A Quest to Quench: Beer vs. Wine

Enduring Wine/Beer Stereotypes:

Wine = swirl; sip; savor
Beer = gulp; knock back; down

Not having any Sapporo or the like in the house this afternoon to pair with our seared tuna on soba with dashi broth and seaweed salad, we opted to open a bottle of white. Oops, the ignominious discovery is made that we have only two chilled bottles to choose from: A kick-ass value Chenin Blanc or an Italian Riesling. So, wanting to reserve the Chenin for more serious consideration, I opened the Riesling.

This was one of those wines where, upon initial sampling, one's first thought is that this 56 degree wine would benefit from further chilling. This kind of observation is often linked with having served a wine which is on the plonky side. Out came the trusty cooler sleeve, and the heaps of of big mushy apple crisped to more refined honey, pear, and lemon. Not an unpleasant wine overall, but one which left a lot to be desired when compared to the memory of a clean Alsace.

I should probably be embarrassed to even mention that I used my glass of wine to wash down a vitamin pill: Hey, now... What ensued was a fulled-bodied palate cleansing sensation with a rear-palate echo of the flavors of the meal; namely sesame and the richness of the tuna. Now, I'm familiar with the concept of quaffability but, this was something new: A wine that is actually best gulped--not so as to lessen the duration of it's influence on the palate but, to accentuate it!

With a rather dull attack which faded almost instantly to nothingness when sipped, this wine found a higher calling as a substance to be swashed willy-nilly between the back molars and over the gullet. Truth is, I could have had a beer, but the house beer is Sam's Summer Ale; too sweet and hoppy for this meal. In a sense, this so-so wine took the place of a beer but without the carbonation or bothersome "too-full" feeling.

I'm not particularly recommending this wine, but I do recommend opening up to the possibility of discovering the best in a wine by experimenting with how it's swallowed, swigged, swilled, or guzzled.

$10 Tuesday: PietraLuna Negramaro 2006

Pietraluna

Negramaro del Salento 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Price: $9.60 (at Bin Ends)
Aromas: Raspberry, dulce de leche, blackberry, sour plum, licorice
Flavors: Blackberry, cinnamon stick, cherry, dust

Summary: This is our first Negramaro del Salento (the heel of the boot). Negro Amaro translates to "black and bitter" which sets the stage when sampling this wine for the first time. The ripe juicy nose with hints of herbal notes actually reminds me of some Greek wines we've had. There is a distinctive aroma I can't quite place (persimmon?) The body is light (a little flat in the mid-palate) with a spicy finish and acidity that melds nicely with a tomato sauce. It's tempting to want to serve this wine to with Tapas but, be advised: It really gets it's ass kicked by a salty garlic-stuffed olive in vinegar (maybe olives packed in oil would be a better choice). Overall, an interesting and affordable example of a lesser known sub-variety from Southern Italy.

Tomiolo Pinot Grigio della Venezie

We’ve had Tomaiolo wines in the past. They are not high quality wines, but they have never disappointed me when I put them into a table wine class. For their price, they are very good wines for a picnic, a barbeque or in our case, just a lazy Sunday evening. I prefer Pinot Grigio in the warmer months and will switch over to Fume Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc when I need a white in the colder days.

Pinot Grigio
Tomaiolo

Vintage: 2006
AVA: Venezie I.G.T.
Alcohol: 12%
Price: $5.50/half

Color: Straw
Intensity: Pale
Aromas: Peach, lemon, pineapple, pear
Flavors: Lemon zest, pear, tangerine
Body: Light
Acidity: Citric
Sweetness: Dry
Finish: Moderate

Summary: This wine seems a bit austere. There is a citrus aspect to this wine but it didn’t quite make sense to me until the chicken came out of the oven. This wine needs food to bring out the qualities. With dinner it smoothed out and took on a more floral and vanilla quality. We had it with roasted chicken, and Basmati rice with greens. The acidity provided good palate cleansing. Will this be the last Pinot Grigio until next summer?

Bianco Aldo Barbaresco

Had a little guilty indulgence with a 2004 Barbaresco last weekend. I wouldn't call it infanticide (it is drinking well already)...maybe more like watching a preteen beauty pageant. It would be okay let this one collect a nice layer of cellar dust before breaking it out again.

Bianco Aldo Barbaresco

Vintage/Vendemmia: 2004
Varietal: Organic Nebbiolo
Price: $39.99
Aromas: Smoked meat, sarsaparilla, marzipan, Turkish delight
Flavors: Strawberry, cherry, cola, licorice


Summary: Just a little bit of Eau du County Fair comes off the nose to kick off the parade of aromas. From there it runs the gamut from savory to sweet. Just as many flavors take turns jumping into the spotlight starting with the berry, and mild livestock, smoked meat, and spice. Nicely balanced acidity and tannins--and plenty of it. The Piedmont wine equivalent of a fluid stroll through a vivid street bazaar.

Things are up in the air, Post Script.

We took the Salem Ferry down to Boston this morning for a walk around the historical end of town. On the way back we stopped into the Salem Wine Imports and checked on the status of Solatione Chianti Classico. It is indeed gone and will not be coming back. The importer sold out and has elected not to import it again because of a cost increase which pushes it out of the value range.

I had an opportunity to try Tomaiolo Toscana, IGT 2005 at Salem Wine Imports. This Super Tuscan is a blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot. It’s berry forward, full bodied, with good tannins and a pleasant finish. It is a comparable wine to the Solantione at a better price, and it's still available so give it a try. We grabbed a bottle and will do a full write-up at a later date.

