Where have the weeks gone??
For the last several weeks, actually, the whole month(!!!), my life was all about the holidays. It was all about shopping and prepping for Christmas.
You see, Giuseppe was once divorced and holidays are difficult for divorced parents, even if the children are grown. So this year, we decided to host everyone in his family, extended and all. Come one, come all! It made him very happy to have everyone over in our little apartment.
That meant (for me at least) an increase in shopping on all levels -- food and presents. I cooked and baked like my life depended on it. Thankfully, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were wonderfully celebrated. Tonight, New Year's Eve, is all about celebrating. Just the two of us. No friends, no entertaining. I'm thrilled that I don't have to cook. I just don't think I have much left in me! It's time to drink up and celebrate another great year.
New Year's Resolutions
I have been pondering what I could do to improve myself in the New Year. Usually I have a few resolutions and make a list so I can remind myself come Valentine's Day of the commitment I made in the name of self-improvement. Exercise? Blah! Eat less??? Why??? My brain must still be in holiday OD, because I can't think of anything right now. I COULD promise to travel more, but that's already self-fulfilling. Giuseppe and I have several trips on docket. I think a good resolution is to try a new wine every week. Something I would normally not have and write about it. Yes! Now we're onto something. What will YOU resolve to do better and more or less of in 2013???
I am scheduled to teach a class on the wines of Molise at the end of January. Molise is one of the 20 political regions in Italy. I was asked by a former colleague of mine to conduct a wine tasting of this region. Why Molise you ask? Because the group is an Italian-American cultural group dedicated to Molise. Molise was up until 1963 a part of Abruzzo. It has slowly achieved it own independence and has 3 designated quality regions. So far, life is winding down with the holidays and picking-up with research. It's work of the best kind. In the next several weeks, I'll be pounding the pavement looking for Molise wines that are imported and available for tasting. I'll report back on my findings.
Until then, have a VERY Happy New Year celebration!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 1, 2012
iPic
We paid for a premium plus seat which included a server to serve dinner at your seat! Our server welcomed us and explained there was a server button -- similar to an airline flight attendant call button at our seat. He also took our credit card to keep an open tab for the evening. Before the movie ends, he would leave us with the final bill.  |
| Tanzy Express |
Links:
http://www.ipictheaters.com
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thanksgiving
Today is Thanksgiving and I am counting my many blessings.
I am grateful for all that I have. I'm thankful that I live in this country in as crazy as the direction as it is going. After all, where else can a person who comes from nothing become someone great other than in the United States?? I've visited many countries and the answer is, nowhere else.
This Thanksgiving so many people are suffering because of the superstorm that hit the New York region. They have lost everything that was near and dear to them, including their homes. It's a stressful thing when things that you hold dear are taken away, but one must remember, they are just things and can be easily replaced. One thing I have learned is that one's health is irreplaceable. So is one's family.
So today, I'm splitting the cooking duties with my mom. I'm cooking the meats and she's making the sides. The desserts are split up amongst the rest of the family. Sounds fair.
Then for dessert, I'm serving a dessert wine called Bigaro. It's a blend of moscato and brachetto from the Piedmonte region in Italy. The taste? Like strawberry soda quite frankly. The alcohol content is 5%. My folks are sweet wine drinkers. This goes back to their Ruinite days. Inasmuch as I've tried to convert them, they will be forever sweet people. Sweet drink for sweet folks! The foam will cleanse our palates and a great way to end the meal.
Enjoy your families today and remember what's really important.
Links:
http://www.guigal.com/en/
http://www.amazon.com/Elio-Perrone-Bigaro-2011-750ML/dp/B005J0P2EA
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Storms
It's a little hard to write about fabulous foods and wines when people in New York and New Jersey have been devastated by this superstorm called Sandy. Guiseppe and I are fine. One of my sisters just got back power yesterday -- and she has four children. Now it's snowing outside as we are hit with a nor'easter! How much more can some of these people endure?
