Metasip

A Wine, Beer, and Spirits Review Site

Italy

Quick Takes: Wine Bee

Metasip Quick Takes

Hey, we’re back with another Quick Take – in this one, we introduce you to Wine Bee, a unique site that takes you all around Italy – twenty wine regions covered by their buyers – to . As with all the Quick Takes so far, this is an Affiliate Link, which means if you take advantage of a deal by clicking on this link, we’ll be compensated. But if we get compensated, we can keep bringing these Metasip reviews to you. And other cool stuff. Time for you to meet Wine Bee!

Quick Take: Wine Bee

WineBee.com is the link, and what we noticed first about the site is the imagery. I love wine, but, to quote Liz Lemon, “I want to go to there.”

But back to wine for a second or two…

Cavalchina Bardolino DOC

Yum. This guy over here looks like a steal at $16.40 per bottle. I think I want two.

NOTES on this wine: “The grapes used for this Veneto region wine mature late and it is necessary for there to be a good climate at the end of the season to realize the potential of these grapes. When this happens we have one of the most distinguished wines in the Italian panorama: not too deep in color but with an intense bouquet, nuances of cherries and marasca. On the palate it has a persistent peppery, spicy character.

“To ensure these characteristics the grapes are, after destalking and pressing, fermented for 72 hours at 280C then the temperature is lowered to 220C up to the end of the fermentation, to avoid over extraction of tannins. The average maceration is 10 days followed by the malolactic fermentation. The wine is kept for 3 months in stainless steel vats.”

This is one of the…well, it looked like HUNDREDS of wines on the WineBee.com site.

Give it a try, you may like what you taste over there.

Big Asterisk Here: only a few states are on their list – “We provide shipments to the following states: California, Alaska, District of Columbia, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, West Virginia and Wyoming.”

See you next time for another Quick Take.

Quick Take: Global Wine Cellars

You had me at “Reds of Italy.” Affiliate Links below, meaning we’re compensated if you buy through this link.

Today’s Quick Take features Global Wine Cellars: they’re running a pretty darn cool special on Reds of Italy. Enjoy exceptional reds from 3 of Italy’s premier growing regions. Only $49.99 (a $59.75 value).

Global Wine Cellars

Italian Reds from Global Wine Cellars

Elsewhere on these pages, we’ve reviewed a couple reds from Italy. (That sound you hear is me scratching my head trying to remember which ones…OH, that’s right: Montepulciano! So maybe it’s just one red from Italy. We really liked it, it was from Aldi, and often the big, bold red grapes from Aldi are, indeed, a tremendous value.)

But what about THESE Reds from Italy? Well, we have yet to take advantage of this particular deal – though we’ve heard good things about Global Wine Cellars – here are the three that, as of this writing (December 10, 2014), they are featuring on the site:

Dolcetto

Though the name means “little sweet one,” that doesn’t refer to the taste but, rather, the ease of growing and making the wine from this grape. It’s also the everyday red for people in the Piedmont.

Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

They do blends in Italy, and even blends of grapes more popular in, say, the Bordeaux region. Of France. France and Italy DO get along!

Nebbiolo

The name means “little fog,” and it’s considered the “most noble” grape among those grown in Italy.

More than Italian Reds

Not interested in wines from Italy this time around? No worries, spin through the Global Wine Cellars site and see what else is there – again, “Global” is the operative word. Hand-crafted, boutique wines, delivered. 25% off your first club shipment and no shipping charges.

Fine print: wines subject to change, per the website. We make no guarantees, use the affiliate link at your discretion, and Global Wine Cellars terms and conditions will apply here.