Muddy Boots

Our Trade Tasting: A Week from Today at Park Avenue Autumn

Just a week from today Domenico Selections will be holding its fall trade tasting at that tasty venue, Park Avenue Autumn. Sharing in the festivities will be our friends from Ice Bucket selections. 

A good number of producers will be there from both the US and Italy, not least our excellent amico Luca Fedrigo of L'Arco. 

Save the date. Better yet, RSVP to the email address or phone number shown in the postcard image here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, folks, it's open to the wine trade only. There will be scary but impeccably dressed bouncers on hand to discourage tourists. I mean, consider the Zip Code. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting the Year Off Right

Just a quick note to alert you to a terrific blog post by Cincinnati-area retailer,our amico Kevin Keith of DEPS Fine Wines in Covington, KY. 

Entitled "Starting the Year Off Right", the piece does a nice job of describing the qualities of several of Domenico Selections' newer wine offerings:

* Casale Pozzuolo's Rosso della Porticcia, an unoaked, 100% organic Sangiovese in purezza from southern Tuscany (Montecucco zone).

* Three unoaked, organic white from Aquila del Torre in Friuli - a Sauvignon Blanc, a Friulano and, yes, a Riesling. Kevin awards all of these "Outstanding," one with a + accompanying it. You have to go to the post to find out which one it is.

* The much-loved Freisa from Cascina Gilli, "Vigna del Forno" - unoaked, gorgeous fruit, sapid. Which is the opposite of insipid, just in case you didn't know.

Check out Kevin's blog Under the Grape Tree for a trove of wine reviews and aperçus and cranky opinions that would do Ron Paul proud. 

 

 

"This baby's coming home with me!"

Saturday night saw another jam-packed tasting of some Domenico Selections wines at Alphabet City Wine Co. @evwgnyc and @chapsholic were there, of course. They work there.

Another social media friend showed up, @raelinn_wine. She took this picture of one of the wines on pour.

Cascina Gilli's frizzante dessert wine, a Malvasia Schierano -- 5.5% alcohol

Raelinn posted the picture on Facebook with the caption quoted in the title of this post. Somehow we get the feeling she drank up her bottle as soon as she got home way out on the North Fork of Long Island.

While I was in temple the other night...

Yes, Strappo, whose allergy to religious services is well known, went to temple last Saturday and had a wonderful time, too.

The venue was B'nai Jeshurun, a huge Reformed establishment in that leafiest of suburbs, Short Hills, NJ. The occasion was a fund-raiser organized by Wine Library, a little wine retailer you may have heard of. 

Pool at B'nai Jeshurun. Leafy, leafier, leafiest

Eight different importers/distributors were on hand, pouring eight wines apiece (8x8 - kabbalistic meaning?).

Domenico Selections provided four whites and four reds:

1. The new La Prebenda "Vero" Pinot Grigio 2010 -- "vero" (real) because it contains 100% PG juice, with none of your lousy Trebbiano and odds and ends thrown in. 

2. Mustilli Falanghina 2008 -- it rang one old girl's chimes because she kept returning to the table to sip and, finally, wrote down all the information on the label so's she could order it at Wine Library. (The 2008 is actually gone now. The 09, in stock, is really superior.)

3. Terra di Vento Fiano 2009 -- called, confusingly enough, "Faiano" (a nearby place name). I think this was the standout white at the DS table. 

4. I Stefanini Monte de Toni 2008 -- the cru is aging gracefully, as all the Tessaris' wines do. Deeper, more complex, even longer than before on the finish.

5. Cascina Gilli Freisa "Vigna del Forno" 2008 -- luscious with great fruit and a refreshing quality such as it's never had before. The finish was loooong.

6. Costantini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2007 -- we called it "the world's best pizza wine." That is a compliment.

7. Terra di Vento Aglianico "Petrale" 2007 -- a lovely, rather soft incarnation of the South's Noble Red Grape. 

8. Musto Carmelitano Aglianico del Vulture "Pian del Moro" 2008 -- still a bouncing babe of a wine, its time in old oak casks tamed some of the wilder & woolier edges of the ferocious tannins prominent in this zone. Truly an old vines wine (up to about 90 years old. The name, which means "Blackberry Patch", came through on the nose and palate. To be drunk with great hunks of grilled red meat. 

