one, more specifically, comes from the district of Butera in the Province of Caltanissetta, which is within the Riesi DOC.

There is so much vanilla on the nose of this wine that it almost smells like a vanilla concentrate.  It also shows some cherry aromas, tucked underneath the vanilla.  The palate is nice and filled with ripe cherry flavors, a little coffee, and red plum.  The acidity is sufficient and it has soft tannins, adding some texture to the mouth feel.  It finishes with a little bit of spice.  Overall, it’s a nice, well-balanced wine at a good price.

Wine: Feudo Principi di Butera
Variety: Nero d’Avola
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $13.00

Find Feudo Principi di Butera Nero d’Avola with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

When I first started this website a lot of people commented that I must love Trader Joe’s because of all the bargains they have on wine.  And as much as I wanted to love Trader Joe’s, I just never became a big fan.  Most of the wines I tasted from them were nothing special, albeit they were dirt cheap — which is something I always love.  Plus there’s something about the folks working there that just seems inauthentic to me… they’re way too happy and remind me of flair-clad servers at TGI Fridays.

Anyway, while it seems like everyone I meet associates Trader Joe’s with dirt cheap wine, they are not the only one in that game.  The folks from Aldi sent a few of their wines our way to taste and I’d say they’re giving TJ’s some competition.  I’ve never been an Aldi shopper, so I had no idea they were carrying wines and I was a little surprised when they showed up.

I’ll admit that I was a little bit skeptical at first.  But as I looked them over, I saw a few things that were both intriguing and reassuring.  First, I was surprised to see the regions on the wines, Chianti, Napa Valley and Mosel.  Then I was reassured when I checked the alcohol levels and found them to be appropriate for the styles.  Sometimes I’ve found that really cheap wine will have an alcohol level that’s lower than normal, resulting in thin, bland wine, but that wasn’t the case here.  I also liked the backside of the labels, which has helpful graphics for folks who don’t know their wine well yet.

Now I will say that none of these wines absolutely blew me away, but none of them were bad either.  And for the dirt cheap prices, they are some bargains!

Gonfalone Chianti 2009

I’m a big fan of Chianti, but if I have a choice I’m usually going to select a Chianti Classico versus a Chianti.  I expect that a lot of wine consumers aren’t clear on the differences between Chianti and Chianti Classico and that’s an unfortunate circumstance of the names being so similar.  And I could confuse you even more by going into the other sub-types of Chianti.  But basic difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico is the region of production.  While Chianti comes from a rather broad region in Tuscany, Chianti Classico comes from a more limited region, selected for the quality of its grapes.  There are some other differences too, but I’ll leave it at that for now.  And while I tend to prefer Chianti Classico, I was pleasantly surprised by this Chianti from Gonfalone.

The nose on this wine is nice.  It shows well balanced raspberry, nutmeg, strawberry and perfume aromas with moderate intensity.  The palate is dry and offers plenty of ripe fruit flavors, like raspberry, plum and sour cherry, plus a little bit of spice.  Where it misses is on the acidity, which is more restrained than I would expect for a Chianti, although it’s not terribly off the mark.  The finish is decent, with lingering raspberry tea flavors.  Overall, it smells and tastes nice, but lacks some vibrancy due to the restrained acidity.

For the price, this is an extreme value.

Wine: Gonfalone Chianti 
Variety: Chianti
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 84
Price: $5.99

Walker Napa Valley Red Wine 2007

The color is a brownish, brick red.  It doesn’t have the bright red color of most young red blends, but then as a 2007, it ‘s not so young anymore.  I was actually a touch surprised to see them carrying a 2007.  Although it doesn’t say this anywhere on the bottle, this wine is a blend of merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon.

The nose on this wine shows cherry and plum aromas, as well as quite a bit of oak, which takes on nutmeg and cedar characteristics in this one.  The oak is a little heavy, but not offensively so.  The palate is medium bodied, which is exactly what the label says.  It does have some nice fruit flavors on the palate that give a touch of sweetness and touch of tart, such as raspberry, plum and strawberry.  There are some subtle tannins too.  The finish is a continuation of the fruit flavors with a bit of residual sugar leaving a slightly sweet flavor on your tongue.  This isn’t a wine that I’m going to rant and rave about, but it’s OK for what it is and still quite a value.

