Author: Bruno Donaggio

Wine Enthusiast Sip of Italy NYC 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

On September 11th, I attended the Wine Enthusiasts Sip of Italy wine tasting event. It was another their series of “Sip” wine tasting events hosted by the magazine.

It was an all-Italian wine tasting of over 300 wines from most of the wine regions in Italy. Most of the wines were from smaller, off the radar producers with many looking for an importer.

The tasting was held at City Winery located at 25 11th Avenue on the far west side of Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River.

Some of what I sampled:

2018 Vignamaggio Chianti Classico Gran Selezione “Monna Lisa” (Tuscany): Clear medium brick, perfume of tar, leather and green herbs, silky red fruit with black licorice notes ending with tight tannin.

2018 Zenato Amarone Riserva (Veneto): Opaque dark brick, toasty leather on the nose, chewy and chunky with green herbs notes on the long finish, good grip.

2019 Ruffino “Alauda” (Tuscany): A blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Colorino. Opaque dark red, mint and dark chocolate on the nose, tight and dense crushed black fruit with black licorice notes, great balance.

2019 Banfi “Summus” (Tuscany): Bordeaux blend. Opaque dark red, black leather and crushed black fruit with toast notes on the nose, tight, concentrated and chewy with a firm grip and a long finish.

2019 Ruffino Modus Primo (Tuscany): Clear medium brick, perfume of violets and tarry chocolate, chewy black fruit with stone notes ending with good acidity.

2020 Tenute Orestiadi “Il Rosso di Ludovico” Riserva (Sicily): Clear medium purple, perfume of violets and green herbs, juicy black fruit, firm finish.

2021 Tenute Sette Ponti “Sette” (Tuscany); 100% Merlot. Opaque dark red, brick rim, toasty roast meat on the nose, tight and juicy with gun metal notes, firm finish.

2021 Viticcio Foglia Tonda (Tuscany): Made from 100% of the obscure Foglia Tonda grape varietal. Clear light brick, crushed black cherry and toasty chocolate on the nose, chewy red fruit, long and firm finish.

2021 Brancaia “Ilatraia” (Tuscany): A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. Clear medium purple, minty crushed black fruit on the nose, chewy dark fruit with a firm finish.

Zachys Bordeaux Grand Tasting

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Zachys is a fine wine retailer and auction house. Founded in 1944 by Zachy Zacharia, it was a destination wine shop in suburban Scarsdale for many years. They eventually moved their store and operations to Port Chester, New York at 30 Midland Avenue.

Like many wine shops, they will host informal wine tastings for customers, but on occasion they will host a ticketed and a more focused wine tasting.

Port Chester is about an hour train ride north from Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. I’ve been to several of those ticked tastings and I can say that it’s worth the train ride. Whatever theme or category the tasting will be, it will be an excellent tasting, and they will be pouring quality juice.

On September 20th, they held a Bordeaux Grand Tasting. The event featured over 30 wines from the major appellations. It was a very enjoyable tasting because they not only poured current vintages, but poured some older vintages as well.

Pauillac

2003 Chateau d’Armailhac: Cloudy medium brick, big perfume of violets and sweet crushed gravel, chewy dark fruit with mint notes, great balance and a long finish.

2021 Chateau-Pontet Canet: Clear medium purple, ceder, graphite and cigarette smoke on the nose, silky red fruit with dusty, tree bark notes on the finish.

2022 Chateau Lynch-Bages: Opaque dark red, purple rim, slate and gun metal on the nose, chewy and dusty crushed black fruit ending with silky tannin.

2022 Chateau Clerc Milon: Opaque dark red, purple rim, cedar and sweet red fruit on the nose, dense and chewy black fruit with a good grip and a balanced and long plummy finish.

2022 Chateau Haut Batailley: Opaque dark purple, closed nose of ripe fruit, chewy red fruit with silky, firm tannin, long finish.

