A couple of weeks ago I had a guest ask for help locating a bottle of wine. She couldn't remember the name of the wine or even where it was from, she just knew she liked it and had purchased it in one of our stores. Often times with so little information to go on, the process can turn into a frustrating game of "give me another clue." An easy solution, and something I always recommend to guests, is to take a quick photo of the label. My personal photo stream is loaded with pictures of wines I have enjoyed over the years.

And speaking of labels, there was one other thing she remembered about the wine. She described a very colorful spiral design on a blue background. Ah hah! Now we were getting somewhere! After a few more questions I knew she was looking for one of my personal favorites, Zingari.

Zingari is a proprietary blend of four grape varietals:  Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah and Petit Verdot. It is produced at the spectacular Petra Winery situated on the Tuscan coast. The 2009 Zingari is a fleshy, generous wine graced with expressive fruit. I can certainly understand why our guests wanted to purchase more, but sadly the 2009 vintage is sold out and I had to sell her an alternative.

If you missed the 2009 Zingari, don't despair. The 2010 vintage has just arrived in our stores, and I assure you it's another sensational effort. The Wine Advocate describes it, "The 2010 Zingari bursts from the glass with juicy dark berries, flowers, spices and mint. This is a hugely overachieving wine that delivers remarkable quality for the money."

The spiral label is a pictoral interpretation of life and the cyclic nature of evolution. A symbol of the fertility of the earth. In any case it's much more than a pretty label. Don't miss this one.

Paul Quaglini, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits wine supervisor

Follow me on Twitter @abcwinepaulq