Wine Education
Saturday, January 21st, 2012
Greatness is rarely achieved without sacrifice, determination and an innovative vision of what could be. Fortunately for wine enthusiasts, Patriarch Mario Vietti, in the 19th century, embraced all three attributes and launched what today is one of finest estates in the Piedmont region.
While today, the Vietti estate is run by Mario’s great grandson, the always affable and dynamic Luca Currado, Luca well understands and identifies closely with the family heritage that laid the foundation for today’s successes. After returning to Piedmont from the US (Boston), Mario executed a business strategy that was viewed as shear lunacy! He began to trade hectares of land parcels for the best vineyard soil and terroir, travelling from village to village. So outrageous was this approach that it earned him the nickname the “crazy Americano.” Clearly, Mario was not only not crazy but on to a concept that would transform the estate into a world class winery.
In the 1950’s, Luca’s father, Alfredo, continued the radical and visionary winemaking approach, selecting and vinifying the best grapes from single vineyards or “cru” vineyards with names we recognize today such as Brunate, Rocche and Lazzarito. Today, this is a widespread practice. But innovation did not stop there. Alfredo also “rediscovered” the nearly lost white wine grape, Arneis, investing the time and money that would allow it regain its rightful place in the wine world. Today, Arneis is the most famous white wine in the Roero region.
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Tags: Barbaresco, Barbera, Barolo, Brunate, Castiglione Falletto, dolcetto, La Morra, Lazzarito, Luca Currado, Monforte, Piedmont, Rocche, Serralunga, Vietti Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Monday, January 9th, 2012
During our video tour in Tuscany last summer, we were scheduled to meet with Alessandro Landini, owner of Viticcio, and producer of some the region’s finest Chianti and blends. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit but asked Alessandro if he would be kind enough to participate in a written interview with us. Like so many of the current generation vintners, his vineyard management and winemaking techniques reflect the tradition and foundation instilled in him by his father blended with more modern innovative approaches. If you haven’t enjoyed his wines yet, I can vouch first hand for their outstanding quality………….We always have some around.
Q: Alessandro, your father was an engineer and yet undertook tremendous personal financial risks to create a winery. What was it in your father that excited him about the prospect of such a new career?
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Tags: alessandro landini, Brazil, Brunello, Chianti, China, Russia, Sangiovese, Tuscany, Viticcio Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Part I: History, Terroir and Production
With the cold weather now firmly in control (at least in the Northern Hemisphere), many of us lean toward more hearty and well structured reds that pair with stews and other meat preparations. Unfortunately that theme often doesn’t carry on through to the dessert course. Trust me when I tell you that you’re missing something quite special is you’ve not paired port wine certain desserts. But I’ll leave that for the next Wine and Food Pairing column.
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Tags: Douro, Port, Portugal, Tempranillo, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Francesca, Touriga Nacional, wine and food pairing Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
CLASSES OF SHERRY
Wine making starts with the harvest, normally in September with the winemaker predetermining which grapes will go into the production of the less alcohol rich fino Sherry and which for higher alcohol oloroso. In the former, the grapes come from older vines grown on the finest albariza soil while in the latter, the grapes are from vines planted in a heavy clay based soil. While past tradition saw the three grape varieties left to dry in the sun after harvest, that’s rare these days with only the Pedro Ximenez and Muscat (Moscatel) still following that process.
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Tags: amontillado, cream sherry, fino, Flor, Jerez, manzanilla, Moscatel, Muscat, Olosoro, Pedro Ximenez, Sherry, Solera Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Monday, November 7th, 2011
First fair disclosure here, I have never been a “go to” Sherry person. In fact, it’s only very rarely that I would sip a small glass when offered. However, that’s about to change. Why? After becoming better educated about its flexibility and diversity, especially in pairing with food, I’m just egging for the opportunity to begin my voyage. In time, I’ll have some take on pairing partners in our Wine and Food Pairing segment and somehow, and you regular Sherry drinkers are likely way ahead of me, I don’t think that there’ll be any scarcity of suggestions. But first, a little Sherry education.
