As hard as it may be for some to believe, Merlot is a much-loved grape. The Sideways effect on Merlot at this point feels almost as distant as the 60 Minutes effect on red wine in general almost three decades ago. Kids born the year that the movie Sideways hit the indie screens (2004) will be legal drinkers in the USA in just four years. They and many other young sippers don't care that Merlot was sidelined - by a small portion of the drinking population - for a fairly short while. They are going to drink what they like, just like many other drinkers have been all along.
Read MoreCorvezzo makes exclusively organic Prosecco, over half of which is estate grown. This bold choice was made by third generation "happy farmer" Giovanni Corvezzo as soon as he came to work full-time at the family farm near Treviso, one of two historical centers of the Prosecco production region. Not only has the switch to organic farming given Giovanni healthier grapes with thicker skins good for fending off the Veneto's occasionally finicky weather, he believes the wines are tastier, too. I can't say anything about the pre-organic wines, but these certainly are good wines, especially for the money.
Read MoreIt's not often that I see a wine bearing the USDA Organic symbol. This is even more true of an imported wine. So, I was especially curious to taste these wines. It turns out that they sit squarely in the "natural" spectrum, as I expected.
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