Between Two Worlds ~ The Vallé D'Aoste

A few years ago I was in Torino, visiting family and friends. A cousin suggested we take a little trip up through Ivrea to the Vallé D'Aoste. Somewhere between Italy and France, another clan, the Valdostans, guard their valleys and their unique culture. It is an interesting turn on the wine road in Italy.

From Ivrea to Mt. Blanc, the A5 highway twists though deeply torn canyons. The language is influenced by the French, though it has never been part of France. This is Italy with sauce and butter, and Italian grapes with French names. It is the smallest region in Italy with the lowest population. But this is not a drive-through kind of place.

My first contact with the wines of the Vallé D'Aoste was back in 1982. We were importing the wines of Ezio Voyat, through the Enoteca de Rham. The red, Chambave Rouge, was a hit. We had the 1961, and it sold, wholesale, for about $20. It was rich and acidic and deep and full and gorgeous. I remember it like it was yesterday.

My last bottle of '61

The white was a Passito, and it reminded me of a cross between a Vin Santo and an Oloroso Sherry. The Italians went crazy for these wines. A few clients still ask me about them. I wish we had some more.

This is a place to spend two or three days and amble the 100 miles from Courmayeur to Donnas. While summertime is a great period, the harvest time of September-October is rich with the bounty. Along the country roads, little stands display the mushrooms, the honey, the artisanal pasta, the infusions of berries and fruits with the grappa. Wood crafts are especially enticing. It is impossible to resist something like a one-of-a-kind wood turned Coppa dell' Amicizia for the famous Caffè alla Valdostana. Bring on the cool nights for this fortified treat.

This all started when I was doing research on the difference between Donnaz (now called Donnas) and Carema. Two wines from two regions, but really neighbors. Nebbiolo-based wines, though the grapes are called by other names, some say Picoutener, others say Picotendro.

This from the Italian Trade Commission: “A region wide DOC known as Valle d'Aosta or Vallée d'Aoste covers 23 categories of wine whose names are given in Italian and French, the official second language. These include the longstanding DOCs of Donnas and Enfer d'Arvier, as well as the white wines of Morgex and La Salle, whose vineyards in the shadow of Mont Blanc are reputed to be the highest in continental Europe. Valle d'Aosta has no IGT.

Valle d'Aosta grape varieties range from Piedmontese (Nebbiolo, Dolcetto, Moscato) to French (Chardonnay, the Pinots, Gamay), to the teutonic Muller Thurgau called in for mountain duty. But the most intriguing wines of Valle d'Aosta stem from varieties it calls its own. These include the Petit Rouge of Enfer d'Arvier and Torrette, the Blanc de Valdigne of Morgex and La Salle, the Petite Arvine of the varietal white of the name, the Vien for the red wine of Nus and the Malvoisie (apparently a mutation of Pinot Gris) for the rare dessert white of Nus.”

So this is an interesting region for the wine lover, Italian and French alike.

Wine Trail-From north to south
* Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de La Salle (tel. 0165800331) is located in Morgex at the foot of Mont Blanc.
* Aymavilles has two wineries: Cave des Onze Communes (tel. 0165902912), which is the most important cooperative winery in the valley, offering wine sales, tastings and walks through the vineyards; and Azienda Les Cretes (tel. 0165902274), which has a cellar with a view of four castles and the vineyards.
* Aosta's main vineyard is the Institut Agricole Regional (tel. 0165553304). It is run by the monks of St. Bernard, and is known for its table wines. You can tour the cellar, the vineyards and the farm museum.
* Chambave's winery, La Crotta di Vegneron (at Piazza Roncas 2, tel. 016646670), produces Chambave wine as well as several other DOC wines.
* In Donnas, visit the Caves Cooperatives de Donnas at Via Roma 97 (tel. 0125807096) that offers tours of the cellars and wine tastings. Donnas is the only wine town in the region and is noted for its wine production.

Aosta Valley typical food:
Capriolo alla valdostana: venison stewed in red wine with vegetables, herbs, grappa, cream.
Carbonade: salt-cured beef cooked with onions and red wine in a rich stew.
Minestra di castagne e riso: thick soup of rice cooked in milk with chestnuts.
Polenta alla rascard: cornmeal cooked, cooled and sliced, then baked with layers of Fontina and a ragout of beef and sausage.
Risotto alla valdostana: Fontina, toma, Parmigiano Reggiano and butter make this one of the creamiest of rice dishes.
Seupa de gri: barley soup with potatoes, onions, seasonal vegetables, salt pork.


