Muddy Boots

Freisa in the news!

When we held our portfolio tasting in late September we had little idea that Cascina Gilli's Freisa "Vigna del Forno" would be the standout review hit of the day. 

But then that's not accounting for the informative charm of Chiara Martinotti, who represented Cascina Gilli at the event, and whose passionate advocacy of Freisa is undeniable.

In the past two days her "Vigna del Forno" 2008 has won rave reviews from Bill Tish of New York Wine Salon and Elin McCoy, who contributes wine articles to a range of print and online publications, including Bloomberg News and Zester Daily.

In his review (click here), Tish waxes rhapsodic about the wine:

"This is a wine that could enthrall connoisseurs and neophytes alike. A worthy fill-in for its Piedmontese compatriots Barbera and Dolcetto. Might be my Thanksgiving red...."

McCoy concludes her information-rich piece (click here):

"The 'Vigna del Forno' bottling isn't aged in wood, so the fruit flavors are bright, intense, and immensely appetizing. Now a firm Freisa fan, I urge you to give it a try."

For Cascina Gilli and for Domenico Selections these are reviews that help validate the advocacy we've done on behalf of this lovely wine. Mom couldn't have written better ones. 

Now, we're ready to write your order.

   

The Producer responds: Sweetness of American food

I thought I'd share further eludication on the topic of the sweetness of American food from the lady who instigated the whole thread, Chiara Martinotti of Cascina Gilli. My few comments after her para.

...To be honest it took me a few days to realize how sweet the food was there in US. At the beginning I simply felt I was really enjoying eating out, then I realized that the big cheese plate was loaded with frosted peanuts, the apparently healthy salad had caramelised strawberries on top, while the steamed salmon was topped with cherries. No wonder eating was becoming such a fun experience (yeah...I have a sweet tooth). The point is: this kind of food is anesthetizing your palate, it makes you lose in complexity and shades. They are pushing you towards an immediate, short and childish taste. Adult tastes are savour, saltiness, acidity, adult tastes often require time as well. I think quite a few Italian wines also require an "adult palate" to be fully appreciated.

OK, first off, Chiara -- you ordered a salad with what on top? Salmon with what on top? No wonder you have this viewpoint!

Granted, too many salads and salad dressings here are loaded up with sugar in addition to gloppy with greasiness thanks to excessive amounts of what purports to be cheese. But you can always bypass (key word!) that my requesting oil and vinegar, or lemon.

As to the fish, what can I say? It sounds like the wrong thing to dump on salmon. I don't care if it was farm-raised. 

I'd have to say that the excessive sweetness in a lot of American food is, in part, a matter of habit as well as the desire of the restaurateurs and food-product manages to make the customer back for more. It's the path of least resistance for everyone.

Looking at this issue diachronically -- look it up! Google makes it easy to expand your vocabulary! -- I can remember back to about 60 years ago. As a little kid, I of course went crazy for anything sweet. We had things like "tonic" (soda in American) and ice cream as treats fairly seldom. Sure, we binged candy and Halloween and baked goods at Christmas. But holidays were a completely separate category regarding food, which was a major part of why we eagerly awaited them. Now that holiday/ordinary day dichotomy is blurred to the point of insignificance. We have the national obesity epidemic to prove it.

What has this to do with wine? Nothing and everything. Even among those who drink wine frequently, there is a common theme of "I don't like sweet wines." Yet ask them what they prefer, and it's something high in sugar and well as alcohol -- California Zinfandel or Cab, Amarone, some jammy monster from Australia. Chiara commented on this, and Jeff and I, observing this preference at tastings for civilians, laugh about it all the time. We laugh but we're crying on the inside.

Well, look, I have no intention of making a lot of profound observations on the topic, nor do I wish to devote my days to researching it. It's an interesting point, which I hadn't thought much about before Chiara brought it up. And it does shed some light, if obliquely, on the ingrained American preference for sweet drinks of all sorts, wine often included. That's all.

  

 

The sweetness of American food

On her return to Italy, Chiara Martinotti, la Regina della Freisa, sent an email from Cascina Gilli. Most of the contents were business details about her recent trip to the States, but she stopped me short with a comment about the sweetness of American food.

"I found very sweet, almost childish flavors, especially in Ohio [take that, Buckeyes!]. I don't like this, but I do begin to understand the American preference for sweet drinks, including wine."

I hadn't thought about the sweetness of American food even though I've been in Italy dozens of times. It's very different here, granted, but I also don't glop up my food as so many people in America do -- you know, the sour cream on the baked potato, melty cheesoid product on everything from popcorn to noodles, heavily sugared prepared spaghetti sauce, etc. I also avoid chains like Olive Garden. But don't most aware food and wine geeks avoid that kind of thing anyway?

