Speaking Of Wine
John Thomasson in Verona
April 23, 2012
As usual, for the last 23 years I attended VinItaly to help out our team at the fair in Verona. That seemed like the perfect opportunity for a guy with some time on his hands to stay on, so I rented a small apartment in the historic centre of Verona and am staying for just under a month to have some relax time, soak up the culture and if I feel inspired – do a little creative writing (if you can’t find inspiration here, well it isn’t going to happen anywhere). I’ve also been doing some wine research for Trialto during my stay here.
I moved in at the end of last month right after the fair and have been doing lots of walking, hanging out in piazzas and of course, work. The apartment is small and clean, has a bit of charm and is steps from the market square Piazza Erbe. Each morning I get a cappuccino in the piazza then do my daily shopping (I have a little kitchen) then return to the apartment to decide how to spend my day. Each day is different but there is a bit of pleasure in my morning routine and it is lovely to have such fresh produce steps from my door. Around the corner there is a salumeria (cured meats, cheese, wine and all the other necessities) and a bakery for bread. I’m also only a block from what Eric Deguire calls “The Champagne Bar” but Eric – it only pours Champagne like that during VinItaly – still, it’s a good place to go.
Verona is a wonderful city, little known by tourists but one of the most interesting and livable cities in Italy. You can tell the people who live here love it by the way they all turn out in their best clothes in the evening after dinner for a “passeggiata” (stroll) through the piazzas. Traffic is limited in the historic centre so walking is a pleasure – the streets are indeed paved with pink Verona marble. The city has roman origins and has perhaps the best example extant of a Roman Arena. Today in the summer it is used for opera (with no microphones – great acoustics) and concerts. The architecture of the city runs from Roman then Medieval through Renaissance to Baroque and in the centre there are no modern buildings at all - so a good feeling of being immersed in history at every turn.
One thing I really enjoy is the sound of church bells every hour.
I’m planning a few day trips on the train - last week I went to Montava (I decided against having a car here) and plan on a day in Venice and maybe Parma, all only an hour or so away from here.
I spent Easter on my own – but don’t fret for me as I booked a table for one at Caffe` Dante (one of the city’s best restaurants) for a slightly boozy lunch of about 8 courses – then I watched a soccer match on TV and napped a lot in the afternoon.
The weather has been fantastic since I landed on March 22 but finally about a week ago for the first time we had a sprinkle of much needed rain.
JTRecipe: Pissaldiere
March 7, 2012
PissaldiereCaramelized onions, Provencal herbs, anchovy and Nicoise olives arranged on a flatbread make a perfect pairing for Calvet-Thunevin VDP des Côtes Catalanes 'Cuvée Constance'. This sun-kissed red is a blend of Grenache and Carignan offers rich ripe fruit, nicely integrated tannins and juicy acidity. To make the dish vegetarian, simply replace the anchovies with Gruyere or Parmesan cheese.
Makes 2 oblong flatbreads, serves 6 to 8
1 recipe pizza dough (below) **substitute with purchased dough or puff pastry
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each fresh chopped thyme and rosemary
2 plum tomatoes, sliced thinly
1 2 ounce can flat anchovy filets
! soaked in cold water for 10 minutes
! drained and patted dry
salt and pepper
1/2 cup pitted Nicoise olives
In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add the sliced onions , garlic, rosemary and thyme stirring to combine. Saute over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions caramelize and become almost dry. This will take about 50 to 60 minutes. Keep an eye so the onions donʼt burn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Preheat the oven to 450 F.
Roll the dough or puff pastry on an lightly floured surface to create two oblong flatbreads approximately 6 by 14 inches each. Place the flatbreads on a parchment lined baking sheet ( or two if using smaller pans). Top each with the caramelized onion mixture, covering the surface evenly but leaving a 1/2 inch border. Place the sliced tomatoes down the centre of each flatbread and then decoratively arrange the anchovies and olives. Drizzle each flatbread with 1 tbsp olive oil. Bake in a very hot oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the bottom is crisp. Before serving top with freshly ground pepper and flaked sea salt.
Pizza Dough
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
pinch sugar
1/4 cup warm water (110F)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water
In a bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar, 1/4 cup warm water and 1/4 cup of the flour. Let proof for about 10 minutes.
Add the remaining 1 3/4 cup flour, salt, olive oil and 1/2 cup water and mix well. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (7 to 10 minutes. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
Recipes created by Christie PollardRecipe: Provencal Steak with Red Wine Shallot Sauce
March 7, 2012
Provencal Steak with Red Wine Shallot Sauce
Savoury herbs, mustard and garlic are smashed into a paste and add a Mediterranean flare to grilled steak. The finished dish is drizzled with a red wine shallot reduction making it another great pairing with this Grenache Carignan blend from Southern France.
Serves 4 to 6
For the steak:
2 lb. rib eye or strip loin steak
1 tbsp course grained Dijon mustard
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1 clove garlic, cut in half
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
Using a mortar pestle, smash the ingredients together to form a paste. Spread the paste over the steaks and allow to marinate 1 hour. Grill steaks to desired doneness. Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving. Serve with red wine shallot sauce.
For the sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 shallots, peeled and sliced
pinch brown sugar
1 tsp quality balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef broth
fresh ground pepper
Heat the butter in a saute pan over medium and add the sliced shallots. Saute until soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add the sugar, vinegar, garlic and thyme and saute another 5 minutes. Add the red wine and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until the wine has reduced by half. Add the beef broth and bring back to a boil. Reduce to simmer again and allow the sauce to reduce by half and become thickened (about 10 minutes). Season with pepper. Drizzle over grilled steak.