Festivals
JANUARY
Verrès: Historical Carnival Pageant and Parade: Thousands of people come for this delightful presentation, which recounts the inheritance disputes between the beautiful daughters of Francesco di Challand, a local aristocrat. On the Saturday before Carnival, a costumed procession winds its way through the streets to Town Hall, where the Mayor hands a gold key to Caterina, thus making her Lady of the Manor. Her first official act is to invite the crowd to celebrate in her castle. The festivities last for three days, culminating in an incredibly colorful (and noisy!) carnival parade on Tuesday.

Pont-Saint-Martin: Roman Carnival: This is probably the only place in the world where a host of toga-clad tribunes, senators, legions, guards and nymphs celebrate Carnival with a real chariot race! The origins are lost in time, but don't date as far back as the town bridge (pictured at left), an engineering feat built 2000 years ago by the imperial legions. The festivities end on Tuesday, when a straw devil is burned in effigy under the bridge.

FEBRUARY
Courmayeur: Carnival: Traditional folk dances welcome the arrival of spring during this very popular pageant, which features the bear (whose early appearance has the same meaning as our groundhog's), the mule (whose tail sweeps away evil winds), and loads of tiny mirrors (to frighten off evil spirits).

Nus: Historical Carnival: A large procession of costumed villagers follows the municipal band throughout the entire city, accompanied by colorful floats and hundreds of masked figures. Free soup for all at the end of the day.

Saint-Vincent: Children's Carnival: The festivities begin with the investiture of the Little Mayor, and for the next eleven days the grade school kids rule this spa town. Watch how you behave around them too: the squad of “little guardians” is allowed to administer fines (all proceeds are donated to charity).

MARCH
Pila: Snow Carnival

APRIL
Brissogne: Rebatta Competition. This popular local game features a large spiked ball balanced on the end of a pipe and tossed up to 600 yards.

Pollein: Tsan Competition. Local farmers probably invented this game, which resembles a rudimentary folk version of baseball.

MAY
Nus: Vien de Nus Festival celebrates the two local wines, Rouge and Malvoisie. Performances by local folklore groups are followed by a costumed parade and an outdoor banquet for one and all, featuring fritters, salami and other tasty dishes washed down with the new vintages.

JUNE
Gressoney-Saint-Jean: Festival of St. John. It begins the evening of June 23rd, when a crowd of residents and guests walk from one neighborhood to another to witness a series of bonfires. Each little burg offers its visitors wine and snacks, and the next day everyone puts on their very best Walser costumes and attends high mass to witness the blessing of the sheep.

JULY
Saint-Rhemy-en-Bosses: Ham Festival, featuring the renowned local varieties.

AUGUST
Gaby: Polenta Picnic. Everyone is invited to participate in the cooking and the eating.

La Thuile: Bataille de reines and Shepherds' Festival (Sunday after August 15th). The hillsides of the Little Saint Bernard come alive each year for this festival, celebrated by folklore groups and local bands. The crowning moment comes in the afternoon when the farmers pick the “festival queen”: the most valuable milk cow. The lucky winner gets to participate at the finals in Aosta, one of the most enthusiastically awaited events of the year in this rural region.

SEPTEMBER
Chambave: Grape Festival (last Sunday of the month). Folklore groups and local bands perform while everyone attends a huge outdoor banquet. At the end of the day the local authorities choose the year's best variety of grapes.

OCTOBER
Donnas - Grape-Harvest Festival

Gressan: Apple Festival (second Sunday of the month), featuring the local cider and a vast assortment of apple desserts.

Aosta: Bataille de reines Finals (next-to-last Sunday of the month).

DECEMBER
Aosta: International Hot Air Balloon Encounter. One entire week of events (including public excursions over the city), culminating in the spectacular (and dangerous) ascent of 13,000-foot Mont Blanc.

Almost everywhere: Living Nativity Scenes (December).

