Overlooked Siblings of Italian Wine Superstars  Virtual (Zoom) Tasting Friday, July 10, 9:00PM Eastern 6:00PM Pacific  As the younger sibling of an extremally successful brother, I have always had a special place in my heart for talented actors and sports stars that were overshadowed by their more successful siblings. Think Frank Stallone, Joey Travolta, Billy Ripken, Dom DiMaggio, and Jerry Van Dyke. The same is true in the world of Italian wine. Piedmont superstar Barolo overshadows its sibling Nebbiolo D’Alba. In Tuscany, the much-acclaimed Brunello di Montalcino is in the spotlight while it’s little brother Rosso di Montalcino operates in the shadows. And finally, Amarone Della Valpolicella rarely lets it younger sister, Valpolicella Rapasso get the attention she deserves. Another similarity between the overshadowed wines and their entertainment/sports counterparts is that they work cheap. While the more famous wines command prices of $40-$50 and beyond, d...

Valpolicella is grown in the Veneto region (North East Italy just outside of Venice) and has several personalities depending on how it is processed in aged.   Valpolicella is a wine region not the name of a grape.  A number of different grapes can go into a bottle of Valpolicella the most prominent of which is a grape hardly anyone has ever heard of called Corvina.  The most well known personality is basic Valpolicella.  It is a light bodied wine, has alcohol levels of 11-12%, and is a great wine to have with Pizza, lighter meats like veal, or heavier seafood like swordfish.   A bottle of Valpolicella should cost between $8 and $15. The most regal personality for Valpolicella is Amarone.   Amarone starts out with the same grapes as Valpolicella but before fermentation starts the grapes are dried out, traditionally on straw mats but now through a variety of processes, so that the juice that remains is very concentrated.  The wi...