VINTROSPECTIVE –> An Italian Wine Blog

Posted By Joel on February 20, 2009

Do you think about the place where your bottle of Italian wine came from, who made it, how it was made?  If you stop to consider these things you will begin to taste the unique cultural message which Italian wine offers.  The wine will tell you about the land where it was created.  It will invite you to drink the traditions and histories of the people that made it. That is good wine.  It’s always been like this, more or less.

Some would have you believe that understanding Italian wine is a technical undertaking.  It’s not like that, believe me.  It is impossible to understand Italian wine without an awareness of the culture, people and place that created it.   Only after we have a sense of these things does the technical stuff add value.

That its wine regions are beautifully different, distinct and many is Italy’s strength and its difficulty.  Her dazzling array of wines will both charm and bewilder you.  I suggest one approach: get to know Italian wine by your own sensory perceptions and experiences: you will create a real, personal wine culture independent of the professional wine press.

Don’t worry;  the wines have their own way of deciding the itinerary for you…  Are you coming?

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Posted By Joel on February 8, 2010

Walk. Standstill. Then go. That was the name of game making my way down Lexington Ave. and across 45th…46th…47th street traffic. Intersections can be the most interesting of places: cross-street realities of different people, shapes, deportments, attitudes, and opinions. You can learn a good deal there if you tune-in.

The largest Italian wine event outside of Italy’s borders – VINO 2010 Italian Wine Week, held recently in New York City - proved to be an intersection of a different kind with producers, importers, distributors, industry leaders, bloggers, writers, foodies and a host of others convening to make the world of Italian wine go round.

A collaboration of the Italian Trade Commission, Italy’s regional governments, Vinitaly and Buonitalia, the VINO 2010 program included wine events, discussion panels, seminars, and tastings. I attended a Meet n’ Greet the Vintners gathering, the Italian Masters Grand Tasting and the Italian Wine Exchange Grand Tasting.

The panoramic scale of the Italian Masters and Wine Exchange tastings was staggering and gave testimony to Italy’s oenological complexity. The Italian Masters Tasting, featuring Tuscany and Prosecco, was staged by the Consortia representing producers of Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore. The Italian Wine Exchange Tasting featured producers and wines from all over Italy.

Meet n’ Greet the Vintners introduced attendees to Italian wines which have never before been imported in the US. The event was an excellent lens through which one could begin to comprehend just how many “undiscovered” wine producers of Italy stand ready to bring high quality, artisan wines into the US market. By the way, don’t form an impression of the undiscovered artisan winemaker as “newbie” for lack of a current import connection: I tasted some super wines from this group.

Between sips and hand-shakes flowed good discussion among many producers and attendees, with enthusiastic producers happily chatting away about wine, local tradition, history, terroir, people, etc., connections that reverberate an important, unique cultural message central to Italian wine.

There were a few characters whose interests seemed to orbit more around announcing their opinions of which wines they considered to be “the best”…or, more alarmingly, “the worst”. But, they were easy enough to spot and even easier to avoid Oh, well…at every intersection, there is always someone for whom it’s all just concrete and a light doing red, yellow, green.

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Posted By Joel on February 1, 2010

Vaona Valpolicella Classico 2008, DOC

I imagine setting down a bottle of Vaona Valpolicella Classico in front of a mirror and, in the reflection, here’s what I’d see:

family members cultivating grapes, dressing
vines, hands, pruning knives; doing
good work, living
tradition, pursuing quality
for its own sake.

Yeah, this beautifully classic wine is that honest. Without trying to be overly complicated or up-market serious, this wine hits the target at which many Valpolicelle have aimed and missed.

The family run Vaona estate is located in the heart of Valpolicella Classico in Italy’s Veneto and consists of 10 or so hectares, eight of which are under vine. Using the natural force of gravity over machines and pumping equipment, Vaona winemaking processes reduce production violence, preserving the integrity of the juice.

Vaona Valpolicella Classico is made from Corvina 40%, Corvinone 30%, Rondinella 25%, Molinara 5%. Vineyards are at an altitude ranging from 250-300 meters with generally calcareous soil composition that includes an alluvial gravel component.

Fermentation is carried out over 8-10 days and, after some decanting, the wine is stored in steel containers (60%) and wood cask. After six or so months, the wine is then reassembled and bottled a month later.

Tasting Notes / Impressions:

A very alive, predominantly floral nose shows subtle hints of tobacco. Vivid tastes of cherry, recollections of earth and almond, ride on top of delicious acidity that just makes your mouth water for food. Lighter bodied with a nicely delineated structure.

Food Pairing Suggestions:

This wine’s versatility makes pairing it with food pretty interesting: ANTIPASTI: savory pies, cured meats and cheeses, crostini; RISOTTO, PASTA, POLENTA: dressed with meat or mushroom sauces; MEATS / POULTRY: red meats and poultry – try roasted capon with grapes or a good burger with mushrooms and melted asiago cheese.