That observation doesn't address the larger issue of sweetness in the drinks we, as a people, prefer. After all, we oldsters have lived through many crazes having to do with sweet, unstructured alcoholic products: Mateus, cold duck (the nadir, IMO), hedonistic fruit bombs and, currently, those too-sweet fruit beers. There hasn't been one major marketing barrage pushing steely Muscadet or broad-shouldered Aglianico to the masses. Never happened, never will.

As I tiresomely point out to people, our national fondness for sweet drinks was firmly established in Colonial times. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. That rum, made from molasses, was aged in toasty oak barrels and combined with all sorts of sugars and spices to ease the weariness of the working man. Toddies and shandies and all sorts of concoctions that sound like a recipe for instant diabetes. (The rich had their Madeira and Port.) Bourbon -- treated in a pretty similar way. (Look at America's classic cocktails -- heavy on the sugars, whether via fruit or the cane variety.)

But I'd like to pose a question to all five of you who read this blog [people still write blogs? how cute!].

Do you find the food here all that sweet? That much sweeter than, say, in Italy or France? 

And are your food choices determined, in part, by the necessity of pairing them with the wines that you favor? 

Tuesday night at Eataly NY

Our experience pouring the wines of Cascina Gilli last night only reinforced what we already knew about that shrine to all things Italian, Eataly: The place was jammed on an ordinary Tuesday night. It's a phenomenon. It's a bloody goldmine.

Our little part in the attaction to Eataly was the tasting of three Cascina Gilli wines in the wine shop, which, according to New York State's antique laws, is required to have its own separate entrance (on 23rd Street right between the main entrance and the main exit of the food store.)

Whatever contortions the state made Eataly go through to create the wine store, this compact but ingeniously laid-out space provided us with one of the most commodious tasting stations in our fair city. Lots of glasses, lots of bread for palate-cleansing, attractive displays of the product, lots of product most conveniently on hand to be sold.

Which we did. I filled in for Chiara when things got very busy -- Friday-night busy at most shops -- but her charm and sense of humor, not to mention almost perfect American English, made her and her wines a big hit. The Barbera d'Asti in stock -- gone. The Freisa (my personal favorite), half gone. The sparkling Malvasia, at least a case down. In two fast-paced hours.

Thus is the magnetic magic of Eataly.

Of course, dealing with the public is always funny. One couple, well-born and high, enthused forever about the wines and kept asking for more tastes. Not a bottle did they buy.

A serious guy who lives in the neighborhood asked a lot of questions and went home with five bottles.

A quiet woman tasted the sparkling Malvasia and said, "It's sunshine on your tongue." We told her we were stealing that one. I guess we just did.

And I do believe that calling the Freisa "Nebbiolo in a bustier" really helped move some of that wine. Everyone likes sex, or at least something suggestive of it.

Anyway, at the end we wanted to go to the new beer garden atop the building. There was a 45 minute wait or standing-only at the bar. Waiting in line is something this one doesn't do. Sometimes you can get too popular. (I imagine so. Never having experienced it personally.)

Instead, we headed over to Apiary, and we had a delicious meal in attractive, unfrenetic surroundings. This was most welcome after the producers, both Chiara and Francesca Ciani of Aquila del Torre, had seen wide swaths of New Jersey all day long with the tireless Jeff Mazen. Tuesday was a long but highly productive day. 

 

In photo at top: La Bella e la Bestia

"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.

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

 

The way we drink today

I love titles of posts that sound authoritative, definitive, coma-inducing. This one is. "The way we drink today." Love it.

I am referring, of course, to a recent poll that found -- horror of horrors! -- that Americans, this unteachable breed, really do like to drink wine without food. As a cocktail, essentially.

According to the results of the Wine Opinions survey, as recently reported in the San Jose Mercury, us all's drink almost 60% of our wine without food -- never mind a meal, and without a snack in sight! Millennials, those born from 1980 on, are 80% likely to pop open a bottle to "kick back with friends." (Note to self: find out if people still say "kick back.") I'll throw in my grumpy old man comment here: "These kids today!"

As you might imagine, the wine blogosphere, obsessed with triviality and consumed by its own false importance, became rather unglued at this perhaps not so startling revelation. For one thing, consider all container-loads of snackless, mealless bottles of wine drunk by the Desperate Housewives (Casalinghe disperate, in Italian) hags, none of whom will ever see 40 again. (Exception: Eva Longoria.)