As you have probably seen on television, homes and lives were decimated by the hurricane. Homes were flooded and a lifetime of memories must be thrown away to avoid the mold that will surely come next. The cold weather has set in and it's a raw kind of cold -- the cold that hits your bones. I can only imagine what one feels like in a cold house without heat or hot water.
I saw on television that a wine shop in Brooklyn had to throw away hundreds and thousands of dollars of inventory. Why? Because the unopened bottles were found in the floating brown water that flooded the wine shop. The wine was unsaleable. While the cork closure and foil were probably fine, the owners felt it was too much of a risk to sell a questionable product. Those wines had to be destroyed. Tant pis -- what a pity as it is said in French, but completely understandable. There is a small amount of exchange in a cork closure so even a small amount of penetration would be undetectable until a bottle is opened.
We've been helping in whatever way we can -- donating items, going to fundraisers. I'm glad the elections are over. We can finally focus on devoting our time and efforts to helping our friends and fellow man. Whatever we believe in, we're all human with the same needs. Somehow, it seems we've forgotten that.
What can you do? Donate to the Red Cross.
Link:
www.redcross.org
As you have probably seen on television, homes and lives were decimated by the hurricane. Homes were flooded and a lifetime of memories must be thrown away to avoid the mold that will surely come next. The cold weather has set in and it's a raw kind of cold -- the cold that hits your bones. I can only imagine what one feels like in a cold house without heat or hot water.
I saw on television that a wine shop in Brooklyn had to throw away hundreds and thousands of dollars of inventory. Why? Because the unopened bottles were found in the floating brown water that flooded the wine shop. The wine was unsaleable. While the cork closure and foil were probably fine, the owners felt it was too much of a risk to sell a questionable product. Those wines had to be destroyed. Tant pis -- what a pity as it is said in French, but completely understandable. There is a small amount of exchange in a cork closure so even a small amount of penetration would be undetectable until a bottle is opened.
We've been helping in whatever way we can -- donating items, going to fundraisers. I'm glad the elections are over. We can finally focus on devoting our time and efforts to helping our friends and fellow man. Whatever we believe in, we're all human with the same needs. Somehow, it seems we've forgotten that.
What can you do? Donate to the Red Cross.
Link:
www.redcross.org
Monday, October 22, 2012
Wine Auctions
I have become interested in the wine auction market as a result of reading articles in Wine Spectator and Fine Wine Magazine. I find the whole thing fascinating. As a collector myself, I think that even something like wine is considered and traded as a commodity like stocks and is subject to market forces like everything else.
Over the weekend I attended the Acker Merrall & Condit New York auction at Marea Restaurant. They titled it "Grape Expectations". I wanted to see it live.
What was for sale you ask??? A lot of blue chip wines -- Chateau Lafite, Latour, Domaine Romanee Conti. There were also a lot of California Cult Cabernets, Chateauneuf de Pape along with vintage ports and everything in between. A lot of the vintages for this particular auction was not terribly old, rather "drinkable" wines according to the AMC promotional materials. About 700 lots in total, I had no idea that this was going to a long day.
The auctioneers switched off about every 45 minutes or so. There were 2 AMC people sitting near the auctioneer with laptops. I thought they were manning the screen behind the auctioneer, which one was, but also to manage the internet bidders, which there seemed to be plenty. About 2 tables from the laptop people were 2 other AMC employees, with cell phones attached to their ears. I felt like I was living a movie during a live auction. Yes, they were on the phone with phone bidders bidding up the lots the bidder coveted. Every so often, an AMC phone liason would lift his hand and you see his lips mouthing something into the phone, then the hand would lift up again bidding on behalf of the phone bidder until the phone bidder won. It was exciting to watch this alone.
The live bidders dripped in as the auction proceeded. Seemed like the first 150-200 lots were mostly awarded to internet bids. The live bidders, like myself, sat at their respective assigned tables, following along in the auction book, calculating with calculators or on smart phones the bottle price per lot. Clearly, most had studied what to buy and every so often, a paddle would wave in the air with a bid.
