berge@stolaf.UUCP (Eric M. Berge) (01/13/84)
I agree, this newsgroup has been rather inactive lately! Where are you sages of Dionysis? It has come to my attention recently through informed sources and my own experience that Italian wines seem to be the wine of the moment. Not only do the Italians seem to my putting out consistently good wines, but here in the U.S. we seem able to pick them up for exceptionally low prices. If you would like an example, try the Bolla Valipocella, which is a very nice, moderately dry, light red wine. What I am interested in is finding out more about these Italian wines, because I have really tried relatively few of them. Would anyone know of some particularly good Italian wines on the market presently? Especially moderately dry red wines. Any information will be greatly appreciated. --Eric Berge inhp4!stolaf!berge
max@ucbcad.UUCP (01/15/84)
#R:stolaf:-129200:ucbcad:41500002:000:1377
ucbcad!max Jan 14 04:44:00 1984
Some time ago (ca. 1980) I was exploring Italian reds, especially
Chianti Classicos, which are widely distributed and sometimes achieve
great style. If you like Bolla Valpolicella, you may well like some
of these.
Here is information from my notes. The Gabbiano stood out as a very
agreeable wine, popular, and a good value; the Brolio wasn't quite as
delightful but was much easier to find. I quote the prices I paid in
the summer of 1980 in the Boston area. I include the vintage dates
for reference, though of course the current ones will be different,
as will the character of the wines to some extent.
Brolio Chianti Classico ('75, $3.89): soft, subtle,
Bordeaux-like.
Castello Vicchio C. C. ('77, $3.79): similar to the Brolio
but more austere, astringent. Not as appealing.
Gabbiano C. C. ('77, $3.79): exquisitely balanced; wrote
down little but went through quite a few bottles.
Lilliano C. C. Riserva ('75, $5.29): perfumed aroma; light,
clear, somewhat simple flavor.
Nozzole C. C. Riserva ('74, $5.79): immature; needed more bottle
age -- tannic. Pronounced woodiness; light style.
Recently there has been a flurry of importing of wines from the Friuli
region; these are often varietal-labeled (Cabernet, Merlot, etc.) and
very modestly priced.
Max Hauser
University of California at Berkeley
{...ucbvax!}ucbcad.max
ARPA: max@ucbcadthomux@abnjh.UUCP (E. Thom) (01/16/84)
There very definitely are many excellent Italian wines currently available in the US, and generally at a price/quality ratio far superior to either French or California offerings. Although Bolla Valpolicella is certainly a pleasant wine, a good portion of the price goes for keeping Franco Bolla's face(if there in fact is such a person) in magazines and on TV screens (Blue Nun is the same thing). There are many dry red wines of superior quality to Bolla Valpolicella at considerably lower prices (depending upon sale prices). Two that I would particularly recommend, if you can find them, are: Casal Thaulero Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (I'm paying $23 for a case of 6 1.75 liter bottles) Salice Salentino ($3.99 per bottle) Both of these I consider to have more life and complexity than a typical valpolicella. Eric Thom ATT-IS Morristown, NJ
faiman@uiuccsb.UUCP (01/24/84)
#N:uiuccsb:12600005:000:286 uiuccsb!faiman Jan 23 11:24:00 1984 Chianti lovers might also care to try Villa Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva. I've been drinking this on and off for at least ten years and have yet to be disappointed. The one I have now was bought a few months ago locally at $4.79 less 10% case discount and is a '78. Mike Faiman