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| Photo by Susan Lowry Hare |
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
At the moment I’ve got a bottle of 2019 Sandlands Red Table Wine in the fridge preserved with the new Coravin Pivot system, which is proving to be quite a handy device for keeping weeknight bottles fresh. In any case, Tegan Passalacqua has been making such wonderfully delicious wines under his Sandlands label, and this old-vine field blend from Contra Costa county is deliciously gulpable. It’s 55% Carignane and 45% Mataro and weighs in at only 12.8% alcohol. I like to drink it with a slight chill on it, and man, is it great.
In addition to that bottle, I’ve got the dregs of a couple of press samples that have been sent to me lately, a white Pinot Noir from Anne Amie Vineyards called “Prismé,” and a Vermentino di Gallura from the Sardegna producer Surrau.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
I’m not fully vaccinated yet (10 days and counting), so I’ve been easing my way back into social dining. I have a group of friends that have all been very careful and are partway through their vaccination regime too, and so we decided to go sit outside at The Morris restaurant in San Francisco a week or so ago, and we ordered some lovely wines. The star of the night was a 2011 Domaine du Collier “La Charpentrie” Saumur Blanc from the Loire Valley. It was just singing.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
There are few things
better than a long afternoon sitting around outside with good friends and great
wine. If we’re talking ideal, it would be Spring, where the air is cool enough
to keep the wines from getting warm, but warm enough to be comfortable. We’d be
in the shade, at a picnic table, with an epic view, maybe of mountains or of
the sea, and enough to eat so that we can keep drinking without needing a nap
or to break away for a big meal.
I think if you had asked me this question 2 years ago, my answer might have
been more grand, but right now, what I really want to do more than anything is
just enjoy the company of great friends with no other encumbrances or
obligations.
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| From 8½ by Federico Fellini |
We’re talking the 1960-70’s here, which is a universe away from the world we live in now. But to get from there to here took a revolution that hammered away at the commercial, cultural, logistical and financial worlds that prevailed. It was a long, slow climb to the top, where now Italian wine enjoys a reputation as one of the great wine producing countries of the world. No longer is Italy in the shadow of France, as it was when I started out. But it took some dogged determination, and the blood, sweat and tears of a diverse group of producers (and importers) in order to pull this revolution off. Here are ten of those fomenters who created a new reality for Italian wine, and changed forever how all of us see wine from Italy.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
For most of my readers, Ian D’Agata needs no introduction. I consider Ian to be the top Italian wine expert (and author) living today. Not constrained to the Italian peninsula, though, he is extremely well-versed in wines from France, Germany and the world over. Ian is also a Renaissance man, having trained as a medical doctor before coming to the world of wine. He recently moved to Shanghai, China to take the post of Editor-in-Chief of the TS wine review (become a member HERE) and the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of TasteSpirit, China’s leading media and education company, including a wine school with centers in eight different metropolitan Chinese cities, a digital wine magazine with 3 Million private users, and international conferences and events on wine and food with world-renowned experts in their field. In essence, Ian is a busy man. But he graciously gave of his time to join us at By the Bottle for this segment.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Alsace and Franken Sylvaner (both dry and late harvest); dry and especially late harvest Riesling from anywhere in the world but especially the Saar, Mosel and Ruwer; Pinot Noir from Burgundy and Oregon; old Napa Cabs and Bordeaux; Niagara wines; and wines made from Italy’s native grapes. I have a lot of bottles standing because I am tasting and drinking all the time.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
Petrus 1998, but it’s not anywhere near being ready to drink. And a litany of Mosel BAs and TBAs.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
No. I have been drinking and tasting since the late 70s at a fairly unimaginable clip and so I can safely say there isn’t a single world wine I don’t know well, though clearly there are areas of, for example, Spain, Portugal and South Africa that I do not know as well as those who live there or who work with those wines.
I initially learned about Patricia Guy from her book, Wines of Italy, which should be on every Italian wine lover’s book shelf. Patricia lives in Verona, Italy, where I eventually made her acquaintance. She grew up in the US, but has lived most of her adult life in Europe. She is a wine lover, an excellent writer (hence, no need to edit her interview) and a quiet thinker. She lives, from where I perch, an ideal life, and I am honored to have her comments here at By the Bottle.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
They’re all laying down, as am I at the moment.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
2007 Pietramora from Fattoria Zerbina. The perfume unfurled: raspberries, cherries, a note of blueberries. The palate echoed the nose: a whirling top of flavors that merged and mingled. It continued to evolve and with each sip.
I asked Cristina Geminiani, the winemaker and owner of Fattoria Zerbina to send a bottle of her Pietramora, aged for at least a decade, to me once a month when I eventually (and inevitably) end up in the Old Wine Writers Home to remind me of the pleasure of tasting a well-made wine. I do not expect her to do this, but it is a nice to think about us old fogies sitting, sipping, chatting and remembering in the presence of a gracefully mature wine.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
When: late afternoon, the sun still in the sky. Where: on a terrace, with a gentle breeze blowing. What: something with an evocative fragrance and an ever-evolving flavor. How: with a good friend or two for company.
“You may have the universe, if I may have Italy.” – Giuseppe Verdi
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| Rome - 1971 |
This year will mark 50 years since I first visited Italy. That alone is cause for dismay. The good news? Life in the last 50 years has been so much better, thanks to Italy.
But eventually one must say goodbye.
Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not bidding adieu just yet. But the sun is getting lower on the horizon.
Italy has been my mentor, my guide, my friend, and sometimes, my foe. I’ve loved Italy with all my heart. And at times, I’ve wanted to walk away and never look back. Italy has tried to kill me, at least once. And it has cured me, also, at least once. And I cannot tell you how many times I’ve experienced a rebirth, all because of Italy.
That’s a pretty tall order, to lay all of this off onto a peninsula in the middle of the Mediterranean.
Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.
What wines do you have standing up right now?
Sangiovese Superiore Le Papesse 2019 and Sangiovese I Probi 2016, both from Villa Papiano. I am quite intrigued by Romagna’s wines, especially the ones made with Sangiovese. I know nothing about them and it is high time to start learning.
What’s the last great wine you drank?
I consider a wine great when it is – or is going to be - unforgettable for its qualities of balance, depth, personality, persistence, promise. In this case the last were actually two, both from the vintage 2017: the future Brunellos from Le Chiuse and Fattoria dei Barbi, tasted secretly and prematurely, one from the bottle and the second from the barrel.
Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?
If the concept of “recently” could be consider elastic in terms of time, as it happened a few years ago, I must quote the Cannonau made by Alessandro Dettori in three different crus: Tuderi, Tenores and Dettori. These wines struck me for being already totally classic.
Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).
In the evening, somewhere comfortable, two or three wines maximum, with the feeling of having all the time of the world. And, of course, with the right company which could consist in a small group of friends, or, myself and just one more person.