We had a bottle of Tomaiolo Riserva 2003 Chianti DOCG Sangiovese in February that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Tuscany wine bridges Old World and New World

Poggio alle Sughere Morellino de Scansano D.O.C. is a wine that we picked up at The Vineyard in North Andover earlier this year at their large Italian wine tasting. It is always fun to see what happens when you get a bottle home.

Scansano is in the Southern end of Tuscany and is a new region opened up in the last ten years. This region is being compared to California because of the explosion around this town. This wine has stepped in to be the quality wine to fill the void left by the quality Chianti wines when they shot up in price.

Our label is straight forward for Italian. The Poggio alle Sughere estate in Magliano, Toscana in the heart of the Maremma zone. This Morellino di Scansano is a blend of 90% Sangiovese and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This warm environment with perfect rainfall means that Morellino di Scansano give this great fruit flavors, wonderful savory herb notes and just the right pizzazz.

Morellino di Scansano D.O.C. is Sangiovese (Morellino), 85% to 100%. Other red grapes may be used to a maximum of 15%. Aging is two years minimum for Rosso Riserva with a minimum of 1 year in wood. (Note that this is not a riserva wine.)


Morellino di Scansano
Poggio alle Sugghere
Maremma area of Tuscany
Vintage: 2003
Alcohol: 13.0%
Price: $16.99

Color: Brick
Intensity: Medium
Aromas: Cherry, jam, raisin, olive, earth, with a hint of vanilla
Flavors: Strawberry, black cherry, pomegranate, prune, cassis, olive, earth, tar, coffee, chocolate, rosemary, sage with slight spiciness of allspice and anise.
Body: Full
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Silk
Finish: Long

Summary: Think of this wine as a good bridge between the New World from the Old World. It shows the restrained use of wood aging with herbal notes and well developed fruit flavors. The dark red fruit flavors are tempered by the dried fruit flavors and earth, tar, chocolate and coffee. Nothing about this wine is overbearing.

We enjoyed this wine with a pizza topped with artichoke, roasted banana pepper, fresh mozzarella, and thin sliced fresh tomato. The wine stood up to the saltiness of the cheese and the acidity of the tomato.

The Poddio alla Sughere is a well crafted wine and quite a treat. We will enjoy this with another meal. We are just delighted that it bridges the styles of three of our favorite regions, Côtes du Rhône, Sonoma and Tuscany. The wine region was established without a long standing tradition of having a regional wine style. Therefore, when the D.O.C. was established in 1997, it was not restrained and could make Super Tuscan style wines. The result in this case is a wine with the character of Côtes du Rhône with the courage to be modern.

A final note: If you are in the North East Massachusetts area, get yourself on The Vineyard’s email list. They have quality tastings and a very good selection.

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, the Forgotten Wine

Taster B made cheese lasagna tonight. We have a few Italian reds in the loft cellar. It is always a challenge to pick just one. I found a wine that neither one of us remembered buying nor how much we paid for it. Mystery wine!

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC is a wine from the Northeast region of Italy around the city of Verona Veneto. I’m having a difficult time figuring out what is in this wine so I’m not going to bluff my way through it. The principle grape seems to be Corvina with a laundry list of other possible allowed grapes. I will give you a word of warning about Valpolicella wines, the area is riddled with plonk. This is true of so many areas of Italy, so much so that it sounds like I’m getting Alzheimer’s. Classico may be a safe way to go. In recent years, Valpolicella has been cranking out some great wines so if you are a careful shopper, you can get yourself a really cool wine. So if you have a chance to grab an Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, give it a whirl.

What you will be in for is a rich red wine, strong cherry, tobacco, chocolate and earthiness, a full bodied wine that shows some great complexity. Don’t be surprised if you find an old bottle at your wine shop. These wines tend to be aged quite a bit before released.

So what was this wine like? I’m happy to present my tasting notes.

Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, D.O.C.
Villa Fulvia

Vintage: 2002
Alcohol: 15.0%
Price: We Forgot!

Color: Ruby red
Intensity: Dark
Aromas: Blackberry, cherry, plum jam raisin, olive, earth
Flavors: Strawberry, blackberry, cherry, plum, current, olive, tar, stuck flint, smoky, Slovenian oak, coffee, chocolate, tobacco
Body: Full
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: Off-dry
Tannins: Silky
Finish: Long

Summary: Nice package of fruit and chocolate. In the late finish tar, tobacco and mocha. This wine has a bit of glycerin and has legs like Betty Grable. Taster B commented that it is a little unbalanced: heavy on the alcohol and light on the acid. I tend to agree but don’t let this scare you off. The wine is more blackberry than cherry. Yeah, I’d buy this one again.


This can be enjoyed on its own, paired with garlic bread, herbed cheeses, Tuscan steak, grilled meats and grilled veggies.

Ahhh Toscana

Taster B emailed me at work with instructions that when I got home I was to take the pizza dough out of the refrigerator. We’re having pizza tonight. She made a pizza sauce and topped the pizza with fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, red pepper and onion. It was up to me to pick a bottle and do a quick photo shoot.


There were several wines that I could have gone with, but I settled on a Toscana that we picked up back in January at The Vineyard in January. Wine can be a fickle friend. In January, we got notes of tobacco, rose and coffee. That was in the middle of tasting 23 wines. It goes to show how perceptions of wine can change with different foods and following other wines.

Nevertheless, this is a great wine for the price and worth looking for. We’ve talked a little about Toscana IGT wines before and if you are new to Italy, you can learn about the style and how to read the labels.

