Wine list for 2006 Kick Off Tasting: Esperienza Enoteca

Do we have an exciting set of wines lined up for our January 17th Esperienza Enoteca event a Nebo.  This event has been designed to mimic the sort of tasting you might find at something like the Boston Wine Expo (which I certainly hope everyone is planning on attending).   What do I mean by that?  Basically, that means small samples (usually less than an ounce per taste) of a large number of wines grouped according to some theme.  At Esperienza Enoteca, you'll find three pouring stations, each with 5-6 wines and each representing a different region of Italy. There are a total of 18 wines at the event.

A number of you have asked if there are rules about how you are supposed to approach a table like this where there are so many different choices and where you have no knowledge of the wines going in. I'm not sure there are really hard and fast rules but I'm happy to tell you how I handle tastings like this.  First of all, don't be intimidated.  Nobody expects you to walk up already knowing what the wines are.  In fact, it's quite the opposite.  The person pouring is probably anticipating that you wont know much about the wines or even the theme (in this case, the region of Italy) ahead of time.  He or she is there to guide you through their offerings and, if they are good at their job, impart a lot of knowledge along the way. 

When I come up to a table like this, I usually just ask the pourer to "walk me through" his collection.  The pourer will have an idea of what order in which they thing the wines are best tasted and will be happy to talk you through each offering.  Depending on how crowded it is, you may get a personal tour or the pourer may be simultaneously trying to coordinate a number of people.  Crowding can make it difficult at times but don't be shy about asking questions.  The pourer is there to educate you, not just to get juice in your glass. 

I hope you can join us at this event.  It should be a fabulous opportunity to sample a diverse set of Italian wines.   

(all wines listed are tentative and subject to change)

Station 1 "The North"
N.V. Collabrigio, Prosecco (Valdobiadene)
2004 Borgo Magrado "Mosiac" Pinot Grigio (Grave del Friuli)
2004 Hofstatter, Pinot Bianco (Alto-Adige)
2003 Bottega Vinia, Pinot Noir  (Trentino)
2002 Michele Castellani "San Michele" Valpolicella Classico Superiore
"Ripasso" (Veneto)
2000 Travaglini, Gattinara (Piedmont)

Station 2 "Central"
2004 Umani Ronchi "Casel di Serra" Verdicchio (Le Marches)
2004 Riccardo Falchini "Solatio" Vernaccia di san Gimignano (Tuscany)
2003 Vestini, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (Abruzzi)
2001 Umberto Cesari, Sangiovese Riserva (Romagna)
2001 Rocca delle Macie, Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany)
2001 Arnaldo Caprai, Rosso di Montefalco (Umbria)

Station 3 "South & The Islands"
2004 Sella & Mosca "La Cala" Vermentino (Sardinia)
2004 MandraRossa, Fiano (Sicily)
2004Feudi di San Gregorio, Falghina (Campania)
2000 Candido, Salice Salentino (Puglia)
1999 Feudi di San Gregorio "Rubrato" (Campania)
2003 Rivera "Triusco" Primativo (Puglia)

Cheers,

John