Enjoying Italian Wines

Mark and I got out last week, and what better way to enjoy some time out than to spend the evening drinking and eating Italian. Our great friend, Earl, hosted a wine dinner at Nick's Italian Cafe in downtown McMinneville. We sampled over 17 wines that just arrived in the US, for many of them, this is the first vintage ever to be sold here.

The evening started with several salami platters - Nick's cures many of its own salami's, and makes a killer bologna. After sampling and hearing about many of the wines, we ordered off the five course menu. Unable to control myself with the salamis, I decided against the full five courses and indulged in just a couple. I opted for an appetizer of mushrooms, asparagus and spinach, the slow roasted lamb for the main course, and an arugula salad to help cleanse the palate. What a meal! Of course, the wines were also exceptional.

For me, the biggest hit was a 2007 Scanavino Barbera D'Asti. Lovely and easy to drink, it was soft around the edges with a smooth finish (for such a young wine). Coming in around $15 retail - it definitely stole the show! Not forgetting that it's almost summer, we also sampled several whites, and found the Grottarosso Bianco Degli Scudi-Inzolia very nice. It had some lovely stone fruit notes without being overpowering, with a dry, classy finish.

We had a fantastic evening and would recommend visiting Nick's if you are in the area. They boast great pizza's for lunch, as well! As far as the wines, we picked up our favorites to feature at the shop. Look for the upcoming Italian wine tasting on our event web site, we'll get it scheduled as soon as the wines arrive! Cheers.