This fizzy purple wine conjures up an Italian holiday

Remark

This week’s wines all had me cheering from the 1st sip to the very last. And it could be a little bit contrarian — though that has never stopped me — to recommend these for your Valentine’s Working day supper. No one will fault you for heading for champagne, of course, but why not go for the unforeseen? The Italians know how to make crimson wine sparkle. Here are two illustrations that will add the fizz to your night with no expenditure, pretense or strain. They exude comfort and leisure. (If you are proposing, go for the champagne.)

And for our 3rd wine this week, a reminder that a glass of rosé is as expressive as roses. Effectively, ok, you may will need to incorporate some personal flair to pull that off, the Inman Household Infinite Crush, which I raved about final summer, would be eminently correct here, as would this magnificent rosé from Ridgecrest Vineyards in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Salvatore Martusciello OttoUve Gragnano Della Penisola Sorrentina 2021

(3.5 stars)

This rosso frizzante hails from the Sorrento Peninsula south of Naples — assume Amalfi coast, passionate vistas and, of class, pizza. Imagine of it as a holiday in a bottle. The Washington-location importer, Michael R. Downey Options, to start with introduced this wine in for 2 Amys restaurant at the launch of the Neapolitan pizza craze. Fruitier than its far more northerly cousins from Emilia Romagna, this wine has a dried plum character that reminds me of — dare I say it? — Dr Pepper. But it is an Italian Dr Pepper. And a terrific value at the cost. Liquor by volume: 11.5 p.c. Bottle fat: 631 grams (Glowing).

Imported and dispersed regionally by Michael R. Downey Picks.

Medici Ermete Le Tenute Solo Reggiano 2018

(3.5 stars)

This “vino frizzante rosso secco” arrives from a main Lambrusco producer in Emilia Romagna. The wine is vibrantly ruby in shade, earthy and fruity in aroma, and beautifully well balanced on the palate with

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