Pessac-Leognan

2014 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: Opaque dark brick, perfume of cedar, cigarette smoke and sweet cooked fruit, chewy with mouth crunching tannin, long finish with mint notes.

2019 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: Opaque dark brick, perfume of smoke and barnyard, chewy black fruit with crushed rock notes, silky and dusty tannin on the balanced finish.

2022 Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte: Opaque dark purple, cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy black fruit with silky and firm tannin with green herbs on the long finish.

Margaux

2008 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Cloudy dark brick, stinky barnyard on the nose, silky, chewy red fruit with barnyard notes on the firm finish.

2009 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Opaque dark brick, crushed slate and barnyard on the nose, chewy red leather fruit with roast meat notes, chewy finish with a great balance.

2021 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Opaque dark purple, mint, red tar and roast meat on the nose, concentrated tight red fruit with bitter cherry notes, moderate tannin and acidity, long finish.

2022 Chateau Rauzan-Selga: Opaque black, purple rim, crush red berry, mint and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy and toasty fruit with dark chocolate notes, good grip, long finish.

Saint-Julien

2014 Chateau Branaire Ducru: Opaque dark brick, tar, mint and barnyard on the nose, chewy dark fruit with crunchy tannin, great grip, tarry finish.

2016 Chateau Branaire Ducru: Clear medium brick, tree bark and red tar on the nose, concentrated and dusty ending with tart acidity.

2018 Chateau Branaire Ducru: Opaque medium brick, sweet barnyard on the nose, chewy, mouth filling fruit with cedar and gun metal notes, great balance.

Saint-Emillion

2005 Chateau Canon: Opaque medium brick, perfume of slate, steel and dirt, chewy fruit and chewy tannin with crushed rock notes, long finish.

2009 Chateau Canon: Opaque cloudy dark brick, ripe, juicy fruit on the nose, chunky and steely with bitter cherry notes ending with a nice grip.

2015 Chateau Canon: Opaque black with a brick rim, saline, cinnamon and earth notes on the nose, chewy with slate notes, great grip, long finish.

2022 Chateau Canon: Opaque medium brick, perfume of dusty red fruit, chewy red fruit with green herb notes, nice grip, long finish.

Saint-Estephe

2016 Chateau Les Bosq: Opaque dark brick, ripe red fruit on the nose, chewy and chunky dark chocolate fruit, good grip.

Eureka! California Wine Discovery NYC

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

The Eureka California Wine Discovery tour stopped in New York City on September 8th and was held at Moonlight Studios located at 330 Hudson Street in Manhattan.

It was sponsored by the California Wine Institute to promote “the incredible diversity of California wine regions”.

It was a walk around tasting of 30 producers from several California wine regions which included the well know AVAs of Napa Valley, Sonoma County and Paso Robles to name a few but also some not so well known AVAs such as Livermore Valley, Temecula Valley and Lodi. There were also several master classes held throughout the afternoon.

This wasn’t one of those mega tastings in a warehouse sized event space but a very manageable tasting. Each AVA had their own table which made it easier to sample their wines and compare them to the other AVAs.

The afternoon session was for members of the trade with a consumer session later in the evening. I attended the seminar, California Wines: Texture and Verve by Elaine Chukan Brown.

Some of what I sampled:

2023 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Clear light gold with greenish tints, spicy tropical fruit notes on the nose, tight and crisp with green apple notes.

2018 Santa Cruz Mtn. Vineyard “Branciforte Creek” Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mtns): Clear medium brick, tar and green herbs on the nose, medium red fruit with red licorice notes, crisp finish.

2019 Mount Eden Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir (Santa Cruz Mtns.): Clear medium brick, tarry red cherry on the nose, tight red fruit with milk chocolate notes ending with crisp acidity.

2021 Villa Creek Garnacha (Paso Robles): Clear medium brick, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, chewy and chunky black fruit, nice balance and a long finish.

2021 Morgan Pinot Noir “Double L Vineyard” (Santa Lucia Highlands): Clear medium red, tar and milk chocolate on the nose, chewy dark fruit with slate notes and a firm finish.

