Wines for Spring Part II: A Shopping List - 20 wines to kick off any springtime BBQ!

Part II of my Spring Wine Guide (Read Part I here): The chill of winter is ready to be packed away with your snow pants and wool sweaters in exchange for bathing suits and tank tops. If you’re like me, this time of year you’ll also transition from drinking big red wines every night to more Champagne, crisp whites, and Rose. Sure you’ll still have a big Cabernet or Barolo with a nice dinner indoors, but on a warm spring or summer night its best to kick things off with one (or two, or three!) bottles of a light, slightly chilled wine.

Here are my recommended wines for this Spring organized by Country and Price, with truncated tasting notes (Pink text = Rose wine, Green text = white or sparkling wine, Red text = red wine):

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Tasting notes: Marc Degrazia Imports

From a recent free tasting of a few Degrazia Imports:

• 2006 Massone Masera Gavi -$15: Spring flowers and apricot on the nose. The wine displayed vibrant fruits including apricot, pear, and melon, as well as hints of wet stones. Would benefit from a touch more acidity, but good overall balance. My rating: 87 pts

• 2006 Villa Giada I Suri Barbera di Asti - $13 : Earth tones with ripe cherry and plum, good structure and integrated tannins. Great value from Piedmont. My rating: 86 pts

• 2005 Paolo Scavino Rosso di Tavola - $20: This Nebbiolo had a floral bouquet with notes of jasmine and spice. Dark cherry, minerals and chalk on the palette with good spice notes up front. Coming into the finish the wine lost me for a second, but ended up pulling out some nice dried fruits and sour cherry along with medium tannins that were quite pleasant. My rating: 87 pts

• 2006 La Spinetta Moscato di Asti $24: This Italian dessert wine has a big bouquet of fruits, lavender and vanilla. Sweet and fun, this Muscat would be a great pairing with fresh fruits or a handful of hazelnuts on a warm spring or summer night. My rating: 88 pts