Degustazione ad Otto

Tasting at Otto

A final post on the Mustillis' trip to our fair tri-state area. 

Anna Chiara and Paola met with wine fans and wine manager Dan Amatuzzi at the ever-popular Otto yesterday to explain their wines and describe the "salvation" of the Falanghina grape from extinction.

A brief recap of Leonardo Mustilli's pioneering work of isolating the variety from promiscuous field blends and campaigning for official recognition as a valid, indigenous grape can be found here (click). It's interesting to read the history of the literature on Falanghina and eye-opening to see how much time, labor and expense it takes to get such recognition. It's enough to say that Mustilli played a key role in the reorientation of Italian wine-making from international to "autochthonous" grapes. I'm not alone in thinking that this recent direction has been the salvation of Italy in avoiding the fate of, say, Australia. Whether Italy can save itself from further scandals like the current one in Chianti land -- well, that's another story of greed and fundamental stupidity.

On to more pleasant things, namely some pictures snapped at Otto yesterday afternoon.

  

Dan Amatuzzi of Otto discusses the Mustilli wines

Ed ecco i vini 

Paola and Alexis. Alexis preferred the Piedirosso, which can be slightly chilled and served like Beaujolais

Jeff and Anna Chiara. A little blurry. Blame the incompetent photographer

Our Greg with Anna Chiara. We're lucky to have Greg working for us after his illustrious career playing Lurch on "The Addams Family" 

     

You lookin' at ME?

Noel, Noel, everybody