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Metro Wines Blogs
This blog is dedicated to learning Italian La Dolce Vita, that is, fashion, food and wine! We will focus on the words and phrases you need to get by in Italy. We will learn by translating facebook posts from some of our favorite winemakers including Gaetana Jacono Gola of Valle dell'Acate and Giampaolo Tabarrini, "Menu Italian" from...
This blog is dedicated to learning Italian La Dolce Vita, that is, fashion, food and wine! We will focus on the words and phrases you need to get by in Italy. We will learn by translating facebook posts from some of our favorite winemakers including Gaetana Jacono Gola of Valle dell'Acate and Giampaolo Tabarrini, "Menu Italian" from Ristorante Trippi in Valtellina as well as text from the winery websites for some of the many Italian Wines on the shelves @MetroWines. Andiamo! (let's go!)
Tuesday July 14, 7:00pm EST
Carla Gambescia is the author of
| Ciao Asheville Book Recommendation
THE GARRUBBO GUIDE is a handbook to the delicious importance Your Read it With Wine Winemaker says: Made from a selection of Nero d’Avola grapes cultivated to showcase precise aromas of graphite, blueberry, and violet. Medium bodied and quite tangy, with fresh acids giving the flavors similar to the aromas a piercing quality. Finishes with silky tannins and freshness. A lovely Nero d’Avola of early appeal. James Suckling says 92 Points: I love the sweet, floral and mulberry nose Decanter says 92 Points: Tasca d’Almerita is an aristocratic and historically important Robert Parker's Wine Advocate says 90 Points: Here is another excellent value Vivino says $17.99 *** We say $14.99 *** From The MetroWines "How Can This Be" Department How can this be? Week after week, including today, we post their prices |
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| Ciao Asheville Presents Caffe Dante
New York City (CNN) — Dante, 104-year-old bar and restaurant in NYC, is on fire. More cocktails than wine served at Dante, but we do share *** YEAH, WE DO COCKTAILS TOO! ***
************************** But What We Really DO is Wine! This ruby-red wine shows a deep aroma of spices and red fruit. The wine is 100% Spanna, the local name for Nebbiolo in the Alto Piemonte. In order to protect the older clones of Spanna, Vallana only replaces Live La Dolce Vita for $23 |
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Wednesday June 24, 7:00pm EST
Carla Gambescia is the author of
Prepare for The Next Isolation!
In 1945, the owner of "Gino" an Italian red sauce joint, commissioned
Flora Scalamandré, wife of legendary textile house founder, to design wallpaper
for his drab Manhattan restaurant. When it came to covering walls,
the primary goal of Gino Circiello was to hide the splatters of marinara sauce
on the walls! The zebra design is now available in many colors. The pattern has endured because of the way they hop so unexpectedly into relatively
conformist rooms. The motif, says NYT, is a go-to choice for enlivening
powder rooms, foyers and hallways. SanFrancisco designer Maria Haidamus said:
"It adds whimsy to an otherwise sober setting."
Rooms covered in Scalamandré zebras have made cameo appearances
in movies including "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Mighty Aphrodite."
https://www.decoratorsbest.
scalamandre-zebras-masai-red-
Your Celebrate and Decorate with Scalamandré Wine:
La Quercia Montepulciano Riserva 2015
Here's a solid, straightforward red that opens with aromas of sour cherry
and a whiff of new leather. The ripe fruity palate exhibits juicy blackberry,
raspberry and a hint of anise. It's easy drinking, with soft tannins.
*** $22 ***
And a BIG can of Stanislaus Red Sauce, $14.99!
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Travel to Italy Through a Board Game
*** Lorenzo the Magnificent ***
Each player is an Italian Renaissance family seeking to impress the church and expand
their power. This is accomplished by acquiring cards representing lands, people, activities
or ventures. Dice-based workers are placed to action locations while resources such as wood, stone, and money are managed to the highest efficiency. Victory points determine the winner.
https://www.boardgamequest.
Your Drink Like Lorenzo Wine
RODANO, Toscana 2017
A blend of Sangiovese and Merlot, Rodano is a class act. Made in the traditional style,
Rodano uses younger Sangiovese vines younger blendedwith 30% Merlot
to create a fresh vibrancy while maintaining the rustic characterof old world wines.