Or the grimly feisty old broads from Sex and the City. There was usually a girls-only bottle of Chardonnay in the frame, no doubt some plush, oaky monster that wine geeks would no doubt eschew.

These TV shows have habituated Italians to the fact that we indeed don't need a meal as an excuse to crack open a bottle of vino and "kick back." They and other Europeans may cluck their disapproval but, face it, our drinking culture has always been about alcohol in and for itself. I mean, did the Colonials go into a tizzy over pairing a rum shandy with whatever slop they were eating? Hardly. They wanted something to warm them up on cold nights and to ease the pain of a back-breaking day of labor. Plus they'd already polluted the water so badly that even little children routinely drank ale and beer for refreshment and nutrients.

We Yanks have always preferred to drink this way, as have our brothers and sisters across the Pond. The cocktail was principally an American invention -- the flavors were and are so intense, often with a great deal of sweetness, that they didn't lend themselves to accompaniment with food. 

I'd venture to say that the Millennials' predilection for wine marks a real shift in our drinking culture, but their preference for wine to "kick back with friends" indicates the survival of an ancient pattern in America.

Another generational change at work today is their turning away from the "hedonistic fruit bombs" of their fathers and grandfathers, and their openness to new tastes and grapes and regions. I'll add that I think those of us in the major cities do overestimate this trend, especially since outside of a handful of big cities, opportunities to experiment with different grapes, regions, etc. are limited by the smaller selections on offer.

For my part, I don't care how or in what context Americans drink their wine. I just hope they keep drinking more of it.

Vinitaly 2012: new format

Elisabetta Tosi mentioned several days ago that next year, for the first time ever, Vinitaly will run from Sunday to Wednesday (April 1-4, 2012).

This has caused considerable comment; on Franco Ziliani's blog there was a post about this momentous change today, in which Franco reported the laments of some exhibitors that Drunken Sunday would continue. (The public is admitted to the trade fair on the weekend.)

Still, this change does cut the number of days, to one, in which in the drinking public is invited to lay out a heap o' change (44 euros this year, no?) and surge from stand to stand demanding tasting samples and leftover bottles. 

The plus for the exhibitors is that they will be getting all that mess out of the way on the first day and can concentrate on the trade for the rest of the period.

The rationale of this time shift is to make it more convenient for bar and restaurant owners, somms and the like to get to the fair. Historically, Mondays have been a waste of time, since many exhibitors start packing up after noon, even though they are strictly enjoined not to. And this is the only day the restaurant trade can take the time to get to the fair.

I like it because you can fly to Italy on Saturday, rest Sunday and hit the fair the other three days. You can get home and be de-lagged and totally ready for battle the following Monday. In other words, the new format takes you out of the field for a week, not almost two weeks.

___________________

 

As to Vinitaly 2011, how was it for Domenico Selections? Fast-paced, hectic, exhausting and very successful. We wrapped up several deals at/near the fair, and we will be reporting these soon.

We also got the chance to taste the wines of some of our existing producers and were especially delighted at the excellent quality we are seeing in some of our lower-priced wines. There will be quite a bit more about these producers in the coming days and weeks.

The main thing we can all say about Vinitaly now: Thank God it's over. 

Italian wine goes Lake Wobegon

The famous sentence, "Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average," seems to apply to the official Italian wine world. Why else would there be something like 59 DOCGs in the country? With more to come? Even as the DOP system is set to sweep them into the historical bargain bin? 

Even the assiduous researches of Alfonso Cevola, "On the Wine Trail in Italy", seem strangely inconclusive when it comes to a precise tally. Rumors swirl and back-room deals are being made as we type. Not even he, in his assiduity, can keep up with it all.

When I read the list of new DOCGs (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, the last word of which immediately raises warning flags about every plain DOC of course), I am both underwhelmed and perplexed.

Here is the list Alfonso published in his recent post:

The Newly Anointed "10"

CAMPANIA

*DOCG Aglianico del Taburno

MARCHE

*DOCG Offida

VENETO

DOCG “Piave Malanotte” o “Malanotte del Piave”

DOCG "Lison", (a name derived from the historical DOC Lison-Pramaggiore)

DOCG “Colli Euganei Fior d’Arancio”

PIEDMONT

DOCG- Erbaluce di Caluso

DOCG - Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato

DOCG – Alta Langa

DOCG - Dolcetto Diano d'Alba

PUGLIA

DOCG - Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale

Still waiting at the altar
· Montepulciano d' Abruzzo Casauria (or “Terre di Casauria”) 
· Prosecco di Prosecco (political appointment for the town of Prosecco in Friuli)

Aglianico del Taburno? Meh.