As the bidding went along, pourers went around tables asking if we would like a taste of a wine that was being featured. One was a Mersault (white Burgundy) from the early 1990s in large format. The other was a 1986 Chateau Figeac from Bordeaux. Some bidders even brought their own wines. Who knew??? A 3-course lunch was offered that day for $95, a bargain at this ultra-luxe Relais & Chateaux Italian seafood restaurant. Guiseppe and I love eating here, but I didn't plan on staying so I opted out of the lunch. A $100 credit for the lunch was offered if one purchased wine per $1,000.
My initial impression was that competition for this secondary market, if you will, was not as strong as I had always imagined to be. I mean, Guiseppe and I have bought collectable wines over the years and would think that one day, it would be worth x. But if today was my one and only time to form an impression, this would be false. In fact, some wines were auctioned off for less than the retail price. But also, some were sold for more -- the ones that are difficult to procure from a retail standpoint, like Screaming Eagle, DRC and Petrus.
Many of the articles I have read in wine publications have suggested that wine auction sales are a reflection of the current economic climate. In better times, that is, 2008 and before, the hammer prices were very strong. At the auction, I felt that the auctioneer was trying to coax the people in the room to bid.
I have read that the auction market in Asia is where the action's at. The newly minted millionaires will pay anything to obtain collectable wines. Maybe I need to attend an Asian auction next time for comparison of this weekend's experience.
Over the weekend I attended the Acker Merrall & Condit New York auction at Marea Restaurant. They titled it "Grape Expectations". I wanted to see it live.
What was for sale you ask??? A lot of blue chip wines -- Chateau Lafite, Latour, Domaine Romanee Conti. There were also a lot of California Cult Cabernets, Chateauneuf de Pape along with vintage ports and everything in between. A lot of the vintages for this particular auction was not terribly old, rather "drinkable" wines according to the AMC promotional materials. About 700 lots in total, I had no idea that this was going to a long day.
The auctioneers switched off about every 45 minutes or so. There were 2 AMC people sitting near the auctioneer with laptops. I thought they were manning the screen behind the auctioneer, which one was, but also to manage the internet bidders, which there seemed to be plenty. About 2 tables from the laptop people were 2 other AMC employees, with cell phones attached to their ears. I felt like I was living a movie during a live auction. Yes, they were on the phone with phone bidders bidding up the lots the bidder coveted. Every so often, an AMC phone liason would lift his hand and you see his lips mouthing something into the phone, then the hand would lift up again bidding on behalf of the phone bidder until the phone bidder won. It was exciting to watch this alone.
The live bidders dripped in as the auction proceeded. Seemed like the first 150-200 lots were mostly awarded to internet bids. The live bidders, like myself, sat at their respective assigned tables, following along in the auction book, calculating with calculators or on smart phones the bottle price per lot. Clearly, most had studied what to buy and every so often, a paddle would wave in the air with a bid.
As the bidding went along, pourers went around tables asking if we would like a taste of a wine that was being featured. One was a Mersault (white Burgundy) from the early 1990s in large format. The other was a 1986 Chateau Figeac from Bordeaux. Some bidders even brought their own wines. Who knew??? A 3-course lunch was offered that day for $95, a bargain at this ultra-luxe Relais & Chateaux Italian seafood restaurant. Guiseppe and I love eating here, but I didn't plan on staying so I opted out of the lunch. A $100 credit for the lunch was offered if one purchased wine per $1,000.
My initial impression was that competition for this secondary market, if you will, was not as strong as I had always imagined to be. I mean, Guiseppe and I have bought collectable wines over the years and would think that one day, it would be worth x. But if today was my one and only time to form an impression, this would be false. In fact, some wines were auctioned off for less than the retail price. But also, some were sold for more -- the ones that are difficult to procure from a retail standpoint, like Screaming Eagle, DRC and Petrus.
Many of the articles I have read in wine publications have suggested that wine auction sales are a reflection of the current economic climate. In better times, that is, 2008 and before, the hammer prices were very strong. At the auction, I felt that the auctioneer was trying to coax the people in the room to bid.