Cervinia: Torchlit Procession on Skis (December).
List of festivals courtesy of http://www.hostetler.net/

For my part, I am looking forward to the Fontina cheese festival in late autumn in the town of Aosta. The farmers will be bringing their cheeses down from the higher altitudes for this fête. Hope to see you there, with a hunk of Fontina in one hand and a glass of Donnas, or Enfer d’Arvier, in the other.

The 1st Best Italian Wine Tasting of the Year

January is traditionally a time I go to New York. The holidays are over, the year has been put to bed and then it is time to meet with suppliers and see where we have been and where we are going. My first trip this year started with something I have wanted to do for years – taste the Italian wine portfolio of Neal Rosenthal with the man himself.

One of my colleagues deals directly with Neal and so we had a half day in New York. The plan was for Neal to meet us at the airport and head straight to his warehouse.

I got in first to La Guardia where Neal was waiting by the curb with his venerable old Volvo. He flashed his famous smile; we spoke a few words of Italian and headed to work.

Italian High Noon: Five Rode In

As morning dawned, only five were left. After many wars and battles, they couldn’t claim victory. They had been left behind, without any entitlements to greatness, as their fellow warriors had enjoyed. No victory laps, no medallions, nothing. Just the blank stare from the sun as it rose to shine upon everyone else but them.

How many more years before these five could taste the glory of greatness, riding tall in their saddles, heads held high? As if it were ever in the cards for these five?

Soon, the curtain would fall, and there would be no more pageantry, no more striving for the highest honor. Before long, they and all their compatriots would be swept away into a larger procession. And with it, dashed is the chance to go into new battles with a taste of triumph.

A Simple Trattoria in Rome

Nothing pretentious, just a real love for food and wine

Once Upon a Time in Rome
It must have been 1988 or 1990. We were in Rome, staying at the Rafael near Piazza Navona. It was June and not yet the scalding fry-pan Rome could sometimes become in the summer.

Twenty years before, I had wandered Rome for a week or two, with a camera. Looking back, I was capturing a city that was disappearing, a modern chapter that was submerging into history. That Rome is now gone and another layer has been covered over the one I first knew.

D.O.C. is D.O.A.

From what I can gather the D.O.C. and D.O.C.G. is no more. A document was signed by the Director General ad interim, Stefano Vaccari back in November but I imagine it will take time to become "official" and more time to become "recognized." Sure the Italians have just printed up pretty new neck bands for the bottles with the letters D.O.C. and D.O.C.G, but they were also still printing Lire notes between 1999 and 2002. D.O.C., D.O.C.G. and I.G.T. are being replaced with D.O.P. and I.G.P., but will remain for a while. The Italians will surely continue to observe them as a “national subunit” of the European system that has replaced it. Young sommeliers get ready to memorize more lists.

Not much to say except to ruminate on the number 73, which appears to be the end of the road for the run up the Italians did to get their D.O.C.G.’s lined up. Little good it seems to have done as they appear to have been folded into the D.O.P. listing. Sure they will have the pretty neck bands. And somewhere I have a 5 lire coin in my drawer worth nothing but a memory.

The party had to end sooner or later. So let’s not waste too much time crying. Just peruse the lists, remember them, pass your test, and move along.

I am heading to Vinitaly tomorrow and there is a rumor buzzing that there will be an important announcement about all of this, with a surprise. As soon as I get wind of it, I assure you I will “report” back here on this site. It will probably be sometime after the fair and when I am on my way to another wine event in Bordeaux En Primeur 2012. Life is one giant slog from wine glass to wine glass. Forgive me for they know not what they do.

In the meantime I will also post, as Wi-Fi (and time) permits on any pertinent information from Vinitaly 2012

You Can't Go Home Again

“Make your mistakes, take your chances, look silly, but keep on going. Don’t freeze up.”  -Thomas Wolfe

The past few days in New York, walking paths I used to walk when I was 23 and New York was a much older place. Bleeker Street in January, it couldn’t get any direr for me. Walking past the Chelsea Hotel on my way to work, looking at the plaques of the dead writers, many who never made it to 40. At 23, that was almost half a lifetime away, but the winter of ’75 was a bitter halfway point.

