Cairo NY -- Say your wife is a great Italian cook of Sicilian descent and your favorite Italian dish -- other than her -- is a very Sicilian version of Calamari fra Diavolo.  How could you not consider a true Vino di Sicilia as a complimentary pairing for such a wonderful dinner? 

Because of my resemblance to the preceding remarks I opted to try, for the very first time, a genuine Sicilian wine made from the Nero d'Avola grape indigenous to the isle of my better half's ancestors. 

A freshly uncorked Pinocchio provided almost no initial clue of the bottle's contents, with only the faintest nondescript blossomy aroma present.  The trendy-looking bottle included a pencil drawing and an "In Vino Veritas" blurb that promised sweetness and light along with un-Pinocchio-like truth.  So the faint aroma bade well for what was to follow.

If you have a passion for good ten-buck vino you'll certainly find yourself drinking -- and liking -- plenty of young wines.  Most of the "cheap" Italians like Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Sangiovese are very consistently good from year to year. Certainly Argentinians, Chileans and Bordeaux vintners are "new wine" specialists. 

Not so much the Sicilians, however, if Pinocchio is used as the yardstick for their Nero d'Avola. 

Our disappointing bottle of Pinocchio not only tasted new, but "home-made" was among the stream of consciousness descriptions I blurted out at the table -- to which I quickly added that most of the home-mades I'd tried were at least as good, if not better, than Pinnocchio's harsh, flavorless newbie.

So while the price (advertised under $10) is right, the bottle blurb needs some truthful editing -- perhaps by somebody with a conscience like, say, Jiminy Cricket. 

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