Under Italian law, this bottle could be labeled Chianti Classico and, thus,
command a higher shelf price. You will find cherry fruit with some dark plum notes
and bits of gingerbread and spice. Long finish. Drink now through 2022.
After import issues, Rodano is finally BACK!
*** $16.99 ***
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June 18, 2020 at 4:00 PM ET FEDERICO FELLINIAn Absolutely Sincere Liar. A talk by Caterina D’Amico( Zoom Webinar ) |
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This year Federico Fellini would have turned 100! To celebrate the anniversary of his birth, we honor the Italian Maestro with a webinar featuring Caterina D’Amico, former Dean of the Centro di Centro di Cinematografia Sperimentale in Rome and founding member of the Zeffirelli Foundation in Florence. Federico Fellini, probably the world’s most famous Italian film maker, and 5 times Oscar winner, had unrivaled success. His feature films, all set in Italy, tell stories that cannot be classified as conventional genres, but deemed necessary the coining of its own fantastic and surreal “felliniesque” genre. LOCATION: Zoom Webinar (registration required) This program is part of Fare Cinema 2020, an initiative by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation promoting Italian quality film productions in the world. |
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*** In the Beginning ***
Before photography, plagues and pandemics were recorded in paint.
A great example is the oval depicting St. John healing victims of the plague painted
for the Hospital of San Giovanni di Dio in Florence by Violante Ferroni,
a woman who bent all rules at a time when large scale public commissions were reserved for men.
https://mail.google.com/mail/
Webinar through Italian Embassy in Washington DC on June 4th from 4 to 5pm
Details: https://
Your Webinar With Wine:
Contessa Costanza
Cera Suolo di Vittoria Classico 2017
50% Nero D'Avola and 50% Frappato, Sicily $16.99
The Countess Constance wine Poggio di Bortolone is characterized by its remarkable freshness.
It has a bright red color and gives off vibrant aromas of blueberry, cherry and red currant.
On the palate it reveals its excellent structure and fruity and persistent finish.
From The MetroWines Book Suggestion Department
in Collaboration with Ciao Asheville
Italo Calvino presents a novel of endless mutations in this intricate story about writing and readers.
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler turns out to be not one novel but ten, each with a different plot,
style, ambience, and author, and each interrupted at a moment of suspense.
Together they form a labyrinth of literatures, known and unknown, alive and extinct, through which
2 readers, a male and a female, pursue both story lines that intrigue them and one another.
ITALO CALVINO (1923–1985) attained worldwide renown as one
of the twentieth century’s greatest storytellers. Born in Cuba, he was raised
in San Remo, Italy, and later lived in Turin, Paris, Rome, and elsewhere.
More about Calvino: https://www.
Published in 1992. In paperback from Malaprops
https://www.malaprops.com/
Your Read it With Bottle
Sorelle Palazzi (Palazzi Sisters)
Toscana Sangiovese 2015, $17.99
Grapes grown from old vines on Colli Pisani, Pisan Hills, on soils that are composed
mostly of clay. Native yeasts, non-filtered, and vilification in large cement tanks
give one the chance to taste the "blood of Jove" (Sangiovese) without breaking the bank.
Dried herbs, including thyme and chives, and fruit. Easy to drink solo or with food.
The Palazzi Sisters, or Sorelle Palazzi, started their winery in 1973 in the little-known Chianti town
of Morrona di Terricciola, in the heart of the Colli Pisani,between Pisa and Volterra.
Certified Organic by ICEA.
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Meanwhile, a Roman Mosaic Floor was found under a Vineyard near Verona!
https://www.bbc.com/news/
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June 4, 2020 at 4:00 PM ET THE ART OF HEALINGRediscovering Historical Women Artists from Florence( Zoom Webinar ) |
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Are we the ones really preserving art through conservation or is it a mutual relationship where art preserves us as well? Through the joint efforts of Italian institutions such as the Uffizi, the Fondazione Santa Maria Nuova and the US organization Advancing Women Artists (AWA), often-forgotten women like Violante Ferroni are now being rediscovered and their works exhibited once more. During the webinar, Linda Falcone, Director of AWA, and Elizabeth Wicks, Conservator of Fine Art, will enlighten us on the works of Plautilla Nelli, Artemisia Gentileschi, Violante Siries Cerroti and Violante Ferroni. Through the fascinating journey of the restoration of their pieces, we will learn about the historical women artists of Florence and their role in the ‘Art of Healing’. LOCATION: Zoom Webinar (registration required) This program is organized in collaboration with |
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*** BIG DEAL of THE WEEK ***
Barbera is a vigorous and productive variety requiring management
through pruning and planting density. The clusters are big and compact,
and the grapes are rich in sugar, acidity, soft tannins and color.
