Veneto

[Thomas]

Just came back from a tasting of wines of the Veneto, sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission.

Without going into minute detail, only because I haven't had time to go through my notes (will do so later) let me say I was both impressed and unimpressed by what was presented to us.

1. Prosecco wines from dry to semi-sweet (the dries have it).

2. Sparkling Prosecco does not appeal to me, even though the quality has been upgraded lately, as the tasting proved. The Charmat method is used, so these wines simply have a mediocre life span, and it shows in the bottle -- some were oxidized before even being released.

3. Pinot Grigios ran the range of taste sensations from citrus to nuts -- interesting.

4. The reds -- some fine, some weak, some disasterous -- were a surprise if only because I have had little experience with certain varietals from that region: Merlot, Cab-Merlot blends, et al. There were, however, a few really good finds, and I will comment on them later.