It used to be that sweet reds were a dime a dozen, but these days our palates have become more accustomed to the drier stuff … though sweetness seems to be coming back in style, as evidenced by the popularity of Yellow Tail wines and their ilk. This Pilliteri offering is part of this winery’s international series, which is a combination of foreign and domestic grapes, blended into this sweet little number. Aromas of plums and sweet cherries are the first to accost the nose, while the taste is loaded with a plethora of fruit flavours like: byng cherries, plums, apples, apricots, sweet oranges … a veritable fruit compote of tastes. And with a sweetness level at a 3, it’s sure to please those who like smooth. The back of the bottle says “great base for Sangria”, I would fully agree, but on it’s own it’s also quite sippable. Be sure to chill for about an hour.This wine has now been replaced by the 2005 ‘I baci’ series and is called Rosso Dolce. Same great smoothness and array of flavours but with a new label. It’s the first 2005 blend I’ve seen, and surprisingly, does not take full advantage of the new Ontario content rules (see newsletters 23 and 15) – one third of the fruit is Chilean, while the rest (67%) is from Niagara.