The recent weather problems that plagued most of the wine-growing world seem to have had little effect on Italy. As has always been the case with Italy, in good years and bad, there will be a flood of wines coming from that country.
One of the consistently better brands of Italian wines are those of Bella Sera, which translates as beautiful evening. We were fortunate enough to get an opportunity to sample some of these latest releases and found them to be well above other wines, foreign or domestic, selling for around the same price.
Bella Sera 2010 Chianti ($7.99)Although not swathed in a straw basket or in the bulb-shaped bottle of the past, the Bella Sera 2010 Chianti is as true to the old-fashioned Tuscan recipe as one can get.
The brilliant deep garnet color announces the fresh and pleasant aroma of violets and dried plums, with a hint of wild berries in the background. The flavor is full and powerful, accenting blackberries, plums and an earthy flavor that has become synonymous with Chianti. It is a big and robust wine that, despite all of its power, maintains a soft velvety character.
As far as what this wine will accompany; everything, after all, it is Chianti.
Bella Sera 2012 Pinot Grigio ($7.99)This notable Italian import displays a crystal clear, pale straw color and an aroma that is reminiscent of summer wild flowers and fresh pears. On the palate, the wine is almost totally dry, but the fruit flavors give the impression of sweetness. This wine also displays a moderately long, flavorful finish.
This is an excellent wine that can accompany a wide variety of foods, but it is a standout with shrimp or mild cheese-based dishes.
While the Bella Sera 2012 Pinot Grigio is a very Italian wine, please do not relegate it specifically to Italian style foods. It is a wine that can perform anywhere a white wine is called for and is excellent as an aperitif.
Bella Sera 2011 Moscato ($7.99)Wines made from moscato grapes are the oldest we have positive archeological information about. They have been known to exist since about 5000 BCE, and were the favorite grape of Rome for wine during Caesar’s time.
The Bella Sera 2011 Moscato is not that old, but it upholds the ancient tradition of the moscato style of wine - sweet, full-bodied and super fruity. This wine has an inviting golden color, a huge, almost explosive jasmine-like aroma and a bigger-than-life tropical fruit flavor of ripe peach, apricot and a hint of citrus. It carries over to the extraordinarily long and fruit-filled finish.
Bella Sera 2011 IGT Pavia Pinot Noir ($7.99)For pinot noir lovers, this wine takes a slightly different turn from the usual style, as it has been blended with a bit of lambrusco to add a totally new extra layer of flavor to an already excellent variety.
If you believe in the expression, “Don’t tamper with perfection,” after tasting this we say, “Tamper away.”
This wine displays all of the cherry and berry flavors and aromas found in a pinot noir wine, but it's the added notes of strawberry and pomegranate contributed by the lambrusco and that signature mineral element that marks it truly Italian.
The wine is not totally dry - it retains just a bit of sweetness derived from the grapes. We found this to be a really delightful dinner wine and also no slouch as a sipping wine.
Bella Sera Red Blend ($7.99)The Bella Sera Red Blend consists of merlot, syrah, bonarda, lambrusco, sangiovese and montepulciano grapes and is a wine of truly Italian flavor and aroma that was designed to be the ideal mealtime accompaniment.
The wine is softly dark in color and displays the full fruit flavor and aroma of dark summer berries, followed by an elegant cranberry and raspberry finish.
This wine can complement any meat or cheese dish and is also a knockout with red sauce dishes.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and helps manage ArticlesOnWine.com with his wife, Sheila. He can be reached at frojhe@suddenlink.net.[[In-content Ad]]