All eight of the wines had their adherents, but in retrospect the two standout selections of the evening were the Freisa from Cascina Gilli and the Pian del Moro from Musto Carmelitano.

At the end of the evening, people were begging for the leftovers. Of course it is strictly forbidden to give them away. 

 

Wine's Best Friend: New York Pizza (Thursday evening)

It’s the first of New York Wine Salon’s Spring 2011 events: a pizza bash in Greenwich Village.

New York Wine Salon founder, W. R. Tish (pictured), and his crew have set up this blind pizza tasting to discover what goes best with the city's best tomato pies. White or red?

For $45 you'll be able to try an array of fine pizzas and wines from many lands. Not only that, but you'll be able to put in your two cents' worth when a panel of moronic judges, Strappo included, make pronouncements and declare pairing faves.

Note that one of the wines on offer will be Domenico Selections' very own Fiano from Terra di Vento. The NY Salon folks picked it without our knowledge. Honest.

For more details about the event, looky here: Click!

See you there, right?

Location : Alger House, 45 Downing Street, NYC 10014 (Greenwich Village) Time : 7 pm, April 28 Contact : 914-837-4853; tish@nywinesalon

 

Test marketing at Alphabet City Wine Co.

Strappo snuck contraband into the Avenue C shop last night.

He was supposed to pour two wines from the Domenico Selections portfolio that the East Village Wine Geek had just reordered. 

One was the delicious everyday wine from I Stefanini, called "Il Selese."

The other was the awesomely good Aglianico del Vulture "Serra del Prete" from Betty Musto Carmelitano. Hardcore Aglianico from arguably its best location in Italy. 

He snuck in a couple of others to test-market on teh Geek's unsuspecting customers.

One was the new "Vero" Pinot Grigio from a new producer, La Prebenda. We named it "Vero" because it is 100% PG from a steep vineyard in the Adige valley. Run of the mill Pinot Grigios are 100% of that grape; usually they are "enhanced" (?) by Trebbiano, maybe some Chardonnay and, I suppose, just about any leftover junk they could toss into it.

Reaction: Keith is ordering a lot of it next week.

The other mystery wine was the frizzante, sweet Malvasia from Cascina Gilli. At only 5.5% abv, it's loaded with strawberry and cherry flavors, and even retains a little acidity to keep it from being cloying.

Reaction. It isn't Strappo's cup of wine, but the ladies loved it. (Shoot him for that one, ladies. But later. Buy some of the damn wine first.) Keith, our beloved geek, will be stocking it next week.

Forgive me for not wearing an Air Force jumpsuit: Mission Accomplished.

11 days in Itly, lking 4 grt wine: a Twttr essay

 

Day 1 OMG, 1st stop totl winnr! Exc Valpol + blend lt harvest PASSITO Cab Fr (WTF) + usu Valpol blnd. WOW. UNICO, BELLO. Grazie Dr. JP!

Day 2 Top Barolo prodcr seeks new import love. We R all about Luv. FTW. Bacioni!

Day 3 W/ Paolo V @ Cascina Roccalini. Che sfigo chiacchierare con lui. Wines only getting better. Sigh of contmnt

Day 3 Went 2 see amico @tirebouchon, bravo, then to palazzo of Queen of Freisa @cascingilli. [hearts]

Day 4 Back to Verona. Mainly as pit stop. Thank Gd 4 La Bufalina + real pizza napol. Friuli on day 5

Day 5 To Savorgnano del Torre. Bello da morire. Nice weather. Grt young couple of Aquila del Torre. New agriturismo. Lady bug invasion :( but SOOOO BIODY!

Day 6 Tasting & eating. Meno male. My phrase of trip LOL ( = not bad) Fra & Pier so f’n nice 2 me. They don’t know me!!!! LOL!!!!!!

Day 7 Sun AM @ crazy winery in Venezia Giulia. Exc & low cost. Bar pours & flr stackers. Tall guy wore Formula 1 check flag glasses! Get me a container, stat.

