My grand aunt and uncle were there with their family,
welcoming this young, gawky Americano in jeans, carrying a back pack. I must
have been a sight.
They spoke very little English, the younger ones more
conversant than the elders. I spoke a smattering of Italian. But we were family!
We can do this!
In fact, learning Italian by immersion works. I’m not saying it worked on me then, but I was thrust into a culture and a language and I had to find oxygen. I had to speak Italian.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Most of the samples that I have received. During the summer, wines with deposit are really not interesting.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
What do you mean by great? Expensive? There are not many really great wines around, but a lot of expensive ones!
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
Again, what do you mean by “classic?” I can imagine what you mean, but perhaps there are not so many “classic” wines around. Classic to me, may not be “classic” to someone else.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
I first met Eric in Napa Valley, California. Since then,
we’ve traveled, supped and opened a bottle or two in New York City, Austin, Texas
and Sicily. Eric has the distinction of being one of the most influential wine critics
today, a position he doesn’t take lightly (nor would he probably admit to it).
Nonetheless, it is what it is. He’s riding that tiger. Let’s jump on board with
him and take a spin, shall we?
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Most of the time, what I’m planning to drink is a
function of what I’m planning to write about. I will keep that private other
than to say I’ve just enjoyed some excellent bottles for my Wine School unit on
dark rosés.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
I prefer to think of “greatness” in terms of context,
expectations and fulfillment rather than on some universal scale in which the
great wines are profound examples of historic terroirs or estates. With that in
mind I would say a Château de Béru Chablis Montserre 2018 was a great wine. I
love Chablis, though I’m not a particularly a fan of the 2018 vintage.
Nonetheless, this wine was beautiful, intense in the way of the vintage yet
full of characteristic Chablis minerality rather than fruitiness, pure and
unmediated. I loved it.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
I can’t think of any sorts of wine, though I can think of plenty of legendary bottles that I’ve never had, and probably never will. Cheval Blanc 1947, for one.
Once I landed, I decided to walk to Rome. Not thinking it that far away, and trying to conserve my money, in addition to the fact that I didn’t have many lire on me, I headed outside.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
One of the few benefits of lock-down in Oz has been a lot more time at home. That has meant I have had the opportunity to drink wines that have been cellared for 10-15 years and are now ready to be drunk. Over the last few weeks I have had a good look at 2006 Barolo with the highlights being Borgogno Barolo Classico 2006 and Piero Benevelli Ravera di Monforte Barolo 2006. These 2006 are in a great spot right now.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
There are so many wines to open right now. I just started a new role as a national sales manager (in the West) for Kermit Lynch, so I have been happily working my way through the portfolio trying to get a feel for all the producers. Leaning about and tasting all the new wines has the be the most fun part about a new job in this industry.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life
Walter Speller is one of the top experts in Italian wine. He writes for Jancis Robinson as well as managing his wine consultancy, Hunt & Speller. Reading his writing is like looking at a very calm sea after a huge storm. You know there is a lot going on there, for when the storm was raging, our boat almost sank and we were almost lost at sea. But who would know it now?
Walter is a deep current. He has learned to convey peace and calmness, but he knows things. Life isn’t neat. And his writing ferries one across depths. When I read about a wine that I think I know very well, when Walter writes about it, it’s like I’d never tasted the wine before. And he makes me want to open a bottle right away, to see what he sees, feel what he feels. He’s a fabulous influence on me in my wine life. I learned new things with this interview. That’s how it is with Walter, always learning something new. Please welcome him to our little series.
“On July 2, 2021, Betty Kuhne Sawyer
Hitchings, 93, marched through the gates of Heaven and immediately asked for
directions to the River of Boxed Chardonnay.”
[Read Betty’s obituary, it really does sound like she had a wonderful life, regardless of her choice in wine]
What I do know is this: If I’ve been a good boy and minded all my P’s and Q’s, there better be something better than Franzia waiting for me at the Pearly Gate Café.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
I’m cooking a chicken tagine for a dinner party tomorrow and pulled a few bottles from the wine fridge that I thought might make interesting pairings:
2013 Recaredo Corpinnat Terrers Brut Nature
2016 Château Lapuyade Jurançon Sec "Cuvée Dentelle"
1996 Ridge Zinfandel “Pagani Ranch”
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
I first met Dan in Napa Valley, where he is a winemaker at the historical winery Larkmead and also has his own label, Massican, which focuses on Italian grapes, among others. Dan is an inquisitive soul, constantly searching into corners of the winemaking (and greater) world, looking for answers. A really generous person, I’ve tasted Italian wines with Dan in Napa Valley that I’ve never seen or had the opportunity to taste in Italy. Really glad to have him on these pages today with his perspective and passion.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
I don’t have any standing up, but I do have a lot lying down.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
As we are deep into the summer here in Napa, drinking white wines is top of mind and always topped-up in my glass. And the greatest so far has been the Clos Saint-Joseph Blanc 2019 from Villars-Sur-Var. Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano), Rolle (Vermentino) and Semillon. A perfect wine! I could drink this everyday this Summer.
“Overall, the 1986 vintage was lackluster for much of the world but some regions got lucky.”
“A very good if slightly underrated vintage.”
“Largely good but stopped short of
excellent.”
Looking on my wine closet, there are some stragglers still hanging on from 1986. One red wine from Friuli, a couple of reds from California, a Colheita Port and “from way out in left field,” a Texas red. No more Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscan or Piedmont wines. All gone, drunk up. I mean, look at what the experts said?
