The (First) Grand Tasting

I took my mom to the Boston Wine Expo yesterday. I'm so thankful that we had a plan of attack or we would have been so overwhelmed (and drunk):

1. Start with bubbles & whites, then move to reds
2. Ask to try unusual grapes that are not mainstream (tip to Jonathon Alsop)
3. Find a great region and explore it with depth (no two wines are exactly alike)
4. When all else fails, find the friendliest server and just chat away!
   

Our mission was quite a success. The best regions overall were Italy and Portugal.

"I haven't met an Italian wine I didn't like!" -my mom

Listed below are our favorites (from what I have in my notes, more details next time - I promise!):

The Whites

• Greece - Asprolithi (Roditis grapes) - really light & crisp white
• Portugal - Vila Verde Vihno Verde 2007 - another light, crisp white, we learned that "Vihno Verde" means "young grape"
• Portugal - Aveleda Alvarihno - this felt like a wine you could drink all day long in the summer
• Italy - IL Prosecco and the Mionetto Prosecco Brut - tons and tons of little tiny bubbles!! delightful
• Italy - Fumello Prosecco - fresh and fruity, the Italian version of champagne
• Italy - Exclamation Point Verdicchio Classico Jesi D.O.C. - Italian DOCs mean that the wine's grapes all come from within a particular region
• Italy - Casal di Serra Verdicchio Classico Superiore D.O.C. - same as the one above only it's from a single vineyard
• Chile - Pacifico Sur Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2007 - I do not normally like roses (mostly from bad experiences with the infamous White Zin) but this was a refreshing fruity wine, with a little bit of spice
• Argentina - Grazioso Chardonnay/Torrontes Blend 2007 - the Chardonnay really cuts the floral aspects of the Torrontes (which I personally find to taste like perfume)

The Reds

• Italy - Umani Ronchi Montepulciano d'Abruzzo D.O.C. - this red is soo easy to drink, we discovered this grape actually a few months back at a small restaurant in the North End (another of my favorites is the Citra Montepulchiano d'Abruzzo)
• Italy - San Rocco Dolcetto d'Alba D.O.C. - I kid you not, you can smell the voilets in this!
• South Africa - Pinotage - a super jammy red
• Chile - Pacifico Sur Carmenere - really really peppery, and a little too much tannins for me, but I really think my brother would love this with his mustard sauce on steak
• Portugal - Herdade do Esporao Private Selection 2004 and 2005 Reserve - probably the most expensive bottle we tried, absolutely delicious (hat tip to Mark P. Vincent for suggesting this one!)
• Italy - Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino D.O.C.G. - my favorite, and only partly due to the fact that it was the wine maker himself that insisted I try it on Saturday night

(All the artwork on the Castello Romitorio bottles is by an amazing artist - we tried to sneak some empty ones out, but they were confiscated!)
(c) Sandro Chia, Untitled 2000

I would like to also thank several of the friendliest servers, who actually looked us in the eye and made the day fun:

• Neill Dahill (Sales Rep for Andes Imports Inc) was pouring the Pacifico Sur wines in Chile.
• Gabriella Wirth (PR/Marketing for Mionetto USA) was pouring the IL and Mionetto labels in Italy.

I can't wait to go again next year and see how much I've learned!