Offida. Ditto.

Lison? Huh?

Ruché? Oh, get out of here.

And so on.

I'm not saying that there isn't good wine made in these areas/typologies. But if DOCG denotes consistently high quality and unique, impressive character, then these upstarts clearly don't make the grade. They are in a different world from historically proven and eminently valid DOCGs like Barolo.

Politics and payola render bullshit. The value of the DOCG designation declines with each new one awarded. This devaluation won't touch Barolo, but it will cheapen other, lesser DOCGs.

I suppose our consolation in all this is the simple fact that, in the American market, DOCGs are themselves devoid of meaning. It always comes down to the reputation of the producer and the palate of the sommelier or wine director. It always comes down to the price and/or scores for the retail wine buyer.

Well, as I should have said, it's a form of consolation...   

 

 

Wines of the month from Domenico Selections

We just came across this nice bit of promotion for two of our wines, both from Campanian producer Mustilli:

http://depsfinewine.com/about/wines-of-the-month/

The retailer is DEPs Fine Wine in northern Kentucky just across the river from Cincinnati, Ohio.

A big grazie to our friend at DEPs, Kevin Keith, otherwise known as @k2whino.

Falanghina is the grape that made Mustilli famous. Or isn't that the other way around?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We happen to love this light everyday red, fantastic with pasta and pizza

New appellation system about to hit Italy

Thanks to the serendipity of the social media -- meaning, of course, Facebook and Twitter -- I discovered only last night that Italy is about to dump the beloved DOC/DOCG system in favor of a DOP system. Effective from August 1, 2009, with full compliance by the end of 2012. 

My red-faced question: How did I not know this before? 

But I digress.

Instead of the often unholy trinity of IGT, DOC and DOCG, in future we will have the duo of IGP and DOP.

IGP = Indicazione Geografica Protetta -- which is a bit less wishy-washy than the old Tipica of IGT.

DOP = Denominazione di Origine Protetta, where the Protetta is effectively no stronger or             weaker than Controllata.

Dropping the G of Garantita, as in DOCG, would seem a blow to quality and confidence. But when you consider the recurring scandals in various exalted denominations of Italy (Brunellopoli being merely the most reported), there isn't much confidence to be had.

The key thing here is really: Will the disciplinari -- the rules governing each denomination -- be changed in any way as a result of this reclassification? Will it give an opening to local groups who want to loosen the requirements for short-term gain? 

Further, it remains to be seen how this new nomenclature will affect producers in Germany, France and other EU countries, for this is, after all, a directive coming from Brussels.

To get all the essentials on this development, see this article in Italian: "Il vino passa da DOC a DOP"

 

In the interest of social media comity the world over, I'd like to thank Elliot Essman (on FB) and the guy who responded instantaneously with info and links, @stralcidivite (Twitter name of Alessandro Marra of Milano).   

 

NEW Distributors page on Domenico Selections website

We have a new page on the DS site, on which are listed our distributors in various states. 

Note that we show one for California, MHW, which is our back-office/compliance/clearing agent for importing and logistics here in the New York metro area.

We are still looking, however, for a local, boots-on-the-ground distributor in the Golden State. Or two, if it would serve us better to have sales people focused on the different halves of that enormous state. 

If you have any good suggestions for distributors in California, or would like to step up and take on the job yourself, go to our Contact Us page.

Grazie miile!

 

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.

 

We meet @israeliwines

Have you noticed how blogging has been displaced, to a surprising extent, by Twitter, Facebook and (I guess) LinkedIn? 

And have you noticed that "socmedia" inspires even more encounters and consequential actions than antique, 2005-style blogging? 

Yesterday brought another instance of socmedia > real world encounters. I finally had the pleasure of meeting Richard Shaffer, aka @israeliwines, at a tasting here in New York.

Richard, an active participant in the Twitterverse, is a very likable guy who knocks himself out promoting and selling his wines from Israel. I tasted a few of them yesterday and especially liked a Chardonnay from Flam. Unoaked, it was crisp, balanced and refreshing with its acidity. The fruit was good but not too forward. The finish was clean if not very long. There was a Chard/Sauvignon Blanc blend from the same winery; it took the obnoxious edge off the SB but lacked the fresh acidity of the 100% Chardonnay. 

All in all, pretty good for $19, and a surprise to one whose main experiences with Israeli wines had been of flat, faintly dirty-tasting whites. Whether by coincidence or not, those "dirty" and poorly made wines were Kosher, while Flam's far superior ones wines are not (yet).

 Richard with product. Must always show product