Free wine tasting at Table Wine in South Asheville, North Carolina.

Free Saturday Wine Tasting - Food Friendly Italian Wines

Saturday, February 22nd from 2 to 5 p.m. — Free To The Public — Join us this and every Saturday for our weekly free wine tasting! This week, we’re going to focus our attention on the food friendly characteristics of Italian wines. Trust us, all three of these wines are perfectly delicious without food, but their distinct flavors and characteristics make them perfect candidates for simple, easy to prepare meals.

We’ll start with a crisp and aromatic Verdicchio from Italy’s Adriatic Coast; this one would love to be served next to a big plate of pasta with clams and garlic. Next up, we’ll pour you a Valpolicella that would work with all sorts of cuisine. With its bright and zesty red fruit character, this one would love a meat-heavy pizza or a classic pasta with red sauce. We’ll finish with an intense and somewhat structured Sangiovese from a very well known Brunello producer. We love this one with roast chicken and all sorts of other fowl. We’ll be here to guide you through the tasting and we’ve all got some great recipes to share with you too. Stop by, taste some wine, and increase your understanding of this joyous stuff one taste at a time!

The Wines

1. 2012 Fattoria Laila Verdicchio (Le Marche, Italy): To taste really good Verdicchio is to taste sunshine in a glass! This brightly fruited, crisp, and aromatically pleasing white wine is packed with fresh peach, apple, citrus and floral aromas and flavors. It will have you thinking about spring weather and spring fare……thing pasta and clams, mountain trout, or grilled veggies.

2. 2012 Corte Majoli Valpolicella (Veneto, Italy): This is about as basic as red wine can get, but don’t confuse basic with boring. What it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in honesty and drinking ease. Based on the classic Valpolicella blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara, this fresh, juicy, low tannin, red fruited chugger is meant to be enjoyed alongside pizza, spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna. Feel free to bring your own!

3. 2011 Caparzo Sangiovese (Tuscany, Italy): Caparzo is a really good Brunello di Montalcino producer that is owned by the same family that owns Altesino. Their basic Sangiovese di Toscana is packed with classic Tuscan character and charm — ripe cherry and red currant mingle with minty, earthy notes in this relatively complex and somewhat structured red wine that sells for a song. Enjoy it by itself or with roast chicken or other poultry or pork dishes.