Colli Orientali del Friuli: Field Report

The field at Miani in Buttrio. I nearly tripped on the stones that covered the yard and the fields. The wines are immense, like the winemaker. The cellar, only 79 barrels (a little more than Chateau Le Pin), is colder than the outdoors. When garagiste Enzo Pontoni tells me the wines are more about the place (Buttrio) I think back almost a year when a winemaker took me out from his winery in Abruzzo and tasted the Montepulciano in the vineyard. Here, as well, I would like to do that. Out of the garage and back into the fields

Mother of winemaker Pontoni with Christian Patat of Ronco del Gnemiz chatting in Friulan

His mother is animated, very direct in her Friulian language and her naturalness with expressing herself simply and clearly. The wines too are very direct though not too simple. They are big wines; I am transported back 20+ years when Colli Orientali was asserting itself on the world stage. Now Colli Orientali is no longer a child, but a young person, full of energy and spunk. There are a few wine lovers in Dallas who would love these wines with their hearty Western fare.

Sunsets and Revelation in Friuli

Earlier in the week, back home in Texas, I was lying in bed late at night. The wind was howling. A huge winter storm was bearing down over my roof. Snow, ice, winds, tornado sirens going off, alarms. Another winter surge, another whiteout. And so my mind raced, thinking about Friuli.

I don’t really know that much about the area. It isn’t exactly in the center of things. And for me, it isn’t one of my go-to regions. Alto-Adige has more draw in my business life, as does the Veneto. In fact, as I think more about it, I have spent an inordinate amount of time talking about wines from Friuli without the requisite sales volume. That’s a real shame, because these are good wines. But there are problems. And after tasting through a series of wines from Friuli last week at the Vino2011 events in New York, some of the same problems exist that I initially observed when I first got interested in these wines back in the early 1980’s.

Seeing as I am on my way with the COF2011 blog crew to Friuli, and specifically the Colli Orientali, I thought it would be illustrative to make some notes and see if the following week addresses concerns I have for these wines as they pertain to the American market.

Marea with the Maestro

That's right Marea - not Marfa - not yet

There ain’t too many people I would get out of a warm, dry taxi and go hunt down a shovel to clear a path for, in a snowfall, but Filippo De Belardino is one of them. And to do it, to make a way to one of the best meals I will have this year, let’s say it was worth it. Oh yeah! Man if I was a gambling man, after SD26 and Marea, I should just go home. First the disclaimer and then the details.

I know some folks just don’t like reading these kinds of posts. It could come off like a nah-nah-nah-nah-nah kind of brag-fest. But I promise to interject love and life and good times about friends and the most important thing in the wine business – the relationships. If I remember. Or I might just brag.

It’s hard not to love a guy like Filippo. Even when I get mad at him (rarely) I still love the cat. He is warm and generous and he gives me room to be myself. I think of him as a brother-in-arms. Thankfully, not a brother-in-law.

My Dinner with Carmen: The Sequel

People love stories. And I’m no exception. I adore a good story, especially from a master storyteller, like my pal Carmen Castorina. I love his energy, his sense of wonder in things, his early adopter mentality. In fact Carmen is one of the few people I can talk to about things as diverse as politics, wine, photography, technology and talk and talk for hours. We don’t argue, we talk. And talk. And I love to listen. Who can resist when the stories being told are so damn entertaining?

So when we met again for the second year in New York for Vino2011 I knew we were going to have dinner together. Anyone who read the entry from last year, My Dinner with Carmen, might already know a little about the guy. But this year, we aimed to blow it out. And blow 2010 away. And we did.

The Great Whiteoutpocalypse of 2011

Despite the foul weather (after all, it is January and winter!) this week in NY has been another great week of networking and celebrating all things Italian. The Italian Trade Commission took it “over the top” this week, with a stellar lineup of seminars and superstars to present. Their web site is "fully socialized” and the young (and young at heart) who ran that part of the event really get social media and all the new stuff that very few people get. But like breathing or blood pumping, it comes pretty naturally for them and for all the early adopters of all ages. Great wines more than make up for foul weather, non e’ vero?

How to sell your wine to America

This week in New York during the Italian Trade Commission event, Vino 2011, there will be many folks, from Italy and the USA, converging for several days of intensive Italian wine learning, tasting, and hopefully, selling. In the spirit of this event, this piece is posted in the hopes that I will be able to send folks to a place to answer the question, “How do I get into the American market?”

