¡Meraviglioso! Exclusive Italian Imports

Preface: Sometimes Dave and I joke that we could easily stock an entire shop with French wine. We've noticed that recent club choices and tastings are often French-inspired or based, so we challenged ourselves for this month's club choices: "Let's try all Italian," said Dave, with a gleam in his eye. "Go for it," I replied. Read on.

Small Vineyards Imports: Dave had the distinct pleasure of attending the Small Vineyards Direct Import tasting a few months ago. Small Vineyards is a fairly low-profile company with a very large impact on the Seattle wine market; if it were not for their work, we would not see some of the amazing wines featured in our shop and in this month's club. Small Vineyards is a "direct importer," which means they have representatives who go to Italy, speak the native language with the winemakers, taste the wines, and settle on the choices of what to import. And only then do they bring them back directly for us to taste. It just doesn't get more intimate than this.

Buying from Small Vineyards or any direct importer is a "palate risk" - one has to taste the wines, as Dave did, and order right then and there; no other chances to order are offered. (The reason is the importing company needs to know what the orders will be and make one large import shipment.) What this means is you are getting wines which are rare, and will likely not be seen anywhere else but our shop, and therefore will not likely be enjoyed anywhere else but in your hands as a club participant. This is always our commitment to you - to bring you excellent wines which are not readily available from most retailers - it also reflects our goal to bring our customers interesting and new wines which will expand your overall tasting experience. As always, please let us know what you think.

2008 Marchetti Late Harvest Verdecchio  $15 (Small Vineyards Direct Import)
Secretly, Dave and I love Verdecchio so much out of the many wonderful white wines we can choose from. It's just so ... Verdecchio! Nothing compares. And when the source is Small Vineyards Imports, the choices jump to stratospherically exceptional. Marchetti's Late Harvest Verdecchio has long been an exceptional wine, but the 2008 vintage jumps well off the charts. Somehow all at once it features bright, mineral-laden fruit with a creamy and pure texture. It is made entirely from free run juice, so you are getting the rarest of flavors when enjoying this bottle. Only 900 cases total were made, and even less imported to the United States. Drink it. Savor it.

2007 Perazzeta Erio  $16 (Small Vineyards Direct Import)
Alessandro Bocci, the winemaker for Perazzeta, says without hesitation, "I love making wine, so I name it after the people I love." His "Rita" and "Sara" blends have always been shop favorites, and now comes a deep and powerful red named after his father, Erio. As you would expect from a Supertuscan Sangiovese blend, this is dark, brooding, and ultimately beautiful. To get bold, dark fruit and also hints of violets and sage is something only Bocci can conjure. Suitable for aging and lovely to drink now.

NV Fossi Rosso  $7
Get in your romantic-Italian mindset for this: imagine a small, actually tiny, beautiful and rustic Italian town which has age-old vineyards and produces great, everyday drinking wine. So, then envision if Dave and Haj were able to shop in a small Italian store in this tiny town and grab all their inexpensive, superb local wine: Fossi Rosso, it would be! This is great "common" Italian juice at a great price. We grabbed a bunch, and it's reserved first for club members. If you enjoy this, let us know right away and we will bring in a bit more for you. Time is of the essence here however, so do let us know. Pop the bottle right away, order some pizza, and see if there's any wine left by the time your pie is delivered. This will let you know if you need to buy more of this wine.