Wine Tasting, Friday March 9, 2012

Last week Tony Marchetti, head of Scoperta (discovery) Imports, stopped in to offer tastes of some of his Spanish and Italian reds. Scoperta is located in Ohio; the wines are shipped domestically out of New Jersey; and distributed locally by Continental Beverage in Atlanta. A few years ago I contacted Scoperta to discuss one of their offerings and found them to be exceptionally helpful and agreeable business partners and Tony bore that experience out himself here last week. Sometimes in business dealings you just get a downright good feeling about who you are dealing with.

This Friday from 5-7pm Tommy Basham of Continental will be here tasting out Anziano Pinot Grigio and Franco Serra Dolcetto and Nebbiolo from Italy; and Coto de Hayas Chardonnay, Garnacha/Syrah, and Tempranillo/Cabernet from Spain. This blog is a first in that we are promoting the wines in advance of the tasting. Here is a little info about each for you potential attendees.

Anziano (100%) Pinot Grigio is drawn from a 75 acre vineyard entirely in the Veneto district. Very little information is available about the estate so, like most Pinot Grigio, it could be produced in a co-op of sorts. This dry white wine is described as straw colored with citrus aromas and fruity flavors of melon and pear.

The Franco Serra reds are remarkable for their selling price, well below similar Piemontese wines. The story here is really the Sperone family and their perseverence in this industry. They started their family business in 1920 in Puglia only to have their winery destroyed by World War II shelling. When they rebuilt in 1963, they did so in Monferrato, Piedmont, amidst some of the best vineyards in all of Italy.

Some of you may remember the Coto de Hayas wines from our inventory of a couple of years ago. Again they are value priced and overperform compared to others. Bodegas Aragonesas, the maker of Coto de Hayas, is the largest winery in the Campo de Borja DO, so you should expect new world influences including the forward fruit aromatics and taste we all love. The winery is located in Fuendejalon in the Zaragoza Province of Campo de Borja where the climate is hot and dry with contrasting cool night temperatures. Garnacha and Tempranillo, the primary grapes of the region, are believed to be indigenous to the region and many of Coto de Hayas' vineyards boast 100 year old vines!

We ask for a ten dollar charge to taste on Friday. That charge is applicable to a thirty dollar minimum purchase. Say you read the blog and the Manchego Spanish sheep cheese is 20% off the regular retail. The Argentine Reggianito is the closest I can come to Italian cheese right now so that will also be discounted 20% for the tasting.