This week’s Weekend Wine comes from Barbera d’Asti, which is located in the northwestern corner of Italy in Piedmont. 
In our glasses, we found in the Icardi Barbera d’Asti Tabaren 2005 a mixture of dark cherry and chocolate aromas and a beautiful ruby color.  Though the wine was very light on acidity, it had just enough tannin to sustain good structure. 
We liked, in particular, the mellowed and filling mouthfeel, […]

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For those of you that still don’t accept the idea that $10 can buy an outstanding bottle of wine, allow us to introduce the Cascina Minella Dolcetto di Dogliani 2004, which, as its name suggests, is a Dolcetto from Dogliani (located within Italy’s northwestern region of Piedmont).  This wine had been glowingly recommended to us, yet we felt that the recommendation didn’t even do it enough justice.
We were pleased […]

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Donafugata Anthìlia 2007 is composed of 50% Ansonica and 50% Catarratto.  Quite honestly, we had never heard of these grapes before, which are native to Sicily and have apparently been used for making wine since ancient Roman times.  Regardless, we liked how the wine was described to us in the store — a crisp, not-too-big white, with fragrant apricot […]

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This past weekend, we returned to San Francisco after a couple of days in North Carolina attending our law school reunion, and when we first stepped outside of the airport’s doors, we were stunned to find summer weather — 80 degrees, completely clear, bright blue skies, and amazingly, the smell of Eucalyptus, which is so prevalent in this […]

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As many of you know, the Italian version of the Pinot Gris grape is Pinot Grigio, and this unoaked version hails from the Isonzo appellation of Italy’s Friuli region, which is located in the extreme northeast of the country.   
On sipping, I found tart pear, green apple and lemon citrus flavors that lingered on, and even resurged momentarily, through a long finish.  True to the […]

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