The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

Labor Day Weekend Wine

Celebrating long weekends, the end of summer and Chianti

The view from Fontodi.

I was once given a great piece of advice regarding what wines to bring to parties.  The great words of wisdom were “Bring what you want to drink.” I have faithfully followed this advice, and  I have always had great wine to drink at parties.

I am attending a Labor Day bash this weekend and I wanted to share with you what wine I will be bringing and, in turn, what I will be drinking: Fontodi 2008 Chianti Classico.  This is truly one of my favorite wines.  The past few vintages have been my restaurant wine list go to for well over a year and with this new release on our shores it was a no brainer what to bring to the party.

This Chianti Classico has a touch of opulence and incredible structure; deliciously balanced oak tones add character to the ripe berry fruit without overwhelming it.  This is a wine that will develop nicely over the next few years, but I have no patience and will be pulling corks left and right with this one.  So good.  I only know of one Chianti that I like better and it is made by the same winery, Fontodi, a truly special place crafting incredible wines.

I think it would behoove you to bring this wine to your parties as well this weekend. After all, we are only as good as what we drink.

Around the World in Eleven Courses

From the esoteric to the iconic

One of the great pleasures in working in wine is meeting the enthusiasts and collectors whose passions are equal, or perhaps even greater, than my own. Their excitement for both the history and the experience of wine is both contagious and enlightening, and it’s sharing in these people’s enjoyment that keeps people like me creative and motivated.

For the second year in a row, Chef Kevin Sippel and I had the pleasure of creating a Valentine’s Day Wine list and menu for an IWM favorite, Omar and Leslie Khan.  Together we came up with “Around the World in Eleven Courses,” a light-hearted culinary journey across to the globe that traversed some of the world’s favorite wine regions, as well as some off-the-beaten-path destinations.  Each course invited our guests to experience a different grape, winemaker, dish and story that all worked together to highlight what makes each region so unique.  As Omar pointed out to me, each of the chosen eleven wines on a different evening could be a centerpiece in its own right.  Looking back on the night, I’d highlight the 1966 Chateau Musar from the Bekaa Valley, which offered layers of complexity and very much held its own against the 1966 Leoville Las Cases. Then there was the Weinert Malbec Estrella 1977, which challenges everything you thought you know about Argentinean Malbec (aged 19 years in oak cask).

This was truly an evening of the esoteric to the iconic, and to do it justice, I thought I would share the words and review from one of our special guests:

Valentine’s…Eve?
This entry was written by Omar Khan, posted on February 20, 2010 on his blog.

Well, we enjoy Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, so this year, as Valentine’s Day was falling on Sunday, we opted to have our amorous outing on the “eve.”

Many pooh-pooh this holiday calling it commercially contrived, historically dubious (as if our other holidays aren’t?) and more.

It’s irrelevant. It’s a day to focus on love, and you don’t have to succumb to an orgy of candy purchases to express one of our deepest sentiments. And you can be as extravagant, as imaginative, or as corny as you like. You have license. We are “excused.” After all, there’s an “official” day to blame!

We went back to our favorite spot for Valentine’s and much else: the Italian Wine Merchants, pioneers in Italian wine appreciation in the United States, and one of the primary conduits and channels for extraordinary wine of irreproachable provenance overall.

We had the lovely space to ourselves. We were surrounded by masterful chefs putting their show kitchen to the best possible use, and were “serenaded” (oenophilically) by Italian Wine Merchants’ Vice-President and a masterful commentator on the joys of the grape, Chris Deas.

Together he and Chef Kevin Sippel (a true culinary innovator), formerly of Alto, took us “Around the World in Eleven Courses.” Not quite around the world perhaps, but the circumnavigation was quite extensive. This could as easily have been called “Around the World in Eleven Wines.” But why quibble? Both are implied, and both were experienced.

Menu highlights included the palate puckering Paccheri Verdi, Braised Snails and Gorgonzola; one of the last orchestrations of Didier Dagueneau via his masterful Pouilly-Fume Silex 2006 enhanced and enchanted this remarkable dish.

Another menu highlight was the crispy sweetbread, manchego and toasted allioli, married exquisitely and tantalizingly with Descendientes de Jose Palacios Corullon La Faraona 2006. From one of the best vineyard sites in Bierzo Spain, La Faraona is the gem of Alvaro Palacios’ (of Priorat fame) art in this region. Only 65 cases are produced annually, and other than the Italian Wine Merchants, this exceptional wine isn’t available anywhere else in the United States.

Hot on the heels of this came another winner! A hen egg cooked slowly for two hours, and then lightly fried, with Serrano ham and baked sardine! Extraordinary!

A number of amazing wines, from Gaja Sperss 1998 to La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Reserva 1995, all could have been the centerpieces in a lesser dinner.

But for us the 1977 Bodega Malbec from Mendoza Argentina showed us a style of Malbec we almost can’t experience any more because of the unsettling “globalization” of wine tastes. The two “birth year” wines for my wife and I, the Leoville Las Cases (one of fifteen second growths in Bordeaux and one of our favorites) 1966 (a vintage that seems among the better Bordeaux to be drinking quite beautifully now) and the beyond rare 1966 Chateau Musar from Lebanon (slightly sweet herb-like aromas, elegant, a bit more Burgundian), were luscious, fitting and truly memorable.

We went home with a lovely Pinot to accompany artisanal chocolates, a dozen red roses (a “classic” rather than a “cliché,” though many people can’t tell the two apart), and memories we will savor and which will reverberate happily for years to come.

