Here are some starters you should be able to find in a big wine store which may bring back some memories. (And which we have found to be pretty decent when having large parties where you are serving lots of people with varying sophistication and taste.)

RED: Placido Chianti has consistently been good. (We've spent the last three-four years trying all kinds of Italian, French, South African, Chilean, Spanish, California and Virginia wines and have some pricier fav's but this is a good "house" wine.)

WHITE: Cavit Pino Grigio is again, easily available most everywhere and reliable. (although lately I've been finding some yummy Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand that may be overtaking this Italian fav as a standard house white in our house.)

Sparkling: Italian Prosecco! It was such a refreshing treat to find a sparkling wine we liked! Now we buy it when we want a sparkler. You can stretch a bottle even farther if you want to make a light drink pre-dinner for a small party of six-eight by pouring equal parts of Prosecco, orange juice and cranberry juice. We got that recipe from a great local trattoria in MD.

enjoy!

This thread has been very informative for me, with a special nod to Budman and easytraveller.

My only gripe is that Fodor's emoticons include a beer mug, a coffee cup and a martini glass ... but no wine bottle. ((n))

also try a frascati white its made and veruy popular with the grapes growing from just east of rome into the ssurrounding mountains near frascati and morino. itds very pleasant, not to acidic and generally drinkable and avaible in the usa. however it does have perservatives in it in the usa nad not in italy

IMHO the wines I drink in Italy vs the Italian wines I buy in CA are not the same. And my SIL from Roma says the same thing.

I basically buy CA wines here but oh I can hardly wait to be in Italy again next year to enjoy their wines including the very low prices compared to here.

When I was growing up... a lonnng time ago.. I knew Italians who made wine in their cellars. Ever thought of that? -:)