Todd Drinks Italian

Chardonnay is grown all over the world and when it comes for bang for the buck, Italy is at the top of the list. While white Burgundy rules the elegance roost, and California delivers fruit bombs, Italy offers some of the most affordable and drinkable chards on the market.

Bolla Valpolicella helped put Italian wine on the map in the U.S. over 50 years ago. It's still here and as good as it ever was. Tasting the new release of their flagship Valpolicella Classico. A real winner for around $10.

99% of all made in Italy is red wine. But Trader Joe's is offering a $10 Sangiovese made as a white wine that is excellent. A perfect match for spicier Thai or Chinese cuisine, this little spinner makes a great substitute for Riesling.

If you are just getting into Chianti Classico, or need to revisit a classic, Antinori's Peppoli never lets you down. Antinori has been making Peppoli for around 40 years and it's always been the stellar lil' bro in the family's Chianti Classico line-up. Excellent bottle for around $30.

Italian wine imports continue to decline in the U.S. Low alcohol wine production is up in Italy, but it just doesn't taste good. Not buying. If people are drinking better, but less, the low thing is not the answer. Tasting a brilliant white from Trader Joe's.

After nearly 40 years I'm going all in on Italian wine. Not that I won't ever speak about other wines again, but Italy just offers the variety that is unmatched in the wine world, but it still confuses most people. Let's put a stop to that.

I taste two nebbiolos: one from Trader Joe's and the other is a cat-daddy nebbiolo from the Valtellina. Nino Negri makes powerful and seductive wines, while Trader Joe's delivers an under $10 excellent value that gives you a peek inside the nebbiolo tent at a fair price. See why LeBron James digs the grape.

I taste the most popular champagne in the USA, Veuve Clicquot, side by side with Kirkland for $20. My mind is made up!

I taste Muga Rioja Blanco 2019 which is a beautiful wine but has nothing to do with the white Riojas of yesteryear.  Old school white Rioja used to be oaked within an inch of its life.  Now producers are cutting back on the use of oak and releasing beautifully structured and balanced wines that have outstanding versatility at the table.