Day 8 Alto Adige. Old castle w/ a baron. V nice wines of course. Even the gewurtz!! Hey, it’s Alto Adige. He wore Tyrolean hat + Nantucket red pants. Loved it!

Day 9 Carpaccio di cervo (venison) did me in. Sick all day. Foul. Hate Tyrolean grub. No tasting. Deadsville. Porca miseria

Day 10 Despite illness > Superb tiny winery high up (700 m), spectac wine blend Chard PB and incrocio Manzoni.OMFG Must have! Mamma made me rice :) 

Day 11 On plane home. Vinitaly = soon. No LOL   

 

Giro d'Italia, Winter 2011 edition

If this is Monday is must be...Veneto? Piemonte? Alto Adige? Friuli? Lombardy??

At this very moment it seems to be Alto Adige. I know this because it's chilly and there are steep snowy mountains looming over the - wait for it - Edelweiss Hotel.

The itinerary was made for road warriors. Milano > Valpolicella > Barolo > Torino > Verona > Friuli >Venezia Giulia > Alto Adige > Veneto > Marco Polo Airport. That's a lot of diesel fill-ups, baby. 

For a road warrior, since old Strappo is earning electronic speeding tickets all by himself. (Since the introduction of the damned Safety Tutor, driving in Italy is a lot less fun and fast than it used to be. What the hell is this 140 km speed limit all about? That's 80 mph, the speed grannies from Maine do. OK, I don't often obey the limit, but still.)

In a week so far I've hit 8-9 wineries spread all over the place, with a couple more do go before heading home on Thursday. I'm not prepared to write glowing articles about them, and indeed it would be imprudent to do so. Some shall go nameless here for those very reasons of prudence.

But I am prepared to share a few pix with you, beginning with one of our rising young stars, Paolo Veglio of Cascina Roccalini. Alas, I took no pictures of Cascina Gilli's Chiara Martinotti, la regina della freisa e malvasia, because she put me up at her house and it would have seemed like an insolent abuse of her hospitality.

 

Paolo Veglio in his cellar. We had a long chat. I tasted many future releases. They're only getting better. One is happy

A very nice bit of news: at the urging of Dante Scaglione, Paolo is going to make a Barbaresco Riserva. Release date around 2015 or so

This wine is ready for pickup and eventual delivery to you, my beloved customers

The vineyard right in front of Paolo's home. Alba lies in the mist yonder

 

I had approximately an hour to myself and so of course had to go into Torino to see me old blogging pal, Vittorio Rusinà. He bought me a Coke. I like it when people give me free things. It makes me feel like a real wine blogger

 

What was the name of that B&B again? I remember it was in Friuli and the hosts bought me outrageously good dinners, including one at a fantastic fish restaurant on Saturday night where we three were the only customers they had! The B&B was brand-new and spacious. I promised not to mention the lady bug invasion

 Vineyard porn, Aquila del Torre, Friuli

That's good luck in Friulano. Mandi!*

Mandatory vineyard + dog shot. Burro.The dog's name means buddah

 

Where I was this morning

 

Wilkommen. This is in the terminally quaint village of Partschins. Winery and home entrance

 
This is cellar porn. Dates from 1300. Original beams. One of the most atmospheric wineries anywhere. Their newer cellar (ca. time of Christopher Columbus) is where they hold tastings

There were dogs available for photographing, but, frankly, they didn't hold a sticka buddah to this kid, the enologo's daughter. She's destined for stardom, don't you think?

Ahhh. Che bello...

 
 
 

*Mandi = ciao

 

 

 

 

 

Sustainable, biodynamic agriturismo: Terra di Vento debuts

Roberto Nicodemo is a serious man with serious dreams - and the means to turn them into reality.

He believes in growing grapes and making wines in the most natural way possible. He is a steadfast supporter of local artists in his part of coastal Campania, about 10 miles south of Salerno. And he has long been planning and building a special sort of agriturismo -- one that uses its own solar-generated power, recycles everything and provides visitors with a lovely all-round experience with locally-sourced foods, his wine and agricultural experiences on the 200+ acres of Terra di Vento.

