Black (White, Red and Rosé) Friday Sale

Save 10% on some of Vino’s favorites in our post-Thanksgiving blow-out!

The Jonas Brothers (from left, Nick Jonas, Kevin Jonas and Joe Jonas) with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The teen pop sensations performed at half-time during the Cowboys 34-9 Thanksgiving rout of the Seattle Seahawks yesterday.

If you’re anything like us, we know how you’re feeling today: the day after Thanksgiving finds many of us still sleepy from all that turkey and cranberry sauce. But while you’ve been recovering from yesterday’s heady mix of stuffing and NFL, Vino has been hard at work putting together its Black Friday sale!

Don’t feel like facing the hordes of frantic shoppers hunting for bargains on Fifth Avenue? Then why not help walk off that extra serving of pumpkin pie by taking a leisurely stroll down East 27th Street. You’ll find a whole host of festive wines guaranteed to put that spring back in your step.

And if you’re unable to get to the city this weekend, Vino’s vast selection of holiday wines are all available on our website, www.vinositeshop.com.

Save 10% on these great wines:

Chiavennasca 2007 Conti Sertoli Salis / Lombardia
Was $21, now $18.90
Vino Rosato 2007 Guido Gualandi / Toscana
Was $19, now $18.10
Schiava Bischofsleiten 2007 Castel Sallegg / Trentino-Alto-Adige
Was $15, now $13.50
Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato 2007 Luca Ferraris / Piemonte
Was $22, now $18.80
Nero d’Avola 2007 ERA / Sicilia
Was $14, now $12.60

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Festive sparklers

Let Lini lift your spirits this holiday season

Alicia Lini and daughter Alba photographed by Vino's Jim Hutchinson at the Lini estate in Correggio, Reggio Emilia, October 2008.

For many of us, Thanksgiving arrives this year at a time of bleak uncertainty. And because the economic mood is far from upbeat, there’s all the more reason your wines should be the opposite. Emilian Lambrusco specialist Lini produces a fun and affordable range of bubbly wines which are typical of the region. Whether toasting the season or pairing with party snacks, these six popular wines are perfect for every festive occasion. Try them this season and watch your holiday really sparkle!Labrusca Bianco 2007 $15
Labrusca Rosso 2007 $15
Lambrusco Rosé 2007 $17
Metodo Classico Bianco 2002 $32
Corrigia Brut Rosso 2003 $27
Lambrusco Scuro 2007 $20

Taste all six of the above wines this Wednesday at Vino!

Take 10% off individual bottles and 20% off closed cases!

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

Take home six of the best this Thanksgiving

Let Vino choose your wines this holiday season

Norman Rockwell's vision of Thanksgiving probably didn't include wine, but there's no reason why yours shouldn't.

For many Americans, Thanksgiving means turkey, pumpkin pie and the Dallas Cowboys. But while we all enjoy eating with the family and watching football, the wine lover in us is sometimes left dissatisfied. Invariably wine is given little consideration at Thanksgiving, such is the epic nature of this autumnal feast — many find the challenge of pairing wines with stuffing, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce simply too daunting a task. Which is why Vino is here to help. While we admit that choosing Thanksgiving wines is a tricky affair to get right, this year we’ve done the hard work so you don’t have to. These six excellent holiday wines have been hand-picked to guide you effortlessly through your Thanksgiving meal.

Introducing our Thanksgiving Six-Pack. Try it — your family will thank you.

Prosecco Brut NV Col de’ Salici / Veneto
The perfect way to start any celebratory meal, Col de’ Salici’s Valdobbiadene DOC Prosecco is guaranteed to get the party started.

Moscato Giallo 2007 Castel Sallegg / Trentino-Alto Adige
Made from the indigenous golden grape Moscato Giallo, this dry, fragrant wine is an ideal partner to rich cheeses and holiday snacks.

Lambrusco Rosé 2007 Lini / Emilia-Romagna
Lower in alcohol than other Lambruscos, Lini’s gently sparkling Rosé is a tasty choice with which to cleanse the palate between courses.

Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2005 Le Ragose / Veneto
Made using the Ripasso method, Le Ragose’s Valpolicella Superiore is a lighter alternative to Amarone and a more suitable pairing to dishes on Thanksgiving’s diverse menu.

