Wherein I raise my glass to a versatile summer wine that’s like Reese Witherspoon in a glass.

For day 2 of Italian Wine Week, I made the switch from red to white and tried a 2008 Pecorino, or, as I like to call it, the Chardonnay gateway drug.

Italian Wine Week got off to a rousing, if somewhat obscure, start last night with this 2007 Cantine Sant’ Agata “‘Na Vota” Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato.

This week is STBNY’s First Annual Italian WeekTM wherein I will drink nothing but Italian wine. I’ve already selected an eclectic line-up of Italian whites, pinks, and reds, all priced under $20, to enjoy over the next seven days.

Drinking wine is easy. Tasting it is hard. That’s why I’m introducing The Tastemaker, an occasional series on STBNY about the challenges, joys and mysteries of wine tasting.

As my regular STBNY readers (all 4 of you!) know, I’m a Francophile. To paraphrase Chico Escuela, France has been bery bery good to me.

Eric Asimov’s recent article about sommeliers who taste wine before serving it has sparked a lot of discussion in the wine blogo/Twittersphere. The practice doesn’t bother me, but the piece, and the reaction it provoked, got me thinking a lot about my sommelier pet peeves. The majority of my encounters with sommeliers have been positive…but I’ve had my fair share of negative experiences. And when things do go bad, it usually plays out a little something like this.

I like to tell people that wine isn’t as complicated as it’s made out to be. And that’s usually the case … except, of course, when it’s not. Take, for example, Bonarda.