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Tuscany. Few place names in the world of wine evoke the same level of romance or the same feeling of warm anticipation as that of this ancient Italian region. Whether you've traveled there in person, read the many books that lavish loving attention on its scenery and lifestyle, or merely enjoyed a taste of Tuscany in your wine glass, it's hard to imagine anyone not being touched by the fantasy of life, well, under the Tuscan sun.
This month we're celebrating Tuscany and all of its wines in our Wine Tasting 101 Forum, where forum participant and Italian wine importer Oliver McCrum has kindly consented to serve this month as expert guest host.
To participate in Wine Tasting 101, you're invited to visit the forum at
Oliver has prepared a brief introduction to Tuscan wines on the entry page of the Wine Tasting 101 Forum, If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.
PRINT OUT TODAY'S ARTICLE Today's tasting isn't a Tuscan wine but comes from farther South, a simple, inexpensive Italian table wine with a warm, appealing and food-friendly character that reminds me of the role Chianti filled as a companion to pizza and tomato-sauced pasta back in those wicker-basket days. Designated "Vino da Tavola" or "table wine," it's a blend of Sangiovese with regional varieties including Aglianico, Piedirosso and other local grapes from Campania, around Naples. Its name, "VinGiocondo," means "The smiling wine," a moniker that seems to fit.
Ocone 2001 VinGiocondo Vino da Tavola Rosso ($6.99)
Very dark reddish-purple, almost black. Warm and plummy, aromas of black plums and juicy cherries with a distinct hint of raisins. Similar on the palate, warm and seemingly soft, but snappy acidity becomes more evident on the palate, and the wine finishes crisp and dry. A bit short in the finish, but hey ... What do you want for $7? U.S. importer: Vin DiVino Ltd., Chicago. (Oct. 2, 2005) FOOD MATCH: As noted, it's a natural match with pizza or tomato-sauced pasta, but its soft, plummy yet appropriate acidity worked very well with a slightly more refined dish, roast pork loin studded with garlic and fresh sage. VALUE: It's a simple wine, but at this price, what's not to like? WHEN TO DRINK: Not really a keeper, but it's holding up perfectly well in its fourth year, and there's no reason it shouldn't last another year or two.
WEB LINK:
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:  Enter to win California Wine Club's Raffle: Monterey County's 9th Annual Great Wine Escape Weekend!
This event package, valued at $1,600, is for Nov. 10-13, 2005, and includes Thursday's Opening Gala, Friday's "Pairings at the Plaza", Saturday's winery open houses and a winemaker dinner, and Sunday's Grand Finale at the Inn at Spanish Bay, where more than 35 wineries will pour their finest selections. Additionally, The California Wine Club package also includes three nights accommodations at the luxurious Monterey Plaza Hotel & Spa. California is beautiful that time of year! Enter today at Favorite Wine Links: What's happening? Check LocalWineEvents.com. There's a simple, pragmatic reason why I don't include a comprehensive calendar of wine events among the features on WineLoversPage.com: There's no point. One of our longtime friends and fellow Internet wine-information publishers, Eric Orange, fills this niche so well with his impressive LocalWineEvents.com that it makes more sense to refer readers in his direction if they want to list - or learn about - wine-related events anywhere around the world. LocalWineEvents.com has just unveiled a major renovation and update that adds a number of new sections to its worldwide calendar of events. New features include information about Wine and Food Educators, Ongoing Events in specific cities, event Ticket Discounts, and a new weekly wine quiz presented by the author and wine educator Kevin Zraly, available only in "The Juice," the free weekly newsletter from LocalWineEvents.com.
Here's a link to the site. I highly recommend bookmarking This week on WineLoversPage.com Here are links to some of our recently published articles that I think you'll enjoy:
• Wine Lovers' Discussion Group: Thoughts on food with wine Last Week's Wine Advisor Index The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Here's the index to last week's columns:
• Corked what? (Sept. 30, 2005)
• Corporate wine (Sept. 28, 2005)
• What color is your Zin? (Sept. 26, 2005)
• Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive:
• Wine Advisor FoodLetter: Midwestern chili (Sept. 29, 2005)
• Wine Advisor Foodletter archive:
SUBSCRIBE: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Monday, Oct. 3, 2005
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