Tag Archives: Scaia

Wine of the week: Scaia Rosata 2021

Scaia rosato bottle
Scaia Rosato 2021/$10-$15

This Italian pink is just the wine to mark the blog’s 15th annual birthday week

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first. This wine, one of the all-time great cheap roses and just the thing for wine of the week for birthday week, is going to cost a little more this year. Plus, it could be difficult to find, given all the pandemic shipping woes and that it’s always a little late getting to this country.

Having said that, the Scaia Rosata 2021 ($12, purchased, 12.5%) – glass cork and all — is well worth all of the aggravation. It’s almost as well done as the legendary 2020 vintage, which earned Cheap Wine of the Year honors in 2022

Know that this vintage is a little more French in style, which means it’s crisper, more direct, and more minerally, without that interesting touch of softness Italian roses sometimes have. But there is just the right amount of strawberry fruit, a touch of some herbal thing, and everything else is in the right place – so no faux sweetness, lots of freshness and that intriguing color. Credit much of this to rondinella, the red grape used to make the wine and that shines here.

Highly recommended – as it always is. Yes, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and New Year’s . And, yes, wine to buy and drink and enjoy and remember why we like wine.

Imported by Dalla Terra

Wine of the week: Scaia Garganega Chardonnay 2020

Scaia Garganega Chardonnay
Scaia Garganega Chardonnay 2020/$10-$15

This Italian white blend shows the difference honest winemaking brings to cheap wine

The Wine Curmudgeon has been drinking this Italian white blend for six years, and this is the fourth vintage we’ve reviewed on the blog. Do you see a pattern?

In other words, terrific cheap wine year after year. Yes, there have been vintage differences, and the 2013 is still the most interesting effort. But each of the others have been worth buying and drinking.

Know a couple of things about the Scaia Garganega Chardonnay 2020 ($10, purchased, 12.5%). First, it’s an unlikely bend, since garganega is the grape used to make Soave and chardonnay is hardly very Italian. Second, neither is much respected among the Winestream Media, and so I’ve never really seen this wine get many raves.

And who cares? It’s cheap, well-made, and is just the thing for any weeknight dinner or for a glass of wine after work. This vintage has little more balance than the 2018, though not as well done as the 2013. There is lots of tart green apple fruit, and the wine is clean and crisp at the finish — simple, but not stupid.

Highly recommended, and sure to return to the Hall of Fame in 2022. And anyone who drink this regularly has a serving bowl full of the glass tops that the wine is closed with sitting in their kitchen.

Imported by Dalla Terra

Wine of the week: Scaia Garganega Chardonnay 2013

Scaia Garganega ChardonnayIn the Winestream Media’s version of the world, the only odd grapes that matter come from countries that don’t make enough wine to matter, but are sold in Manhattan. If odd grapes are used in something that’s actually on store shelves, the wine gets 87 points, like the Scaia Garganega Chardonnay.

Which demonstrates two things — the uselessness of scores, and the idea that we should not be afraid to try something that isn’t what we usually drink. The main reason I bought this was wine was because it was an odd blend, and as the Italian Wine Guy has said more than once, the Wine Curmudgeon never met a grape he didn’t want to try. Especially it costs $10.

The Scaia Garganega Chardonnay ($10, purchased, 12.5%), an Italian white blend, speaks to all of those points. It will never get a 90-plus score because it’s a cheap white, and because the chardonnay is blended with the grape used to make Soave, an Italian white that is too often indifferently made. Besides, any self-respecting Winestream Media type would gag at the thought of chardonnay blended with garganega.

All of which is just wine writing foolishiness. The Scaia Garganega Chardonnay features the best of each grape — crispness and acidity from the garganega and a bit of richness and tropical fruit from the chardonnay. It’s a combination that’s to be much appreciated on a hot summer day, either on its own or with any kind of seafood. It’s also the kind of wine to keep on hand if you want a glass with dinner

Highly recommended, and a candidate (almost certain to be included) for the 2016 $10 Hall of Fame.

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