Wine Tastings
Call today to schedule an enjoyable & informative wine tasting experience for you, your friends, your social or church group, employees or business clients.
Custom-designed wine tastings can have different themes, such as Italy’s Heavyweight Reds – a tasting of some of Italy’s most famous “big” red wines or Great Italian Wines You’ve Probably Never Tasted – a review and tasting of some internationally acclaimed Italian wines that have not received wide attention in the U. S.
Our customized wine tasting events are typically informal affairs presented in a relaxed, walk-around setting. Wine tastings should be informative but also pleasant, convivial events shared with good friends and engaging conversation. However, more structured and formal sit-down wine seminars and tastings can also be arranged.
For more information about scheduling a wine tasting, contact Richard at winetasting@winewordswisdom.com or call 703-627-7643.
Wine Reviews & Musings
This section of my website goes beyond my Wine of the Month selections. Here you will find wide-ranging wine topics that explore what it is about Italian wine that is so compelling and memorable and to keep current on current developments across the Italian wine scene. Recent postings include Tasting of Pre-release 2005 Barolo and 2006 Barbaresco Wines
My Favorite Italian Red Wines of 2008
Italian White Wines - Value Priced (Under $20)
Unexpected Pleasures — Fine Italian Wines From Off the Beaten Track among others. Other topics covered include reviews of wines from specific Italian wineries, discussions of Italian wine varietals or wine regions, interviews with Italian winemakers, discussions of my favorite types or categories of Italian wines, Italian wine trends and markets and other wine-centric topics as the spirit moves me. View reviews and musings »
D.C. metro area wine bars and wine-friendly restaurants
Wine bars are popping up in the Washington, DC metropolitan area like corks from Champagne bottles. While there may not yet be one on every corner, new wine bars are appearing on the scene on a fairly regular basis...read more about D.C. metro area wine bars and wine-friendly restaurants »
Included is a listing of area wine bars and restaurants with extensive wine lists in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia
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fine italian wines for July, 2010
Zenato, Lugana San Benedetto 2008 (about $14)
This white wine is one of my favorites and I keep coming back to it year after year. It is my “go-to” white wine for the summer. It is from a trusted producer that takes pride in producing quality but inexpensive white wines that are consistent from vintage to vintage. This wine is crafted entirely from a special variety of Trebbiano grapes...read the article »
Tenuta Sette Ponti, Crognolo 2007 (about $35)
The Sette Ponti estate lies fifteen miles northwest of the city of Arezzo in the heart of the Chianti zone. The name Sette Ponti translates as "seven bridges" and refers to the seven bridges crossing the Arno River on the road from Arezzo to Florence. Crognolo (pronounced cro nyoh’ loh) is a blend of 90 percent Sangiovese and ten percent Merlot... read the article »
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Italian Wines in Wine Enthusiast magazine's Top 100 Cellar Selections for 2009
Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently released its top 100 wine cellar selections for 2009. These are the wines that editors of Wine Enthusiast consider to have the greatest potential for ageing, wines that will require additional time in a cellar for maximum drinking pleasure. Keep in mind that many of these wines...read the article »
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Unexpected Pleasures – More Fine Italian Wines From Off the Beaten Path
In a previous posting on this website, I reviewed some noteworthy Italian wines that merit attention but are not particularly well known in this country. Italy is a complicated wine country with a rich and varied wine culture. Every one of Italy’s twenty regions grows grapes and produces wines and the country can lay claim to hundreds...read the article »
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INTERVIEW WITH FRANCO oGHITTU, CHEF AND CO-OWNER OF LA BARRIQUE FOOD AND WINE IN CAGLIARI, SARDINIA
I recently had a chance to spend some time with Francesco (Franco) Oghittu, chef and along with his wife Michela, owner of La Barrique Food and Wine, a restaurant and wine bar in Cagliari, Sardinia that specializes in traditional and innovative Sardinian cuisine. Their restaurant has received favorable reviews in Gambero Rosso’s 2009 Viaggiare Bene and the 2009 guide 365 Migliori Ristoranti Italiani. ..read the article »
Italian Wines
of the month
I taste quite a few Italian wines every month. While some are just OK, many are good and some are really great wines. In the spirit of sharing my wine experiences with you, each month I will select two as my favorite Italian Wines of the Month: one under $25 and the other over $25.
