Wrapping Up VinExpo

Highlights, challenges and triumphs

VinExpo Hong Kong ended a couple of weeks ago, but it was such a fast-paced gathering with so many lingering reverberations that I’m still feeling its effects. Certainly, no description of the event is complete without detailing the highly anticipated visit of Monica Soldera of the legendary Case Basse di Soldera in Montalcino. When I first arrived in HK, I noticed that Soldera was relatively unknown among Hong Kong’s wine collectors. (The wines of Quintarelli, Gravner and Giacomo Conterno fall into this category as well.)

With no existing following in HK, my challenge became how to properly introduce an $1800 HKD wine like the 2002 Brunello Riserva. Furthermore, the Soldera Brunellos don’t look like other Brunellos. I was happy to discover the power of tastings, and HK has embraced the wines of Soldera. Monica’s first visit to Asia was a perfect opportunity for producer and wine-lovers to get to know one other properly, and over the past year, we’d built up enough intrigue and positive experiences that Monica’s visit to Hong Kong in May brought four consecutive sold-out events during VinExpo week.

The most notable aspect of Monica’s visit was her grace and her refreshing approach to introducing the wines of Case Basse. While she is an encyclopedia of wine facts, Monica was casual and disarming—a perfect demeanor for VinExpo, because the week had overwhelmed everyone with a deluge of wine facts and bold statements. The Soldera dinners centered on spending time with each wine individually so that we could see how nature guided the family’s winemaking and gave each wine its own personality. Monica was able to make each wine seem like a guest of honor, allowing us to refrain from feeling a need to make any immediate judgments about anything. She took the competitive nature out of the tasting experience and created a light atmosphere to simply enjoy each other’s company and to get to know one other better.

Monica’s Hong Kong visit was so exciting that each event deserves its own description, which I’ve provided below.

Tuesday 25 May – Otto e Mezzo

This event was a no-brainer, because it matched Monica with HK’s celebrated Italian Chef Bombana, esteemed GM Danilo Nicoletti, a gorgeous private room for twenty, and a wonderful group. The food and wine were out of this world. I hardly had to work. I simply gave Danilo and Bombana the wine list, and they agonized over the proper menu, updating it just days before the dinner in order to perfect it. Tajima Beef Tongue on Brunello and Mushroom Risotto paired with a 2003 Brunello Riserva Soldera thrilled us, but we still had the 2002 and 1983 Brunellos ahead of us. It was as if none of us could fathom better food or wine, yet we kept going. Before the night had ended, the restaurant asked Monica to sign two remaining magnums of 1983 Brunello for their own collection; they’re now proudly part of a very impressive large format collection. Overall, this evening was a perfect start to our week, and Monica knew where she could get incredible Italian food if she got homesick.

Wednesday 26 May – Crown Cellars

We held a small gathering in the Crown Library that was co-hosted by Hong Kong’s ultimate host, Greg De’eb. It was a far cry from last year’s event with Movia’s Ales Kristancic, “Marvelous Night for a Moon-dance,” which featured bottles opened under a full moon, ballroom dancing and swordplay. However different the events, our guests received the same experience in the end: an understanding of the wine through the personality of the producer. Each wine was tasted together, side-by-side, throughout the meal. This format allowed us to feel all the wines evolve simultaneously over the course of hours. By this point in VinExpo, most attendees had been to two wine dinners already in the week, and the casual atmosphere—a Monica Soldera staple—and Soldera’s wines of finesse put some life back into our group as we all prepared for the rest of the week’s events.

Thursday 27 May – The China Club

When we host our producers in HK, we like to throw at least one event where we pair Italian wines with Asian cuisine. I always rave about the quality of service at The China Club, and in my last post I’d noted that they’d hosted a staggering number of wine dinners during VinExpo. Sadly, and I mean sadly, I couldn’t attend this dinner, but the feedback from attendees was consistently great. Soldera’s wines paired surprisingly very well with a number of local dishes and showed great versatility. A number of guests reported that their bodies were wearing down from intense eating and drinking during the week, some reported that they should have taken a night off from the events, but those who were there said they couldn’t miss the Soldera night at The China Club. Monica was very pleased to have the opportunity to host a dinner with Chinese cuisine, and she was delighted to pass the Chinese cuisine test, a prerequisite for success in the new Hong Kong market.

Friday 28 May – Don Alfonso

My colleague Christina escorted Monica by helicopter to Macau to start the day. However, I, being more afraid of heights than any man should be, was happy to take the boat and sleep on the way to our last day of meetings and events. Our evening at the stunning Don Alfonso in Grand Lisboa began with a very pleasant surprise—Chef Alfonso himself would be attending the dinner as a guest. As with the staff of Otto e Mezzo, Chef Alfonso and his restaurant team hold Soldera wines with high regard and worked hard to create a truly special experience for all of us who were lucky enough to attend. Don Alfonso’s perfect pairing of 1983 Brunello from magnum with Wagyu beef tenderloin and puffed spaghetti (it’s beyond description) was almost a shame to consume. But we did anyway, and it was amazing.

To paraphrase Monica’s father, Gianfranco, a great wine is one that you miss immediately after you’ve finished it. I missed the Soldera dinners the moment we left Don Alfonso. After an exhausting week and non-stop events, I take that to be a testament to Soldera.

VinExpo was a crazy blast of too much food, so much wine and an avalanche of new friends. Two weeks later, I’m only just beginning to recover. Naturally, I look forward to doing it all again next year.

Sparklers, Italian-Style

Putting a little Spumante in your step

It’s no secret that Italians have a deep and abiding love for sparkling wine, a love that can seem a bit strange to Americans. Do a quick Google blog search with the term “Spumante,” and you’ll find thousands exploring the nuances of the Italian sparkler—a term that covers a broad range of sparkling wine from Italy’s north, though these wines are so loved that they’re made throughout the country. (The same Google search turns up no results in English.)