I have read that the auction market in Asia is where the action's at. The newly minted millionaires will pay anything to obtain collectable wines. Maybe I need to attend an Asian auction next time for comparison of this weekend's experience.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Dressler & Wines of the Jura
I recently met up with my wine school friends for dinner in Brooklyn at Dressler in Williamsburg. It's a Michelin-starred restaurant that up until recently had Polo Dobkin as their executive chef. I used to work with his mom (awwwwwweeee) and remember when he first opened the restaurant. He just left after 7 years on the job. I cannot believe it's taken me this long to finally eat there.
Frank Bruni gave the restaurant two stars in The New York Times in 2006. Despite Polo leaving, his presence on the plate was still felt and dinner was delicious and fun.
It was swank inside with a moderately low noise level. The service was very attentive, though not burdening and overenthusiastic.
My friend, Billy, order a wine from the Jura. What and where is Jura? It's a wine region in eastern France between Burgundy and Switzerland. They grow local varieties, primarily Savignin (which is usually blended with chardonnay), dark skinned and perfumey Ploussard. This red is very rarely deep colored, rather soft and smooth. Then there is an even rarer grape, called Trousseau. It is a deeper red found in the north in Arbois and usually sold in the varietal form. Sparkling is also produced here, called Cremant de Jura. Burgundian grapes -- chardonnay and pinot noir can be found in the Jura. The Champ Divin is made from the pinot noir grape. The red wines here are a dark rose color, never the deep red color that we're accustomed to seeing in a bottle.
For dinner I ordered the crispy baby artichokes and the scallops with celery root puree. Lisa had the pork loin and Billy had the duck breast. Despite the varied menu choices, we all agreed that the Jura wine was an agreeable and pleasant choice that accompanied our dishes well. It was medium bodied with fruity flavors of red cherries and red plums with some earthiness to it. There was structure to the wine even though the tannins were light. It was an agreeable choice. Did it rock my world? No, the food did and the wine went along for the ride.
Wine is meant to be drunk with food after all. A lot of wines these days are made more for the show of a reviewer who will grant points to the label. It's a make or break situation that can mean profit or doom to a wine. It takes guts to make a wine meant for both, like this one.
Links:
www.champdivin.com
www.dresslernyc.com
 |
| Dressler |
It was swank inside with a moderately low noise level. The service was very attentive, though not burdening and overenthusiastic.
My friend, Billy, order a wine from the Jura. What and where is Jura? It's a wine region in eastern France between Burgundy and Switzerland. They grow local varieties, primarily Savignin (which is usually blended with chardonnay), dark skinned and perfumey Ploussard. This red is very rarely deep colored, rather soft and smooth. Then there is an even rarer grape, called Trousseau. It is a deeper red found in the north in Arbois and usually sold in the varietal form. Sparkling is also produced here, called Cremant de Jura. Burgundian grapes -- chardonnay and pinot noir can be found in the Jura. The Champ Divin is made from the pinot noir grape. The red wines here are a dark rose color, never the deep red color that we're accustomed to seeing in a bottle.
 |
| Champ Divin Pinot Noir |
Wine is meant to be drunk with food after all. A lot of wines these days are made more for the show of a reviewer who will grant points to the label. It's a make or break situation that can mean profit or doom to a wine. It takes guts to make a wine meant for both, like this one.
Links:
www.champdivin.com
www.dresslernyc.com
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Franciacorta
Last Friday, I attended a symposium about Franciacorta, the DOCG for sparkling wines made in the traditional method in Italy.
 |
| Rose Hill Historic House |
First, a little history about the region. Franciacorta is in the northern region of Lombardy, about 1 hour east of Milan. It's a mild climate tempered by Lake Iseo and the Alps. Franciacorta is a wealthy wine region, home to the Riva boat manufacturer and the Beretta family (of gun fame) who have a home on the Lake. Most people who have homes in the region live in Milan.
Franciacorta is the first wine region in Italy to receive the DOCG quality designation in the traditional method. That's all they make -- sparkling wine. The official grapes are chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot bianco (up to 50%), unlike in Champagne which uses pinot meunier as the third allowable grape. Mostly though, the wines are chardonnay driven.
