**Join us tonight, Friday, September 10 from 5-7pm to taste the wine of the week below paired with Creminelli Sopressata salami from the cheese/charcuterie counter at Provisions**

In the wine world, it has become somewhat of a trite marketing gimmick to tout wines just outside famous regions that allegedly drink just as well but at a fraction of the price.  But the declassification of Paolo Bea’s Montefalco Rosso ‘Vigna San Valentino’ 2006 wasn’t due to the typical gerrymandering of an appellation.  A panel of judges decided that the wine did not fit the chosen flavor profile of a Montefalco Rosso.  Ah human error, you can be friend or foe.   We tasted the wine with a group of wine experts pre-arrival and the consensus was that the wine’s fresh raspberry, strawberry and floral aromas and notes of spice and tobacco on the palate placed it perfectly in the Montefalco Rosso profile.  To us, the wine is a delicious contradiction;  pretty and elegant yet rustic at the same time. No wonder Paolo Bea was so outraged at the injustice of a wrongful classification and so confident in the quality of his wine that he printed the story of the rejection of his wine on the label.

Losing the Montefalco designation meant Paolo’s 2006 had to go to market as a simple Umbria Rosso which means that it is priced less than half of what Bea’s reds normally command ($55-$80 for entry-level and on up from there).  The wine is still Bea, still prized, still touted in the press as a wine you should run to buy.  And because it pairs well with roasts and richer fall dishes, it makes the perfect wine to welcome in cooler fall weather!

Paolo Bea 2006 Umbria Rosso ‘San Valentino’ $30 a bottle, $27 for 12 bottles or more.  We’ve got less than 5 cases on hand so to reserve yours, call (718) 797-9463.