Spit or Swallow? At $80 a Bottle, Definitely Swallow

Savanna Samson -- her real name is Natalie Oliveros -- is a porn star, and a noted one at that. . . .

But Ms. Oliveros is also an aspiring winemaker. . . .

A porn star making wine, Ms. Oliveros readily admits, is a gimmick. But what sets her effort apart from the vanity wines of other celebrities like Madonna and the Rolling Stones is that it is good --— extremely good if the wine expert Robert M. Parker is to be believed.

After tasting a young bottle of Sogno Uno at a Paris bistro last fall, Mr. Parker gave Ms. Oliveros's wine a rating of 90 to 91 or outstanding, a judgment that quickly became the talk of the wine world.

Sipping a glass of Sogno Uno last week at La Masseria, an Italian restaurant in Midtown, Ms. Oliveros said she put the same passion into her wine that she puts into her sex scenes, even as she expected the wine world to turn up its nose. . . .

"People have to be laughing when they hear about it," she said. "But I didn't want it to be a joke." As for the Parker rating, Ms. Oliveros said, "He should've given it a 93."

As the wine exploded into the back of mouth, I had to fight my gag reflex to get the entire mouthful down in a gulp, but, relaxing my throat and letting the warmth flow naturally, I did it, like the dirty, little wine whore I am. Licking my lips and savoring the last drops on my tongue afterwards, the bottle sucked dry, I noted hints of wet leather, spandex, and fresh-squeezed taint floating over my middle palate.

That's when I knew she was right: the wine, indeed, deserved a 93.