Toscana IGT
Santa Cristiana Antinori
Vintage: 2006
Blend: Sangiovese 90%, Merlot 10%
Alcohol: 13.0
Price: $11.99

Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Medium
Aromas: Strawberry, cherry, smoked meat, tobacco
Flavors: Strawberry, raspberry, cherry, curry, mineral, anise, sage, licorice, vanilla
Body: Full
Sweetness: Off dry
Tannins: Silk
Finish: Moderately long

Summary: Nice berry wine, smooth tannins, with mineral dried berry/cherry finish. In the long finish, spicy licorice and anise notes develop. We really enjoyed this with our moderately-topped juicy veggie pizza. We were very glad we picked up this wine and would buy it again.

Most folks don't regard pizza as a great meal. Pizza is very commonplace and is usually only a phone call away. The Hut has slipped in quality over the past 30 years and most pizza tastes about the same as the box. One of the tricks is getting the crust right and today, pizza dough is available at many delis.

Well made pizza is always a hit. In my younger day, perhaps 10 pounds ago, I would have put a pound of mozzarella and another pound of cheddar on a pizza. Today, I’m just as happy with one third of a pound.

Having good wine to go with a good pizza is a must. Sangiovese is a great compliment. This wine also goes with lamb, duck, cold cuts, Cioppino and hard cheese.

A Preview of Summer

Another wine for less than $10.00 that we picked up just for fun is Masciarelli Rosé d’Abruzzo. It has been a long time since I’ve had a good Rosé. This is my first Italian Rosé.



Rosé d’Abruzzo I.G.T.
Masciarelli

Vintage: 2006
Alcohol: 13%
Price: $7.99

Color: Strawberry Red
Intensity: Light
Aromas: Strawberry, currant, raspberry, pear juice, passion fruit
Flavors: Lemon, grapefruit, strawberry, raspberry, green bell pepper, mineral,
Body: Light
Sweetness: Dry
Acidity: Crisp
Finish: Moderate

Summary: Think of field ripened wild strawberries and raspberries in a lemon juice, crisp and clean. A little green on the moderate finish. There are some spice notes and as with most Rosé wines, it is extremely light on the tannins. It has a great tartness.

This wine will be a good hit in the summer. This wine will do well served at temperature in the mid 60’s. It will be fine. This is not a serious wine so have fun with it. You can drink this with food or by itself.

Tip: Chilling Rosé is a way to hide flaws in poorly produced Rosé. The better the Rosé, the less you need to chill it.

What, you've never had Uvaggio???

Uvaggio is one of those wines that make life worth living. This wine label is a fun one to look at if you are learning how to navigate the world of Italian wine labels.



The Proprietá Sperino vineyards are located in the foothills of the Alps in Maraine (glacier deposited crushed stones and earth) soils coming down from Monte Rosa. Uvaggio is what is under the cork. Coste della Sesia is the regional DOC under which the wine was made.
Coste della Sesia refers to the banks of the Sesia River which comes down from the Alps through Peimonte. Uvaggio in Italian signifies a blend of grapes done before fermentation as opposed to Vinaggio, a blend of wines. Rosso designates this as a red wine. Paolo De Marchi is the proprietor and wine maker with his son and partner Luca De Marchi. This is the second Uvaggio since the resurrection of the vineyard and from what I've been reading, the 2005 vintage is superior to the 2004 release.

The De Marchis are now producing high quality wines from a vineyard that was abandoned in '52. One hundred years ago, there were approximately 100,000 acres of vineyards in the region. The vineyards went into decline and are now climbing back to around 2,000 acres.


Uvaggio
Proprietá Sperino
Costa della Sesia D.O.C.
Vintage: 2005
Blend: Nebbiolo 65%, Vespolina 20%, Croatina 15% within the rules of the D.O.C.
Alcohol: 12.5
Price: $30.99

Color: Garnet
Intensity: Medium
Aromas: Currant, rose, mint, earth, licorice, smoked meat, vanilla, chocolate
Flavors: Strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate, mint, earth tar, anise, allspice, black pepper, jasmine, coffee, chocolate
Body: full
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Silk
Finish: Long

Summary: Is there such a thing as a vanilla bomb? That is what came off the glass. I expected a disappointing over-oaked wine, but was very surprised that the vanilla gave way to mint, earth, licorice and smoked meat. This wine is balanced like a fine Swiss watch. Sandalwood tannins in the long finish with spice. As the wine evolved in the glass, it became floral. We enjoyed this wine with strawberries and Humboldt Fog cheese.

This is not the first Piemonte wine that is from resurrected vineyard land that we've reviewed. I think we are seeing something exciting coming, the resurgence of Piemonte as a contender for some the worlds most interesting wines. Time will tell.

Beautiful, Rustic Le Piane Boca Wines

A Passionate Foodie turned us on to Salem Wine Imports where we enjoyed another opportunity to taste the wines of Le Piane. He has posted a great write-up on the flight and the wine-maker on his blog.

It's always fun to meet the wine-maker and hear his take on his creations. Christoph, a tall blonde Swede in the quintessential nubby olive-hued sweater, was a pleasure to talk to. His attitude toward the wine reminded me of a father confident in his children's abilities: No need to shield them from ridicule or justify their quirkiness--just allowing them to be and speak for themselves, while providing the details of their origins that they wouldn't remember.

We found the wines of Le Piane thoroughly delightful. That is not to say that these wines are frivolous: The Boca in particular is very um...what's the word I'm looking for? Austere? no...Serious? Definitely not...Bold? Yes, perhaps that is the best way for me to describe it... You can read about what they've done on the Le Piane Boca website but, basically, they've finessed some very rustic tannins in a way that leaves them still very exuberant but not overbearing.

