Hailing from Tuscany in Montepulciano, I had one of the most delicious Montepulciano reds at my favorite Sonoma restaurant, Della Santina’s, last weekend. For those who have never been to Della Santina’s, I highly recommend it and if you want to sample some fabulous wine check out Sonoma (as opposed to Napa). Sonoma produces some of my top favorite wines such as Ravenswood.  Montepulciano,a lovely Sangiovese-based wine, hails from…you guessed it, Montepulciano (an ancient hilltop town nestled in the Tuscan region.

With a Sicilian heritage, it makes sense that I would be drawn to these yummy Sangiovese-based wines (I’m a huge fan of Sangiovese). I’m not Miss Wine Tasting Expert, but I loved how the Montepulciano slid on my tongue – it was crisp and bold at the same time and without getting too fancy-shmancy, it was perfection coupled with my amazing lasagna (which was well worth the 20 minute wait) The homemade ricotta cheese and gooey cheese (along with the Montepulciano) left me feeling like I had just entered the Northern Italian’s version of heaven (not to mention, I was a very FULL foodie). Our server recommended their house Montepulciano D’Abruzzo (and he definitely knew his vino).

With all the wine floating around the Wine Country, I highly recommend Della Santina’s (Northern Italian cuisine) and their house Montepulciano. If you are going to spend a cloudy winter day in the Wine Country, I would check out Sonoma.

http://www.dellasantinas.com/

My wine recommendation: 200 House Red, Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, Citra