The point is that I have to expend a lot of effort to learn about and
find these Italian wines. They're not at the supermarket. I live in
Ohio. Several local winesellers are very sharp, and Roger Gentile in
particular is quite keen on Italian
wines. He goes there regularly and
visits the winieries. He knows many producers quite well. Often I will
mention a wine from an article or book I have read, and he'll try to
get it for me. That's how I got hold
of the Valentini Trebbiano
d'Abruzzo, the most wonderful white I have ever drunk (and I HAVE
drunk a $50 Mersault). As a result, I admit that I know nothing about
Californian or F_____ wines. But I know more about Italian wines than
most people who drink wine.

Yes, it's easy just to go along with the crowd and drink the usual
California suspects. I don't do that.

And you are complaining about how hard you work to find out about Italian wines
in Ohio?

I live in Wyoming, and my preferences run to cool climate wines (French,
German, Pacific Northwest, eastern US), although I really like Italian reds
because they have good acidity. I can't say that I drink enough California
wines to have developed favorites, but I think some of their Cabs are good. But
generally, I have to drive to places like Washington State to sample the good
stuff.

So go ahead and share your experiences with undiscovered Italians. I'm sure
there are a lot of them, and this group would like to hear about them.

With better people skills, you could be the next Matt Kramer, extolling the
virtues of undiscovered Italian gems.

Tom Schellberg