We were fortunate to sample a vertical of the Le Piane Boca 2000, 2001, and 2003. The 2000 vintage enjoyed good weather but, some autumn rain which the wine-maker said affected the concentration of flavor somewhat. The 2001 vintage was the product of a nearly perfect year in terms of weather, and 2003 was very hot, with hardly any rain producing very concentrated fruit. Cristoph described the 2000 as having the most fruit qualities, and the 2003 being the most "charming" of the three. It was easy to see what he meant.

We came away with a bottle of the 2001 which was perhaps not a popular favorite but, which I found intriguing because it was the most different among the three. This wine had a lot of wood-like character but with absolutely no detectable oak thanks to neutral Slovenian oak barrels. It is still very young and we will be saving this bottle for a couple of years.

This tasting reconfirmed for me the notion that experiencing wine is not just about flavors and aromas. These wines were actually on the formidable side and would probably be more approachable with food. However, they were absolutely inspiring and that is what I look for above all else in a great bottle of wine.

Fontana Candida Frascati

At a party, I had an opportunity to try a Frascati DOC. Frascati DOC is white wine from Lazio (Latium) region which boasts well drained volcanic soils from 200 feet to about 100ft above sea level. Frascati is made from Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes, is primarily dry but sometimes made in semisweet, sweet and spumante styles.

Frascati is produced in large quantities by producers interested in maximizing production, finding a good bottle may take some work. The philosophy in the region is to produce and sell what you produce. In recent years, more attention has been given to quality. Where this may sound like the same old song played on a different radio, we are talking Italy here and Italy is working to change its wine image. Sometime old habits are hard to break.

Where we in the wine world may be critical of Italy for mass production, let's not forget that we Americans have a 20th century history of producing wines by the railroad car load shipped east for bottling and repackaging. California had a good economic thing going with Chardonnay which was sold to a thirsty market (by the tanker car load). When the market wanted something different, Chardonnay was oaked to the point where you couldn’t see the grapes through the trees. Now producers are offering us non-oaked Chardonnay as something new and exciting. It has only been in the last three decades that California has become a quality producer. But wine is still produced by the tanker load. My point is that Italy should not be singled out for over production and we in the New World should not complain about the mote in our brother’s eye.

So what about this bottle of Fontana Candida (the winery), Frascaiti DOC (the wine), Superiore (the marketing term)? The wine was clear, pale straw colored. The nose was of pear and violets, rather floral and little mushroom. Dry, clean and on the crisp side. Not a whole lot to report and nothing changed in the glass over time. It was a pleasant white wine best shared with breads, lighter species of fish, nothing sweet or this wine will go sour to the palate. Had this been our wine, we would have had it tonight with the Soba Noodle salad that Taster B made for dinner. Frascati should be opened within one to two years.

I would encourage you to look for this wine if you enjoy trying different grapes and experimenting. Look for Frascati DOC wine produce by Colli di Catone, Fontana Candida and Villa Simone for the best examples.

Seven Flowery Words (WBW #42) Boony Doon 2005 Ferraris Piemonteses Blend

Victoriana is now and it is rose-scented.

Tomaiolo Riserva 2003 Chianti DOCG

I spotted this wine in a little wine shop in Somerville, MA. The label caught my eye because it had “Riserva” and it is a Chianti DOCG. So one would think this would be a sure bet, right? Well, it could be swill.

As a quick label tutorial, Tomaiolo is the Brand and Riserva is an designation of higher quality, mainly because of additional aging. The vintage is 2003 and Chianti DOCG, Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Guarantita is what's under the cork.

Now what I’m going to write isn’t expounded on in Vino Italiano, The Regional Wines of Italy. It is from Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, 4th Edition. Tom Stevenson has allocated about eight column inches to this story. In a nutshell, alas, DOCG is supposed to be a higher standard, but when the Tuscany DOCs were being hammered out, DOCG status was given to all Chianti producers, not the cream-of-the-crop. Politically, the Chianti bulk producers had a good deal of clout, so quality lost to quantity. (Note that this discussion does not include the Chianti Classico DOCG which is a different wine and different DOCG.)

Chianti (other than Classico) must contain between 75% and 80% Sangiovese plus the possibility of 5% to 10% Canaiolo Nero, 5% to 10% Trebbiano or Malvasia and up to a maximum of 10% of Cabernet or any other specified black grape varieties.

So how is this wine? I’m please to present to you my tasting notes for Tomaiolo 2003 Chianti Riserva.

Chianti DOCG 2003
Tomaiolo
Tuscany
Price: $9.99
Alcohol: 12.5%
Color: Garnet
Body: Full
Tannins: Silk
Finish: Moderately long

This Chianti was aged in Slavonian oak for two years. The nose has hints of strawberry, blackberry, cherry, elderberry, plum, jam and raisin. Earth, hay and mushroom components are very prevalent in a sweet-smoky aroma mix. The taste is berry-cherry, smooth finish with flavorful and nice mid palate feel. The taste is slightly smoky. The Slavonian oak makes for mild oak and toast aromas that are so complimentary that I only mention them here as a technical point.

This would go good with fresh tomato pasta, white sauce pizza, minestrone, Portobello mushroom and Gouda cheese.

It is worth noting that Taster B (not a big Sangiovese fan) enjoyed this wine. I’m pleased to say that this wine was quite a find, and gets a "Ya, I'd buy this one again."

