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Wine Book Club: Vino Italiano

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 | Books, Italy | 3 Comments

I’m going to confess something: I did not read Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch from cover to cover. In fact I can’t even say with 100% certainty that I read all the material in this book. But I looked over most of it. I enjoyed the recipes and marked a few that I’d like to try. I found it to be very helpful when drinking Italian wines (and lately they seem to be appearing on my dinner table quite often). It is great to be able to quickly look up a region when you’re drinking a bottle of wine that was produced there.

This is a very comprehensive guide that does a good job of delivering information without being terribly dry. The presentation is lovely. Each chapter has photos, maps, wine descriptions (red, white, sparkling, and sweet), production statistics, and recipes that pair well with wines of that region. There are also anecdotes that add a personal dimension to the dearth of information contained between the two covers.

Shortly after I purchased the book, I was able to put it to use while searching for a wine from Friuli-Venezia Giulia for Wine Blogging Wednesday #41. I don’t know a lot about Italian wines, so I appreciated the quick geography lesson and learned a little about what wines are produced in Friuli. A few weeks later I found myself looking up some information on wines from Veneto. And I referred to the Piedmont section when we had the bottle of Rosa Regale a couple weeks ago. It’s quickly proving its worth. Perhaps in the next few weeks I’ll choose a recipe from the book and write about how it turns out.

I would consider this book a must-have for anyone who is really into Italian wines, or anyone who just wants to learn more about Italy’s wine culture. It’s not a book that is meant to be read from cover to cover, but the information it contains is very helpful. It’s easy enough to skip around the book reading the chapters that you find most interesting or relevant to what you are drinking. Indeed, a worthy addition to your collection of food and wine books.

Thanks to David McDuff of McDuff’s Food & Wine Trail for hosting this very first installment of the Wine Blogger’s Book Club. Be sure to head over and read his take on the book as well as leave a comment pointing to your review if you’ve participated.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Thursday, February 14th, 2008 | Brachetto, Italy, Piedmont, Sparkling Wine | 3 Comments

If Valentine’s Day isn’t a perfect occasion to drink something sparkling, or pink, or both, I don’t know what is. Sure, some people grumble about it being a “Hallmark holiday” but personally I think it can be a fun day. There’s no reason to take it so seriously, is there? An excuse to enjoy a nice meal and pop open a bottle of wine with my sweetie sounds good to me!

We’re delaying our dinner out until the weekend, but instead we’ll be having a little wine and chocolate tonight. My pick? No surprise I guess, if you’ve read me for any length of time: Banfi Rosa Regale. This delicious, semi-dry Italian sparkling wine pairs with chocolate like nobody’s business. The delicious flavors of raspberry and rose petals will make you swoon. It is made from Brachetto grapes grown near Piedmont, Italy, and clocks in at a mere 7% alcohol, so this is a great choice for people who want to enjoy bubbly, but without high alcohol content.

One of my favorite wine industry professionals, Andrea Immer, tasted it on an episode of her Fine Living show, “Simply Wine.” You can view the video here.

I’ve seen the price of Rosa Regale range quite a bit, from as low as $17, to as much as $27 per bottle, so it really will depend on your location. Half-bottles of this wine are readily available, as well. I think that Banfi Rosa Regale is a sweet ending to a romantic meal. I know it’s one of my favorites.

WBW #42: Just Seven Words (Drew’s Wine)

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 | Italy, Pinot Grigio, White Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday, Wines Under $20 | 1 Comment

As Carol mentioned, we decided to take a tag-team approach for this, my first official Wine Blogging Wednesday contribution. I decided to take on one of the more popular mass-market Italian whites.

2006 Cavit Pinot Grigio
“If you like adding ice, try me”

WBW #42: Just Seven Words (Carol’s Wine)

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008 | Chianti, Italy, Red Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday, Wines Under $20 | 1 Comment

This month Andrew Barrow of Spittoon challenged us to describe an Italian wine in just seven words. After going all out for last month’s Friuli which was a challenge to find (and a bit pricey), Drew and I decided to each taste a cheap, readily available Italian wine — one red, one white — and have some fun. Based on a coin toss, I get to post mine first! Here goes:

Wine: 2006 Opici Chianti
Description: Not a bad ten dollar candle holder.

Cheers!

WBW #41 | Whites From Friuli Venezia Giulia

Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 | Friuli, Italy, White Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday | 5 Comments

Let me first admit something: I’m highly suspicious of white wines from Italy. I can’t help it; I just think of cheap Pinot Grigio. Now don’t get me wrong — there’s nothing inherently wrong with cheap Pinot Grigio. Here at Pour More, we’re not wine snobs. Heck, we drink Crane Lake Cabernet Sauvignon on a regular basis and are not ashamed to admit that. But to date I have not been impressed by white wines from Italy (the exception being that delicious, sparkling treat: Prosecco). So when I became aware of this month’s topic I considered skipping it. Jack and Joanne of Fork & Bottle chose Friuli Venezia Giulia white wines. And when I had a difficult time finding anything decent from Italy’s Friuli region, I seriously considered throwing in the towel.