It sells over 10.5 million bottles per year. It's the official wine for Milan Fashion Week, La Scala opera house and the Italian soccer teams. Needless to say, they sell everything they make, which is quite an accomplishment.
We tasted 6 wines in all. One wine called Ronco Callino Satén, meaning satin in Italian, was made with less carbonation and less acidity than other sparkling wines. It was softer in the mouth, had a huge foam with smaller beads. It was made as a primer for those who are not into sparkling.
In all, they were all pretty delicious. Guiseppe said he would LOVE to visit the region next so let's get packing!
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Hill_(Manhattan)
www.balzac.com
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Emeritus Pinot Noir
The other night, Guiseppe and I attended a dinner in New York City hosted by Brice Cutrer Jones, the proprietor of Emeritus Vineyards, of Sonoma California. Guiseppe is a big fan of pinot noir. In fact, pinot noir is his red grape of choice. We have been buying Emeritus wines for several years now and when Brice Jones emailed me the other day to invite us to a wine tasting dinner at the Harvard Club featuring his wines, we graciously accepted.
Brice Cutrer Jones started the Emeritus label in 1999 after selling his stake in Sonoma=Cutrer to Brown-Forman Corporation, the huge conglomerate best known for Jack Daniels whiskey. Sonoma=Cutrer is a big producer of Sonoma chardonnays and pinot noirs in the mid price range. Brice started Sonoma=Cutrer back in 1973.
Mr. Jones was a very nice man. In a room full of friends, guests and fellow Harvard Business School alum, Brice talked about how he came to attend Harvard Business School after the Vietnam War, his business career before starting the Sonoma=Cutrer wine label, selling it and creating a new wine brand called Emeritus. Additionally, Brice talked about grape growing land in California and why the Emeritus sites were so well suited for the pinot noir grape.
Dinner started with a clam risotto paired with the Emeritus Ruby Ruby rose. The rose had a strawberry hue and tasted light and pleasant. It paired well with the clam risotto. We've always had clam sauce with pasta, but never with risotto. We were pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was. It was finished with an extra virgin lemon oil. Lemon oil? The lemon finish gave the risotto the perfect lightness, just like a rose.
Next, we tasted the Emeritus pinot noir Hallberg Ranch with a sea bass. The Hallberg pinot was our very first contact we had with the label at the New York Athletic Club years ago. It was elegant, rich for a pinot noir but had all the hallmarks of a pinot -- minerality, earth, cherries, medium tannins and elegance. It was the reason I contacted the winery in the first place.
This was followed by duck breast paired with the Emeritus William Wesley pinot noir. The William Wesley a little fuller than the Hallberg pinot. It was also smoother. It seemed more ready to drink than the Hallberg, which I felt had a slight burn in the back palate. I thought the William Wesley was a nice pairing to the heft of duck. As a surprise, Brice poured out the Emeritus Don's Block pinot. This wine was created as an homage to the winemaker, Don Blackburn, who died of cancer by the 2008 vintage. The new winemaker and the man that worked under Mr. Blackburn, Nicolas Cantacuzene, made this special wine in Don's honor. It was our first time tasting it and Guiseppe and I felt it was different from the other two. To us, it tasted more European, if there is such a thing. It was the most elegant of all three wines. And of course, it was also the most expensive. But one sip of Don's Block, sold us on it and we bought some 3-packs.
THANK YOU Brice for the generous invitation and we'll be sure to come out to California for a visit!
Links:
www.emeritusvineyards.com
Brice Cutrer Jones started the Emeritus label in 1999 after selling his stake in Sonoma=Cutrer to Brown-Forman Corporation, the huge conglomerate best known for Jack Daniels whiskey. Sonoma=Cutrer is a big producer of Sonoma chardonnays and pinot noirs in the mid price range. Brice started Sonoma=Cutrer back in 1973.