Today on Bleeker Street, it was bright and breezy, a perfect 80°F, just the day for the last of the rosé wines, a Donnas from the Valle d’Aoste and a Rossese Rosé from Liguria. Add two glasses of Trebbiano Spoletino to go with the artichokes alla giudia for good measure. Almost 40 years later, New York is manageable. But as Thomas Wolfe said all those years ago, you can’t go home again. Not to New York. Not to California.

An Italo-American Solution to the Dilemma of Nebbiolo in Piedmont

Self-portrait by Salvator Rosa

How do you handle a problem like Nebbiolo? Piedmont bestows upon the grape any number of iterations within the law to allow it to rise and shine. Among the DOP category (DOCG and DOC - Piedmont has no IGP/T classification) there are 25:

Drinking My Way Through Sicily (and Rome)

Every day during this last trip to Sicily there were wines to be tasted. Fortunately most of the wines were tasted with food, although there were some official-like tastings as well. The following recaps some of the best wines I had while in Sicily and in Rome.

Italian Mountain Wines, Friendship and a Good Night’s Sleep

Why most of you came here was to find out about Italian wine. And, over the years, I’ve written a lot about that. I’m not stopping, wine is just a part of everyday life these days. But good wine, and the occasional great wine, make all the difference in the world.

For that, I’ve been focusing on Italian wine made in mountain climes, from Liguria to Piedmont, to Alto Adige, to Valtellina, to Valle d’Aoste, to Etna, and anywhere and everywhere wine making becomes just a little more challenging to make. Heroic? Sure, why not?

One need to just go there, try and drive there, hike there, and see how challenging it is. I’ve more than once lost my breath, my balance and my equilibrium once I got on top of a mountain (or even a tall hill) and looked across the horizon. Never down. Yeah, right. Unfortunately, I did look down, and it was hard going to get me off that mountain top. But ultimately, I descended. After all the cellar usually is somewhere lower, and one must complete their research, n'est-ce pas?

Vallé D'Aoste ~ Strangers No More

I really had no idea about the Vallé D'Aoste. It was one of two regions I had little or no contact with, the other being Sardegna. Yes, I had sold wine from the region, many years ago, and that little exposure had colored my view of the area. Other than that, I thought it similar to other mountainous wine regions I had been to. Boy was I wrong.

125 kilometers from Torino is a short distance to go to get to the end of the earth, but that is exactly where you will find yourself when you arrive at St. Pierre in the Vallé D'Aoste.

Imagine being in the passenger side of a little Fiat Panda, a goat-trail scrambler of a car. To the right is a drop-off of about 500-700 feet, no rails, plenty of free-fall space. And picture the driver, long used to traversing these trails, heading up the path as if he were entering a freeway. As my dad so famously said, many times, my rear end crawled up around my neck and almost strangled me to death.

We were heading to the original vineyard of the Torrette, vigne de Torrette of Di Barrò.

Where were we? Had we landed in Anasazi land? It seemed like we had arrived in the Southwest desert of the United States. Shale rock and cliffs, an aboriginal dwelling, I was waiting for someone to come over and offer me turquoise and rugs. We had arrived, once again, in the Italy we never see.

We visited several winemakers this day. On our first visit we found a winery where the wine was good, the conversation was lively and the people really seemed to be happy in their life’s work.

The wine estate Di Barrò, has two meanings. First in the local patois it means “of/from the barrels.” And secondly it is an acronym from the names of the original landholders, Barmaz and Rossan. Andrea Barmaz and his wife Elvira Rini are the present owners. They have landholdings in the Monte Torrette, where the original vigne de Torrette still exists. Their other vineyard holdings are in Condemine and Boné in Saint Pierre, Veyne in Villeneuve and Champcognein in Aymavilles.


Wines tasted were the 2006 Chardonnay, 2006 Le Plantse rosé from Pinot Grigio, 2006 Torrette from Petite Rouge, 2006 Mayolet, 2006 Syrah, 2005 Fumin, 2005 Vigne de Torrette and the dessert wine, Lo Bien Flapì.
Tasting notes will be on next post, along with all the Vallé D'Aoste wines tasted.

