Weekly Wine Online

Go over a hill in San Francisco, and often you'll end up in an entirely different neighborhood. As a result, you can jump from Vietnamese cuisine to Italian to Chinese in a matter of minutes. Last night, on a perch in Nob Hill overlooking Chinatown and North Beach, I tried a neighborhood restaurant I'd never even noticed before. Tucked into the first floor and basement on a building on Taylor and Washington is Venticello, a warm spot with a fantastic view of the city. The furniture is old and wooden with rug-like cushions on your seat that shift around when you squirm (as I'm wont to do when I get excited). And the food is absolutely delicious!

The friends who were kindly treating me asked that I pick a wine that would go with the food. And since Italian wine is not my forte, I went with the old standby: Sangiovese. I picked the only one of the list, which the waitress later told us it was her favorite wine on the list (phew!).

The Sangiovese we chose is made by a winery called Testamatta or "hothead" in Italian. The grapes are grown in an area of Tuscany called the Fiesole, which is actually on a hill perched high above Florence and dotted in Roman ruins. The ground in sandy and predominantly composed of clay and marl, according to the website of the importer, Michael Skurnik. Marl, for the non-geologists among us, is basically a soil that is a mixture of limestone and clay. What makes it so ideal for grape growing is that it drains incredibly well, so the grapes are forced to work for their nutrients. As a result, they produce berries of more intense flavor.

Testamatta is owned and made by a gentleman named Bibi Graetz, an artist as well as winemaker who paints images for the labels of his wines. Like the paintings, the Grilli di Testamatta 2006 that we drank had a lot of brightness and freshness to it. At first the acidity seemed so bright that it was a little surprising. But paired with my linguine and fennel sausage, the acidity cut through the meat of the sauce and I could taste more bright cherry flavors as well as a little licorice (which could have been the fennel, but I'm not entirely sure).

The Grilli di Testamatta 2006 is a blend of 80% Sangiovese, 10% Colorino and 10% Canaiolo. These three types of grapes are often used to make Chianti, as well, and the wine tastes very similarly, though the youth of the grapes and the terroir give the Grilli di Testamatta more of a brightness, in my opinion. The grapes come mostly from new vines, and the wine is aged in wood for 18 months.

Only 2000 cases are made of this beautiful wine each year, so if you can find it, definitely pick it up. It's the perfect partner to pasta any night.

Yumminess factor: 7.5; Pairing with food: 8 - pasta or ossobuco; Buy it again: 8

Happy tasting!

Bibi Graetz keeps a great wine blog. Click here to read it

For Michael Skurnik's website and tasting notes, click here.

Grilli di Testamatta 2006 was also featured as the LATimes Wine of the Week in March 2009 - click here for the article

Find the wine for $29 at www.winehouse.com