Mr. Jones was a very nice man. In a room full of friends, guests and fellow Harvard Business School alum, Brice talked about how he came to attend Harvard Business School after the Vietnam War, his business career before starting the Sonoma=Cutrer wine label, selling it and creating a new wine brand called Emeritus. Additionally, Brice talked about grape growing land in California and why the Emeritus sites were so well suited for the pinot noir grape.
 |
| Brice Jones |
 |
| sea bass |
This was followed by duck breast paired with the Emeritus William Wesley pinot noir. The William Wesley a little fuller than the Hallberg pinot. It was also smoother. It seemed more ready to drink than the Hallberg, which I felt had a slight burn in the back palate. I thought the William Wesley was a nice pairing to the heft of duck. As a surprise, Brice poured out the Emeritus Don's Block pinot. This wine was created as an homage to the winemaker, Don Blackburn, who died of cancer by the 2008 vintage. The new winemaker and the man that worked under Mr. Blackburn, Nicolas Cantacuzene, made this special wine in Don's honor. It was our first time tasting it and Guiseppe and I felt it was different from the other two. To us, it tasted more European, if there is such a thing. It was the most elegant of all three wines. And of course, it was also the most expensive. But one sip of Don's Block, sold us on it and we bought some 3-packs.
THANK YOU Brice for the generous invitation and we'll be sure to come out to California for a visit!
Links:
www.emeritusvineyards.com
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Fashion's Night Out
Now that Labor Day is behind us, we look forward to fall fashion and fall foods.
Giuseppe and I enjoyed our time at the beach, but we're also looking forward to not entertaining so much.
The other night to kick off Fashion Week, we went to Fashion's Night Out. FNO was an idea conceived by Vogue Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, as a single night for stores in New York to stay open and stimulate the economy after the 2008 economic implosion. It is now one of the most important nights to launch next year's collection and has spread to just about every major city around the globe. It's a night where designers and celebrities all make personal appearances at Bergdorf's, Saks, Barney's and boutiques up the Avenue stay open well into the evening. It's the night where everyone gets dressed up -- pulling out that outrageous outfit that would look only too normal on a night like FNO. Think Carnival in Rio. The streets were mobbed. It was so alive.
Giuseppe and I spent the evening at Bar Italia on Madison Avenue. Nello's down the street was smart enough to have rental chairs and tables nearby to accommodate the influx of diners who wished to gawk from a table. Thankfully, a sidewalk table fortuitously opened up when we arrived. Who was that walking by? Oscar de la Renta? He just left his eponymous boutique where he sang with a live mariachi band. There was Dennis Basso in his fur boutique greeting his customers with bubbly and the new fall furs.
We sat there watching the world go by sipping Bellinis and martinis over grilled salmon and branzino. It was marvelous.
We're back!
Links:
www.fashionsnightout.com
www.baritalianyc.com
Giuseppe and I enjoyed our time at the beach, but we're also looking forward to not entertaining so much.
The other night to kick off Fashion Week, we went to Fashion's Night Out. FNO was an idea conceived by Vogue Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, as a single night for stores in New York to stay open and stimulate the economy after the 2008 economic implosion. It is now one of the most important nights to launch next year's collection and has spread to just about every major city around the globe. It's a night where designers and celebrities all make personal appearances at Bergdorf's, Saks, Barney's and boutiques up the Avenue stay open well into the evening. It's the night where everyone gets dressed up -- pulling out that outrageous outfit that would look only too normal on a night like FNO. Think Carnival in Rio. The streets were mobbed. It was so alive.
Giuseppe and I spent the evening at Bar Italia on Madison Avenue. Nello's down the street was smart enough to have rental chairs and tables nearby to accommodate the influx of diners who wished to gawk from a table. Thankfully, a sidewalk table fortuitously opened up when we arrived. Who was that walking by? Oscar de la Renta? He just left his eponymous boutique where he sang with a live mariachi band. There was Dennis Basso in his fur boutique greeting his customers with bubbly and the new fall furs.
We sat there watching the world go by sipping Bellinis and martinis over grilled salmon and branzino. It was marvelous.