2021 Alma Rosa Winery Pinot Noir “El Jabali Vineyard” (Sta. Rita Hills): Clear medium purple, smoky blueberry on the nose, juicy red fruit with steel notes and a good balance.

2021 CO’LLUVIAL Pinot Noir “Las Nenas” (Sta. Rita Hills): Clear light purple, barnyard notes on the nose with juicy tar notes on the fruit, nice balance, easy drinking.

2021 Pedroncelli Zinfandel “Bushnell Vineyard” (Sonoma): Opaque medium purple, crushed black fruit and mint on the nose, chewy and chocolaty ending with big tannin.

2022 Siduri Pinot Noir “Rosella’s Vineyard” (Santa Lucia Highlands): Clear medium purple, tarry milk chocolate on the nose, juicy red fruit with a nice grip.

2022 Michael David Winery Carmenere (Lodi): Clear medium purple, crush stone and black fruit on the nose, chewy and juicy with black licorice notes, good balance.

2023 Roar Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands): Clear light purple, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, chewy red fruit with green herb notes, nice balance.

2023 Sandlands Red Table Wine (Lodi): A blend of Cinsault and Carignan, clear light purple, dirty dark chocolate on the nose, juicy red fruit with a nice grip at the end.

2023 Tablas Creek Vineyard Grenache (Paso Robles): Clear light purple, candy apple on the nose, juicy red fruit with some chalk notes on the finish, nice grip.

James Suckling Great Wines Italy New York 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

James Suckling is a wine critic and the CEO and publisher of the wine media platform, JamesSuckling.com.

He hosts some very nice wine tastings around the world throughout the year. This past June in New York, he held Great Wines World. It was a mega tasting with two days of 800 worldwide wines that had scored 90+ points on his rating scale.

This past September 3 & 4 he held the New York leg of his Great Wines Italy wine tour. It was a smaller event than the Wines World with “only” 300 wines from all the regions of Italy.

Italy is one of the great wine producing countries of the world with wine a part of Italian culture for thousands of years. The country is one big vineyard with home to over 1,300 grape varieties so Suckling and his team had plenty to choose from.

This was a walk around tastings open to both trade and the public, I attended on Wednesday evening.

Some of what I sampled:

2023 Tenuta di Montefoscoli “Vacevoli” (Tuscany): Clear dark gold, sweet tropical fruit on the nose, juicy pineapple notes with moderate acidity.

2011 Zyme Amarone “La Mattonara” (Veneto): Opaque dark red, tar, forest floor and crushed red berries on the nose, chunky dark chocolate fruit ending with silky, firm tannin.

2017 Ciacci Piccolomini d’Aragona “Pianrosso” (Tuscany): Clear light brick, sweet tar and cooked vegetable on the nose, juicy fruit with cola notes, firm finish.

2018 Cotarella Le Macioche Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany): Clear medium brick, smoke and sweet cooked fruit on the nose with peppery, silky red fruit.

2018 Zyme Amarone (Veneto): Clear medium brick, tree bark on the nose, juicy, moderate fruit with herb notes on the balanced finish.

2019 Pian delle Querci Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Il Piccho “Serbolino” (Tuscany): Clear light brick, tar and toasty milk chocolate on the nose, toasty dark chocolate fruit with a nice grip.

2020 Sordo Barolo “Monprivato” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, minty tar on the nose, moderate red fruit with a nice grip at the end.

2020 Boschetto Campacci “Masgalano” (Tuscany): 100% Merlot. Opaque dark red, brick rim, stinky tar on the nose, chunky and chewy ending with a good grip.

2021 Antonutto Rosso “Poppone” (Friuli-Venezia-Giulia): A blend of Merlot and Pignolo. Opaque dark red, toasty dark chocolate on the nose, chewy dark fruit with chocolate notes, nice balance.

