Disclosure: I received a block of Parmigian Reggiano cheese and bottle of wine as compensation and a gift card for a giveaway for my Whole Food Market Carrollwood and Tampa Bay Bloggers experience. The opinions shared are my own.

I have been a fan of Whole Foods Market for about a year now. While I love the variety of moderately priced organic produce and store-brand products, truthfully I am also a huge fan of the large stock of reasonably priced wines.

Week after week, I find myself exploring Whole Foods Market Carrollwood’s wine aisle and drooling over dabble with a new-to-me wine. Sometimes, I’m even lucky enough to peruse the wine aisle during an in-store wine tasting.

In March, I was invited to Whole Foods Market Carrollwood’s Italian Wine Tasting and I was beyond thrilled to learn more about these wines, particularly Chianti which always summons images of a large wine jug paired with red and white checkered tablecloths. Obviously, my stereotype and previous impression of Chianti had clouded by judgment but not thankfully, not my taste buds.  I found the Ruffino Chianti to be a very smooth, fruity full bodied red comparable to a Malbec.

My favorites tend to be Malbec wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and red blends.  Given that I like fruity red wines, I tend to find most of the Italian reds to be dry.  The Ruffino Chianti was the exception, but then given the price, I obviously have expense taste.  The Ruffino Orvieto Classico was a bit more in my price range.

Moving onto the whites, I enjoyed the sweet Moscatto wines and the Presecco wines, which have recently become my favorite sparkling wines and no longer saved for special occasions.  I always have a bottle of Prosecco chilling in my wine cooler.

After this Italian Wine Tasting, I have another new sparkling wine favorite, the Mionetto “IL” Spr!z.  As Mike the Mionetto sales rep demonstrated for us, mix this orange “IL” Spr!z with some Presecco and top it with an orange slice for a refreshing, sunny day cocktail.

For a mere $5 in-store donation to the Whole Planet Foundation, Whole Foods Market Carrollwood lavished everyone attending the Italian Wine Tasting.  With the sheer volume of wine samples paired with piles of cheese, pasta and chocolate, we truly indulged.

Now it’s your turn to indulge!

One lucky Tampa Run DMT reader will win a $20 Whole Foods Market gift card good at the CARROLLWOOD LOCATION ONLY. Leave a comment telling me what Italian wine you would love to try. Giveaway ends Tuesday, April 8 at 11:59 pm EST.

Visit Whole Foods Market Carrollwood calendar online to discover the upcoming April events. Follow Whole Foods Market Carrollwood on Facebook for special announcements and exciting events.

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