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.

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.

Quick, when I say “Soave” what do you think of?

Last week Paul and I had the pleasure of hosting Stu Smith, co-founder of Smith-Madrone, for dinner. We had been looking forward to this get-together for a while, but a recent controversy in the wine blogosphere added a new sense of urgency to the event.

I picked up this wine a few weeks ago at a hit-or-miss liquor store in my neighborhood. I’ve bought some real gems, as well as a few losers, at this shop. Fortunately, the Evodia fall into the former category.

This wine and I got off to a rocky start–but ultimately found a way to see eye-to-eye.

It’s been quite a week. I had surgery on Tuesday (everything’s fine) and have spent the past 6 days in and out of a Percoset-induced haze. During my more lucid moments, I’ve been reading wine blogs. A LOT of wine blogs. This has not been as good for my health as I would have hoped.