Wine: Walker
Variety: Red blend
Vintage: 2007
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $7.99

Landshut Riesling

When I saw this wine I cringed a bit because I’ve tasted far too many bad, sweet rieslings in the past and I was skeptical.  But then I saw that it was from Mosel, which gave me some reassurance.  But the proof is ultimately with what’s in the bottle and I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

The nose is a little tight, but shows expecable aromas for a riesling, like honeysuckle, apple and lime.  The palate is sweet, with peach, apple and lime flavors.  It has enough acidity to bring it to life on your tongue, although a little more acidity would help the overall balance with the sweetness.  It finishes long, with lingering sweet apple flavors.

Wine: Landshut
Variety: Riesling
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 9.5%
Rating: 83
Price: $4.99

Disclosure: These wines were received as a media sample.

It’s been a while since we’ve reviewed a pinot grigio, so we need no more reason than that to check one out today.

This one comes from Voga Italia and they win the award for coolest, sexiest bottle I’ve seen all week.  When I first saw this bottle I thought it would just be a screw cap, but there’s actually a synthetic cork underneath the cap.  So, fair warning, don’t take this one on a camping trip without a corkscrew or you may find yourself beating the bottom of the bottle inside a boot to remove the cork.  Anyway, once you get the cork out, you can reseal the bottle with the screw cap.

But ultimately, it’s what’s in the bottle that really matters.  And I have no complaints about what’s in this bottle.

This wine has some really nice pear and floral aromatics, with moderate intensity.  The flavors are mostly pear and apple, but it also offers some lime and subtle peach notes.  The acidity is sufficient, but not dramatic.  The finish is nice and long.  Overall, it’s a pretty nice wine.  And it will look stylish sitting on your shelf before you drink it.

My wife liked this one too and said it paired well with peanut butter.  That’s not a pairing I would have picked, but I could see it working.

Wine: Voga Italia
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 87
Price: $10.99

Find Voga Italia Pinot Grigio with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Holiday season is upon us and it’s the time of year when many people have some sparkling wine, although you really can and should enjoy it year round.  Nonetheless, since I know many of you are looking for some good, cheap bubbles these days I thought we should do some reviews to help you out.

One of my favorite budget-friendly sparklers is Prosecco.  When it comes to bang for your buck — or bubbles for your buck, in this case — it’s hard to beat Prosecco.  Like many Italian wines, the name is as much about the style of wine as it is about where the wine was made.  Prosecco comes from either the Veneto region or the Friuli–Venezia Giulia region, both in north-eastern Italy.  This one is from Veneto.  The grapes in this are also called prosecco, although they are sometimes called, glera.

This Prosecco is made by Casa Vinicola Zonin, a producer with vineyards throughout Italy.

Apple and pear aromas with a twist of citrus give this wine the aromas I’d expect from a Prosecco.  The palate shows a lot of mineral, with a prominent salty characteristic.  It also shows shows quite a bit of apple flavor, so I guess you might say it tastes like salted apples.  Although it has some apple flavor, it doesn’t have the sweetness of apples, rather it’s quite dry.  You can taste a little bit of yeast on the mid-palate, which adds a nice touch of complexity.  It finishes with mineral, apple and a little bit of lemon flavor.  This is a relatively simple Prosecco, but tasty and quite a bargain.

Wine: Zonin
Variety: Prosecco
Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 11%
Rating: 86
Price: $12.00

Find Zonin Prosecco with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

One of the exciting things about wine is the almost endless variety you can find in types of wine.  I think too often we gravitate toward something we know well, like a cabernet sauvignon or merlot and don’t explore enough.  If you’re looking to branch out from the everyday wines and taste something unique, you may want to try a Ripasso, like this one from Zonin.

Ripasso is a wine made using a technique where the dried grape skins leftover from a batch of Amarone are added to a new batch of juice to go through a second fermentation.  In case you’re not familiar with Amarone, it’s a really rich Italian wine made using exceptionally ripe grapes that are partially dried out prior to winemaking.  This results in a wine that is extremely concentrated, high in alcohol and has flavors of dried fruits (e.g. raisins) and chocolate.  It’s a really tasty wine, but it also tends to be a rather pricey wine.  You can think of Ripasso as a “baby Amarone.”  It has some of the same flavor characteristics, but it’s lower in alcohol, a little bit lighter-bodied and more affordable.

The Zonin Ripasso is made with 70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella and 10% Molinara grapes.  So, in addition to the style of winemaking being unique, these may also be some new types of grapes for you.  The wine is aged in Slavonian oak barrels for 1 year and in the bottle for another 6 months before distribution.

