Every Saturday, we host one of Asheville’s best free wine tastings from 2 to 5 p.m. It is free to the public and the tasting typically features 4 affordable wines from small family wineries. The “smaller guys” use a more artisan approach in the farming of their grapes and the making of their wines and they are driven more by quality than profit. Much like the local Asheville organic farmer or cheese maker is driven by the quality of their product as opposed to the quantity produced, the farmers/producers we champion share a similar ideal.
At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding, so stop by Table Wine on Saturday’s to taste what we’re talking about! We love to talk about wine, so feel free to ask questions, even if they make you think the sound dumb. We won’t make you feel inadequate! This Saturday’s lineup (July 21) will include the following wines:
1. 2011 Tenuta Sant’Antonio Scaia – This wine comes from one of the top young producers in Italy’s Veneto region and it blends the native Garganega (typically found in Soave) with Chardonnay. It is an intensely aromatic and flavorful white with notes of wildflowers, peach, apple and honey. Great on a hot afternoon by itself, this one also loves spicy Thai and other Asian fare.
2. 2011 Vecchia Torre Leverano Rosato – This dry Rosé hails from Puglia in southern Italy. It blends the native Negroamaro with a splash of Malvasia Nera to create a dry, but fruit filled pink wine with aromas and flavors of ripe strawberry, cherry, cranberry and peach. The wine works with almost any sort of food, but really loves sunny back porches and friends.
3. NV Garofoli Antica Osteria Rosso – Here is Italian table wine at its finest! A blend of Montepulciano and Sangiovese, it is super friendly, with flavors of ripe black cherry, plum and spice. Perfect for washing down Marco’s pizza or spaghetti and meatballs.
4. 2008 Schola Sarmenti Roccamora – Here’s something many of you have probably never tried – 100% Negroamaro from a single, 35 year old vineyard. Hailing from Nardo, along Italy’s southern, Salento peninsula, this is a big, boisterous, delicious wine. Flavors of wild cherry, plum, roasted herb and complex spice make this a wine that loves grilled meats and stews.