2021 Ca ‘Viola Barolo “Caviot” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, toasty forest floor on the nose, tight fruit ending with big tannins.

2021 Kloster Neustift Pinot Nero Riserva “Praepositus” (Alto Adige): Clear light red, toasty spice on the nose, light and spicy fruit, some tartness on the finish.

2023 Tenuta Liliana Cabernet Sauvignon (Tuscany): Clear medium purple, band aid notes on the nose, toasty red fruit, moderate acids.

International Wine Fest Golden Nugget Atlantic City 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

The Golden Nugget is one of the several casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s one of a handful of casinos located in the Marina district at 600 Huron Avenue which is about a half mile off the famous boardwalk.

This event began a few years ago as the Ital-Cal wine festival which featured Italian wines and California wines from wineries with an Italian heritage.

It was a great concept but probably not sustainable, so they broaden the event to include other wine producing countries. I’ve attending the event several times in the past and this was my first time back in a few years.

On August 22nd I attended this year’s event which was held outdoors and billed as a “wine & jazz reception under the stars”.

This was not a professional wine tasting event but an experience for wine drinking consumers to broaden their horizons with the opportunity to sample an international selection of wines that they might not normally have the opportunity to try.

It was an enjoyable event of drinking wine on a beautiful Summer evening while listening to some live jazz

Some of the producers I sampled:

Bouchard Aine & FilsCastello di Gabbiano
C.S. SubstanceEdourd
Josh CellarsJ. Lohr
NaturaRatti
VolverRodney Strong
OberonWhite Haven
MatuaLyric
RaymondProvenance

Brooklyn Rum Festival 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Rum is a distilled spirit made from molasses which is the byproduct of refining sugarcane, or from fresh pressed sugarcane juice. It comes in white, dark, aged and flavored versions.

It’s usually associated with the tropics but is made in non tropical countries as well, including New York State. Most are made from molasses but Rhum Agricole from the French West Indies, Clairin from Haiti and Cachaca from Brazil and made from local, fresh pressed sugarcane juice.

On August 16th I attended the Brooklyn Rum Festival, which was held at BK Loft 26, an event space at 153 26th Street in Brooklyn.

I think that good, aged rum is an underappreciated spirit, compatible with other brown spirits on the market. Rums age quicker in the warm climate of the Caribbean as opposed to the climate in Scotland. While for a Scotch, I would go for the oldest bottle I can get my hands on but with aged rum, I feel that the sweet spot is 10 years of aging.

I have a preference for the Rhum Agrigole, there is so much character in those rums but for some reason, at this tasting there were not many if any of those rums being poured. In the interest of expanding my knowledge base, I decided to focus on white rums a category that I normally bypass at these big tastings because I find most of them, bland and neutral only to be used as a mixer in a cocktail.

I decided to sample some Clairin style rums from Haiti and I was pleasantly surprised at the character and distinctness of the rums I sampled. Clairin rums have their own particular rules and regulations such as the use of local pressed cane juice, the use of indigenous yeast and the pot still method of distillation. I spoke with some of the representatives at the festival and they told me that rum production in Haiti is comparatively primitive compared to other countries so the rum your drink is like the rum made a century ago.

The way I could describe the flavor profiles of these rums is to imagine walking through an open hay field filled with the smell of grass and earth with a whiff of funky barnyard. They are white rums that I would sip on their own.

White Haitian rums from Saint Benevolence, Navat 1804 and Barbancourt (though the Babancourt is not a true Clairin but more of a Agricole style rum).

Producers at the festival:

Mount GayPlanteray
BajanZacapa
Chairman’s ReserveWorthy Park
BacardiOzama
DiamondEl Dorado
EliaBanter Bay

Bandol Tasting New York City 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Bandol is a wine appellation in the Provence region of southern France. There has been wine making in that region since Roman times and the region was the first to get the AOC (translated to Controlled Designation of Origin) designation in 1941.

