DINING OUT:Rosso is just right for wine needs

I have always purchased wine based on what the label looks like, so I was nervous and excited at the idea of going to a wine tasting at Rosso Wine Shop in Glendale.

For $10, from 5 to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, the owner, Jeff Zimmitti, opens three bottles of wine for tasting. Each weekend features a different "flight:" Burgundy wines, barbecue wines from California, Italian, Spanish and French wines. It was just delightful.

Zimmitti has led a very interesting life, having gotten most of his experience in wines while traveling Europe as the drummer in a few bands. He is completely unpretentious and thoroughly knowledgeable. He added to his personal experience by taking courses at San Antonio Winery and completed a culinary course at Epicurean. It was while apprenticing at the restaurant next door, Bistro Verdu, that this storefront became available.

The store is softly lighted and comfortable. The walls are lined with photos from his travels and maps of various wine regions he made himself (he is also a graphic designer). The many racks of wine are perfect displays for browsing and label perusing. A few are marked with reviews from Wine Advocate or Wine Spectator. And there are even a few of his own reviews. Tucked into the back left corner is a slate-tiled bar with four inviting chairs. The night I went, the flight was Spanish wines. We were handed a large glass, a basket of thinly sliced ciabatta bread, and our first ample taste was poured. My brother asked the importance of different shapes of glasses. Zimmitti said they were, for the most part, "a way to sell more glasses," but that some allow for the wine to breathe or flavors to be held in.

We began with a Spanish champagne. Yes, I do know that technically it isn't champagne unless it's from the Champagne region in France, but that's what it feels like!

NV Cavas Castellblanch Cava Rosado ($12.99) is a sparkly pink wine, cold and refreshing, and not too sweet. Fabulous for a hot night. He told us that in Europe wines are usually labeled by the region rather than by the grapes, so he told us about the grapes, Trepat and Garnacha, and how the skins are allowed in for a longer time with the rosés, giving them their pink color.

After a slice of bread — to cleanse our palates and make us look sophisticated — Zimmitti poured us a 2003 Bodega Inurrieta Norte ($12.99), a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot split.