Since I’m a value-focused wine consumer, many of my monthly wine selections, especially the under-$25 selections, will be quite easy on your wallet. However, every so often I have a chance to taste a really pricey wine that I think is truly outstanding and I will include it in my over-$25 Wine of the Month selection. However, even though it's price may be well north of $25 it may still be viewed as a bargain in the sense that it has a high value-to-price ratio.
In recent months the under-$25 monthly wine selections have included:
Santa Lucia, “Vigna del Melograno” Castel del Monte Uva di Troia 2006 (about $16)
Michele Chiarlo, Moscato d’Asti “Nivole” 2008 (about $14 for half bottle)
Prunotto, Barbera d’Asti “Fiulot” 2007 (about $15)
Mionetto, Prosecco Brut NV (about $12)
In recent months the over-$25 monthly wine selections have included:
Azienda Agricola COS, Cerasuolo Di Vittoria 2007 (about $30)
Giovanni Allegrini, Recioto della Valpolicella Classico 2005 (about $58 for 500 ml bottle)
Produttori del Barbaresco, Barbaresco DOCG 2005 (about $38)
view all wine of the month selections »
I want to emphasize that I’m independent and have no financial incentive to push any particular wine. I buy my wines the same way most of you do — that is, I pay the full retail price at local wine stores. While I do have some favorite wine shops, I visit at least two different wine stores a week to assess their pricing and wine selections.
Where to Stay, Dine & Taste Wines in Italy
Explore travel itineraries in Italy that will appeal to intrepid souls that want to explore on their own and combine their love of travel with some wine country or vineyard tours, wine-friendly restaurants and enoteche (wine bars), or just visit interesting and historically significant places. For example, there is a proposed travel itinerary for the northeastern Veneto Treviso to Marostica and return as well as An Insider's Guide to Tasting Wines in the Piedmont: Wineries, Enoteche and Wine Shops. This section of my website should especially appeal to wine enthusiasts that love to travel and sample la dolce vita. view where to stay, dine and taste wine in italy »
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The scoop on the best gelato in the d. c. metro area: an interview with stefano polles of sorriso ristorante
As I write this the temperature is in the low 80’s and there’s a gentle breeze on an almost cloudless day. It is the kind of day that poets love to rhapsodize about and the forecast is for more sun in the weeks ahead. Spring has finally arrived and when spring arrives my attention turns to thoughts of gelato. Yes, gelato! While Italian wine is my main passion, my infatuation with gelato is a close second. Ever since my first trip to Italy...read the article »
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Best Italian Wines of 2009 from Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast Magazines
The Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast, two of the most prominent wine-centric magazines in the U. S., recently published their picks for the best wines from around the world released in 2009. Both lists of 2009’s best wine offerings include a number of Italian wines and it’s interesting to look at what wines were included in the two lists...read the article »
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a selection of pizza-friendly italian wines
Finding a wine that goes well with pizza can be an intimidating challenge. What makes the choice of a wine so daunting is that there is no such thing as a “typical” pizza. Pizzas, like people, come with all sorts of personalities and styles. Pizzas may have thin or thick crusts and range from...read the article »
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The perfect $5,000 Italian wine cellar
In a previous posting I formulated a proposed personal wine cellar that consists entirely of Italian wines and costs approximately $1,000 at current retail prices. Now, I’m going to up the ante and look at what one can buy in the way of Italian wines for $5,000.
But it’s not just a matter of going out and buying wine until you’ve reached the $5,000 limit...read the article »
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The Best Italian Wines – Gambero Rosso’s 2010 Tre Bicchieri Winners
Gambero Rosso recently released the winners of its coveted 2010 Tre Bicchieri awards for quality Italian wines. Wines receiving the Tre Bicchieri (“Three Glasses”) award are deemed to be the best in Italy, the survivors of an exhaustive panel tasting process. As in past years, the awards are announced in October of the preceding year. Thus the 2010 Tre Bicchieri awards were announced over the web in stages beginning in early October...read the article »
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Top Ten Affordable Super-Tuscan Wines
The words “affordable” and “Super-Tuscan” don't often appear in the same sentence. Super-Tuscans are big, rich, intense and modern wines that often carry triple-digit price tags, especially acclaimed Super-Tuscans with bold-face names like Ornellaia, Messorio, Solaia, Tignanello or Sassicaia...read the article»