On August 13th, Verve Wine Shop located at 24 Hubert Street in lower Manhattan held a tasting of seven Bandol wines from four producers. They poured two whites, three rosé and two reds.

It was a nice tasting of wines that I don’t normally drink. I enjoyed the whites because they were made with an obscure varietal (Clairette) that I don’t drink very often.

2022 Domaine Marie Berenice Bandol Blanc: Made from Clairette and Ugni blanc grapes. Clear medium gold, ripe mango on the nose, juicy and dusty with earth notes on the finish, nice balance.

2023 Chateau Henri Bonnaud Palette Blanc: Made from Clairette, Ugni Blanc and Grenache Blanc grapes. Clear light gold, peaches and earth notes on the nose, juicy ripe fruit with some earth notes on the finish, fairly low acidity, easy drinking.

2023 Chateau Henri Bonnaud Palette Rosé “Vielles Vignes”: Blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault. Light copper in color, light strawberry fragrance on the nose, medium body with good acidity.

2023 Domaine des Trois Filles Bandol Rosé: Blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Cinsault. Light copper in color, cantaloupe on the nose, peppery notes on the fruit, crisp acids.

2024 Domaine de Terrebrune Bandol Rosé: Light red in color, vegetal and black pepper notes on the nose, light berry and toast notes on the fruit, crisp acids.

2021 Domaine Marie Berenice Bandol Rouge: Blend of Mourvèdre and Grenache. Clear medium purple, perfume of tar, crushed stone and cooked vegetable, chewy and tarry fruit, balanced with a nice grip.

2019 Chateau Henri Bonnaud Palette Rouge: Blend of Mourvèdre, Grenache and Vieux Carignan. Clear medium brick, toasty earth and crushed red fruit on the nose, juicy red fruit with tar notes, nice grip.

Pressoir Summer Champagne Apero

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Presssoir is a wine club in New York City founded by Daniel Johnnes that promises “unique wine experiences”.

They host mega tastings such as La Paulée, La Tablée, La Fête du Champagne and Convivio del Vino.

They also host eclectic smaller wine tastings and wine dinners for club members and non-club members.

On July 8, I attended their Summer Champagne Apero tasting. According to Google, Apero, short for apéritif, “is the French tradition that refers to a social gathering before dinner where people unwind over cocktails and snacks”, more or less a French happy hour.

The event was held at Popina restaurant at 127 Columbia Street in Brooklyn.

This was not a Champagne 101 tasting. With the exception of a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and a bottle of Ruinart, none of the big corporate Champagne houses were on hand, instead they poured from small, low production producers and wineries. About half were poured from a magnum with always makes a tasting feel special, and half from well-aged vintage bottles.

What was poured:

NV Delamotte Brut en magnumNV Ruinart Blanc de Blanc Brut en magnum

NV Larmandier Bernier Rose de Saignee Extra Brut en magnum
NV Frederic Savart L’Accomplie Vielles Vignes 1er Cru Extra Brut en magnum
NV Pierre Paillard Les Terres Roses Bouzy Grand Cru BrutNV Philipponnat Royal Reserve Brut
NV Henriot Brut SouverainNV Christophe Mignon Pur Meunier Extra Brut en magnum

NV Larmandier Bernier Rose de Saigmee Extra Brut en magnum
2016 Henriot L’Inattendue Blanc de Blanc Gran Cru
2002 Jacquesson Avize Champ Cain Degorgement Tardiff Blanc de
Blanc Extra Brut en magnum		2012 Pierre Paillard Bouzy Grand Cru La Grande Recolte Brut en magnum
2018 Christophe Baron Les Alouette Brut Nature en magnum2014 Delamotte Blanc de Blanc
2018 Christophe Baron Les Closeaux Extra Brut en magnum2018 Christophe Baron Les Hautes Blanches Vignes Extra Brut en magnum
2015 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rose Brut 2014 Robert Moncuit Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru Extra Brut
2013 Henriot Cuvee Hemera Brut2014 Philipponnat Cuvee 1522 Extra Brut

Long Island Rosé 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

I think that Rosé has to be the quintessential Summer glass of wine. The North and South fork wine regions are peninsulas surrounded by the sea on an island surrounded with miles of beaches.