Barbera d’Asti Ruleja 2003 Castello di Montegrosso / Piemonte
Ruleja is one of our most popular Barberas – its high acidity makes it a great accompaniment to turkey.

Aviè 2003 Cascina Castlèt / Piemonte
A dessert wine produced from dried Moscato grapes, Avié (meaning “vigil” in Piedmontese) is a memorable way to close a meal. Try it with a slice of pumpkin pie!

Thanksgiving Six-Pack
$112.80 (was $141) Purchase online!
Our Thanksgiving Six-Pack can be yours for just $112.80 while stocks last. That’s 20% off! Don’t miss out on this extraordinary holiday offer!

And don’t forget: you can taste all six of these wines this Friday at our Thanksgiving Tasting, where each bottle will be available at a 10% discount.

Thanksgiving Tasting
Friday, November 21
5:30-7:30pm

Vino Italian Wine and Spirits
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information please call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

20 wines at $15 or under!

This holiday season enjoy some of Vino’s favorite wines without breaking the bank

In Italy, wine is as much a part of the daily diet as olive oil and parmigiano. The notion of table wine is exactly that: a bottle to be placed on the table at dinner. Just as 95% of Italians eat pasta daily, so most enjoy wine with every meal. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t do the same, especially with great wines available at these wallet-friendly prices (remember our 10% case discount).

Vino presents twenty of our favorite wines each priced at $15 or under. Enjoy a bottle tonight (and every night)!

Inzolia 2007 ERA / Sicilia $14
Monica di Sardegna Arenada 2004 Dolianova / Sardegna $13
Starsa Rosso 2006 Tenuta del Portale / Basilicata $15
Primitivo di Manduria 2005 Cantastorie / Puglia $15
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2006 Barone Cornacchia / Abruzzo $14
Lacrima di Morro d’Alba 2006 Stefano Mancinelli / Marche $15
Verdicchio di Matelica Pagliano 2007 Enzo Mecella / Marche $14
Rosso Piceno Colle Malvano 2006 Enzo Mecella / Marche $12
Gavignano 2007 Travignoli / Toscana $12
Chianti Rufina 2006 Travignoli / Toscana $12

Labrusca Bianco 2007 Lini / Emilia-Romagna $15
Labrusca Rosso 2007 Lini / Emilia-Romagna $15
Canavese Rosato Rubiconda 2007 Orsolani / Piemonte $14
Canavese 2006 Orsolani / Piemonte $15
Barbera d’Asti 2007 Luca Ferraris / Piemonte $15
Grignolino d’Asti 2007 Luca Ferraris / Piemonte $15
Dolcetto d’Alba 2006 Monchiero / Piemonte $15
Schiava Bischofsleiten 2007 Castel Sallegg / Trentino-Alto Adige $15
Clic Bianco 2007 Ronco dei Tassi / Friuli $12
Clic Rosso 2007 Ronco dei Tassi / Friuli $12

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For further information please call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

In fair Verona…

Discover the legend of Amarone and the unique wines of Verona in our final class of the fall season

Verona's Piazza delle Erbe is a great place to watch the world go by, preferably while enjoying a glass of the local vino.

Despite its relatively modest production, Amarone enjoys its current standing as one of Italy’s most fascinating and collectable wines, though it could have just as easily never existed. According to popular legend, the wine was created by accident in the 1930s when a producer of the veronese passito Recioto forgot to stop fermentation. This inadvertently allowed all of the wine’s sugar to be transformed into alcohol, resulting in the name “Amarone” (literally “big bitter”).

Amarone is produced by drying Corvina, Molinara, and Rondinella grapes on straw mats and reintroducing the raisinated fruit to a base wine in a process known as the ripasso method.

Wine producers began officially trading Amarone in the 1950s and it proved an instant success with locals in Verona. Only following the appellation’s award of DOC status in 1990 has Amarone seen a large surge in demand. It remains unique within Italy’s vast viticultural panorama, a wine which breaks many traditional Italian winemaking conventions: while it is a dried-grape wine it is also dry, not sweet, notably high in alcohol, and notoriously challenging to pair properly.

Some of Verona's best wines can be sampled in shops like this one, in the heart of the city's centro storico.

On Wednesday, November 19 join Amarone authority Robert Scibelli, DWS, for our final class of the fall season, Amarone and the Wines of Verona. This revealing tasting seminar will uncover some of the mystery surrounding this rare wine, while also examining some of the other significant wines from the Verona area, including Valpolicella, Bardolino, and Soave.

