Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Cotarella Strikes Again

Click Image Above 5 to Enlarge
{ Thanks to Rebecca Murphy of the Dallas Morning News }
Di Majo Norante, Terre degli Osci IGT, Sangiovese 2004 ”This may be the perfect pizza wine. Made of 100 percent sangiovese grapes, it comes from a family-owned winery in the Italian region of Molise that specializes in organically grown grapes . It was made to show off the jaunty, mouthwatering floral and cherry-berry flavors, balanced with crisp acidity perfect with a sausage-and-mushroom pie. " - Rebecca Murphy- Dallas Morning News

Demystifying Valpolicella

{ Thanks to Rebecca Murphy of the Dallas Morning News }
Demystifying valpolicella wines - Taste the difference time in oak makes
Dallas Morning News ~Wednesday, April 26, 2006
By REBECCA MURPHY
/ Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News
Count on Italy for unusual wines from grapes you never heard of. For example: Valpolicella, a light, red wine from the Veneto region, is made from corvina, rondinella and molinara. Other versions of valpolicella – a dry full-bodied red called amarone, and a sweet full-bodied red called recioto della valpolicella – are made from the same varieties, but the grapes are dried for a few months to concentrate their flavors before fermentation.
Winemakers in the Veneto region have developed an unusual process for adding body and complexity to light red wine: They referment it with the sediment, skins and seeds of their more powerful and expensive amarone or recioto wines. This process is called ripasso, literally, repassed. The refermentation adds alcohol, smooths tannins and reduces acidity.
The following two wines are both from the Classico region, (traditional and considered better), and are made from similar grape blends.
The Classico 2004 has never seen wood. It was fermented in stainless steel and aged for six months in stainless steel, then bottled.
The Valpolicella Ripasso 2002 was fermented in stainless steel in October, followed by a second fermentation in March on the sweet lees of recioto. It was then aged 18 months in a combination of 70 percent Slavonian oak casks and 30 percent small oak barrels. This additional aging is required for a valpolicella to be called Superiore.

Le Salette, Valpolicella Classico 2004
Sniff: Notice the bright fruit aromas of red cherries, cranberry and orange peel, untouched by oak. The color of the wine is light ruby.
Sip: Red cherries and cranberry flavors in the mouth are light and lean.
Savor: Tannins are light, and crisp acidity is perceptible, giving the wine a lingering finish in the mouth.
Serve: The fresh fruit flavors, light body and crisp acidity make this a good wine with tuna or pasta with a tomato-based sauce.
Le Salette, Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Ripasso I Progni 2002
Sniff: The aromas are of dried fruits, such as raisins and dried cranberries, and the color of the wine is a darker, denser ruby.
Sip: Dark cherry flavors are complex with a smooth, round feel in the mouth.
Savor: Layers of flavors are well integrated with solid tannins. The acidity of the wine seems less apparent because of the denser fruit. Yet the finish is long and lingering.
Serve: Pair the dried fruit flavors and fuller bodied wine with roast pork.
The lessons
•The winemaker used stainless steel and minimal aging to preserve bright fruit in the 2004 Valpolicella.
•The technique of ripasso along with time in oak and more time make valpolicella ripasso a denser, more complex and full-flavored wine.
•You may find that you prefer one style over the other. Knowing how they are made can help you find wines made in a similar fashion.
* * * *

Friday, April 21, 2006

Jammin'

Taking a little time off to jam with my family....

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

St. Emilion & Pomerol
























Stéphane Derenoncourt

François Thienpont

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Medoc



























Red,Red Wine....

About 150 wines today....all Red all 2005 Bordeaux




Bordeaux - Day 1

Chateau Ducru Beaucaillou - St Julien
The beginning of a week of tasting the 2005 Bordeaux - Monday , April 3, we stopp first at this famous chateau. Filled with art and wine.. and a famous living space for the proprietor.

Monday, April 03, 2006

April in Paris and Bordeaux

Weekend layover in Paris --- Afternoon in the rain and a stop to Denise Acabo's
Etoile D' Or
-- a chocolate lovers stop near Moulin Rouge.

Pictured: Proprietress Denise Acabo helping Dallas' John Rector pick gifts for his lovely wife and boys.


Short time , but time to go to Guy Savoy's Atelier Maitre Albert, a wonderful spot ..

click on the photo of the Atelier above to go to the website.

The "Rotisserie"








Sunday April 2 Bordeaux -
Denis Dubourdieu -- A star in Bordeaux. link to Dubourdieu's web site by clicking on his picture A White wine maker par excellance.. and reds following..family estates include Chateau Doisy Daene, Clos Floridene, Chateau Reynon and Chateau Cantegril..

his notes on the 2005 Bordeaux harvest can
be accesssed at this site(click on the graphic)







Wednesday, March 29, 2006



The 2005 Vintage tastings in Bordeaux and Verona --coming up!