Will many of these wines ever make it into my world? Does it matter? About 90% of the wines from the region are sold locally. Tourism, tasting rooms at wineries and the thrill of going out to the country to get some fresh air, a little Fontina cheese and a taste of the wines provide the momentum. Sure, they’d love to see their wines in New York or San Francisco. Keep in mind these are intensively farmed vineyards, tractors and machinery cannot be depended on to carry the burden of the work load. These are steep hillsides, similar to the ones in the Valle de la Roya in Liguria, the Valtellina in Lombardia or the Douro in Portugal. If you have a fear of heights, this region will challenge you. If you have a fear of high prices, these wines will also test you. We’re talking Brunello price range.


One note that has been bothering me and that is about they way the region has decided to denominate their wines with the DOC laws. Most of the wines that are applicable (23) go under the Vallé D'Aoste DOC. So a Fumin or a Chambave are simply listed as DOC Vallé D'Aoste. They are also listed in either Italian or French names. While I think this is confusing, it also lumps all these wines into one bin. I know the folks in Piedmont or Tuscany wouldn’t like their Barbaresco and Barolo or Brunello and Vino Nobile to be listed under one DOC of Piemonte or Toscana. Of course those regions are a little more politically connected ( and those wines are all DOCG at this point). The wines from the Vallé D'Aoste have no IGT classifications. For a region that satisfied the Roman legions over 2,000 years ago with their wines, isn’t it time for a review of this?

Andrea and Elvira are warm, friendly folk, but moreover they convey the energy of this little outpost, an area that is ice-locked for a good part of the year. After that harrowing ride in the vineyards and a taste of their wines, though, we went from a bunch of strangers to a group of old friends, talking about the Italian Holy Trinity - Ferrari, soccer and women - and laughing like long-lost family. We’ll be back.

written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy

In Search of the Untamed - Is it Too Late for Italy?

In a lifetime quest to uncover every inch of Italy, what I have been looking for lately has been a return to something I found very early and didn’t know just how important it was. And that is the secret life of the wild, the feral, the untamed. Sure, fifty years ago, it was easy to walk down a street in Pozzuoli and see an Italy that was pretty much characteristic at the time – chaotic, noisy, bustling with life, kids running after the tall, lanky Americano in patched jeans and a funky t-shirt, back packing across his ancestor’s lands with a camera. It was everywhere. But is it still there, somewhere?

Italy’s "Other" Coast

With summer vacation now over for most of Italians, the coastal areas are returning to a less frenetic period. There are still almost 4 million Italians on holiday (plus a few lucky Americans), but the high-season prices are down and there are a few secret places I like to go to. Much of the activity is in the vineyards, or back in the cities, where the jobs are and the concentration of population lives and works. This is one of my favorite times to go to the coast and luxuriate in the sensation of the air, sea and land. Sure it’s a little lonely, this time of the year. But the harvest is still going strong. Vegetables are ripening, the grapes are filling up with sugar and the bounty of the sea has less demand on it. Did you know right now that fishing has been slowed if not halted in some areas? According to Coldiretti, in a September 2 release, “Fishing is expected to stop at the beginning of the week including all activities from the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Sea as announced by Coldiretti ImpresaPesca, emphasizing that the provision in force until October 1st will affect the coast from Brindisi to Imperia involving seven regions, while fishing has already stopped since August 6th in the Adriatic from Pesaro to Bari.”

There Are No Sick Bees Here

From the Archives ~ Nov. 18, 2007

I have been back in Texas less than a week. During the first half of November, I visited six regions in Northern Italy. These were wine producing areas that were mountainous. There was usually a temperate valley included, for the grapes. We visited wine producing areas such as the Valle d’Aosta, Valle de la Roya, Valtellina, Valpolicella and the Valle Isarco.

Today I worked in my garden. It is past mid November and the figs on the trees are ripe, the basil is still growing and I harvested a 5 pound cucuzza squash. There are dozens of baby cucuzzas that probably won’t survive the coming cold spell later this week. The oregano and the rosemary will, though.

I don’t know how to go about telling stories about the wine valleys we visited. They were intense visits, lots of climbing and probably too many appointments. But what diversity there is between the regions. Is this Italy? Happy to report, it is, although it will be difficult to find many of the wines, and the food to go with it, in Italian restaurants here in the US.