Amarone and the Wines of Verona
with Robert Scibelli, DWS
Wednesday, November 19
6:30-8:30pm
$95

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For further details please call 212-725-6516 or email register@vinosite.com.

School’s out! Vino’s Italian wine classes will return in the Spring!

Le Vigne del Lazio

Save 15% on three great wines from Lazio, in honor of consortium president Fabrizio Santarelli’s visit to New York

Fabrizio Santarelli discusses his wines and production techniques to guests at I Trulli earlier this week. Photo: Alex Dominguez

This week Vino was proud to welcome winemaker Fabrizio Santarelli to New York. In addition to owning the Castel de Paolis winery in Grottaferrata, Fabrizio was recently elected president of Le Vigne del Lazio, a consortium of 23 producers whose common aims are wines of quality and the promotion of the region’s product. Lazio is certainly less-revered than Tuscany or Piedmont among wine enthusiasts, particularly outside Italy. But as Fabrizio explained to me this week at a dinner held in his honor at I Trulli, “The only problem with wines from Lazio is letting people know about them — and taste them!” Fabrizio himself worked in New York until 2001 and delighted in promoting his own wines to buyers and consumers in the city, and of course was “excited and encouraged” by their unanimously enthusiastic response.

In honor of Fabrizio’s visit to the United States, we have chosen to feature three wines from Lazio, all from producers who belong to Le Vigne del Lazio, including, naturally, Fabrizio’s own Castel de Paolis. All three wines are available at a special 15% discounted price, and Vino is also offering free delivery in Manhattan! Join us on November 14, when you’ll be able to sample these bottles at our FREE Le Vigne del Lazio Tasting!

Magone 2004 Sergio Mottura
$27.20
The Mottura family has been making wine in the northern hills of Lazio since the 1930s. This 100% Pinot Nero is a fine example of Sergio Mottura’s preservation of tradition and winemaking innovation.

Rosso del Frusinate 2006 Casale della Ioria
$18.70
Paolo Perinelli oversees every aspect of the winemaking process at his estate in Ciociaria. This wine is a blend of Cesanese, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, resulting in a wine which for Paolo is “modern in style while respecting the traditions of our region.”

I Quattro Mori 2004 Castel de Paolis
$35.70
Fabrizio Santarelli has made a career of cultivating both native and international grapes. Named after its four “dark” varieties — Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot — I Quattro Mori is aged in equal parts old and new oak barrels.

FREE Le Vigne del Lazio Tasting
Friday, November 14
5:30-7:30pm

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information please call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com.

I Trulli honors Fabrizio Santarelli

Castel de Paolis producer presents wines at Lazio-themed dinner

I Trulli's "A Taste of Rome" dinner featured the specialties and wines of Lazio.

Fabrizio Santarelli of Castel de Paolis arrived in New York this weekend to promote his wines as well as winemaking in the region of Lazio. The recently elected president of Le Vigne del Lazio, a consortium of 23 of the region’s producers, was the guest of honor at a Lazio-themed dinner held at I Trulli last night.

Fabrizio Santarelli was happy to discuss his wine with guests at I Trulli on Monday night.

Fabrizio enjoyed the spotlight and proved an engaging host together with Nicola Marzovilla and Jim Hutchinson. The menu, prepared especially for the occasion by Chef Patti Jackson, featured dishes typical of the region, paired naturally with some of the consortium’s best wines.

The timballo di riso was paired with Cesanese del Piglio by Casale della Ioria, one of the producers of the Lazio consortium over which Fabrizio presides.

Guests tasted the following on Monday night: saltimbocca di triglie and Campo Vecchio Bianco 2007 Castel de Paolis, timballo di riso and Cesanese del Piglio 2005 Casale della Ioria, and grigliata mista and I Quattro Mori 2004 Castel de Paolis. The dessert, gelato e focaccia alla romana dolce was paired with Vin Santo 1999 Travignoli.

Nicola Marzovilla and Fabrizio Santarelli talked about wine. Probably.

Fabrizio and his wife Alessandra have spent the rest of their time in New York presenting Castel de Paolis’ wines to clients, as well as promoting wines by other producers from Lazio. But there was still time to sample some authentic East Coast diner fare, including scrapple sandwiches and beer in Williamsburg!

