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375ml
Bottle:
$49.19
6 bottles:
$48.40
Golden amber, brilliant color. It’s aroma hints at honey, toasted almond and vanilla. Sweet and rich taste,...
500ml
Bottle:
$30.15
12 bottles:
$29.55
A most appealing example of Italy’s most famous dessert wine, displaying molasses and toffee aromas, honey and...
375ml
Bottle:
$27.85
$28.79
12 bottles:
$27.29
Brilliant amber in color, this wine offers seductive, layered aromas of roasted nuts, dried apricots, dates, toffee,...
375ml
Bottle:
$41.94
12 bottles:
$41.10
• San Colombano, Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia bianca grapes from vines planted in the early 1970s.
• Loamy clay...
500ml
Bottle:
$36.79
6 bottles:
$36.00
Elegent and fragrant, this opens with aromas of pressed rose, crushed violet, wild berry and a whiff of baking spice....
375ml
Bottle:
$40.99
$43.94
An exquisite Vin Santo, with aromas and flavors of brown butter, caramel, molasses, gingerbread and roasted walnut...
375ml
Bottle:
$84.94
The 2012 Vin Santo is compelling, as it so often is. Caramel, honey, brown sugar and kirsch are some of the many...
375ml
Bottle:
$22.84
$23.75
12 bottles:
$22.38
This is a Vin Santo that is traditional both in its blend of Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes as well as in its method...
375ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$42.88
Charming wine with a very intense amber color; the alcoholic component enhances a wide and complex aroma with...
375ml - Case of 3
Bottle:
$124.56
Made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes harvested in October and left to dry until early February, Castello di...
Dessert Wine Mencia Petite Sirah Robola Italy Tuscany Vin Santo
Petite Sirah was first brought from France to America in the 1880s. It later went on to become one of the only grapes to make it through the devastating Phylloxera virus in the 1890s, both World Wars, and the Great Depression. During Prohibition, it was a main ingredient used to make sacramental wines. In fact, through the 1960s it was a major blending grape in a number of the finest wines produced in California.
By itself, a bottle of Petite Sirah usually has no problem making a quick impression on consumers. With a large amount of natural color and tannins, wines made with the grape commonly feature intensive sweet fruit characteristics like fresh raspberry or blackberry jam, black pepper spice, and plenty of backbone or structure.
There are a number of different styles available. Some concentrate on highlighting fresh, fruity flavors; others are bigger, more voluptuous; and it keeps going up the ladder until you reach the powerful, more machismo-style category.
In the mountains of Cephalonia, the mineral rich soils assist in the growing of one of the finest of Greece's white grape varietals – the Robola grape. These noble yellowish grapes are notable for the wines they produce, which generally contain summer fruits, peach and citrus aromas, coupled with flavors which extend beyond the usual range of white wines, revealing smoky and mineral notes, and a lengthy, lemony after-taste. These fine characteristics helped the regions it is grown in gain AOC status, and wine-makers in this area have many generations of practice in bringing out the elegant and subtle characteristics of this grape.
Robola, and the other wines of Cephalonia have a long and illustrious history, being mentioned even in ancient epic poems such as Homer's Iliad. However, it was the Venetians who first recognized the great potential of Robola grapes, which quickly became the focus for the areas wine-makers and tradesmen. Nowadays, Robola wines act as an excellent example of a refined Greek dry white wine, which can be either drank as a light and refreshing summer aperitif, or alongside grilled white meats, salads, or white fish. Robola wines, as a rule, do not age particularly well, and it is highly recommended that bottles are drunk young, within two years of bottling. By doing so, you can enjoy the unique characteristics of this remarkable wine, complete with the balanced combination of chalky, smoky citrus flavors and delicate peach aromas which typify the finest examples of Robola varietal wines.
Additional Information on Greek Wines
Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?
There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.
The central Italian region of Tuscany is widely understood to be one of the world's most famous and highly regarded wine regions. The beautiful rolling hillsides and medieval towns and castles which are a key feature of the area are also home to many of Europe's finest wineries, and extremely high quality vineyards growing the distinctive Sangiovese and Vernaccia grape varietals which are the flavorful backbone of Tuscany's wonderful red and white wines. For almost three thousand years, this region has been recognized as an ideal home for wine production on a large scale, and the ancient Etruscans, Greeks and Romans all noticed that fine grape varietals flourished on the unique soils and under the hot sunshine which typifies the area. Today, Tuscany is home to a wide range of wines, from the traditional to the complex, but all dedicated to excellent flavors and aromas, and maintaining the region's international reputation.