The Wines of Italy wine tasting kicked off the Festa Italiana in Tampa last night, and host L'Unione Italiana presented a variety of wines from each major wine region of Italy. I was pleased to find a selection of wines outside of the typical Chianti Classicos and Super Tuscans that you find standard fare at any Italian wine tasting.

An interesting white that I came across was the Antinori 2007 Guado al Tasso Vermentino ($16-22). This medium-bodied white hails from Bolgheri on the Tuscan coast and has straw color and fruity nose, typical of the Vermentino grape. The wine opens up on the palate and the citrusy aromatics of the grape show through. The wine finishes with a nice bright acidity and a slight effervescence, which adds to the crisp, refreshing character of the wine.

I also tried a wine made from one of my favorite grapes, the Muscat/Moscato. Unlike the sometimes over-sweet dessert wines that you find that are typically fortified, late harvest or noble rot wines made from Muscat grape, the 2008 Mezzacorona Moscato ($8) really shows the beauty of the grape with a nice acidity and mineral edge to compliment the lush apricot and peach flavors, which are characteristic of the grape. This is a wine that I can see having before dinner with a nice Italian cheese, such as a semi-soft pecorino and some apricot chutney.

Amarone is a popular Italian wine that is not usually on my favorites list, as I often find that they are lacking the tartness that is required to balance the ripe fruitiness and power from the winemaking process. To produce an Amarone (more properly, an Amarone della Valpolicella), the grapes are harvested and then laid out to dry for several mohths, which creates the raisiny Amarone flavor. Last night I tried several, and found an Amarone well worth mentioning. The Fabiano 2003 Amarone della Valpolicella DOC Classico ‘I Fondatori' ($79.99) is a well structured wine with a deep color and rich dark fruit on the palate that is balanced with a slight tartness to balance out the ripeness of the fruit. This wine makes me hungry for a thick short rib ragu with pappardelle. If this peaks your interest, shoot me an email for the recipe!

-jfquinn@duecanicellars.com