REMINDER: January’s Virtual Tasting is the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet. The tasting will take place on Thursday January 28th starting at 7pm. Read more about it here.

This is part of a report on the South Seattle Artisan Wineries. Additional sections of the report will be posted to the blog. Download a complete .pdf copy of the report here.

Stomani Cellars focuses on “Italian style artisan wines.” The winery is family venture for the Stothers and Manoni families, and Stomani’s name is a combination of these two surnames. Alex Manoni serves as Stomani’s winemaker. Manoni seeks to make wines that are food friendly and a bit higher in acid compared to some in the state. Stomani focuses on Italian grape varietals, particularly Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Aglianico. Manoni says “The blends we produce focus on something for each of the three areas of the palate, front, mid and back using Sangiovese as the backbone for the blend.”

Stomani Cellars currently produces 1,000 cases annually.

Stomani Cellars Pinot Gris Yakima Valley 2008 $15
Rating: . (Decent) Clear in color. Nose marked by an aged cheese aroma along with melon, sweet, honeyed fruit, and mineral aromas. The nose is appealing once the odd cheese aroma comes off. A pleasing, straight-forward wine that doesn’t show a lot of movement on the palate. Wants a bit more acidity to lift up the fruit. 100% stainless steel. Sampled at 55 degrees.

Stomani Cellars Dolcetto Yakima Valley 2006 $20
Rating: . (Decent) Cloudy and showing a bit of age. Bright red and blue fruit on a fresh, fruity nose that also shows an under-layer of ground cranberries. Crisp, tart, and acidic on the palate. A fun but overall somewhat unremarkable wine. Sampled at 60 degrees.

Stomani Cellars Sangiovese Wahluke Slope 2007 $25
Rating: + (Good) Fairly dark in color. Initially a touch of mint on the nose that is replaced by earth, chocolate, and red fruit. Wood flavors get in the way on the palate overwhelming what otherwise seems to be very good fruit. The oak may settle down with additional time in the bottle. Sampled at 62 degrees.

Stomani Cellars Insieme 2007 $25
Rating: + (Good) Nose marked by prune, cherry, and plum aromas along with black licorice and milk chocolate. An impressive palate with a lot of fruit across the mid-palate and a good amount of grip along with cherry and vanilla flavors. An impressive taste but the nose is a bit wanting. 50% Merlot, 35% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged in French and American oak. Sampled at 62 degrees.

Stomani Cellars Terromoto Red Wine Columbia Valley 2007 $25
Rating: . (Decent) Dark and purply. A lot of earth aromas along with spice, black cherry, chocolate, and ground black pepper. The nose seems a bit overloaded with pepper and spice. Tart, puckering, and very drying on the palate. Needs food to offset it. 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 22% Sangiovese, and 3% Petit Verdot. Aged in French and American oak. Sampled at 62 degrees.