New Wine Shop, Adonna Imports and New Friends Tasting Italian Wines

There is a new wine shop in Salem, Massachusetts that our Passionate Foodie friend from the North Shore turned us on to. On the fifth of February, Eric of the Salem Wine Imports hosted an Italian wine tasting featuring seven of the wines from Adonna Imports. We even got to meet fellow North Shore Blogger Richard, ring leader of The North Shore Winers.

This was our first visit to the new wine shop located on 32 Church Street in Salem, Massachusetts. The store is beautifully set up with a stunning offering of wines. Eric felt that Salem was right for a niche wine shop. There are lots of packies in the area, but having a wine shop where patrons can come in on a Tuesday night, have a tasting, socialize and procure some mighty fine wines is what Eric wanted. Salem Wine Imports has a great selection of Italian, French, Californian, Spanish wines as well as a wonderful selection of wines from Oregon and Washington.

If you are looking for the unusual, the unknown, the hard-to-find; but most importantly high-quality wines at a good price, scamper on over, that’s exactly what you will find. Now, I’m a bit hard boiled when it comes to value. I saw some very good wines for the less than $20.00. How unusual? How about a Swiss Gamay? When was the last time you saw one of those? I'm not a Gamay fan, but this one had me taking another look. He also has wines in the $50.00 price point and above for those special occasions.

The Tasting
Eric invited Eileen Wright of Adonna Imports to present a flight of six Italian wines from the Adonna portfolio.

Conte Vistarino 2004 Pinot Nero
Conte Visterino also from Lombardy has a long history of working with Pinot Nero dating back to the 1800's. The vineyards are located on The Count's vast Estate (mid 1500's) in the Oltrepo Pavese on the banks of the Po river. The winery is now run by his daughter Ottavia. Her objectives remain the same as her ancestors; create elegant, authentic wines that express their terroir. The Conte Vistario 2004 Pinot Nero is a lightly smoky, tannic little extra acid that one would expect from the region.

La Piane 2004 La Maggiorina
Le Piane is located in the Boca region of Italy in the lower Alps of the Piedmont.
The La Maggiorina is a Colline Novarsi DOC, district of Novara. The wine has a mixture of Croatina, Uva Rara, Vespolina and Nebbiolo. The name of the wine comes from the traditional Maggiorina system, where four vines are arranged in the four cardinal points, forming a cup. This is a newer DOC (1994) that also has a white wine made exclusively of Erbaluce grapes. The Maggiorina is a pleasant drinking wine with fruity and spicy aromas. The alcohol level is at 12% which I find to be typical of the Piedmont region. The wine maker Christoph Kunzli bought the property in 1988 from Antonio Cerri one of the last local wine growers of this almost forgotten region. The label states “dry red wine” which leads me to believe that it is the Rosso which would be Nebbiolo 30% min, Uva Rara max 40%, Vaspolina and/or Crotina max 30%. Yup, we brought one of these puppies home.

Martilde 2006 Bianco IGT "Gelo"
Italic Riesling grapes producing a still dry white wine with a simple profile is what's under the cork. The low yield and the advanced age of the vineyard guarantee the right level of ripeness (with grapes tinged with gold), resulting in a good structure and very mild acidity, which make it pleasantly full. Color a warm bright yellow, ample and compound nose, faintly citrusy. You can have it for the whole meal, with starters, first courses, or main courses of fish, poultry or white meats. (I’m thinking lobster.) On the label, is their male sheepdog "Gelo" in one of his favorite postures.

Martilde 2005 BonardaMartilde 2005 Bonarda is made entirely from Croatina grapes. A genuine, straightforward wine, ruby colored and with a simple clean nose, pleasantly reminding of small red fruit. This wine is not barrel fermented and will do well for enjoying now up to three years. It pairs well with soups, roasted meats, vegetables and light grillades.

Solatione 2004 Chianti Classico
Solatione is located in the heart of Chianti Classico region. The winery gets its name from the great exposition of the sun. The Vineyard is thirteen hectares, family owned and operated since 1972. Until 1991 the wine was sold to other vintners but in 1992 Fabio and Francesca (brother and sister) decided to bottle their own wines. The Chianti Classico is aged in Slovenic oak barrels for 12/16 months. This wine was definitely very delicious, well structured and firm tannins and very Sangiovese. Other Chianti Classico lovers were ooooing and aw-ing over this one. Taster B was also pleased with this offering with the only disappointment that it was sold out by the time we were ready to leave. (This is the one that got away!)

Redondel 2005 Teroldego
This winery is located in the Trentino owned and operated by a young winemaker Paolo Zanini He has a long family history in his vineyards. The vineyards are full of naturally maintained older vines with low yields and a small production. The wine comes from the Mezzolombardo in the Rotaliano plain.

A little about Adonna Imports
The company was started 3 years ago by Jeannie Rogers and Eileen Wright. Jeannie also owns Il Capriccio restaurant in Waltham, Massachusetts. Their portfolio consists of small winemakers who work well in the vineyards as well as the winery. Most of their producers are either 100% organic or working towards that goal. Jeannie has known most of the producers they work with for over 20 years. Jeannie also travels back to Italy frequently to source new winemakers. (I want that job!) Their portfolio 95% Italian but they do work with a few Austrian and one California winemaker.

Talking with Eileen, she tells us that they are having great success filling a niche market, catering to smaller wine shops and restaurants. The wines the get are from small producers and many (including some of the wines we tasted) are exclusive Adonna imports. Working with small lot producers and quality wines gives them the feeling of personal customer service and allows them to work closely with their clients.