The nose is really enjoyable on this wine, with aromas like raisins, spicecake, black cherry and black pepper.  The palate is nicely balanced with flavors like plum and black cherry up front and a touch of chocolate coming in on the mid palate.  The acidity is sufficient, although a touch more wouldn’t hurt.  I’d say the same thing about the tannins.  The finish is decent, although a tad bit short.  I like just a slight chill on this wine, serving it just below room temperature.

Those comparing this wine to an Amarone may find it a bit thin.  Although there’s plenty enough structure to the body to make this an enjoyable wine, it’s just not as big as it’s bigger brother.

Wine: Zonin Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso
Variety: Ripasso
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 86
Price: $18.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

This week we’re doing some odds and ends.  Reviews of wines that we don’t have a full line-up to do a full series, but we have one or two we want to highlight.  Today, it’s a double-header review with two wines from Soave.

Soave is a relatively small wine appellation in the Italy’s Veneto region, which is in northeastern Italy.  It’s a beautiful region, with rolling hills, churches, bell towers and even some castles.  Soave is primarily made with two grape varieties.  The primary grape is garganega, which is the only grape is some Soave.  And Trebbiano di Soave is the second most-used Soave grape.  Both of the wines we’re reviewing today are 100% garganega.

There are actually four different designations for Soave, but we’re only tasting two of them today, a Soave DOC and a Soave Classico DOC.  I know… the non-wine-geek readers are already going cross-eyed reading about DOC’s.  You just want to know if the wine is good or not, so let’s get to that.

2009 Cantina di Monteforte “Re Teodorico” Soave DOC

As a Soave DOC, this is an entry-level wine from the Soave region.  And it’s a pretty tasty one too.

This wine has a straw-like aroma to match its straw color.  It also shows some pear aroma and some yeast, like a loaf of rising bread.  The palate has a distinct honey flavor, but without the sweetness of honey, along with some pear, and green apple.  The acidity is sufficient and gives it a vibrant tanginess.  The finish is like a salted green apple, bringing out a touch of mineral on this wine.  Long into the finish the yeast adds an aromatic note to the aftertaste.  This is a nice wine.  It’s interesting, fun, distinct and enjoyable.

Wine: Cantina di Monteforte “Re Teodorico” Soave DOC
Variety: 100% Garganega
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12%
Rating: 86
Price: $7.99

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2009 Le Albare “Il Casale” Soave Classico DOC

Soave Classico DOC is considered a step up from the Soave DOC and tends to have a little more structure and ageing potential.

Some consumers may find this wine similar to a chardonnay, although it certainly has it’s nuances that set it apart.  It is light, fruity and refreshing on the nose, with peach and pear aromas.  The palate also shows some peach and pear flavors, along with some melon.  The finish brings a touch of almond flavor, which is a common trait in Soave and one of the things that sets it apart from other wines.  It also shows a bit of mineral on the finish.  It’s a nice wine and would pair well with a pork tenderloin.

Wine: Le Albare “Il Casale” Soave Classico DOC
Variety: 100% Garganega
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 86
Price: $12.99

Find Le Albare “Il Casale” Soave Classico DOC with Snooth

Disclosure: These wines were received as a sample.

People often ask me, “what’s your favorite wine?”  And that’s an impossible question to answer because I really don’t have a singular favorite.  There are so many options and the differences between them can be so vast that I have different preferences for different occasions.  Now if someone asked me, “what’s your favorite wine to have with spaghetti?” it would be easier to answer, but I still couldn’t give just one.  I’d say, Chianti or sangiovese, but I still wouldn’t have a specific brand.  Anyway, that’s a long way of saying, “I love sangiovese.”  So I was glad to give this one a try.

The thing I like about sangiovese is that it has depth.  Its a medium-bodied wine with plenty of fruit flavors, some spice to make it interesting and, if it’s made well, good structure.  It’s not too big or jammy, which makes it a good food wine.  Yet it can be good on its own as well.  When ordering a wine for a meal, I’ve often gone with the philosophy that you can’t go wrong with a good sangiovese.

The Rocca di Montemassi estate is located in the Monterigio zone in Tuscany.  Sangiovese is one of the main varietals they produce.  The area has a long history of wine production, and the estate has been owned by the Zonin family since 1998.

This wine has a very pleasant nose, with aromas of cedar, spices, cherries and raspberries.  In the mouth it offers plenty of plum and cherry flavors with a touch of spice. The tannins add a touch of black tea to the flavor and a dryness to the mouth feel. Vibrant acidity keeps this wine bright.  While it has plenty of structure, it’s not overly acidic or tannic, making this is a very approachable wine.  While many people would just think of this as an old world wine, I think it has the best of both worlds.

