Enoteca del Monferrato

Hey everybody, good news I have some new wine notes to report to you about.  Yesterday I did end up treating myself to a wine tasting (vino degustazione) at the old castle in Casale Monferrato.  All I have to say is good wines and great people.  The woman working there was incredible, very helpful and gratious indeed.  I do not know how many wines they have open to taste, but it has to be at least 15 including dessrt selections.  I chose to taste 5, and told her I was going to be purchasing at least 1 bottle to take with me, I ended up selecting 2.  And the total cost including tasting 15.50 Euro!  In California, Napa/Sonoma especially, you can expect to pay that just to taste 5 wines.  The lineup I will go into detail, but it was 2 whites ( due bianchi) and 3 reds ( tre rossi).  I also have a few more pics to post from my travels.

1) Colle Manora Mimosa Sauvignon 2009:  That's right, a Sauvignon Blanc from Piemonte!  It was very good and crisp, but also had a touch of ripeness and rounder fruits on the finish.  Mellow and fruitty with good minerality and firm acidity.  Pale in color and youthful, a great beginning
http://www.collemanora.it/
2) Monemvasia Malvasia Greca:  A Vino Tavola (table wine) which did not indicate a vintage (vendemmia).  Also pale in color with a touch of straw yellow coloring, much more aromatic with riper stone and melon fruits than the Sauvignon Blanc.  A very rare grape indeed, the woman said this was the only producer of such a wine making me believe its the only planting of the varietal in Piemonte.  Ripe melon and some white peach notes, also more florality on the nose.  The wine is light in body and round on a long finish with a lingering hint of the same sweet ripe fruits.
This was the bottle (bottiglia) of vino bianco that I purchased, 7 Euro.
3) Oreste Buzio Azienda Agricola Grignolino Monferrato Casalese DOC 2009:  Azienda Agricola is a winery that producers at least half of its wines from vineyards that are owned by the company, the rest of their fruit they buy from growers.  Grignolino is a rare grape that has its home in the hills of Monferrato, and I do think from my memory it was my first time tasting it, although I had read and recorded about it in my studies.  It is a young wine meant to be that way.  Very pale red, almost orange tinted in color, but has some body and tannin to its dry palate.  It smells of red berry fruits that are spiced with pepper jumps out of the glass.  A great red to begin with for those that may call themselves white wine drinkers.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.orestebuzio.altervista.org/it/vini.htm&ei=nxm3TInyKsjKswbY5dCSCw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Doreste%2Bbuzio%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Divo
4) Crivelli Ruche Monferrato 2008:  A rare indegenious red grape to the hills of Monferrato and only Monferrato.  It wa good, but the one I selected for my food and wine pairing dinner I like more (a sneak preview!). 
5) Ca' San Carlo 'Monturua' Monferrato Rosso Merlot 2004: A Merlot from Piemonte you say, can this be true?  Not only is it true, its one of the better Merlots that I have had in a while.  It is Ottimo or molto buono (very good).  Dark red raspberries and red plums, dark cherries and a touch of oak influence.  Soft earth nuances made this a winner for me, so I bought a bottle, 8.50 Euro!
http://casancarlo.it/

Hope you enjoyed my first visit to the Enoteca, look for some Grignolino out in the California market, there should be some I hope, if not I promise to put it on my next wine menu!  Salute!

Enoteca di Regionale Monferrato Website (in English):
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.enotecadelmonferrato.it/&ei=xRS3TIujDMHIswas1IGTCw&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBwQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Denoteca%2Bmonferrato%26hl%3Den%26prmd%3Div