I keep getting emails from Italian wineries and their agents who seem to think that just having good wine is enough. Once again, I am going to lay out the roadmap for them with how I think they should approach selling wine in America. In this post, in no way am I attempting to disrespect anyone in Italy. Actually I am attempting to give you a million dollars’ worth of advice from one who deals with this on a daily basis and has done so for many years. The main fault with this advice is that is it unsolicited and it is free. And as everyone knows, volunteered advice at no cost carried with it is of no value. But I am an idealist and, if for no other reason, I can direct the hundreds of people who knock on my door (or blast me with email) if the conversation should go beyond the delete button.

You have a beautiful wine. It has hundreds of years of tradition. It embodies innovation. It belongs to a wealthy or powerfully connected family in Italy that has influence in its society. In other words, it is a bulletproof formula for success. Right?

3 Days, 2 Towns and a "Biblical Commute"

On and on and on and on and on the Italian trail again - Photo by Teresa Rafidi

My barking poodle buddy, Ron, likes to lampoon my blog name. I know it’s all in good spirit. If I didn’t feel that way I would have called my cousin Calogero in Sacramento to pay old Hostradamus a visit. But fortunately, for all of us, we didn’t have to go there.

No instead, I headed back onto the road this week, this time to Arkansas. I’ve been working my way up to New York and Friuli with forays into New Orleans and Little Rock, La Place and Fayetteville. This week was a great week, but cold, and snowy, and lots and lots of ice on the wine trail. That part wasn’t so fun.

Three Glasses

"Spill the wine ~ take that pearl"

The holidays have barely ended. It was a long work up from August until Dec 37th. And then back onto the road. This was the first week of many more to come, to work on growing the Italian wine business so many more folks may sleep well at night knowing there are those of us who are working long hours to keep the world safe for Italian wine. No matter how the Italians will manage to change direction in the next year or so.

Right now the Euro is relatively stable. People are coming out and eating and drinking and spending a little more, even in economically depressed areas. This past week I spent time in and around New Orleans. The smell of oil from the spill has gone, but the sting of the event lingers. People in this region are hurt. And they are emotional. You can tell by driving on the streets, if you are a cipher to those emotions, which, for better or worse, I am. But the spirit of the folk in this region is indomitable. Lots of resilience here. And a joy for life, even as we are on this little orb hurtling as some unimaginable speed through space as we are scattered in another direction at another totally unbelievable speed, by the galaxy whose teat we suckle at. And this, with the faint hint that in 5 billion or so years all will be nothing, not a grain of sand, not a speck of pepper. Wow, how’s that for an upbeat intro with a side of nihilism?

Aristocrat Sauce, Ubiquitous Alfredo & Pleonastic Paradoxes

"First introduced" in America ~Photo by Teresa Rafidi

During the holidays, many of us take to the country, to visit grandfathers and other relatives. One of the odd things about living in America is that wherever you go you will usually find a Chinese, a Mexican and an Italian restaurant. And last weekend, we did indeed find an Eye-talian restaurant in the unlikeliest of places.

Krugerville (population 903) is a bedroom community of Aubrey, which is a suburb of Denton, which is a little north of Dallas. We were invited to a birthday party for lunch and made the 45 minute trek from town.

One of the best meals I had in Dallas in 2010

...wasn't Italian

At the end of the year, a small group of wine and food lovers gathered at one of the hottest scenes in town. Nosh? Close, but no cigar. La Fiorentina? I wouldn’t stake my bet on that guess. Lucia? Nice try, but that’s a half-baked guess.

No, this was an adventure into the French countryside, compete with oysters and Champagne, a duo of roasted ducks with winter root vegetables, a bevy of cheese and desserts and French wines, starting with Champagne. And while I love all the aforementioned restaurants that made their debut in 2010, this meal made a serious stab at five-star dining.

But they still lead me back...

...To the long and winding road.

In the real world, New Years day was almost a week ago. In the world of making numbers and getting everything taken care of, yesterday was the end of the year, December 37th.

This has been a long, long O-N-D. It started in August and finally ended, days into January. We are tired, but happy. Happy to see it over. But knowing it will start all over again. In fact I am packing my bags and will be on the move for the next few months.