Sherry is a fortified wine, made from the white grapes of Pedro Ximenez or the Palomino and mostly from the region surrounding Jerez in Andalucia, Spain. It took until the mid 1990’s for the EU (European Union) to officially have the name restricted for Sherry produced around Cadiz and Jerez de la Fronterra to the produce of the Jerez DO.
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Tags: Albariza, amontillado, cream sherry, fino, Flor, Jerez, manzanilla, Muscat, oloroso, Palomino, Pedro Ximenez, Sherry, Solera, spain Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Monday, October 17th, 2011
When I think of the great grapes from Italy, it’s a natural to turn to names such as Nebbiolo, Barbera and Sangiovese. But to the south of Rome, in the Campania and Basilicata region, is a grape that produces impressively robust reds that in the best cases are truly age worthy. The grape’s name is Aglianico.
Without competition, the Aglianico is the most complex and hearty grape of southern Italy. The grape, sometimes referred to as the “Barolo of the south,” is characterized by inky dark, even black cherry fruit, intensely huge tannins and laser sharp acidity. The wine boasts robust and bold black cherry, plum and blackberry flavors, grilled herbs, chocolate and expresso coffee, smoke, spice, tar, and leather. While the grape’s home is southern Italy, it is grown in Victoria and South Australia and in California’s Sierra Foothills and South Central Coast area of Paso Robles.
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Tags: Agliancio, Antinori, Barbera, Barolo, Basilicata, Compania, Italy, Mastroberardino, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
When I’m searching for a clean and crisp white to pair with say, lighter fish, salads, even fried foods, one of my go to wines is a Pinot Bianco (Pinot Blanc in the U.S.) from Italy. Unfortunately, it’s also a wine that just seems to get “no respect,” as Rodney used to say. That’s too bad because this is one of the most affordable, clean and crisp everyday drinking whites.
DNA testing has proven that the Pinot Blanc grape is a mutation of the Pinot Noir grape and genetically similar to Pinot Gris. The latter, however, usually tends to have a rounder and richer texture. The expression of the grape, in its purest form, is delicate, fresh and clean with a citrusy character of green apple, pear, melon, pineapple and hints of almond and flowers.
Pinot Blanc is grown in many regions around the globe. Italy (Pinot Bianco), one of my favorites, usually displays a nice round body and a racy acidity. It’s that vibrant acidity that makes food pairing so easy and the wine so cleansing. The U.S. produces Pinot Blanc, mostly in California and Oregon. Those from California are often made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, used to produce the famed French Muscadet. The result, in the couple that I’ve sampled, is a wine without much personality and far too much oak. Oregon Pinot Blanc tends to be more true to the pure personality of the grape. Canada also produces very nice Pinot Blanc, mainly in British Columbia and Vancouver Island.
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Tags: Italy, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Blanc, wine and food pairing Posted in Wine Education | 1 Comment - Submit Your Comment »
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
While I have been so impressed with the Nebbiolo based wines coming out of Piedmont for many years, that feeling was redoubled after our recent Piedmont voyage and visits with stories vintners such as Luca Currado of Vietti (www.vietti.com, Roberto Voerzio, and Paolo Scavino (www.paoloscavino.com).
First, a word or two about the word Nebbiolo. Buried within the word is the word “nebbia” which means fog. Usually during the harvest season, which historically has occurred in mid to even late October, a deep fog will settle into the vineyards. This year has witnessed one of the earliest harvests on record, some vintners already finished, all courtesy of a very warm season.
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Tags: Alba, Aldo Conterno, Barbaresco, Barbera, Barolo, Bruno Giacosa, dolcetto, Italy, Nebbiolo, paolo scavino, phylloxera, Piedmont, Pio Cesare, Roberto Voerzio, Vietti Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
Saturday, September 24th, 2011
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Tags: anthocyanin, carbo dioxide, cold maceration, dry ice, fermentation, flaviniods, Luca Currado, maceration, phenols, seeds, skins, tannins, Vietti Posted in Wine Education | Submit Your Comment »
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