Because their producers are small, many of their selections come in by the tens of cases, which is much too small of a quantity to be of interest to the large chain discount houses. Eileen tells us that she enjoys her work and particularly likes the idea of promoting the smaller, high quality producers.

As someone looking from the outside in, I get excited when I do business with folks like Eileen and Eric. Personalized service, quality products and I walk away with a feeling that we made some great friendships.

I also want to shout out to the Passionate Foodie for turning us to this. As a reward for getting through this posting, here is a tip. Eric is planning on having tastings most Tuesday nights. Check out his blog for details. The tip??? Salem Wine Imports encourages you bring your favorite tasting glass!

Italian Wine Tasting at The Vineyard

The Vineyard is a wine and cheese shop located north west of Boston, MA. On January 27th, The Vineyard held a tasting of 22 Italian wines presented by Bob McVickers representing the Boston Wine Company, Elizabeth Tamasino representing The Vineyard and Gary Burrell representing Rolivia, Inc.

We’ve attended a few store tasting before. They generally give a small pour into a thimble sized plastic glass which is impossible to evaluate color or aroma. When we arrived after the 50 minute drive through light blowing snow, we were greeted outside the door in the 30 degree weather by Bill Dwyer, the store proprietor. Much to our relief, he had a table set up outside with 50 small, what I consider to be the Italian restaurant burgundy glasses, chilled by the New England weather to a nice temperature for evaluating the white wines.

The Vineyard was named "New England's Best Wine Store" by WHDH-TV (Channel 7) and "Best of North Shore" in the wine/spirits category by Northshore Magazine.

Bill welcomed us to the shop, made us feel at home and invited us in. The wine shop was small, but very well stocked. We found many of the familiar wines from major appellations, Old and New World. There were three tables set up with flights from all regions of Italy.

For us, this wine store offers a different variety than we have seen in the area. One of our finds was a David Coffaro Escuro Californa Red Wine blend which caught our eye because of Dr. Deb’s posting. We will be reviewing this in the future.

Taking tasting notes was a little difficult due to the number of people and lack of horizontal space. But we did get the highlights of the wines we tasted. Water, cheese and bread sticks were available to keep the palate cleansed.

The wines we will be reviewing in the future will be the Falesco 2006 Sangiovese (Umbria), the Santa Cristina Sangiovese (Toscana) with its tobacco, rose, coffee, cherry and silky tannins. Poggio Alle Sughere 2003 Morellino di Scansanso (Toscana) and the Villa Fulvia 2002 Amarone della Valpolicella (Veneto) with its cherry, leather, elderberry, smoky vanilla and cedar notes.

Another wine we felt was quite delicious was La Pieve 2002 Bolero (Piemonte) which had fragrant pine, cherry-blackberry characters.

We are grateful for Mr. Dwyer for putting on this fun and educational event. If you live in the striking distance of North Andover, get onto the emailing list. On Saturday, February 9th, there will be another tasting featuring 52 wines.


Table 1: Bob McVickers, Boston Wine
1. Tramin 2006 Pinot Grigio (Trentino-Alto Adige) $14.99
2. Zenato 2006 Lugano (San Benedetto Lugana) $14.99
3. Falesco 2006 Sangiovese (Umbria) $13.99
4. Taurino 2003 Salice Salentino Reserva (Apulia) $11.99
5. Morgante Nero D'Avola 2005 (Sicily) $14.99
6. Corte Giara 2004 Ripasso (Veneto) $19.99
7. Maculan Dinderello (Veneto) $23.99

Table 2: Elizabeth Tomasino, The Vineyard
1. Val D'Oca NV Prosecco Il Blu (Veneto) $14.99
2. La Caplana Gavi (Piemonte) $12.99
3. Tormaresca 2006 Chardonnay (Puglia) $11.99
4. Santa Cristina Sangiovese (Toscana) $11.99
5. Cantina Zacagnini Montepulciano D'Abruzzo (Abruzzi) $17.99
6. Poggio Alle Sughere 2003 Morellino di Scansanso (Toscana) $16.99
7. Tormaresca 2006 "Neprica" (Puglia) $11.99
8. La Caplana Dolcetto D'Ovada (Piemonte) $12.99

Table 3: Gary Burrell, Rolivia Inc.
1. Villa Cornaro "Select" 2006 Pinot Grigio (Veneto) $13.99
2. Sensi 2006 Montepulciano D'Abruzzo (Abruzzo) $10.99
3. Sensi 2003 Chianti Classico Reserva (Chianti) $17.99
4. La Pieve 2002 Barolo (Piemonte) $37.99
5. Sensi "Testardo" 2004 Sangiovese/Cabernet (Toscana) $24.99
6. Villa Fulvia 2002 Amarone della Valpolicella (Veneto) $29.99
7. Petrone Limoncello (Please Save this your for last taste) $19.99

What a difference a year makes... Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio *2006*

We did our WBW #41 posting which included a Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio 2005. After Taster B did the posting, we found a 2006 in one of our local packies. I found the 2005 to be a bit oaky-smoky. It was not our favorite and had it not been for WBW, we most likely would not have posted it.

Part of the assignment was to find 2006 wines. We logged over 75 miles, visited 6 packies and two wine shops. This bottle was a little more expensive partly because we bought it at a packie as opposed to the discount wine place that we found the 2005.

The folks at Fork and Bottle were right, 2006 does represent a better vintage, at least by the Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio. The wine is more of an expression of the grape. I’m drinking it with a bit of Cajun Dirty Rice. We feel that the price we paid for the 2006 would have been too much for the 2005. The 2006 is smooth and buttery in the finish, the 2005 is a bit harsh.