Resilience

What is it about a person, or a wine, that makes them weather all kinds of adverse conditions? Why do some bounce back? Why do some fold? What makes one survive, while another, with possible lesser challenges, gives up, backs down, goes away?

I saw it yesterday with a friend. He is a little older than me, and his life hasn’t been the one people dream of. But it hasn’t been a total disaster either. He had a bad marriage, always working, away from the wife and kids. They didn’t know him as well as his clients. And one by one they drifted away from him. But it wasn’t an incurable situation.

I was steeped in incurable, ten years ago. My wife was days away from death, years had passed where she underwent all manner of disappointments. And then she was taken away. My life hasn’t been one people dream of either. Unless they were having a nightmare. But somehow, through that and other tests, here I am. Not bitter. Not spent. Not yet.

Colli Orientali Flashback - A Generation Ago

"Follow your own star" ~ Dante Alighieri

The wine trail in Italy  ~ 1988 ~ Colli Orientali del Friuli

It had been a difficult spring. A beer company had bought the wine company I was working for and we were transitioning to their offices. A last minute offer had been proffered (literally “here’s our offer, take it or leave it”) and I reluctantly took it. It was a job, but the pay was terrible, the drive was long and the folks who hired me had no idea what I did or what the fine wine business was all about. It would be the first, and not the last time, beer people invaded my world and made a mess of my life. So what to do, but go to Italy for a couple of weeks?

After settling in at my base on the Adriatic, San Benedetto del Tronto, and having my fill of fresh seafood and white wine from the Marche and Abruzzo, I borrowed a car from a friend and headed up the coast towards Venice. I had my gal Lizanne with me on the trip. She was years away from being diagnosed with the dreaded disease that would kill her in too short of a time. We were in full blaze of youth, bulletproof and had a car.

The plan was to go to Venice, Ravenna and Friuli, specifically the Colli Orientali, where two wine estates were part of the world waiting back home, if there was a home to go back to. Unbeknownst to me, two of my colleagues would unsuccessfully plot to render my position irrelevant in a lustful grab for my job. I had a corner office and a Vice-president title. I learned that those two things are not all what people think they are, myself having long ago surrendered to the fields in flyover country that constantly needed plowing and refreshing. But the sun was shining on an Adriatic Italy and I had my Beatrice, and her love, and was heading to Udine.

Antonio Galloni's Christmas Gift to Pio Cesare

Gregory Balogh, President of Maisons Marques & Domaines celebrates with winemaker Pio Boffa

Folks have been waiting for the latest Wine Advocate to come out, as it is featuring the wines from Piedmont. One of the most respected names in Italian wine, Antonio Galloni, chimes in here with his report and tasting notes for Pio Cesare wines. Bravo to Pio Boffa and family and the Maison Marques & Domaines Importers, for a round of stellar reviews. A great way to end the year and bring in a new one - with a bang! Read the report on The Blend: here.

Buon Anno, y’all!

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

Once Upon a Spring Day

Looking back over the year, one of the best times I had in 2010 was Easter with Brett Jones and Wink Lorch. We met at the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley and stayed in touch via blogs, Facebook, Twitter and email. Wink had invited me to come visit her and Brett at their chalet in the Haut-Savoie. And when I had time between Bordeaux and Italy I made the trek.

It was one of those magical times. The snow was falling and the ski runs were teeming with skiers. I wish I had learned to ski when I was younger. But, alas, I was relegated to the little stops along the way to sit in the sun and drink crisp white wines from the area. Wink and Brett would join me after taking on a mountain or two. We had a great time. And really they taught me so much about the wines from the Jura and Haute-Savoie (is there anyone, anywhere with a greater knowledge of those wines? I don’t think so). And Brett, the consummate wine professional and gentleman. How I wish we had more of him in our business in America. All told, the few days I spent there were magical, the food, the wine, the weather, the intelligent conversation. It was one of the highlights of the year. Thanks so very much, Wink and Brett! By the way their chalet has occasional availability, check it out here Sharing it again, with you, dear readers, on this cold winter day after Christmas, which Brett and Wink know as Boxing Day.

Festive times – I’m on my way to the country for more wine and food and family time. Cheers!

More pictures after the break...