Friday Sips

New vintage of one of our favorite standard-bearer Barbera wines and version 2011 does not disappoint!! As the name for this wine implies, this Barbera comes from 3 vineyard sites in the Alba region, specifically from Castiglione Faletto and Monforte, both superb Barolo villages, and Castiglione Tinella which is renowned for its superb Barbera.

Outstanding refined and sophisticated aromas of prominent blueberry, violet, subtle licorice, strawberry, herbs and dusty earth follow through to a smooth, graceful, suavely textured palate that spreads out on the sultry finish that hangs around and flirts well after the wine is swallowed. This is a downright delicious wine that can be enjoyed with a wide range of foods from roasted pork to barbecued chicken to risotto jacked with mushrooms

It's hard to believe that 2012 marks the 15th vintage that this vaunted Walla Walla estate has been producing Cabernet and Merlot under the Nelms Road label. Introduced as a second label to Woodward Canyon in 1998, this cuvee of younger vine fruit from many of the same Woodward sources always provides a delicious experience that can be accessed immediately. 2012 is being touted as quite the head-turning vintage for Washington's wines and this wine will provide a terrific early-drinking opportunity while you wait for Woodward's big wines to come to fruition.

Rich vanilla and cocoa notes which are wrapped around buxom black cherry, smoky oak, cola and creamy milk chocolate which all virtually glisten the instant the wine is poured into the glass. On the palate, there is lots of style here with nice flowing dense tones, excellent weight and the typical steadfast, mouth-crawling flavors that one comes to expect in these excellent wines. Layered, forward and accessible; enjoy with a variety of beef dishes and more. Drink through 2019.

Sorelle Branco is a small, award-winning estate run by 2 sisters (Antonella and Ersiliana Branco) and they go to expensive, painstaking lengths to produce Prosecco of the highest quality. After tasting, I really saw why this estate is so highly touted within the Italian wine media. Not only is this a beautiful wine to taste, its myriad of tiny bubbles are impressive to gawk at.

Alluring scents of wildflowers, pears, apples and gently placed mineral shimmer from the glass; the texture is energetic, brisk, fruit driven and intense, yet the bubbles are some of the most finesseful and silky I've ever experienced in an Italian bubbly. Beautifully complex and way too classy to be tossed into a Bellini, it's a perfect starter for any holiday dinner.

After 17 years as oenologist at Domaine Jean-Marc Brocard, Clotilde Davenne began full time production at her recently purchased Domaine Les Temps Perdus. The estate covers 9 hectares with vineyards located in the Yonne part of Burgundy, Saint-Bris, Bourgogne Aligoté as well as Chablis on all levels from Petit Chablis to Chablis Grand Cru.

Absolutely no oak utilized here, scents of lime, anise, yellow flowers pronounced mineral, saline and chalk follow through to a texture that has excellent movement and energy along with mouth-filling flavors and persistence that conjure up thoughts happiness. Drink this beauty with a flaky fish doused in a butter-laden sauce.