There Are No Sick Bees Here

I have been back in Texas less than a week. During the first half of November, I visited six regions in Northern Italy. These were wine producing areas that were mountainous. There was usually a temperate valley included, for the grapes. We visited wine producing areas such as the Valle d’Aosta, Valle de la Roya, Valtellina, Valpolicella and the Valle Isarco.

Today I worked in my garden. It is past mid November and the figs on the trees are ripe, the basil is still growing and I harvested a 5 pound cucuzza squash. There are dozens of baby cucuzzas that probably won’t survive the coming cold spell later this week. The oregano and the rosemary will, though.

I don’t know how to go about telling stories about the wine valleys we visited. They were intense visits, lots of climbing and probably too many appointments. But what diversity there is between the regions. Is this Italy? Happy to report, it is, although it will be difficult to find many of the wines, and the food to go with it, in Italian restaurants here in the US.


One place that captured my heart was Airole in Liguria. Positioned in the Italian Riviera, this is a little known area, but what a treasure. Stark landscapes, dramatic inclines, awesome vistas, heroic spirit of place. On the trip into Liguria, and specifically to Airole, we had an appointment with Dino Masala, whose A Trincea property makes a wonderful olive oil from the Taggiasca olive. The oil is a dense, prehistoric kind of primordial slime that is worth fighting over. Brilliant yellow, cloudy, dense and desirable. If an olive oil can be sexual, the oil from Liguria is a symbol of that kind of sensual quality one normally associates with a person. It is an elixir, a medicine, an antidote, a vitamin, mineral and vegetable, a full meal and an anointing potion.


Dino Masala charges €18 Euro for a 1 Liter bottle of his oil. That’s precious enough. He also makes a variety of white and red wines, but it is his signature wine called Roccese that was one of the most interesting finds of the trip. Made mostly with the famous Rossese of Dolceacqua and blended with other indigenous grapes of the area. That could mean Italian or French varieties, as we straddled the two worlds on these mountaintops, shared between vines and olives, thyme and ruta. The wine is this rich, fleshy, ride in the back seat of a '55 Chevy - smooth, comfy and pleasurable.


Dino Masala is a man with a tan from working on his land, not from a tanning machine or a bottle. He is less about the wine and more about the land. Here is a man who, when he puts his head on a pillow, sleeps so soundly, so deep, that when he awakes, resurrects himself everyday as a new man. An entrepreneur who has made several fortunes, but who sees his bees and his vines and his mules as his real wealth. As we were walking though his property, which looks and feels like something out of Cervantes and the Douro, the bees were buzzing so loudly as to be the dominant hum of the world around us. “There are no sick bees here,” Dino remarked as we walked through a wall of the busy little creatures, intent upon gathering as much of the precious nectar that they could find, or steal. Yes, the air was filled with the sound of bees with the music of Leonard Cohen playing in the valley below.


Maybe it is just that I haven’t been here that much. For me Liguria is a wonderful find. It is rustic and wild, far from cities and frescoes. It is a wild side of Italy. At the end of the day I smelled like a bouquet of herbs - ruta, thyme and rosemary. From the top of A Trincea I remarked to Dino that his place is the Macchu Picchu of Italy. He nodded, as if that hadn’t been the first time someone had said that to him. To the old Roman bones inside this soldier of the vines, it was like coming home.

The Macchu Picchu of Italy

written and photographed by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy

Carema - “Strong and Likeable as the Sun and the Stone”

Image courtesy of Cantina Produttori Nebbiolo Di Carema

Imagine families, perched precariously on the side of a mountain, working the land, generation after generation, tending their vines, to make a wine from their grapes. And imagine, on the other side of the planet, nary a person knows about the many souls who have poured out their life’s effort, their heart and soul, for a wine that is virtually unknown. This is one of the existential problems facing the winegrowers and winemakers in northern Italy who make the wine from Nebbiolo grapes called Carema.

Italian Wine in 2014 - Personal Strategies for Collecting - Part II

During the last two weeks I’ve had more than one occasion to dig into my wine closet and pull out some gems. Barolo, Brunello, Champagne, old California wine, Hermitage, vintage Port and some older whites from Friuli and Marche. And while the cellar is far from emptied, there is a little more room for some of the wines I left out in the first post I wrote on December 22, Italian Wine in 2014 - Personal Strategies for Collecting - Part I. So let’s venture forth.