There's a horse farm contained in the acreage, with lots of chances for equestrian fun (or terror, depending on your point of view). You can learn about organic farming of olives, fruit trees and, of course, vines.

Or you can loll.

Terra di Vento is at 200 metres above sea level, and you can see the Med from the property. You can get to the seaside quickly, since it's only about 5 miles away.

Roberto and his wife, Marialuisa Zottola, along with their children, run the agriturismo and the farm. This would be a great place for a weekend or to use as a base for excursions in southern Campania. It's easy to get to the Amalfi coast from Terra di Vento (and easy to come back for some peace and quiet from the Amalfi crowding), not to mention the Cilentano and Parco Regionale dei Monti Picentini, which borders Terra di Vento.

By the way, Terra di Vento makes delicious wines, which we are proud to bring to the United States: the 100% Aglianico "Petrale" and the 100% Fiano "Faiano." (This is a bit confusing. But Faiano is where the winery is located.)

For more information about the Terra di Vento agriturismo and further links, check out this article by Luciano Pignataro of "Il Mattino", Naples. (In Italian.)

 

 

Scenes from Eataly NY: Opening day

My good friend, Giovanni Lovato (@gianpadano) was at Eataly for hours yesterday. He took well over 100 terrific photos, a few of which I am reproducing here with his permission.

You can view the entire album at http://picasaweb.google.com/giannidimilano/EatalyRS# -- he gives you a good initial tour of the place.

Here are some pix -- no particular order.

 Some louche character approaches Eataly

 This lady has the most pleasant voice I've ever heard. She's a doll too. 

Lydia Bastianich

Mario spent the day posing. I think he was tired of it by this time.

 Oscar Farinetti walks among the people

 Not my favorite part of the store. But it's LOCAL

 The fish is mostly local. Freshness is all

 Gianni's haul, home at last

 There's Cascina Gilli cropping up again. Quanto mi piace!

Thanks for the great pix, Gianni.

 

To Eataly and back

Thick crowds queued in front of the various Eataly entrances. Gamely, and gamily, they endured the 94f/35c heat. A startling percentage of them were speaking Italian. Perhaps they had been flown in by Mr. Farinetti, boss man at the original Eataly in Turin.

They were respectful and orderly, not shoving or maneuvering to sneak into the front of the line. Except for one person.

Strappo.

He pushed and shoved, calling out, "Scusate," "Permesso," "Movetevi, stronze."

He got to the door. He banged on it just as a young man was unlocking it. He saw Joe Bastianich staring with disapproval. Surely not at Strappo, we hope.

"I'm supposed to be pouring here. Verso qua. Dove si va?"

Go to the wine shop next store. 

Unbowed, Strappo cut his way through the orderly but surging ingressors. Many had canes. He brushed them aside in his haste. He had spent $15 on a taxi to get there in time, and still he was late. He entered the shop, greeted warmly by an Italian guy who thought S was a real customer.

No one at the shop knew about any pouring table. Dan Amatuzzi, the wine director, came in. It was all a ghastly mistake. No pouring today. None at all. 

Strappo felt like PeeWee Herman when Jan Hooks, merrily chewing her gum, told him, "There's no basement in the Alamo." Strappo heard a chorus of laughter. Well, no, PeeWee had heard it, but the scene in the movie played back in his troubled mind.

Strappo is never one to let a $15 cab ride go to waste. He hadn't put product (Kiehl's) on his shining Irish face and traveled all the way to 23rd Street just to go home with his tail between his legs or nothing much to Tweet about. 

So he had Dan take a picture. Here it is. Cascina Gilli's Freisa "Vigna del Forno" -- the first bottle of wine sold in Eataly NY's new wine store.

 

Misson, as they say, accomplished.

  

 

Eataly on August 31: Be there

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the New York avatar of Slow Food-inspired Eataly is opening to the public on Tuesday at 4 pm. I was going to write "at last" because so much has been written, gossiped and hyped about it for well over a year now, it felt as though it never would open. 