Wine: Rocca di Montemassi Le Focaie           
Variety: Sangiovese
Vintage: 2008
Alcohol: 13.5%
Rating: 87
Price:  $14.00

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Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

The weather is starting to turn to autumn, but we’ve had a few more warm days recently here in Cincinnati so I’m going to take advantage of it to continue reviewing tasty summer wines.  But this is one that you don’t have to limit to summer drinking.  If you’re a pinot grigio fan, this is one you’ll enjoy any time of year.

This past weekend I was invited to a crab boil, so I wanted to bring a good shellfish wine.  So, I took my tasting notes on this one and enjoyed the rest with some crab.  That said, I did not taste this one blind as we usually do.

The Tenuta Ca’Bolani pinot grigio comes from the Aquileia in the Friuli appellation in Italy.  This area has been prized for its wines since Roman times.

When I’m drinking a pinot grigio, I’m not looking for intense fruit flavors.  What I’m looking for is a very dry white wine with crisp acidity and interesting mineral characteristics to give the wine depth.  And that’s exactly what I found in this wine.

The nose is really nice, with lime, melon and mineral aromas, plus some herbal/hay notes that added some complexity and interest. The palate is nice and tart, just like I like a pinot grigio, with exceptional acidity.  The flavors are light, but enjoyable with notes of lime, granny smith apple and chalk.  The finish is relatively long and brings a touch of sea salt, along with a continuation of the lime flavor.

Wine: Tenuta Ca’Bolani
Variety: Pinot Grigio
Vintage: 2010
Alcohol: 12.5%
Rating: 87
Price: $12.99

Find Tenuta Ca’Bolani Friuli Pinot Grigio with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

Alto Adige is a region in Northern Italy that produces some stellar white wines.  But for some reason, most wine consumers in the US don’t seem to be familiar with this region — unless they’re wine geeks like me.  Well, if you want to try some wines with character… wines with a little more to offer than your run-of-the-mill Italian pinot grigio… let me introduce you to pinot bianco from Alto Adige.

When I say that Alto Adige is in Northern Italy, I mean waaayyyyy Northern Italy.  Where they speak more German than Italian.  And pinot bianco is the prized grape variety from this region.

The Cantina Terlan pinot bianco has a nice straw color to it.  It also has really nice aromatics, with a predominant pear fragrance complemented by honeysuckle and melon aromas.  The palate also shows a lot of pear flavor, but there’s more to this wine than that.  It has complexity and character.  The acidity is good, making this wine really bright on the mid-palate.  It offers some melon flavors too, and also a spiciness that really makes it interesting.  The finish is nice too, with stone fruit and mineral flavors, plus a lingering floral nuance.  This is a really enjoyable and interesting white wine!

Wine: Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco
Variety: Pinot bianco
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 89
Price:  $15.00

Find Cantina Terlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.

When you’re perusing the Italian shelf in your local wine shop, chances are good that you’ll come across a primitivo.  And you may wonder what that wine tastes like.  Well, if you’re a zinfandel fan you may want to check it out because primitivo is basically the Italian name for zinfandel.

The genetic makeup of primitivo is identical to zinfandel, but the wine produced from it is typically stylistically different from American zinfandel.  I usually expect a primitivo to be more earthy and less fruit-forward than their Californian counterparts.  But with this one from Vivi, it’s a bit more “new world” in style.  In fact, maybe more new world than some California zinfandel I’ve tasted recently.

This particular wine was aged in stainless steel, which gives it a fresh and fruity style versus a more structured style found in many oaked zinfandels.

The nose on this wine is really floral, which makes it interesting.  It also shows aromas of blackberry, plum and cola.  On the palate, it’s a true sweet and sour experience, with ripe berry flavors up front followed by tart cherries.  It makes for a really lively palate.  The acidity is superb but the tannins are subtle.  It’s clear that this wine was aged in stainless versus oak by the agressiveness on the palate.  It’s a bit angular.  It finishes with spicy, tart fruit.

It’s a good wine and definitely worth checking out for something different if you’re a zinfandel fan.

Wine: Vivi Primitivo
Variety: Primitivo
Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 13%
Rating: 85
Price:  $9.99

Find Vivi Primitivo with Snooth

Disclosure: This wine was received as a sample.