Tuscan wineries at Viva Vino LA/2

LOS ANGELES, USA – Viva Vino LA is the largest Italian wine event staged on the West Coast. From seminars to tastings to dinners, VIVA VINO LA offers an exceptional array of events for consumers and trade to experience Italian wines made with native grapes. Viva Vino LA makes its grand return to Los Angeles for a second year of illustrious and educational dinners, lectures, tastings and seminars May 14­‐19 at various locations.

COL DI SOLE – Family owned Alto Adige Pinot Grigio & Trentino Merlot made with tradition, quality, & Sustainability. Lionello Marchesi – Premium Tuscan Sangiovese Producer from Col Di Sole – Montalcino, Poggio alle Sughere – Maremma, & Castello di Monastero – Radda. Villa Pozzi – Sicillian wine producer with traditonal and popular varietals of quality and value. The wines: Col Di Sole Brunello di Montalcino 2006, grapes: 100% Sangiovese grosso, Castello di Monastero Chianti Classico (85% Sangiovese; 15% Cab Sauv & Merlot), Villa Pozzi Moscato (100% Moscato).

CASTELLO DI MONASTERO – Family owned Alto Adige Pinot Grigio & Trentino Merlot made with tradition, quality, & Sustainability. Lionello Marchesi – Premium Tuscan Sangiovese Producer from Col Di Sole – Montalcino, Poggio alle Sughere – Maremma, & Castello di Monastero – Radda. Villa Pozzi – Sicillian wine producer with traditonal and popular varietals of quality and value. The wines: Castello di Monastero Chianti Classico 2008, grapes: 85% Sangiovese; 15% Cab Sauv & Merlo

CAIAROSSA – Immersed in nature and its silence, Caiarossa, situated in the heart of the Val di Cecina, on the Tuscan coast, exists within its own area of unspoiled beauty. The location of this estate is part of its attraction, giving the sensation that one is the first to discover the property. Yet, Caiarossa, with its sensations of subtle luxuriousness, has existed since 1998. Prior to this, there was just the old manor house and the red, gravelly soil after which the estate has been named. What exists today has been created from the land, from nature, from the region’s history and the adoption of a philosophy that harmoniously combines the forces of earth, grape and man. Caiarossa Toscana IGT 2005. Grapes: Principally Merlot (31%), Petit Verdot (20%), Cabernet Franc (17%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (16%). Small quantities of Sangiovese (9%), Alicante (3%), Syrah (2%) and Mourvedre (2%). Tasting notes:Spices, black fruit, dark cherries, blackberry, cloves, smooth tannins, long way to go, but already beautiful. What shaped Caiarossa was not everyday logic but vision; the desire to create a true oasis in which to live and make wine, the Tuscan dream linking not only beauty and simplicity but also simplicity and value. In 2004 Caiarossa was acquired by Eric Albada Jelgersma, a Dutch entrepreneur with a great passion for wine and also the owner of Château Giscours and Château du Tertre – two Grand Crus classé in Margaux, Bordeaux. Pergolaia Toscana IGT 2005. Grapes: Sangiovese (90%), Merlot (5%) e Cabernet Sauvignon (5%). Tasting notes: in addition to the bright crisp fruit noted in the prior note, this also has quite a nice complex fragrant nose – leather, dried cherries, tar, anise. Lots of acidity and dry tannins make this a definite food wine