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

April in Italy - Wine and Food

April in Italy has at least three meanings for a wine and food lover.
The wine resting in the barrel is ready to be tasted.


Vinitaly is just the place for that.






The artichokes of the Veneto (these are the castrati) are showing up in the local outdoor markets.

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Ahhh, the Good Life: 1 year ago and today


In the movie Sideways, Paul Giamatti's character, Miles, searches longingly for the great pinot noir – a quest that struck a surprising nerve with Americans. ACNielsen reports that from Oct. 24 – two days after the film was released – to Jan. 15, domestic pinot noir sales jumped nearly 16 percent over the same period a year earlier.
You have to wonder whether it was wine or something more that people were seeking.
In France an
d Italy, as well as other European countries, wine speaks to the joy of everyday life. Robert Mondavi, of California's famous Italian-American winemaking family, put it this way: "Wine to me is passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture. It's the essence of civilization and the art of living."
And it's part of nearly every meal in places like Paris and Verona. But the act of breaking bread at lunch or the end of the day is all but lost in America. Oh, we fill 'er up, all right. We line up and chow down on our tacos and burritos and 64-ounce steaks. And it shows.
Our French and Italian cousins have their overindulgences, too. But they know that real satisfaction comes not from excess. Rather, it's about knowing just how high to fill the glass. It's in knowing that "just enough" can be a whole lot more fulfilling than "more, more, faster, faster."
Remember that awful moment in the film when Miles lifts the spit bucket in the tasting room and drinks from it to excess? All it gave him was a headache and a laundry bill. Not happiness, not contentment. Not from overkill. No, it is in savoring the little daily doses of life that we can warm our hearts and cultivate generosity of spirit.
On a recent trip to Paris, I was struck by how deeply entwined Old World and New are. During one meal, we shared a bottle of cider from apples grown on Omaha Beach, where so many Americans lost their lives in World War II. The wine merchant in Montparnasse who sold us our red wine has a daughter living in El Paso. And at the neighborhood grocery store in the 14th Arrondissement, we found a Tex-Mex section right next to an assortment of foie gras, Brie cheeses and French wines.
It seems the good life – happiness – is something we all want, whether we live in Paris or Plano. Our friends over there just have a head start on conviviality at the table.
On the plane back to Dallas, we pondered what to eat at home that evening. What had we missed? Was it tacos? Barbecued brisket? We weren't going to replicate that astonishing puree of watercress with just a little bit of cream or that outrageous soufflé of dark, molten chocolate. No, we might not find that in Dallas. But we just might find a steaming bowl of Korean noodle soup or a memorable mezze platter from one of our Middle Eastern neighbors.
The actual morsels may be different. But they can be savored in the same way. In little daily doses, warming our hearts, as we search for the connection to home and happiness. And, yes, wine is a part of that slow, good living, too.
In Sideways, Miles talks about the pinot noir grape. He says, "Pinot noir is like us. ... It's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early." There is a correlation between the thin-skinned temperamental grape and our local culture. Driving home from the airport, we saw impatient drivers darting in front of one another, gesturing obscenely. Of course, we saw thin-skinned and temperamental people in Paris, too. Different, but the same.
Maybe that's why some of us wine guys look upon pinot noir as the holy grail of the wine world. Because it is a temperamental grape and hard to turn into a good bottle of wine, it takes a real connoisseur to love one. The process takes time and patience.
Time, in slow portions and small slices, also refines and clarifies the experience of living. When we fill the glass half full, we increase the potential for finding that art of living Mr. Mondavi spoke of right here – in our own dining and living rooms.
As for me, what I'm waiting for is that movie about chocolate. Two women in Paris or Pisa on a last tour of the great cocoa masters. Something to go with my pinot or merlot. A little wine, a morsel of chocolate and the unending search for passion and joy in daily living.


Published earlier

Eventually back to Italy

Looking forward to Vinitaly...
A stop in the Famous wine bar in Verona, Bottega del Vino






Visiting the area north of Verona, Valdobbiadene

(Sergio Mionetto, Godfather of Modern day Prosecco )





Stopping off for a little Prosecco







Visiting some winegrower friends for a little feast




Saturday, March 25, 2006

Layover in Paris


Fire in the streets = Rotisserie Chicken





revolution + art


seafood, wine and cheese

Off the Italian wagon, to France for a taste of things French....they may be marching in the streets of Paris, but they'll need to step over me when they do.
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