Hampden Warehouse Liquor Mart
In-store wine tasting
Thursday & Friday, August 16 & 17, 2007
From 4:00 - 6:30pm

We will taste the following wines:

Kris Pinot Grigio, Venice, Italy The label means the grapes are picked by hand and kissed by the sun. This refreshing pinot grigio is bright, young, and full of citrus flavor. There is an underlying melon flavor with a touch of pear and lemon on the mid-palate and finish. Good acidity makes this a great wine for most lighter fare. Argiolas Costamolino Vermentino, Sardegna, Italy This zesty wine is an exotic change of pace. Vermentino has been growing on the island of Sardegna for hundreds of years. Flavors of lemon, apple, tangerine zest, and a touch of almond sweep the palate. Medium body and softer acidity allows it to stand up well with many foods. Badia a Coltibuono Cetamura Chianti, Tuscany, Italy This producer has a myriad of vineyards available to them in which they produce many different wines, each with its own character. They specialize in sangiovese and sangiovese blends. Notes of black cherries and gun metal dance on your palate as hints of fresh oregano and clove offer a little spice. This red has a touch of tannin that marries well with its mouthwatering acidity. Di Majo Norante Sangiovese, Molise, Italy This sangiovese has been a reliable red for many years. Vintage after vintage, it his always delicious. Bright with flavors of wild cherries, hints of strawberries, and a touch of leather. There is a spicy hint of white pepper, vanilla, and sandalwood on the finish. Good structure of tannins and acidity support the ripe fruit flavors. Saracco Moscato d'Asti, Castiglione Tinella, Italy What a yummy drink! Moscato d'Asti is the darling of the sparkling wine world with its soft carbonation, soft acidity, ripe fruit flavors, and lower alcohol. Saracco offers flavors of peach so ripe, they leave the tops of your shoes sticky. Hints of honeysuckle, lime zest, apricots, and angel food cake weave themselves together until they finish with a soft acidic note. Lovely with fresh fruit, as an apéritif, dessert, or with Marzipan cookies.

We will be discounting each bottle of wine being poured, during the tasting hours.

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Italy
The Roman Empire planted wine grapes everywhere its troops traveled for hundreds of years. The people living in this peninsula were expert winemakers thousands of years before Italy actually became a sovereign nation. Today, Italy is the leading wine producer globally, account for 25% of the world's wine production. Grapes are grown in every political state in Italy and it boasts over 400 different wine grape varieties. From its island states of Sardinia and Sicily, to the heal and toe, Puglia and Calabria, to its northern reaches of Piedmont, Veneto, and Alto-Adige, Italy is as diverse in its wine making as it is in its geography and culture.
      Only in the recent decades has Italy been making wine able to sit side-by-side with the prestigious wines of Bordeaux. During the post World War years Italy was encouraged to grow more grapes than its wine market could bear through government subsidies. Laws requiring producers to blend lesser quality, workhorse grapes into their wine, encouraged the practice of over-cropping. Excess grapes were sold to distilleries, which meant guaranteed cash, no matter how much was produced or the quality of the grapes. Most wines were known to be diluted from large yields. The acidic, insipid Chiantis of the straw bottle era are perfect examples of how the potential of Italy was squandered.
      By the early seventies this view of Italy started to change. A new generation of winemakers shunned the typical practices and embraced Bordelaise methods. It was the exceptional vintage of 1990 that many Italians earmark as the turning point for Italian wines. The slow but steady changes in production and lowered yields, paired with an exceptional vintage put Italy back on the map. Eventually the Italian government saw that progress was a good thing and changed many of the wine production laws that had hobbled quality in the past. These days you can find many extraordinary wines from Italy. From the everyday table wines, to those collectable and special occasion bottles, wines from Italy have come of age.