James Thurber once opined, “Love is what you’ve been through with someone.” Most people take that to mean what you’ve survived together. Well, partially that’s so. But it’s as much what you’ve experienced together, exulted in together, and celebrated together! Salute!

AROUND THE WORLD IN ELEVEN COURSES

CHAMPAGNE — FRANCE
Selection of Raw Fish, Oysters and Caviar
Jacques Selosse Champagne Brut Initial NV

LOIRE VALLEY — FRANCE
Paccheri Verdi, Braised Snails and Gorgonzola
Didier Dagnueneau Pouilly Fume Silex 2006

BRDA — SLOVENIA
Grilled Sepia with Sea Urchin
Movia Lunar 2007

BIERZO — SPAIN
Crispy Sweetbread, Tomato, Manchego and Toasted Allioli
Descendientes de Jose Palacios Corrullon La Faraona 2006

PIEMONTE — ITALY
Frog Leg Risotto with Veal Reduction and Leeks
Gaja Sperss 1998

RIOJA — SPAIN
Fried Egg, Serrano Ham and Poached Sardine
La Rioja Alta Rioja Gran Riserva ‘890′ 1995

TOSCANA — ITALY
Crudo of Veal with Hot Bone Marrow, Pancetta and Pecorino Fondue
Fontodi Flaccianello 1995

MENDOZA — ARGENTINA
Smoked Venison with White Polenta, Chorizo and Porcini Mushrooms
Bodega y Cavas de Weinert Malbec Estrella 1977

BORDEAUX — FRANCE
Foie Gras Tortellini in Black Truffle Consomme with Offal
Chateau Leoville-Las Cases Bordeaux 2nd Growth 1966

BEKAA VALLEY — LEBANON
Rack of Lamb with Controne Bean, Pickled Eggplant and Lamb’s Tongue
Chateau Musar Rouge 1966

ITALY
Chocolate Cake and Bombolini
Antonio Ferrari Solaria Jonica 1959

The Flavors of (Some) Italian Varietals

Master basic flavor profiles of popular Italian grapes

It seems to me that when you buy wine in a wine shop, go to a wine bar for a 5 o’clock happy hour, or get a bottle while dining at your favorite restaurant, the very first thing that the sales associate, bartender, sommelier or waiter will talk about is the flavors—and the aromas—of the chosen wine.

Without a doubt, there is a connection between grape varietal and aroma. You can always expect to find specific scents in specific wines based on their varietals and their blends, but the truth of the matter is what you get from a wine is a very personal matter and changes from both individual person to individual person and estate to estate. As difficult as it is to get ten people to agree on a place to have dinner in New York City that they all like, it’s difficult to get those same people not only to agree on all liking the same wine, but liking the same thing about it. However, as much as it may be difficult for people to agree on how to describe wines, there are qualities we can generally attribute to specific grapes.

The fun thing about wine drinking in the 21st century is that the market understands the concept of individual experience, so you can express yourself any way you want. From saying “it tastes like shoe polish” to “there are notes of tar” is perfectly normal. It’s not that you take a spoon full of shoe polish with your morning coffee and then take a dive in a vat of tar every time you walk pass a “Road Work Ahead” sign, but as our own Christy Canterbury has pointed out, taste is smell so you’re not necessarily tasting but smelling.

In wine tasting as much as everything else, practice makes perfect. If to you a wine tastes like toasted maple leaf, perhaps it does, but maybe you really want to make sure. You might want to practice tasting wine at home with some dried fruit and nuts to help you taste the corresponding flavors of your favorite wines. It is easier to make comparisons if you have both things you’re comparing. Do it enough, and you’ll be able to do it by scent alone. It’s a lot of fun when you can recognize wines by their smell alone—practice at home, give it a shot, and impress your friends at parties.

While smell and taste are highly personal, you can expect some specific flavor profiles with specific varietals. To help you out in your quest to master your next favorite party trick, here are the basic flavors to look for in some popular Italian varietals:

Sangiovese (Toscana): Dried flowers, berries like blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, or strawberry. You’ll find a really nice example in the 2006 Fontodi Chianti Classico.

Nebbiolo (Piemonte): Cherry and other dark fruit (like dried cranberries) or tar and rose petal, but please do not have a wine, tar and rose petal tasting! I would try the De Forville Nebbiolo 2007 or Massolino’s 2004 Barolo for some great aroma and flavor representation.

Nero d’Avola (Sicilia): This is one of my personal favorites. You can find many flavors; look for black cherry, plum, vanilla, tobacco and licorice. My Nero d’Avola go-to since I started at IWM has been il Moro by Valle Dell’Acate. The 2006 is great.

Palagrello Bianco (Campania): Orange blossoms, pears and peaches—grab some juicy pears and peaches and open a bottle of Alois Caiati 2005 or Vestini Campagnano 2004. I’d thrown in a couple of pieces of Reggiano while you’re at it just to complete the experience.

Pigato (white, Liguria): I love this wine! Look for apricot, peach and herbs. Both the 2008 U Baccan by Bruna and the Bisson 2007 are exceptional wines and will help you to understand this varietal.

Cortese (white, Piemonte): This is your Gavi’s varietal. Look for white flowers, white fruit like peaches, pears and apples.  I would give the Ca’ dei Mandorli a shot, a wine that dips under the radar but really shows what Cortese is about.

And for those of you who have mastered the art of the nose, what are your favorite scentastic wines? What profiles can you detect and in conjunction with which varietals?