Most of the time wines from sports celebrities hover in the moderate price range but baseball legend Tommy Lasorda has a special bottle that sells for $500. Lasorda's limited 2001 Carmignano varietal is an Italian wine that comes in a magnum (1.5 liters) embellished with Terra Cota embossing. Each bottle is hand signed by Mr. Lasorda and comes in a wooden case. Lasorda also has more moderately priced offerings, his 2005 Chianti Classico sells for $32.98.

New York Magazine has an interesting piece on Dick Parsons ,the CEO of Time Warner which mentions Il Palazzone, his vineyard in Tuscany. Parsons is passionate about his Brunello saying in the article that it has terroir, complexity and character. According to the article, he has also created a super Tuscan, named Lorenzo & Isabelle after his parent. The wine is a blend of Cabernet-Franc, Sangiovese, and Petit Verdot.

Il Palazzone is around 25 acres in the hills of Montalcino. His Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is particularly well regarded. it is only produced only in outstanding vintage years and is aged in French oak. It sells for over $100 a bottle through Italian Wine Merchants

Barbaresco, the strong and sexy wine made of Nebbiolo grapes from the Piedmont region of Italy is known by wine lovers as being a delicious companion for beef dishes and is way to experience something other than those Napa cult Cabernets (delightful though they are). An article by father-and-daughter wine writing duo, Frank and Kate Sutherland, rates five Barbarescos with an eye toward finding tastes of black and red fruit.2001 They gave top honors to the Bruno Rocca Barbaresco Rabaja praising the aromas of blackberries and Dr. Pepper-like sarsaparilla. It was the most expensive wine on their list (they say it costs $109.99 but it can be found for as low as around $90 at various places) but they report it is worth the money. The wine has also received a 93 from Wine Spectator. It's definitely going on my want-to-drink list.

Wine Spectator has chosen their wine of the year and have unveiled the first ten of their 100 best list. The top wine is the Brunello di Montalcino Tunuta Nuova 2001 from Casanova di Neri. The family-run winery in Tuscany creates this Sangiovese-based red wine which is aged in 600-liter French oak casks. In the Wine Spectator video, James Suckling says that the warm summer days and cool nights of that year created a wine with a rich perfume and raspberry and blackberry flavors with a hint of chocolate and seamless tannins. He also believes the wine could be even better in a couple years.

The Casanova di Neri website says that the quest for the Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova came about with the search for the perfect microclimate of the terrain as well as the delicate cultivation of the Sangiovese grapes. The wine is aged in small oak casks for 24 to 30 months and then for at least a year in the bottle. The first vintage produced was in 1993. The wine has earned a rating of 97 and sells for $70. There were 4,830 cases made. The winery also makes olive oil and grappa as well as fine wines.

Also, I must mention, Giacomo Neri is a serious wine fox.

Sopranos actress Lorraine Bracco is yet another celebrity winemaker. Bracco's wines are are available in the New York tri-state area this spring and will be available nationwide in the fall. Her wines include eight different varietals (Barolo, Amarone Classico, Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva, Montepulciano, Pinot Grigio, Brunello Di Montalcino and Primitivo) chosen from various Italian producers that she picked out herself. Bracco isn't involved in wine production yet but according to an interview in Wine Spectator posted on Avenue Vine, she would like to be. On her website it says that she is interested in purchasing her own vineyards.

Diesel Jeans is now in the wine business. Decanter reports that Renzo Rosso, the founder of the popular label presented three new wines at Vinitaly this month.The three wines are Bianco di Rosso, a Chardonnay, Rosso di Rosso (Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon) and Nero di Rosso (Pinot Nero) and will sell in restaurants for over £100 a bottle. Rosso owns a farm in Marostica in Vicenza, Veneto and also sells olive oil. Too bad the name Vin Diesel is already taken.