All of the wineries out east bottle a rosé, and they do a pretty good job of it and it’s usually the first wine to sell out. There isn’t one particular style or flavor profile as they use whatever red wine varietals they are growing at the time. There is even one winery, Croteaux, that bottles exclusively rosé.

I drove out one sunny afternoon and stopped at a couple of wineries for a glass of rosé.

One Women Winery

5191 Old North Road, Southold

One Women Winery is one of my favorite winery to visit when I’m out on the north fork for a tasting. A real Mom & Pop operation with Mom as the owner and winemaker making wine from estate grown grapes. For a time, a visit for a tasting was a pretty rustic event, they had a small tasting shack with the port a potty out back. They recently built a proper tasting room.

2023 Rosé: A blend of Dolcetto, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Clear medium copper with melon and earth on the nose, medium body with floral notes, nice acidity.

Lenz Winery

38355 Route 25, Peconic

Another family-owned winery established in 1978, this was one of the handful of wineries that were established the late 1970’s and early 1980’s that were the vanguard of the Long Island wine industry. They are known for their Merlot but they have a diverse portfolio.

2024 Blanc de Noir Rosé: Made from Pinot Noir. Clear medium copper with a floral nose, medium bodied with low acidity.

Wines of Abruzzo 2025

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Abruzzo is one of the 20 regions of Italy and is located in the central, eastern part of the boot with a coastline along the Adriatic Sea.

It’s one of the more rural regions of Italy with more national parks and nature reserves than large cities. It’s definitely not on the typical tourist itinerary.

Of course, since it is in Italy, they do produce wine and have for a long time, with two DOCG in the region.

On June 23rd, I attended a sit down tasting of the “Extraordinary Wines of Abruzzo” which consisted of four white wines and six red wines. The tasting was held in Gattorpardo restaurant located at 15 West 54th Street in midtown Manhattan.

The main red varietals are Montepulciano D’Abruzzo and Cerasuolo with Pecorino and Trebbiano D’Abruzzo for the white varietals.

I thought the reds were a little hard edged at this point and could have used more bottle time, the whites were very drinkable.

Seminar

2024 Fontefico Terre di Chieti Pecorino D’Abruzzo La Canaglia Bio: Clear medium gold, honey and white flowers on the nose, medium body with crisp acidity.

2023 Tenuta I Fauri Abruzzo Pecorino Bio: Clear dark gold, honey and stone notes on the nose, moderate body with moderate to low acidity.

2021 Ciavolich Trebbiano D’Abruzzo Fosso Cancelli: Clear medium gold, sweet spice and petroleum on the nose, moderate fruit and acidity.

2010 Valentini Trebbiano D’Abruzzo: Clear medium gold with ripe earth notes on the nose, chewy and earthy with nice balance.

2024 Cataldi Mandona Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo Malamdrino: Clear light red, crushed raspberry on the nose, medium body with crisp acidity.

2024 Torre dei Beati Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo “Rosa AR-Bio: Clear medium red, melon notes on the nose, tight with firm acidity.

2010 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Organic: Opaque dark red, sweet graphite, tar and barnyard floor on the nose, tight and dusty with mouth filling tannin.

2021 Masciarelli Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Riserva San Martino Rosso Marina Cvetic: Opaque black, purple rim, slate, herbs and cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy with mouth filling and teeth coating tannin.

2021 Fattoria Nicodemi Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Colline Teramane Cocciopesto Bio: Opaque black, purple rim, dark chocolate, toast and slate notes on the nose, dusty red fruit with firm tannin.

2019 Illuminati Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Riserva Colline Teramane Zanna: Clear dark red, crushed dark berries, eucalyptus and herbs on the nose, concentrated, chewy with mouth coating tannin.