Version 18, eh? No wonder it's taken so long to open

See today's story on Eater.com. The headline refers to the place as a "50,000 sq ft Food Funhouse." The story gives you some hint of why. And, by the way, 50K square feet in Manhattan is huge.  

Domenico Selections was asked by the lovely and talented Chiara of Cascina Gilli to represent them at the opening. As I mentioned in the most recent post, we have had no idea what that entails. 

 
Dan Amatuzzi at Otto last December. A tasting of Mustilli wines from Campania  

Dan Amatuzzi, formerly of Otto, who is the Eataly wine buyer, wrote today and said that it means we re-present the wines to the throngs, he assumes by pouring and explaining them in the complex's wine shop. That we can do. We will be pouring Cascina Gilli's Freisa "Vigna del Forno" and their sparkling Malvasia.

This is one of the wines we'll be pouring at Eataly on Tuesday. Freisa "Vigna del Forno" 

Finally, in all of the local frenzy over Eataly NY's opening, let me quote the New York Post story that's online today:

With an entrance on East 23rd Street, this [wine] shop will sell only Italian vino, including those from the Bastianich vineyards. “It’s really an encyclopedic representation of the best of Italian wines,” says Joe Bastianich.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/lifestyle/food/welcome_to_eataly_G5QHOIVyNtzG44tyFb5GVM/1#ixzz0xe7pUtoD

 
The original Eataly in Turin opened in January 2007. Huge AND with parking. Seems always to be crowded. Expect the same here in NYC  

  

Wanderer comes home

After a month of hardly being home at all, Strappo is, as they say in classically bad fiction, "tired but happy." The latest journey to northern Kentucky and Columbus, Ohio was a success. Lots of wine poured, lots sold, mission accomplished. (No, really. It was.)

The first half of the trip was in and around Covington, KY, the home of DEPS Fine Wine, the HQ of our excellent friend Kevin Keith. We poured 6 wines in each store on successive days. The Friday evening pour at the main store in Covington was jam-packed the whole four hours. Funny thing: I saw a lot of the same faces as in February. They seemed to favor the most expensive wines and kept coming back for additional 1-oz. pours. They said they loved the wines all over again but had never bought the ones they craved.  I finally shamed a couple of guys into buying the damned wine and went so far as to march one over to the cash register to make sure he actually bought it. 

Yes, that was pushy. In a delightful, jocular way, of course. (Kevin, don't tell me he returned it for a credit. I'll be crushed.)

Then a 3-day visit in Columbus, Ohio, where John Hughes' start-up Old World Wines of Ohio is opening up some cool accounts. I was impressed at what John's been able to accomplish in just 2 months, since I saw a lot of Domenico's SKUs in Weiland's Gourmet Market and a seriously geeky wine bar and shop named The Twisted Vine. There were plenty of others -- and here's hoping John gets us into a couple of the top restos in the area. Based on recent tastings, I think that will happen very soon.

Now -- no rest for the wicked. There's a tremendous amount of copy to be written for the Domenico Selections site, and that's you-know-who's job. I fear this will be a weekend behind the barricades as I crank out a passel of overdue copy.

Meanwhile, some fun facts and observations about NKY and Columbus:

California tasting memory: Visual by @ubriaca

This is truly a lazy man's post. A picture taken by someone else of the detritus of a tasting.

This was taken by that well-known Twitter scourge @ubriaca last week in Glendale, California. 

The place: Jeff Zimmitti's cool, newly expanded Rosso Wine Shop.

Such nice people and such a good time tasting with them!

 
  

Quality time in Los Angelese

Strappo is home again, home again, jiggety-jig. After a red-eye flight, mercifully upgraded, he landed at JFK on time yesterday, got home and promptly fell asleep till some time in the afternoon. Now he thinks it's time he quit referring to himself in the third person. He hates people who do that.

I did get to meet with a number of terrific people in SoCal, calling mostly on enotecari, notably Lance at The Wine House, Samantha and her crew at Wine Country (in Iowa-by-the-Sea, as she calls it), Simon at Larchmont Village wine, Jill at DomaineLA, and -- last but in no way least, Jeff at Rosso Wine Shop in Glendale. Their enthusiasm for Italian wine was evident, and their appreciation of our wines -- reeking of terroir, reasonably priced -- seemed genuine. In fact, one of the things that struck me as I drove (and drove, and drove) around was the sense of camaraderie among these people as far as Italian wines are concerned. Everybody seems to know everybody, and they have a common goal: to expose their customers to a broad range of authentic Italian wines.

