Essentially a baby Amarone, this wine was referred to me by one of the guys over at Canal's Wines in Pennsauken, NJ. At first, I was hesitant to try it, but then I figured, what the heck. And let me tell you, I was very much surprised and appeased at the same time.

70-75% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella and 5% Molinara, grapes of which I had never heard of before, but obviously have had in other Italian wines, this wine embodies an almost velvety smoothness, with just a hint of the glamorous sweetness of an Amarone. While it essentially a dry wine, because of the ripasso method of making wines, it doesn't have the typical dryness that you would come to classify with a dry red wine.

The maker says that this wine is great with game, grilled meats, and also mature cheeses, but I can even admit that it was great with some spicy Chinese food (I get some of the best takeout at this little spot on Market Streets in Philadelphia between 6th and 7th.

Essentially, I would recommend this wine to anyone and everyone, and especially to those people that drink a ton of whites and sweet wines, and need some sort of intermediary before making the leap to reds. It's not strong like a traditional Cab, Shiraz or Merlot, and it's not too dry either.

Because it's my first ripasso, I am initially giving it only a rating of 8. I might revise it as I try more of them.