Vallana’s viticultural philosophy is sustainable farming.
Grapes are ready for harvest mid-September. Handpicked and placed in small boxes.
Fermentation takes place in large cement tanks and lasts for about one week.
The wine is unoaked and rests in large cement vessels for up to one year before bottling.
The wine is perfect to drink young, but suitable for medium to long aging.
*** $12.99 ***
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Thursday, May 21, 6 p.m. EST
Bianca Ottone, founder of
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Big Deal of The Week
With restaurants closed, sales are down for Asheville Wine Distributors.
That means that some of those wines destined for menus are now on our shelves.
We can help our Distributors and at the same time, provide a great wine opportunity for you!
This wine is one we might not have purchased due to the price but now.......
A blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappucio but primarily Mascalese.
Winemaker Chiara says that Cappucio gives color and boldness,
while the structure comes from the Mascalese
From Fattorie Romeo del Castello in Randazzo in Etna, Sicily
Burgundian style wine with wild strawberry fruit, fresh with a sweet core.
From a 14 hectare vineyard close to Etna that lost half its vines to the 1981 eruption.
** The Winemakers **
Interview with Winemakers: http://
$26 @MetroWines
This is What Sicily Can DO!
** The Dreaded Two Bottle Dilemma **
While some businesses are opening, restaurants are not yet back on radar.
One of the great pleasures of a restaurant is pairing each dish to just the right wine.
If you have a crab salad for an appetizer and a steak for an entree,
you probably don't want, nor should you, a bottle of Red Bordeaux for the entire meal.
At a restaurant, you could select just a glass of wine for each course.
But now we are playing DIY restaurant at home
and without a party of four or more, we are facing:
The Dreaded Two Bottle Dilemma!
MetroWines To The Rescue!
** Solution: Half Bottles!**
Tiefenbruner Pinot Grigio Alto-Adige, Italy $6.79
Catena Malbec Mendoza, Argentina $10.99
Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano Abruzzo, Italy $8.99
** Word is Out. Limited Supply **
Call (828) 575-9525 and stake your claim!
From The MetroWines Book Suggestion Department
Making wine on Europe's largest active volcano doesn't come easy.
Frequent changes in topography, elevation, and weather influence each vintage
and every winemaker has an interpretation of the evolving volcanic landscape.
This is part of what makes Etna so exciting. The wines are as inviting as the terrain. For millennia the mountain served as a backdrop in the development of Europe. Today, the UNESCO Heritage Site is a destination for the world.
American wine expert Benjamin Spencer goes beyond the vines to explore
the history and rebirth of the region that has everyone talking about Sicily.
https://www.malaprops.com/
%20wines%20of%20mount%20Etna%
Your Read it With Wines
But of course, from Mt. Etna
2018 Tascante Buonara Etna Bianca 2018 Caricante
Buonora is Tenuta Tascante’s white wine from Mount Etna’s indigenous
Carricante grape variety. Historically prized for its high acidity
and abundant productivity, Carricante is a multi-facited grape that ripens late
and gains complexity with aging. Grapes for the Tenuta Tascanate Buonora
are sourced from cool-climate vineyards on the north and east faces
of the volcano’s slopes. Really great bottle!
More about the Winery: https://www.
$21 @MetroWines by the bottle everyday all day!
As always, 10% off when you buy 6 of anything
and 15% on a case of regularly priced bottles!
Does wine have an expiration date? Some wines, even white wines
are bottled to age and,in fact improve with age. Coenobium, an orange wine
from Italy is such a bottle. Coenobium wants time in bottle.
$26 @MetroWines. Best price stateside.
Less in Europe but shipping is a dealbreaker!
Built to last. Brett Watson says you can drink it now. But if you do,
uncork and let it breath for a day. If you choose to wait, 2-3 years
from the vintage date,2018 in this case, would be optimal.
Coenobium is highly allocated meaning limited distribution to each retailer.
Brett tells me MetroWines has every bottle in NC!