But I thought that I really should plod on, especially because Italian white wines are something I generally ignore. None of the local wine shops had any Friuli wines in stock (well, they had Kris Pinot Grigio, but I really didn’t think that was what the hosts were going for, espcially since Jack and Joanne cautioned us that quality wines from this region are rarely priced under $18), so I tacked two bottles onto an order from one of our distributors. The Tocai was backordered, but my second choice arrived last week.

The 2004 Vidussi Ronchi di Ravez ($24.00) is a white blend. The grapes are not listed on the wine label, and I am assuming the blend changes from vintage to vintage because in my research I found two different descriptions of this wine. One says it is a blend of Sauvignon, Pinot Bianco, Ribolla Gialla, and Picolit. The other says it is a blend of Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istrian, Tocai Friulian, and Picolit. Either way, we can guess that that Picolit and Ribolla Gialla both found their way into my bottle. Loosely translated, “Ribolla Gialla” means “yellow” and that certainly makes sense once you see the color of this wine. It truly is yellow, making Drew think of lemons and making me think of a pilsner beer (though ever so slightly lighter). It was an unusual and very pretty shade. The nose reminded us of a California Chardonnay: buttery, with a suggestion of cream. There was an apple componant as well and as I swirled my glass eventually I coaxed out some apricot.

Don’t be fooled, though. This wine tastes nothing like a California Chard. It’s one of the most unusual white wines I’ve had. It has a wonderful, creamy mouthfeel and tastes of dried apricots (there was a concentrated sweetness) and almonds, or perhaps another very mild nut. Almond was what first came to my mind. It has a lingering, nutty finish that coats your tongue after you swallow. The wine is full-bodied and begs you to take your time while drinking it.

I served this with a very simple pasta dish: chicken breast, red peppers, broccoli, and whole wheat fusilli sautéed with herbs and olive oil, and topped with Pecorino Romano cheese. Although it paired well, I think the wine would be better suited to a creamy risotto or with an appetizer of soft cheeses.

The Ronchi di Ravez has inspired me to try other wines from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. This particular wine was so different from most whites I drink. It was truly, a refreshing change, and I thank Jack and Joanne for challenging us this month.

About Wine Blogging Wednesday: In 2004 Lenn Thompson of LENNDEVOURS was inspired to create a virtual wine tasting. Each month a different bloggers chooses the theme and ”hosts” that month’s tasting. Other bloggers seek out a wine consistant with the theme, taste the wine, and write about it. For more information, visit www.winebloggingwednesday.org 

Paris’s Prosecco Infuriates Italians

Saturday, January 12th, 2008 | Celebrities & Wine, Italy, Prosecco, Sparkling Wine, Veneto | 4 Comments

Last month I wrote about Paris Hilton’s sassy new nude, golden, parched ad for her canned Prosecco. I thought it was tasteless (the ad that is, I haven’t actually tasted the bubbly yet, though I imagine I’ll feel much the same), and according to the National Ledger, so do Italian wine growers. They feel that the image poorly portrays what Prosecco stands for, and I think I’d agree with that. What I don’t agree with, however, is this statement from Rich Prosecco’s CEO, Gunther Aloys:

Aloys says he is helping build the wine’s world renown and does not understand the fuss.  “It’s as if someone from Champagne would oppose us selling champagne cans with Kate Moss for example. It’s just marketing and Paris Hilton is the most famous girl in the world.”

First of all, I’m not sure many reputable Champagne growers would agree to their sparkling beverage being sold in cans. And even if they did, I’m not sure I can really see Kate Moss going to such extremes to advertise the beverage. But it’s not even the fact that Paris Hilton is the Prosecco’s cover girl. Reuters states that “what’s worse, in the eyes of Prosecco producers, [is that] Rich Prosecco also comes in cans and in two fruit varieties.”

Seriously. Is flavored Prosecco something we really need? I thought that wine coolers and flavored malt beverages already had that market demographic covered. At least the flavored varieties are following Italian wine laws and are not labelled “Prosecco.” The strawberry and passion fruit varieties are called Rich Passion and Rich Royal.

Next week there will be two meetings of the wine growers association of Treviso “to decide on ways to protect the Prosecco name and insure that any company selling Prosecco is actually using wine made from the Treviso area.” Rich Prosecco says it sources its wine from this area and says there is no reason to be concerned.

The canned bubbly is sold in 27 countries (though I haven’t found evidence that it’s served at Hilton hotels).