Special thanks to photographer Alex Dominguez!

Pasta for Kids!

Budding young chefs are invited to I Trulli for a hands-on pasta-making class and lunch!

It's never too early to get hands-on experience in the kitchen at I Trulli, as this tomato-covered tot demonstrates.

There are some things every child loves. Cartoons. Lego. Staying up late. And at dinnertime, especially pasta. Parents across America have been serving their children noodles and tomato sauce for generations, and the ever-popular spaghetti and meatballs still ranks as the #5 favorite food of kids in the U.S. So what better reason to get your junior pasta-lovers in the kitchen? On Saturday, November 15, join mother-and-daughter Dora and Domenica Marzovilla at I Trulli as they host “Pasta for Kids”, a fun-packed, hands-on pasta-making class designed especially for the future chefs of tomorrow, followed by a delicious traditional Italian lunch!

Generations of American kids have enjoyed spaghetti at home and at school, although few brazenly dare to ignore the "no white shirt" rule like this pasta-loving tyke.

Pasta for Kids
with Dora and Domenica Marzovilla
Saturday, November 15
1:30-3:30pm
$55 per person

More details are available on I Trulli’s website. For further information and reservations please call 212-725-6516 or email register@vinosite.

Sock it to me!

LINI910 unveils the Lambrusco bottle-sock

LINI910 has followed up its chic PVC bag with this innovative bottle-sock.

First came the bag, now the bottle-sock. Stylish Emilian producer Alicia Lini continues to tap into the uncharted marketplace of wine-related gadgets for the stylish urban Lambrusco consumer. Regular readers of this blog may remember the somewhat coveted LINI910 PVC bag we featured back in July. This was followed by the launch of the company’s new website. Now we are excited to reveal the next step in Lini’s wine brand innovation: introducing the bottle-sock!

A bottle of Labrusca Rosso fits snugly inside the custom-built Lini bottle-sock.

Vino’s Jim Hutchinson visited the Lini estate in Correggio last month, and returned to New York with this chic bottle-hugging accessory. Made of durable, black thermal material, the sock zips up snugly over a bottle of Labrusca, keeping your wine both cool and protected. The bottle-sock you see in these pictures is one of only two currently in the U.S., but stay tuned: more LINI910 gear may be making its way stateside in ‘09. I for one am holding my breath for a full-blown Spring/Summer collection…

Photographs by James Taylor

Italian Cabernet

Our cabernet tasting class has it all: controversy, international intrigue… and great wines

Cabernet Sauvignon. Meg Page. 2007

The words “Cabernet Sauvignon” may evoke wines from France or California in the minds of many, and with good reason — the variety’s prominence in wines from Bordeaux led to its more recent popularity with winemakers in Napa. But Italian Cabernet? Though perhaps not immediately associated with Italian wines, the grape has been grown in Italy since the 19th century, and many producers there now consider it a native variety.

Yet Cabernet has a controversial history in Italy, where for many years it was considered a suspicious “foreign influence” on wine production, at the expense of the cultivation of local varieties. Once an illegal blending partner for Nebbiolo in Barolo, Cabernet achieved notoriety in Italy more than a generation ago, when it became commonly blended with other varieties — often with Sangiovese — to create the phenomenon of “Super Tuscan” wines.

Today, after decades of experimentation, Italian producers have successfully incorporated Cabernet into their winemaking, often resulting in superior wines. Join us at Vino on November 12 for Italian Cabernet, as Robert Scibelli, DWS, leads a revealing tasting of ten Cabernet-based wines and delves further into the history of this internationally renowned variety.

Cabernet Sauvignon grows successfully in all Italian regions but, because of Italy’s varied climate, its nature can change dramatically from place to place. While we will taste the likes of Castello dei Rampolla’s Sammarco and Paola Di Mauro’s Colle Picchioni, wines that are emblematic of Cabernet Sauvignon’s rise to elite status in Italy, it might be bottles like La Stoppa’s Stoppa or Ronco dei Tassi’s Cjarandon that will take tasters by surprise. These wines, the products of traditions stretching back to the early 20th century, are excellent facsimiles of classic Bordeaux and fine reflections of their respective terroir.

Italian Cabernet
with Robert Scibelli, DWS
November 12
6:30-8:30pm
$95

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information call 212-725-6516 or email register@vinosite.com.