Cellar Notes

Italy’s Second-String Reds

By Al Spoler,

Published August 7, 2025 at 5:30 PM EDT

Price key: $=less than $20 $$= $20-40 $$$=$40-60 $$$$=above $60
Quality key: * = decent wine ** = very good wine *** = superb wine ****= elite
VALUE = exceptional quality for the money

Santa Cristina Cabernet Sauvignon, Toscana ’22 ** $ VALUE
(At $13 this is hard to beat. A variation on the Super Tuscan theme.)

Mauro Molino Langhe Nebbiolo ’23 **1/2 $$
(Second string Barolo, and tough to beat for a food friendly tasty red)

WINE OF THE WEEK
Caparzo Toscana Sangiovese ’23 **1/2 $ SUPER VALUE
(Brunello based, this is an amazingly serious wine for the price.

All of these wines can be purchased at Wells Discount Liquors.

Cellar Notes

Al Spoler

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.

See stories by Al Spoler

Hugh Sisson

As General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Hugh J. Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sissons, located in Federal Hill. A fifth generation Baltimorean, Hugh has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing.

See stories by Hugh Sisson