The other day attended The DSWS Annual Grand Portfolio Tasting. Held at New York’s Four Season’s hotel restaurant, packed with wine buyers, chefs and producers, the evening consisted of a buzz of wine speak, swishes, sniffing, spittoons and clink of glasses.

First I visited Angela Velenosi, wine producer from Le Marche. A region well known for Verdicchio, its producers are trying new blends along with old regional varietals. The first wine was a blend of Montepulciano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Ludi at 13.5% was very strong, with a taste and flavor unfamiliar but intriguing. I also tried some of their whites, including some fruit flavored wine with a bit of a sparkle, which made me think of a sort of spritzer with cherries.

I  then tried some delicious wine from Nimes. Produced by Chateau de Valcombe, these were crisp and full of fruit. From there I tried a wonderful selection of Weingut Peter Jakob Kühn, produced in the Rheinghau region. The minerality was amazing. In addition, I had the chance to confirm the recent NY Times writeup on Sicilian wines. They didn’t dissapoint. Terrazze Dell’Etna had the most interesting wines, full of spice and sun ripened fruit flavors, benefit of the altitude and soil from the volcanic hills of Mount Etna.