It is worth noting that the 2005 had a composite cork and the 2006 had a screw cap.

Our Italian lesson for the day is the word Lumina. Lumina means "Illumination of the moon". Ruffino is the producer. Here’s what I got:

Pinot Grigio
Ruffino
Lumina
Venezia Giulia IGT 2006

Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $13.99

Color: Yellow
Intensity: Pale
Aromas: Lemon, melon, pineapple, a bit of green vegetable, nutmeg, slight vanilla and butterschotch
Flavors: Lemon, grapefruit, apple, pear, pineapple, stone, slate, butterscotch
Body: light
Acidity: Crisp
Sweetness: Dry
Finish: Moderate

Summary: Not as “complicated” as the 2005. Citrus forward aromas, a tiny bit green veggie, lots of melon and pineapple. Very smooth and elegant. I little nutmeg as the wine aged in the glass, then it shifted towards lemon. This wine is fun.


Dear Diary,
I hope you will forgive me for not doing a photo shoot. I know it would look more professional but it is mid week and I had to stay late at the J.O.B.

Monte Antico Toscana IGT, 2004

This Super Tuscan caught my eye because I’m trying to learn what the Super Tuscan hubbub is all about. The tag said it was a rated as a best value by one of the magazines, which I promptly forgot as soon a I got half way home. I thought it would be a good one to try and see how Taster B would like it.

What I like about this wine is that it has the nice Italian Sangiovese floral characteristics with the support of the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It has fruit, acid, structure, mouth feel and for a wine in this price point, it is a great introducer to wines of this style in a higher price.

Researching this wine, I learned that the fermentation was at approx. 77° F, followed by maceration for 15-20 days followed by Malolactic Fermentation in stainless steel vats for 7 days. The wine was aged 1 year in oak (80% in Slavonian barrels, 20% in barrique) and at least 6 months in the bottle.

The label on this wine is fairly straight forward, produced for the English market, so not much to learn here, Monte Antico meaning Ancient Mountain, Toscana IGT and the blend.

Tasting Notes:
Toscono IGT
Monte Antico
Tuscany
Vintage: 2004
Blend: 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Alcohol: 12.5%
Price: $8.99
Source: Discount Wine Store

Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Moderate
Aromas: Cherry, prune, rose, lavender, anise, vanilla, oak, smoky, tobacco, chocolate
Flavors: Raspberry, blackberry, cherry, rose, olive, mint, anise, allspice, cedar
Body: Full
Acidity: Crisp
Sweetness: Dry
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary: This was uncorked and poured, fruit forward, slightly astringent. Nice floral notes, good tannin structure. Slight olive, mint, spice, cedar like mouth feel. The Sangiovese is the dominant contributor with the Cabernet Sauvignon adding some extra structure and complexity. The dominate floral notes are pleasing. The oak is interesting, but makes me think that they are targeting the Americans. This wine goes for $11.00, I paid $8.99 at a larger discount liquor store. This is a very good value and a nice drinking wine. Yup, I’d buy another bottle!

We enjoyed this with spinach and cheese ravioli with a vegetarian red sauce.

And how did Taster B like it? She did! I think I'm about ready to bring her into to the Chianti Classico fold. Saturday she highly encouraged me to buy a $33 bottle of 2003 Barbaresco DOCG at a high-end wine shop. (She’s a keeper!)

WBW #41: Friuli-Venezia Giulia white wines

We are very excited about our first Wine Blogging Wednesday entry. So excited that we botched it a little!

Finding the Wine
I had hoped to find a 2006 Friulano Blanco as recommended by Boulder sommelier Bobby Stuckey in this month’s issue of Runner’s World (since we lived there for 8+ years), but as our hosts at Fork and Bottle indicated, it was not easy to find any Friuli-Venezia-Guilia at the recommended price point in any of our usual shops.

We started by trekking down to one of the larger liquor stores in our area and could only come up with an $8.99 bottle of Ruffino. So, by the following weekend, when after another unsuccessful shopping trip at an actual Wine Shop I found a bottle marked “Friuli” at a small package store, I leapt for it. The next day, we finally went into our neighborhood ‘Liquor Locker’ where we found at last the coveted bottle of >$18 Friuli-Venezia-Guilia.

Only after we got all three bottles together, did we realize that one didn’t fit the profile. We included it anyway!

The Flight:

Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio 2005
First impression was oak and grapefruit zest, followed by mineral--reminiscent of a Chardonnay.

Albola Pinot Grigio 2005 (the renegade!)
First impression was of brie, and fig and reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc.

Bortoluzzi Pinot Grigio 2006
First impression was that it was very similar to the Albola: More stinky fromage, and fig, as well as Clementine. This one however, was more like a Riesling than a Sauvignon Blanc with a fizzy mouth feel.

Second Impressions
After going back to the Ruffino, the nose has gone harsh, almost chemically. Taster A smells heavy toast and I smell carbonized lighter fluid. Taster A suggests it smells like over-toasted pine-nuts. Let’s find out! We burned some pine-nuts over the stove and took a whiff: I then smelled the Ruffino and now it smelled like burnt nuts with tree fruit. More pleasant than a chemical fire but, still not my item!
I thought the Bortoluzzi, with its Riesling character would pair well with baklava—it definitely has a honey aroma. Taster A said “no way.” So, we got out some honey: I think it worked. Taster A thought it made the wine taste sour.

