Wine of The Week

Sometimes it works out to be more like Wine of the Month. You'd think wine retail would entail a casual pace of work, but things can get frantic. . . .Anyway, those of you unfortunate enough to have read my sprawling travelogue detailing last October's trip to Sicily may remember fond recollections of the wines harvested in Etna's shadow. Barone Salvatore Bonajuto's Etna Rosso is a summary in a bottle of the chief merits of these wines. Light ruby in color, with pleasantly dry red fruit aromas and a texture that makes a long lunch with raw milk Sicilian cheeses, persimmons and locally-grown pistachios sound even more appealing, this wine has exuberance to spare. And at $17.99, it'll give you more enjoyment per dollar than almost anything coming from the Italian mainland recently. Lovers of Rosso di Montalcino and other formerly value-laden Italian wine categories should pay attention- the values have moved south, and in the case of Bonajuto's wine, have retained much of the freshness and immediacy hopefully found in the everyday wines of Piemonte and Tuscany. Incidentally, I know of no relation between Barone Antonio and the famous Bonajuto chocolatiers of Modica, but their products certainly deserve to spend equal time on your dinner table. Drink up, and check back here next week. We're going to work on punctuality in March.