Summertime and the living is easy.  In wine we look for ones that are fresh and giving with plenty of fruit to match the richness of the season.  This Saturday we’re pouring five such wines from the corners of Italy.  We’ve picked wines from Piedmont, Veneto, Puglia and Tuscany designed to quench a Summer thirst.  Stop by and taste for yourself.
 
2014 Fratelli Povero, Roero Arneis  $14
Arneis has been cultivated since antiquity in the hilly and sandy soils of the Roero. Here Povero makes this D.O.C.G. white.  This crisp wine has an intense and fresh bouquet, and dry flavors of fresh hay, pippin apple, almond and pineapple.
 
2013 Latium Morini, Vale de Illase, Valpolicella $15
70% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 10% other
This small family estate in the Veneto region makes this fresh Valpolicella to drink while they wait for their Amarone to age.  The wine is intense and quite complex giving off a fine aroma with a heady, fruity and floral overtones.
 
2013 Giá, Langhe Rosso $15 — 1ltr.
Barbera, Dolcetto, Nebbiolo
The Giá is made by Fontanafredda whose top notch Barolos take decades to fully develop.  But with this Langhe Rosso there is no need to wait.  The wine has intense red fruit and violet aromas that make your mouth water for the first sip which is pleasantly dry, smooth and perfectly balanced.  This young wine shines with ripened plums and cherries. The palate is fruity, and smooth with a focus on dark red fruits accompanied by subtle notes of licorice, earthiness, and spice.
 
2012 Menhir, Quota 31  $11
Primativo
An oaked Primativo from Pulgia, the Quota is dark and smooth and rich with flavors of  blackberry, Kirsch, cassis, chocolate, a hint of tar, a little leather, caramel, stewed raspberry, and baked figs.  The bouquet is ripe with Morello cherries, mint and blackberries. The wine is pleasant on the palate with fresh and expressive characteristics.
 
2009 Tenuta Argentiera, Poggio ai Ginepri  $20
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 20% Merlot.
The Poggio ai Ginepri comes from Bolgheri, a region in Tuscany where traditionally French varietals thrive.  Indeed, this Super Tuscan has left the Sangiovese out altogether.  The wine has a good structure and a high concentration. Its broad and deep olfactory landscape opens in a very frank and immediate manner with fresh aromas of mature red fruit, citrus fruits and hints of spices. The palate is round with complex ripe tannins and a herbal and mineral finish with hints of licorice and a pleasant fruity aftertaste.

Madrona Wine Merchants offers free wine tastings featuring 4-5 selections on a theme every Saturday from 2 until the bottles run out and on Sunday we offer a mini-tasting of two wines all day from 11-5.