Pairings
With the undeniable odor of cheese from the Albola and Bortoluzzi, I figured a natural choice would be brie. The Albola actually stood up to the brie better than the Bortoluzzi. That leaves us with only the theoretical pairing of Mu Shu pork for the Bortoluzzi, or anything that you would pair with a dry Riesling.
The Albola went well with brie, and also with split pea soup. The Ruffino wasn’t bad with split pea soup either (think liquid smoke).

Final Thoughts
Quality followed the price point pretty consistently with the Ruffino being the most rustically manipulated, and the Bortoluzzi the most refined. For our money, the Albola at $12.99 and with a little more backbone than the Bortoluzzi was the best choice (oops! the non-Venezia-Giulia took the prize--the Bortoluzzi was the winner in the Venezia-Giulia division :))

We were really happy with our flight of three Friuli wines which gave us a chance to get a feel for the broad range of flavor characteristics that can be achieved with one varietal: Pinot Grigio. We had the charry chardonnay-like Ruffino, the taut Sauvignon Blancesque Albola, and the eloquent Riesling-reminiscent Bortoluzzi.

The Details
Ruffino Lumina
2005 Pinot Grigio
Venezia Giulia IGT
Alcohol: 12.5%
Cost: $8.99

Albola
2005 Pinot Grigio
Friuli Aquileia DOC

Alcohol: 12%
Cost: $11.99

Bortoluzzi
2006 Pinot Grigio
Venezia Giulia IGT
Alcohol: 13.5%
Cost: $19.99

Castello Di Salle Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

We frequent a packie just 20 miles south of us. It’s a bit out of the way, but they have a good selection and have bottles priced by case prices (meaning you get the case price if you by one bottle or twelve). While Taster B was looking for a Pinot Grigio, I put my grandpappy glasses on and snuck over to the Italian section to see what could be found.

I’m interested in operating out of my comfy zone and dabbling into some wine that I never tasted. I had good luck with the Dogajolo so I thought I’d try another Super Tuscan or three. What I found wasn't a Super Tuscan but something from the east central coast.

Okay, I really don’t know Italian wine from Adam’s off ox, so I was relying on the information tags. I found three wines that had great reviews. (I like to rely on my own judgment but in this case, I was happy to get help from Robert Parker, Jr. and Wine Spectator. Taster B says that our tastes agree with Robert Parker, Jr. I know better than to argue with her.)

Let’s take a look at this label. The first thing I notice is that the label is for an American market, it’s in Italianglish. Castello Di Salle is the brand. The bottler is Sallis Castrum and I’d like to provide you with a link but I’m not having much joy. I’ve had two sites refer me to the Ciccio Zaccagnini winery website, however I’m unable to find Castello Di Salle or Sallis Castrum there.

Let’s continue. Riserva is Italian for reserve and we have a red wine. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is what we have in the bottle. Montepulciano is also a type of wine grape. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is a type of red wine made from grapes of the same name in the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy. (Okay, I got that sorted. Cool, this is my first Montepulciano d'Abruzzo!)

Denominazione di Origine Controllata, Denomination of Controlled Origin, an upper level Italian wine classification. This defines a given wine's geographical origin, grapes, and production methods but is no guarantee of quality. Now I’m informed that Riserva is a DOC term and indicates a higher valued wine. Here in the states, Reserve has become a bit trite. A comment is welcome on the subject of DOC and riserva. Can we count on this to lead to a higher quality Italian wine?

I did find a useful review of our wine at http://www.linerandelsen.com/newsletter0307.html. I was uncertain about buying a 2001 without knowing if the wine has good bones, but according to this reference, one could lay this bad boy down for 5 more years for continued development. (Yah, we're popping this one open as soon as I can find “old reliable”.)

http://www.villaitaliawines.com/cantina/Wine.asp?idWine=28 also imports this wine and has information posted.

I'm rather happy to present my tasting notes for Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. It was a real pleasure to try something new.

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva
Castello Di Salle
Variety: 100% Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo
Appellation: Montepulciano d’ Abruzzo D.O.C.
Vintage: 2001
Alcohol: 13.0%
Price: $11.99

Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Deep
Aromas: Strawberry, blackberry, plum, violet, rose, earth, oak
Flavors: Blackberry, plum, herbal, allspice, white pepper, vanilla, sandlewood.
Body: Medium
Acidity: Moderate
Sweetness: off-dry
Tannins: Silk
Finish: Moderately long.

Summary: This is a smooth drinking, subtle wine. Pleasant fruit, easy tannins. The wine is like tasting the lazy days of summer when the living is easy. Black fruits of blackberry and plum. This is not a big red cab, no it is a gentle breeze on a lazy day. Everything is balanced, nothing dominates, total harmony.

Pairings:
Drink this by itself, with leg of lamb, Moroccan, rabbit, pheasant, grilled veggies, and with Italian red sauces.

Commenting on Commenting:
We’ve been trying to get commenting to work for a few weeks and I spent Sunday trying to debug the template only to fine that the constants that control the commenting are stored out of the editable part of our skins and templates. If you have spotted an error in this posting, want to leave some friendly Italian wine advice or offer suggestions, please click on the title of this posting and the commenting should become available.

7 Jan 08
Dear Diary,

I bumped into an engineer friend in the hall today. He said that he and his new girlfriend has shared a special Bordeaux together. We struck up a conversation. He said that his favorite Italian wine was a red wine that no one has ever heard of. “Its Mono, no Monton no, that’s not righ...” I said inquisitively, “Do you mean Montepulciano d'Abruzzo?” “Yes!!! That’s it!!!” I told him where he could get it locally. How cool is that?