So deep is Italy’s love for bubblies that many wines you’d never imagine being bubbly come in frizzante (lightly sparkling) and Spumante (fully sparkling) styles. Crafted through the charmant, or tank method, rather than the bottle method of Champagne (with the exception of some produers like Bruno Giacosa and his Spumante Brut). Italian sparklers are kind of omnipresent; every occasion is made special with a sparkling wine: whites, rosés and reds; dry, semi-sweet or sweet. A full spectrum of wines sparkle in Italy, but few of them make it across the Atlantic, so the American public remains largely ignorant about one of Italy’s cheeriest pleasures. It’s a shame really, because sparkling wine is fun.

Indeed, America has an unfortunate association for Spumante. For those of us who were alive and kicking in the ‘70s the word “Spumante” summons to mind the cheesy commercial for a commercial, cheap and awful Asti Spumante, a wine apparently best consumed while wearing an ascot or white nylon jumpsuit next to a fireplace. Spumante is kind of like Chianti in that way—stuck in a regrettable time warp, permanently attached to an unpleasant drink and in deep need of an image rehab. The good news is that Spumante, like Chianti, has enjoyed a rebirth and a taste will show you how delightful these wines can be banishing its former association to the cultural dust heap.

Spumante is a style of wine, and therefore its quality depends on the producer. While the most famous Spumante is Piemonte’s Asti Spumante, all fizzy wines in Italy are Spumantes. Whether a festive Prosecco, tart, mouth-watering Brachetto d’Acqui, or a cheery berry-bright Lambrusco, Italian Spumantes have a lot to offer—and you can’t discount the DOCG of Asti Spumante. Artisanal producers create deeply respectful versions of this wine. Don’t let the name dissuade you.

A sparkler on the Fourth of July usually complement the shiny susurration of fireworks you hold in your hand and wave to spell out your name in lights. It’s a tradition, and it’s a good one. But there’s no reason why you can’t add to the festivities with a sparkler of a different kind. Enjoy a little Spumante, one crafted with care in Italy. A glassful of fizzy fun could bring out the kid in you.

A Night with Movia’s Ales Kristancic

The man, the myth, the legend, the wines

On June 21, 2010 we had the pleasure of hosting Ales Kristancic of Movia and his newly released 2008 Lunar Chardonnay. Dinners with Ales always brim with vibrancy, surprises and magic. On this specific evening, we were able to taste an array of Movia’s wines. Chef Kevin Sippel outdid himself with the food, and the wines could not have been more expertly paired. For example, the Cobia in Octopus and Cucumber Guazzetto were an unparalleled choice to showcase the debut of Movia’s 2008 Lunar Chardonnay.

The Lunar are pure solo-varietal bottlings. The 2007 vintage featured the Ribolla Gialla grape. As we prepared for the event, we were careful to carry the 2007 Lunar upstairs in the exact position in which it had been lying in the cellar in order not to disturb the contents of the bottle. The bottles were opened in that same position, poured, and clear wine emerged from the bottle. Ales’ biodynamic winemaking principles mean that he foregoes using chemicals to clarify his wines; rather, he relies on atmospheric pressure. Ales makes his Lunar in a wholly hands-off approach— the goal is for the wine to create itself. Using a holistic method to his winemaking practice, Ales designed the French oak barrels used to create the Lunar, and these barrels allow for whole clusters of fruit to be dropped into the barrel without damaging the cluster. He believes strongly in unity, harmony and integrity; it shows in the wine. The unique thing about tasting the 2008 with the 2007 was being able to see the wine’s evolution to a mature, clean, terroir-driven wine.

Unlike Movia’s Lunar, the estate’s Veliko wines were created generations before Ales. The Bianco is comprised of Ribolla, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc; the Rosso of Cabernet Sauvignon is a Merlot and Pinot Nero blend. These vines are all planted side by side, unlike many blended wines that are grown on separate plots. Ales believes that this brings harmony to the wines, due to their coexistence creating one healthy system. The taste bears out Ales’ somewhat esoteric reasoning. Count me in as a believer!

There’s a lot to be said for meeting a wine producer—especially one as dynamic and, well, beautifully strange as Ales. Many writers have tried to describe Ales; some have failed, a few have succeeded, including IWM founder Sergio Esposito, who devoted an entire chapter to Ales in his memoir. Ales is an iconoclast, a figure of near-fictional proportions, and he captures your imagination. He’s a man who can work a room, making everyone present feel a little bit more beautiful, a little bit more glittery, and a little bit more special.

The night came to a true Movia conclusion as Ales and the crowd participated in the opening of his Puro Rose 2002. The Puro is Ales’ sparkling wine, left undisgorged, under the philosophy that this plug of yeast is the source of life for the wine, and it should remain until consumption. Leaving the wine undisgorged, however, means that when it’s time to open the bottle, it’s something of a party trick. Ales is a showman, a bon vivant and magician. Upending an open bottle into a bowl of water, wiggling out the cork and whisking the open bottle out to display it and exclaim, “Zak! Zak!” is just part of the fun—for him and for all of us.

The surprise of the night was Ales himself, his charm, his warmth and his joy for his work. Ales knows and loves his vines, and this knowledge and caring reflects in how well the wines age—as well as how enjoyable they are in their youth. Though he’d love to see his wines cellared for forty years, Ales has a philosophy of keeping wines in his cellar until he feels that okay with people drinking them. My favorite wine of the night was the 1990 Veliko Bianco, a wine that exhibited great pedigree, amazing length, and complexity that would give me the confidence to show it among some of the greatest white wines of the world.

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