Extreme Makeover ~ Wine List Edition

Ziff & Dale are back!


Over the past month, with holidays and traveling, I have been in my share of restaurants. Usually we are in an Italian place, but not always. But inevitably I get handed the wine list. “Pick something,” I am told. If only life were that simple.

I have not always made the best choices in life, but a wine list shouldn’t be a life shattering experience. And while there are many more things worthy of our serious attention, this is the life I have chosen, and so, I wonder while I wander on the wine trail in Italy.

During this time period, I was sent a wine list from a restaurateur who wanted my input on his list. He’s a chef, has a wine warden, but I get the feeling they aren’t exactly seeing eye-to-eye these days. I could easily guess from looking at the wine list and the menu together. The menu is this graceful elaboration of small and thoughtful plates, utilizing seasonal ingredients, often sourced locally. The salumi, cured in house, is fresh and direct. One of the items I had, a ciccioli, was just a bite (The banquet is in the first bite, as Pollan likes to say) but was an explosion of wonderful, harmonious flavors. The chef knows food.

The wine list, however, was a mine field of overpriced, spoofulated wines, with the usual suspects from Tuscany and Piedmont. Really a shame these two never got on the same page. With a little luck, the wine warden will move on to a steakhouse. Soon. In the meantime, for this little place and for all Italian places that are looking to makeover their wine lists, here are some wines I would put on if it were my place.

Malvasia Bianca "Donna Marzia" from Conte Zecca – 2008 - A bright, slightly fat white from Puglia. Just enough body to favor cured meats pork, or a scallop dish with a smoked cauliflower puree. I have turned my friends on to this white wine since last summer. Giorgio Marone, who studied under Tachis, consults with this estate. I met Marone years ago at Illuminati and liked his laid back approach. The wine is fruity, fresh and sells in retail shops for under $10. In the right restaurant it should fly off the wine list for under $30. From Mionetto USA Imports.

Tramin Chardonnay – Alto Adige – 2008. Stainless steel. No oak. I was telling Damon Ornowski about it the other day. When I first got into drinking wine there were scads of inexpensive white wine from the Maconnais. Those days are gone, but I still like to get my drink on with a nice crisp chardonnay. Willi Sturz fashions such a creature from pre-alpine vineyards. I do not know why this wine isn’t on every Italian wine list in America, at least from the Mississippi river heading west. In stores it sells for under $15. On my wine list I would notch it at under $35. From Winebow.

Basilicata Bianco – Re Manfredi – 2008 - From Terre degli Svevi, who make a massive old school, Aglianico. Their white is another world. A blend, (grown in Basilicata, mind you) of Traminer and Muller Thurgau, grown at elevations of 1100 feet on volcanic and harsh slopes, just the place to build character. I find this wine to be a gulper, but I have to get it on a list first so more people can have that pleasure. It’s an odd confluence of grapes and locality, but these little miracles happen all the time. Now if we could just get the good Lord to put His hands over the small placements and let them multiply. In the retail wine shops it should be findable for around $20. I’d love to see it on a wine list for $39, but if someone asked $42 I’d sign up on the spot. From Frederick Wildman.

Gaglioppo - Statti – 2008- The other night we found ourselves in a classy place, Craft, with a wine list that was interesting enough to find more than one wine for the night. Kudos’ to the somm and the salesperson (and probably the importer) for getting this wine onto the list (now, if we could just get it onto an Italian wine list or two?). From Calabria, this wine is pretty direct – light color, delicate spice on the nose, good body, balanced flavors. This unassuming Gaglioppo is one of the perfect little wines that make a night out part of a great dining experience. Found in the stores for under $20, on Craft’s wine list it sold for $48. I can handle that. From Vias Wine Imports.