Category: $ (Under $25), Veneto, Wine | No Comments Yet, Your Thoughts Are Welcome: Click Here To Comment »
Tags: Corvina, Corvinone, Molinara, Rondinella

Posted By Joel on January 27, 2010

Podere Sapaio Volpolo, Bolgheri Rosso DOC

The words “experimentation” and “innovation” are a lot like guns: get the wrong people involved and things can go terribly wrong.

But, at Podere Sapaio, where experimentation and innovation in seeking new expressions of Bordolese (Bordeaux) vines in Bolgheri is the ruling philosophy, we need not worry: owner Massimo Piccin is just the kind of person to make things go right. Very right.

I spent a day with Massimo a few years ago, tasting Podere Sapaio’s wines and making some professional visits. I enjoyed the wines and the time I spent with Massimo very much, and so was happy to recently find a bottle of Podere Sapaio’s Volpolo 2005 sitting on the retail shelf.

Located in Tuscany nearby Castagneto Carducci, Podere Sapaio was established in 1999. Under the good guidance of consulting enologist Carlo Ferrini, Podere Sapaio produces two wines, Volpolo and Sapaio (Bolgheri Rosso Superiore DOC), different interpretations of the Bolgheri territory.

The names Volpolo and Sapaio derive from ancient Tuscan vines called Volpola and Sapaia. The wine names, along with Podere Sapaio’s trademark crown logo on the bottle label, were especially chosen to pay tribute to the nobility of both the land and its wines.

Volpolo is made from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot. Vineyards are situated above quaternary deposits and soil includes loose sandy and well-drained calcareous components. Selected grapes are manually harvested.

Fermentation is carried out in temperature controlled steel vats. The wine is then aged in barrique for 14 months followed by an additional 6 months in bottle.

Tasting Notes / Impressions:

Deeply colored red with purple reflections. Cedar and spice, leather, smoke, and earth on the nose. A powerful, curvaceously smooth palate shows great concentration of dark fruit balanced by delicious acid and just the right flex of smooth tannins. Notes of coffee and cocoa powder. Smooth and long on a brushed-velvet finish.

Note: Decanted for ninety minutes.

Food Pairing Suggestions:

MEATS: beef, veal, lamb, or game, this wine is the perfect filet mignon partner; PASTA: richly sauced pasta of all types; RISOTTO / POLENTA: with sausages; CHEESES: young - medium aged cheeses

Category: $$ ($25-$50), Bolgheri, Tuscany, Wine | No Comments Yet, Your Thoughts Are Welcome: Click Here To Comment »
Tags: Cabernet, Merlot

Posted By Joel on January 20, 2010

Tenuta Vitanza Brunello di Montalcino Le Paturnie 2003

A small preparation will be helpful:

Before reading further, I suggest you clear your schedule for three minutes and entrust yourself to the graceful power that is dancer Polina Semionova.

Warning: This Video Contains Scenes of Graphic Beauty.

Thank you, Polina. OK, it’s time for our topic, Tenuta Vitanza’s Brunello di Montalcino Le Paturnie 2003:

“Three Words…To Start”, reads the company’s website menu bar. The three words – Charm, Love, Passion – introduce the storyline by Rosalba Vitanza, telling of the tradition and beginnings of still young Tenuta Vitanza located in the Tuscany region of Italy, an estate which has already distinguished itself as a producer of high quality wines.

Rosalba, a Ph.D. in Philosophy, and husband Guido Andretta, himself a successful Engineer and Management Consultant, together own Tenuta Vitanza. Rosalba focuses her attention upon winemaking while Guido applies his energy as Director of Sales.

Tenuta Vitanza’s Brunello di Montalcino Le Paturnie 2003 expresses a graceful power - like the elegant strength of a ballerina – without overdone muscularity, an idea I think is now made clear enough, thank you Polina

The estate’s Brunello Le Paturnie is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. Vines average ten years in age. Consistent with the style of Vitanza’s Le Paturnie line, winemaking is traditional (read: no barrique) with wood time spent in Slavonian oak cask for 24 months. Soil composition is skeletal / fossil rich tufaceous clay.

Tasting Notes / Impressions:

Sensual perfume of red and black cherries, underbrush, cocoa, and alluringly understated notes of wood. Bright sensations of vibrant red cherry give good counterpoint to a darker-toned cherry flavor that seems to set the flavor mood. Harmonious, overall balance hangs in till the end with a nicely tannic, refined finish.

NOTE: Decanted for 1 hour after which the wine opened up beautifully.

Food Pairing Suggestions:

MEATS: pork, beef / veal, rabbit, duck, guinea hen, or lamb; rosemary scented pork loin served with roasted potatoes is superb. PASTA / POLENTA: wide pasta noodles like pappardelle or polenta, served with any of the meats mentioned above, with a sauce made from the meat cookings; consider rabbit wrapped in prosciutto - tremendous. CHEESES: young – medium aged cheeses.
$$

Category: $$ ($25-$50), Tuscany, Wine | No Comments Yet, Your Thoughts Are Welcome: Click Here To Comment »
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