I KNOW....you must be thinking, gene is at it again with his Italian bias. Well, as Woody Allan would say, "yes" and "no". We actually were to have focused on an Amarone for August, in honor of Brad Pitt and Angela Jolie's new purchase of a villa in the Valpolacella (not really) but when it arrived the vintage was the WRONG vintage. Plan B..go south my son...to Tuscany and one of the premier producers of sangiovese based ones, Il Poggione. The Gold Level will receive the Brunello 2005 Riserva, while the Silver group will enjoy the regular but limited bottling of the the Brunello. And the Bronze collection will receive two "baby" brunellos, rosso di montelcino wines. In the coming months we will be focusing on the super premium California and Oregon releases, but don't be surprised if you find a "Super Aussie" Shiraz in your fall collection. As they guy on the tv intoned..."Stay thirsty my friends."

In 1890 the Franceschi family purchased the Il Poggione estate in Sant’ Angelo in Colle in the commune of Montalcino in the province of Siena. In this area a cool maritime breeze from the southwest insures excellent ventilation and cool evenings and nights. Here Sangiovese Grosso reaches its maximum ripeness giving fuller and richer wines than anywhere else in Tuscany. The Estate covers 3,460 acres, of which 92 acres are planted to Brunello. Quality control is optimal at Il Poggione. The first control is the careful grape selection in the vineyard, the second immediately after the wine is made and the third in the Spring after fermentation to decide which wine will become Brunello and which will be sold as Rosso di Montalcino. Both wines start out the same but the wine usually destined to be Brunello is produced from the older Sangiovese Grosso vines and is required to be aged a minimal 36 months in Slavonian oak casks and four months in bottle for a total of four years aging, additionally with five years of aging the wine may be labeled Riserva. The wines that will be sold as Rosso di Montalcino is mostly produced from the younger vines then aged for two years in Slavonian Oak casks and released for sale.

THERE ARE a gazillion beers out there...beers with honey, chocolate, apricot, lime juice, you name it...if a tattooed college student will bite on it....they will make it ! In order to dispense with this mind boggling array of sprouted wheat and water beverages , may I suggest several beers which are tried and true, beers you can trust which are not faddish, but deliver taste and satisfaction...without the tattoo !

THE JUDGEMENT OF PARIS....WHERE AND WHEN STAG'S LEAP VINEYARDS TOOK FIRST PLACE !

As with the choices for Red wines are selective, subjective, and arbitrary, so too my choices for white wines from around the world in that $10.00-$24.00 price point. Actauly here I have a bit more latitude because I can include some German rieslings, Sparkling wines, wines with some fruit and zip. All of these wines are currently under $25.00 per bottle and are available by the case in our stores. Toffoli Prosecco, Cinzano Prosecco, Zardetto Prosecco, Beringer Alluvium blanc, Rodney Strong Chalk Hill Chardonnay, Dry Creek Fume Blanc, Honig Sauvignon Blanc, Clos du Chance Unoaked Chardonnay, Jadot Macon Villages, Montini Pinot Grigio, Maso Cannelli Pinot Grigio, Morgadio Albarino, Paco and Lola Albarino, Anselmi Soave, Antinori Campogrande Orvieto, Banfi Principessa Gavi, Santa Rita Sauvignon Blanc, Santa Rita Reserve Chardonnay, Selbach Oster Piesporter Gold Kabinett, Chandon Chardonnay, Hess Chardonnay (caution..it sells from 10.99 to 15.99 depending on the month), LaCrema Chardonnay, Miner Viognier. ...(To be continued) Premium White wines ($25.00 and up) Far Niente, Groth, Chalk Hill, Flowers, Jordan, Arrowood, Talbot, Rombauer , Doce dessert, Caymus Connundrum, Teruzzi e Puthod Terra di Tufi

Planning a party, spring or summer event and too swamped to plan it yourself ? I have, over the past 30 years, worked with many catering facilities, most of them "fly by nights" who do a few parties then throw in the towel. May I recommend two individuals with whom I have worked over the past decade, who, not only have not thrown in the towell, but have made intimate catering their lives. One fellow, Bob Sferra, has had a mosaic-ed career , working with large outfits such as Viking and Sur la Table, but he really shines in his own, on his own. Check out http://www.culinaryoccasions.com/...its fun, reasonably priced, and you will begin to find more occassions to entertain elegently without the hassel. My other suggestion is Chris Wozniak, owner of Flying Onion email. info@flyingonion.com. Chris is one of a kind. A trained architect, he decided to go into business at Shaker Square, then decided that a career as a chef was a natural move. Chris's specialty focuses on small inhouse dining and his range is limitless.

RUM

My wife and I are at a restaurant and she orders salmon and I order filet mignon. I request from the waitress a white wine (which my wife likes) which will go with both dishes. The waitress is mystified and can’t perform this feat. Do we go back to this place again?

This is the one red wine for the holidays. We have NOT seen imported wine prices come down this year until NOW. Palazzo della Torre is a "baby amarone" with all of the attributes of that great red from the Veneto ,at about 1/3 of the price. A perfect wine to match with your dinner, or a family gathering, this wine has a bouquet reminescent of dried cherries and violets. But in December we are offering the wine at only $19.99, a savings of $75.00 a case! (In January I have 2 cases left at the old price...next order goes back to $24.99...call me 216 283 6300 to order at the old price)