We're back!
Links:
www.fashionsnightout.com
www.baritalianyc.com
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Sassoalloro
Sassoalloro 2006
My travels recently took me and Guiseppe to Lake
Como in Italy. While it was not my first
trip to Italy, it was my first time to the Lake. We stayed at Villa d’Este, a storied
lakeshore luxury hotel built by a Cardinal in the 16th century. It is a place where movie stars, singers (we
just missed Shakira by a couple of days) and nobility have vacationed
throughout the centuries. One night for
dinner, we dined at the Gato Nero Ristorante, Black Cat Restaurant, perched at the very top of the town of
Cernobbio. From our table was this
view.
The wine list was diverse, considering Italy’s winemaking
history, with American wines, Bordeaux, even wines from as far as Chile. I figured we were in Italy and when in Italy,
drink Italian! One particular wine
caught my eye – Sassoalloro from the Tuscan region of Montalcino. I ordered the wine and was immediately
excited about it. Guiseppe could
tell. [A note: Guiseppe always gives me the wine list and lets
me pick the wine given my wine credentials (I love wine enough that I went to
school and earned a degree in wines and spirits). He can hold his own with a wine list, but out
of respect for my knowledge, Guiseppe lets me pick what I want. He doesn’t complain about my picks, well,
yes, he does sometimes, but only if it’s something not to his liking.] The waiter brings the bottle to show us and
opens it. I let Guiseppe do the initial
tasting. He took a sip and from the
moment it touched his lips, he could tell it was great. The whole meal, Guiseppe couldn’t stop raving how
much he liked the wine. The wine had
long, persistent flavors of black cherries, violets, tobacco, cedar and
eucalyptus. The tannins were soft and
plush. It was youthful and fruit forward
though there were some secondary characteristics that indicated to me that the
wine had some age to it. The acidity was
medium to high. It was light enough for
fish and heavy enough for meat. It
tasted so beautifully with my meal of lake fish with lemon butter sauce and Guiseppe’s grilled pork medallion entrée. It
was sublime.
Sassoalloro is 100% Sangiovese, a
grape variety that is used for the wines of Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a majority of the Supertuscans and most of
central Italy. Further, there are
various clones of Sangiovese out there. Sassoaloro
uses Sangiovese Grosso, using their family-owned clone, BBS11, Brunello Biondi
Santi 11. How many people can say they
have a family clone? I had a family pet
named Punky, but no clones.
Sangiovese is a high acid
grape. If the production yield is not
controlled then the acidity has the potential to be a runaway train and taste a
bit harsh. But if the grape is grown at
a high altitude and pruned, it can be heavenly.
In the best vintages, the resultant wine can be rich, alcoholic and
long-lived. In cool years, there can be
problems with high acidity and hard tannins.
Sassoalloro spent 14 months in
non-toasted barriques (the 225 liter size, typical of what you would think of
when someone says French barrel). Unlike
the rustic straw-covered flask chiantis, the resultant wine was more full
bodied like a Vino Nobile de Montepulciano and richer like a Brunello. The profile is a color of deep purple/garnet
color, medium to high acidity, aromas of blackberries, black plums and
herbs. The flavors of cloves, dried
cherries, spices and chocolate just continued to linger in my mouth for so
long.
Jacapo Biondi Santi is the scion of
Franco Biondi Santi, of Tuscan fame. The
Biondi Santi family has been making high quality notable wines since the
1800s. Jacapo has been making wines at
the family estate since 1991. In 1996 he
founded his own estate in Maremma at the Castello di Montepo. Jacapo commissioned a group of experts to
perform microclimatic and soil studies of the territory at the estate. This study was recognized as the most complete
and advanced study executed to-date. In addition
to Sassoaloro, Jacapo also produces single variety and blended international
wines aged in barriques.
Wine: Sassoalloro Toscana IGT (2006)
Producer: Jacapo
Biondi Santi
Producer website: www.biondisantimontepo.com
Imported by: Slocum
& Sons
Suggested U.S. retail: $30-35
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