Barbera d’Asti “Villa Lisa” – Cascina Bruni 2008 – looks like a pattern here – 2008 vintages all of them so far. I reluctantly embraced this wine, as experience indicated that Barbera wines do not sell. But we got this onto the floor of the greatest Italian wine and food store in America and over the past 4 months they sold 100 cases of this wine. People loved, love, love this wine. One somm I showed it too poo-poohed it, “Too light,” “Not enough extraction,” “I like bigger Barbera’s.” Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the little people like it. And I’m one of them. It’s the perfect Italian red wine for everyday. No romance, not even a sleepover. But you can get some satisfaction with this bright and cheerful red wine. It reminds me of my son's cat, who likes to wait at the door for people who come to his house. He's ready to play and jump around and have fun, and this Barbera is ready and attentive. And, at the end of the day, it’s a pussycat of a wine. A lap cat. Cuddly and warm and not too complicated. In the retail world it sells for way under $15. So, on a wine list it should be selling for $30 – max. From Tricana Imports.

Last one –

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Vigna Nuove – Valle Reale – 2008

Folks who read these posts know how much I like Montepulciano from Abruzzo. The Illuminati’s are like second family to me. Maybe I am not as crazed as Sausage Paul, who has 15+ on his racks (way to go Paul!), but I do like me some Monty! This one, from Valle Reale, just rolled into my life and I can’t get enough of it. It is dense, nutty, a solid quaff. I do not know why more folks (i.e. young aspiring somms who want to make a career in the wine business) don’t pull their head out of their amphoras and dedicate themselves to giving pleasure to their customers. On the East Coast, Montepulciano is all over the place. West of the Mississippi, who knows what the hold up is? What I do know, is that one can make a career starting with one wine. If I were a young buck, I’d do it all over again and swing on this star. In the little Italian stores you can find this wine for under $15. Same as the Barbera above. From Winebow.

Do you see a pattern? Value? Quality? Drinkability? No barriques. No Spoof. No Testosterone.

So there you have it - my Six Picks- Extreme Makeover ~ The Wine List Edition. Read ‘em and weep. Good luck finding them. Most likely online they are readily available. Tell your friends. Tell your local restaurateur. These are wines worth seeking out.

"Take my wine — please."

written by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy

The man who visited every winery in Italy

In Italy, there is a most amazing fellow. He is 93 years old, and from the age of 18, his sole goal and activity has been to visit every winery in Italy. So far, he’s racked up 27,565 winery visits, and even though old age is catching up to him, he figures he has another seven years, when he turns 100, to cover all 30,000 wineries in Italy. He has done what no other person has done, yet alone even imagine doing. It has been a hectic pace, averaging one winery a day for the last 75+ years. One for the record books, our fellow traveler has been regarded in Italy as both a crack pot and a genius. Fellow genius Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Conversely, E.B White was heard to say “Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.”  The following is an (imagined) interview I made with this most unusual man, known only as Gegè.

Beyond the Aurelian Walls

So you’ve had your Roman holiday. Seen the sights. Taken in the Vatican Museum, the Baths of Caracalla, the Borghese Gardens. Touched the Pietà. You’ve driven on the deserted streets of Rome before the sunrise, past the empty and brooding Colosseum. You’ve had her, Rome. Now what?

As all roads lead to Rome, all roads lead out of Rome as well. Spin the dial, any direction will do.

East? Marche, Abruzzo.

South? Campania, Basilicata, Calabria.

North? Umbria, Romagna.

West? Sardegna, Maremma.

Does it really matter? If you are a trophy hunter, it does. You’d have to go to Tuscany or Piedmont. Maybe the Veneto. Find a stash of Barolo or Brunello, dig in the cellars, among so many Bentleys, parked, waiting to be driven around the table.

Beyond the Aurelian Walls - Ex Archium

From the Archives - Wednesday, November 24, 2010

So you’ve had your Roman holiday. Seen the sights. Taken in the Vatican Museum, the Baths of Caracalla, the Borghese Gardens. Touched the Pietà. You’ve driven on the deserted streets of Rome before the sunrise, past the empty and brooding Colosseum. You’ve had her, Rome. Now what?

As all roads lead to Rome, all roads lead out of Rome as well. Spin the dial, any direction will do.

East? Marche, Abruzzo.

South? Campania, Basilicata, Calabria.

North? Umbria, Romagna.

West? Sardegna, Maremma.

Does it really matter? If you are a trophy hunter, it does. You’d have to go to Tuscany or Piedmont. Maybe the Veneto. Find a stash of Barolo or Brunello, dig in the cellars, among so many Bentleys, parked, waiting to be driven around the table.