By Lizbeth Conguisti, the Sassy Sommelier

Professional wine tasters and writers have created a lengthy list of descriptive words to help us understand the characteristics, fragrances, and aromas of the many different wine varieties on the market today. Unfortunately, many of us do not smell the same scents in the glass that the pros do.

My suggestion is to find your own descriptive words to describe what you smell in your glass when you taste. If the wine in your glass smells like your grandmother’s cedar chest, and that is something you like using to describe the wine, this will work well for you. The same is true for the taste in the glass. Look for a taste you are familiar with, things you can identify and put a name to. All the descriptive words are useless unless they can help you remember what is in your glass. Match the smell and taste of the wine to something you can identify and remember. To help you build your vocabulary of descriptive words, take time when in the grocery store to smell fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, and spices. In no time you’ll have your own lengthy list of descriptive words.

A few key words on Italian wine labels you need to pay attention to: “classic” is the word used to reference the “heart of the region”. We often see this word used on the label of wines from the Chianti region.  The other term we wanted to bring to your attention is “superiore” — to use this word on an Italian wine label indicates higher alcohol. 

My Italian heritage makes Italy my favorite place to vacation and when I am not in the country I love tasting Italian wines. Over the past few weeks we’ve tasted a few wines we would like to share with you. Our hope is you’ll find them enjoyable.

Colli di Soligio Prosecco Brut, NV:

100% Prosecco. A sparkling wine made from grapes from the Treviso hills.  A wine with delicate flavor notes of dry fruit and mangoes, with a pleasant and creamy aftertaste on the palate.

Firrato Chiarmonte Nero d’Avola:

100% Nero D’Avola. The Nero D’Avola is a native grape to Sicily. This wine is full bodied, opaque deep purple color, with ripe plum and spice notes. Exotic flavors and a silky finish. 

Tenuta de Capezzana Barco Reale di Carmingnano, Toscana DOC 2006:

A blend of 70% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet and 10% Canaiolo Nero. It is ruby red in color, with attractive youthful perfumes of ripe, red fruit, strawberries and redcurrants with the French oak adding a spicy depth. On the palate, it has lovely balance between lively, red fruit characters and smooth, spicy tannins. The quality is sustained right to the finish (Wine makers notes). I couldn’t agree more.