This is based on samples provided by the winery or another organization acting on their behalf.

 

 

N.V. STLTO Prosecco

2012 STLTO Pinot Grigio

2012 STLTO Merlot

 

 

 

About the company:

Stlto is a wine created and produced by women for women.  The company is owned and was created by Sarah Liberatore.  Sarah is a self proclaimed shoe-aholic and spent her formative years admiring her mother’s incredible collection of stilettos, so it was only fitting to call the wine Stiletto (the contemporary stiletto was invented by an Italian too!). The word STILETTO could have been considered gimmicky though, and she wanted to ensure that her wines would be taken seriously.

 

It was part of Sarah’s business plan to make the production of her wines a totally female experience (from admin work to the bottling line, every employee is a woman).  I wanted to ensure that my wine was of excellent quality and that its creation was a totally female experience.  From admin work to bottling at the winery and loading the trucks, everyone who is part of my brand was going to be a woman.  She hired 5 women to work at the vineyard to help make these wines and together they felt that these 5 words encompass how this wine makes them feel.

 

 

Sophisticated, Timeless, Lavish, Trendy, and Outstanding.

The brand is (S)ophisticated, (T)imeless, (L)avish, (T)rendy and (O)utstanding, just like all of the amazing women in my life, so we decided to name the wine STLTO.  From the vineyard and cellar to administration and production, STLTO is an all-woman run operation and we celebrate women with my brand by marrying Italy’s best assets – wine and fashion!

 

 

HARVESTING:

The grapes used for STLTO’s wines are-hand harvested to eliminate the use of farm equipment.

 

WINE STORAGE:

STLTO is stored four metres below ground in tanks to eliminate the need for refrigeration.

 

REUSING STORAGE TANKS:

When not in use, STLTO’s storage tanks are placed on hills behind the winery to collect rain water, which is used to water the vineyard.

 

BOTTLING:

I redesigned the standard glass bottle to use less material and ultimately produce a lighter weight bottle – STLTO’s bottles are only 420 grams!

 

After three years of perseverance, rejection, and paving her own way in the male-dominated Italian wine industry, she recently honoured by the Hostelry Institute as one of Ontario’s Top 30 Under 30.

 

 

How well is the business plan working?  From all signs the wines have found their niche with the movers and shakers.  It’s been making waves recently as well in Hollywood as one of the favorite wines of countless celebs and was featured at some Academy Award events.  A quick Google search revealed many pictures of celebrities sipping or talking about the wines.  It doesn’t hurt to have a celebrity proclaiming a glass of STLTO is her favorite way to unwind in the evening.

 

 

Much more information about Sarah and STLTO is available on their site by clicking here.

 

Here is a video of owner/founder Sarah Liberatore talking about the wines:

 

 

All the hoopla helps marketing, but the real secret to continued success and growth is what’s in the bottle.

 

Here is the line up for this tasting:

 

 

 

N.V. STLTO Prosecco – SRP $12

This 100% Prosecco uses grapes sourced from the rolling hills of Veneto just north of Venice.

 

This bubbly has 11.0% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with an agglomerated sparkling wine cork with a plastic “tip” on the inside edge.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light yellow to straw color with small persistent bubbles.  The slightly shy nose has apples and pears.  The wine has a light body with good acidity, nice effervescence and a touch of sweetness.  On the palate apples and a touch of lemon zest carry the load.  The finish is on the short side with just a hint of sweetness.  This would work as a party sparking wine among non wine geeks.

 

 

 

2012 STLTO Pinot Grigio Terre di Chieti IGT – SRP $10

For this 100% Pinot Grigio, the grapes are sourced from 40 year vineyards from Italy’s Central Abruzzo region.

 

This wine has 12.5% alcohol and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a light yellow to golden color.  The fresh smelling nose has apples, honey, orange blossoms and just a touch of spice.  This has light to medium body with crisp acidity and just a touch of sweetness.  On the palate tart apples and lemon zest grab hold and grudgingly allow a touch of spice to slip in on the back end.  The finish is a touch short but full of apples and citrus.  The slight sweetness would make this a nice wine to sip on its own or at a friendly gathering.

 

 

 

2012 STLTO Merlot Terre di Chieti IGT – SRP $10

The grapes are sourced from 40 year vineyards from Italy’s Central Abruzzo region.  The grapes are hand-harvested, picked and packaged by STLTO’s all female production company in Abruzzo

 

This wine has 13.0% alcohol by volume and the bottle is sealed with a twist off closure.

 

My Tasting Note

The wine is a medium to deep ruby red color.  The inviting nose has plums, baking spices, mint, cherries, minerals, tobacco and violets.  This has medium body with soft to moderate tannins and good acidity.  On the palate spicy plums and mint carry the load with a hint of cherries coming in on the back end.  The finish has decent length with nice closing spice and plum.  This does not offer a lot of complexity but would work in a party environment or with a light meal.

 

 

 

Closing Thoughts

With the softer acidity and slight sweetness I can see these wines being very popular at a social gathering or paired with a light meal.  I can easily imagine cases of these wines making appearances at wedding/baby showers, graduations or social events centered around women.  These wines won’t satisfy a wine aficionado (wine geek), but so what, that’s not the targeted audience.  As for the targeted audience, this hits the bulls-eye.

 

 

 

Connect with me

You can follow me on Twitter for more wine info, potential food pairings, and an occasional recipe or two.  Be warned, I’m also a sports fan and there are occasional Pittsburgh Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates tweets.  I attended the University of South Carolina, so during football season, there will also be some Gamecock posts.

 

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Cheers!

 

 

This is original to CliffsWinePicks.com.  Copyright 2014 Cliff’s Wine Picks.

All rights reserved.

 

 

 

***** Shameless Self Promotion *****

 

Here is a link to a YouTube video of me getting “coal” from Santa for being named the “Nicest Person in Social Media” in 2012.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOvQTeGR3-c

 

 

 

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Cliff’s Wine Picks mentions or other posts

Here are posts, newsletters, blogs or other articles that either mention this site or that I have written:

 

Click here or on the “Cliff’s Wine Picks On Other Sites” link in the top right corner to see links to other sites that either have my reviews, my thoughts or other posts I have written.

 

 

 

Remember to support your local wine store!

 

 

 

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Notes – I use the “official” Cellar Tracker name for the wines.  I use Cellar Tracker to help manage and organize my cellar.  I highly recommend checking it out at www.cellartracker.com.  Loading you existing cellar is a lot less intimidating than it would first appear.  There is a good chance 99% of your wine is already in the system, so you generally only need to enter part of the wine’s name and the system will find it for you.

 

 

Prices noted are the prices I paid at the time of purchase.  I don’t shop around to find the best prices, but my local store is usually VERY competitive.  I generally get case discounts, and since I work there part time, I get a 5% discount.  Wines purchased direct from a winery do not include any shipping charges.  None of the prices include the sales tax.

 

 

All wines that were sent to me free of charge to sample will be noted and I will show suggested prices when available.

 

 

 

Cheers!