CLEVELAND, Ohio – We sipped five wines – all from Italy and Argentina this month.
We even included a non-alcoholic wine in our monthly review.
Remember: National Wine Day is coming up Monday, May 25.
Note: Our monthly reviews focus on wines $25 and under. All should be available on local store shelves. We list flavors we detect, then offer our favorite at the end.
RubioMarc Bona, cleveland.comRubio
San Polo Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy; Sangiovese, 2023, $18.99
Sour cherry and spicy (cinnamon) for sure, with a little cranberry and decent tannins. Very drinkable, food-friendly wine.
Zuccardi QMarc Bona, cleveland.comZuccardi Q
Zuccardi, Mendoza, Argentina; Malbec, 2023, $24
A bit of blackberry and bramble comes out in this dry wine that has a long, smoky finish. Went very well with London broil.
11 MinutesMarc Bona, cleveland.com11 Minutes
Pasqua Wines, Verona, Italy; Rosé, 2024, $25
The rosé is a unique blend of Corvina, Trebbiano di Lugana, Syrah and Carmenère. It has some pleasant funk with tangerine, peach and orange notes. We even detected a SweeTarts flavor. Not a typical rosé, and very drinkable.
Santa JuliaMarc Bona, cleveland.comSanta Julia
Zuccardi, Mendoza, Argentina; Malbec, 2025, $13
Raspberry, blackberry and slight smoke all come together along with a tomato-barbecue flavor preceding a long finish. Tannins are light in this organic wine. Not tremendously complex but worth the price. The Santa Julia line is from Zuccardi wines.
RiuniteMarc Bona, cleveland.comRiunite Zero
Riunite, Italy, Lambrusco, NV, $12.99
Raisin on the aroma and palate, with absolutely no finish at all in this frizzante (slightly sparkling wine). Not overly sweet. As a tasting pal said: “It is not terrible.” And that would make it the best non-alcoholic wine we have tried. I still would prefer cherry or grape juice over NA wine. Interesting: The label has a “best before” date on it of May 5, 2028.
Favorites
Rubio and Zuccardi Q