This attitude of openness and "wine evangelism" was evident in a conversation with Max Stefanelli, manager at Terroni restaurant in West LA. He put the two wines from Elisabetta Musto Carmelitano on the list. One of them is the aged-in-cement Serra del Prete, a stunning Aglianico del Vulture. Max is serving it by the glass (we like that) even though he thinks he could sell more of the aged-in-wood Pian del Moro, since the latter is clearly more in line with Calimerican tastes. But he says, "I want people to taste the [less expensive] Serra because it is a more typical expression of the terroir. In it you can taste Vulture."

Imagine that.

 

 

   

Deep thoughts, LA edition

Yes, Los Angelese is very spread out. A bunch of suburbs in search of a center, which is my clumsy way of stating the old cliche. (Los Angelese is my own spelling, an automatic one that has appeared in notes and emails after over 2 months in Italy this year alone, with more to come.)  

Yes, Los Angelese has a nice climate, though this time of year the mornings are grey and chilly, while the afternoons are bright and warm.

No, I haven't seen any famous people, although Jeff Zimmitti did point out some Top Chef winner from a few seasons ago at Terroni the other night. Not that I'd ever watch Top Chef.

Speaking of Terroni -- a Bob Hope transition, which is fitting since I'm staying across from the Bob Hope Burbank airport -- it was jammed and jammin' on Tuesday night. Most of the clientele was attractive and on the good side of 40. There was a hilarious and entertaining group that sang old Italian pop songs of the 50s and 60s, most with what seemed to be a twist beat. The restaurant was playing "Divorce Italian Style," a favorite Mastroianni vehicle, as the raucous ruckus rolled on around. Thank God for subtitles in such a noisy place. And the food was very good. By the way, I knew Terroni was a hip spot because 30% of the men were wearing porkpie hats. 

Speaking of food, where there's food there's wine. I was delighted to see that the  Musto Carmelitano Serra del Prete had just been put on the by-the-glass list. Ottimo.

Yesterday was first of two trade tastings was held at Zimmitti's Rosso Wine Shop in somnolent Glendale. The turnout was good, and of the right kind. By invitation only, of course. The wines went over quite well. More customers! Bigger orders!

There will be another today, followed by Strappo ambassadorial love visits, notably to DomaineLA and the one and only Jill Bernheimer.

I'm still doubly jetlagged and am never quite sure what time it really is or even the day of the week.

So far, so good. 

I won't say "I love LA." A guy took me to task for saying it yesterday. Fine, I don't LOVE Los Angelese. (I did it again! Involuntarily!) I will say I don't actively dislike LA. Not like Philly or Bari or Detroit. Awright? How's that?

More later. Dudes.   

 

Go West. LA.

Strappo hasn't been to Los Angeles in at least 20 years. Oh sure, he's been to Italy about 30 times in the past 7-8 years, but not once to Tinseltown. (A layover from Hawaii at LAX doesn't count.)

 The last time I saw LA...

This deplorable situation is about to be addressed, or redressed or something. 

Tomorrow I begin my 5-day jaunt to SoCal, as we who are hip and glib call it, with a dinner and tasting at Terroni, the popular west LA restaurant. 

This is Terroni LA. Click to see larger

 The gig begins at 7:30 PM. You're all invited to show up, meet Strappo and drink of his vini italiani, notably the stunning Aglianici del Vulture of Musto Carmelitano, and dine well at your own expense. 

I have arranged for a designated driver, namely Jeff Zimmitti, owner of Rosso Wine Shop in Glendale.

 Zimmitti, whose name sounds oddly like a Sicilian version of "Smitty," has arranged a slew of tastings at Rosso Wine Shop. A couple are for the trade, but the general public is welcome to meet me, Strappo, and sample my/his wines on Friday from 5 to 8 PM. It's all about the wines and helping Jeff pay off the cost of his recent expansion which has doubled the size of Rosso. His commodious new tasting area will be a great place to gather, schmooze and taste. 

Cool Places Informations:

Terroni7605 Beverly Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90036-2705(323) 954-0300http://www.terroni.ca/

Rosso Wine Shop459 North Verdugo Road
Glendale, CA 91208
(818) 330-9130‎http://www.rossowineshop.com/

 

California, Here We Came: Some Domenico Selections essentials at Rosso Wine Shop

Sorry for the long title. So much I wanted to convey in it. I couldn't help myself.

Finally our first shipment to the Golden State was delivered to the plucky three who ordered them: the restaurant Terroni, the giant Wine House store and -- last but surely not least -- our champion, our hero, our friend Jeff Zimmitti of Rosso Wine Shop in Glendale. 

Jeff sent out a great email to his customer list pumping our wines. If you want to be added to his list, please send your request to info@rossowineshop.com.  

Wanted: Geek Wines!

Today, when retailers and restaurants are playing it safe with wine lists, it's thrilling to hear someone declare that they're looking for "geek wines." We got just such a message this morning from Scott Luetgenau of Urban Food Group in North Carolina, where Domenico Selections wines are featured at their Vivace restaurants in Raleigh and Charlotte. Scott mentioned that UFG is opening a "geek" wine bar in the fall, featuring only Italian wines.  (A plug for our distributor in NC is in order: grazie, Bordeaux Fine and Rare.)

Vivace, Raleigh 

This is thrilling to us because, despite our heroic efforts to go mainstream, we have a number of geek wines in the portfolio, with more to come.

By geek wines I mean wines that are made from relatively unusual grape varieties (Tintore, Freisa, I suppose Aglianico too). Wines that come from relatively obscure production areas (Montecucco, Basilicata). Wines that are made using relatively unusual materials/methods (aging in concrete, chestnut casks, etc.). And wines with a flavor and olfactory profile that may not be quite in fashion (old-style Valpolicella, Soave).

You note that the word "relatively" appeared three times in that paragraph. Why? Because one person's "geek" wine is another's everyday wine. For example, Aglianico is a fundamental grape for us, though it may be a novelty to others. Chestnut casks and concrete tanks are very old-school, yet I'd venture to say that most wine drinkers have not had wines aged in these kinds of vessels. 

A lot of it is simply what you've been exposed to. Once you've tried such wines, whether you like them or not, it's up to you. But an ever-broader exposure to good Soave or to any Aglianico will serve to reduce the wines' geek quotient and increase their mainstream appeal. 

All that said, which of the Domenico Selections portfolio would be considered "geek" wines? Here are Strappo's choices.

Reports from here and there

Have to post this fast before the limited amount of expensive WiFi time runs out. Until today, we've been pleased -- thrilled, even -- with the wines we've tasted. Here in Friuli, in Veneto, in Piemonte and in Marche.

We've even tasted good Prosecco, something I never thought I'd say. 

At present in Pordenone, a pleasant provincial capital in Friuli Venezia Giulia, we head tomorrow to Alto Adige for some appointments near Bolzano. We're really looking forward to those, since we just tasted the producers' excellent wines at TerroirVino in Genoa on Monday.

Before closing in haste, I have to say that we were bowled over by the beauty and cleanness of the environment in Le Marche. This Adriatic region is so appealing -- the food so good, the wines often so interesting, the people so nice -- it's astonishing to realize that the region is scarcely known to Americans. You can rent a villa or apartment for a fraction of the price in Tuscany, for example, and you have natural beauty, small but lovely cities and towns, and great beaches all in easy reach.     

 

One little marchigiano town really struck us. It's called Serra De' Conti, and it's not old and quaint and full of guidebook art. But it's green and prosperous and exceedingly well-maintained, and all its inhabitants seem to have got their clothes from the Lands' End catalogue. Everyone is out walking around and meeting their neighbors on the meticulously maintained bike lanes and sidewalks, and the whole town speaks of prosperity and cultivated civility. There's lots of good wine nearby too.