Recipes created by Christie PollardThe “Other” Chianti
March 15, 2011
This article was published by Dream House Magazine in 2006 and updated recently by the writer for this web-site.
It started in the late 1700s. Well-bread young English gentlemen were expected to take a “Grand Tour” of Europe in order to round out their extensive and usually somewhat repressive private school educations. Prominent in the itinerary would be an extended period in Tuscany to soak up the art, history and culture. Two centuries later times have changed and the charms of Tuscany are available to the common man and woman who now arrive in droves. The back roads of Chianti now feel more like rush hour in Burnaby than the quiet country lanes that they have been since the time of the Renaissance. No doubt, Tuscany is glorious, and Francis Maye’s memoir “Under the Tuscan Sun” and the subsequent Hollywood film of the same name only fueled the tourist charge to get there, but most visitors flocking to Italy miss the most unspoiled Italian region of all, it’s the “other” Chianti, it is located in Piedmont and it is called the Langhe.
Piedmont is in the Northwest of Italy, bordering France and for most of the last seven centuries it was ruled by the French Dukes of Savoy. It does have definite Gallic nuances but don’t be fooled, this is Italy at its finest. The zone called the Langhe is the gastronomic epi-centre of Piedmont. It produces Italy’s best wine (Barolo) and is home to that country’s grandest cuisine. In fact, those in the know contend that the Langhe has the best food not just in Italy but in all of Europe. This is the only home of the rare white truffle, that pungent, earthy, smelly fungus for which gastronomes are willing to pay thousands of Euros per kilogram, putting in contention for the title of costliest foodstuff on earth.
Alba is the town at the heart of the region. Although there are no attractive hotels in the town, so that you’ll want to stay in the surrounding country, there is lots to do in this bustling little place. Food shops and wine bars line the main street, and for those inclined there are a few trendy shops to buy those essential Italian indulgences with designer names. It’s a pretty town, the main square, Piazza Savonna is arcaded on all sides while the winding back streets offer plenty of interesting shops for an afternoon’s dalliance. Once out of Alba you’ll find that the terrain changes dramatically. The wine zones of Barolo and Barbaresco are on the doorstep of the town and here the hills begin, and it seems that every square metre of them is planted to grape vines. There is something enchanting about the way that they roll up and down with a castle or village atop each one, for all the world like a fairytale land.
Go for the landscapes; go for the shopping, but above all go to the Langhe for the food and wine. The Piedmontese are famous throughout Italy for their antipasti (appetizers) and a meal usually begins with at least three to five starter plates. These are typically served as a series of cold and hot dishes and are usually inspired by the local produce available in season. Spring will offer delicate, pencil thin asparagus in a fonduta (a sauce based on egg yolks and local cheese). Late autumn and winter will rely on truffles and the dishes that benefit from them. Summer is all about ripe produce, and although Piedmont is land-locked, fish also plays an important part in the typical lineup of starter dishes and most prominent are tuna and salmon-trout. The latter is often prepared “cruda” (raw) and is pink, delicate and delicious. Tuna is used to embellish other prime materials such as veal or sweet peppers and seldom served as the main attraction. .
Pasta is elevated to an art-form here in the Langhe. There are two typical pasta shapes, tagliatelle is a narrow hand-cut ribbon shape and in local dialect is called Tajarin (pronounced tie-ah-RIN). The pasta itself is made using just flour and plenty of rich free-range egg yolks so that it arrives at the table with the most intense saffron colour and is delicate enough to bring tears to the eyes of any dedicated pasta lover. Typical tajarin dressings are butter and sage or a very delicate tomato-basil sauce, barely cooked and anointed with the finest Extra Vergin Olive Oil. In truffle season Tajarin is the favorite vehicle for conveying white truffles to the willing diner. A few wafer-thin slices wafted over your tajarin by the waiter with his mandoline (truffle slicer) will double the cost of your plate of pasta in most Langhe restaurants, but it is oh so worth it.
If you chose the stuffed pasta, it is traditionally Agnolotti del Plin (Ann-yo-LAH-ti). The stuffing being ground pot roast cooked in Barolo. The pasta sauce is simply the remaining stewing wine and broth, and although it sounds simple it is divine. Regardless the pasta dish that you chose, the portion will be very small because here as in the rest of Italy, pasta is the starch served before the main course and it is expected that you will have at least starters, pasta and a main dish. Pasta is almost never eaten as the only course.
Main courses in the Langhe run strongly to meat and game and they are most often braised, and usually in a local wine. The most famous such dish is “Stracotto di Manzo al Barolo” or beef pot roast, long simmered in Barolo wine. It is a robust dish and well worth ordering especially if your only experience with pot roast was at the hands of an English grandmother. Other typical meat dishes include braised rabbit, oxtail or goat, guinea fowl and venison.
If all of this sounds like far too much food for one meal, don’t think for a minute that you are done yet as the Langaroli (people from the Langhe) love cheese and most decent restaurants have a fine cheese cart loaded with exquisite selections from local artisan producers. Toma is a locally produced cow’s-milk cheese, it comes young or aged, mild or strong but it always has a lovely fine-grained texture. Gorgonzola is another local cheese and if you enjoy blue cheeses there is no better place on the planet to indulge yourself.
Finally, after about eight courses you’ll still be expected to have a dolce or sweet, and you might as well go ahead. Bonet is a local chocolate and almond pudding well designed to cap off a splendid meal. Panna Cotta (cooked cream) is another favorite, delicate as a cloud and barely holding together. Semifreddo is also a local favorite, a sort of grainy ice cream that is soft and firm at the same time.
Meals like this scream for good wine and the wines of the Langhe are up to the task. This is one of the few places in Italy where the classic wines are made from only one grape variety and where the names of those grapes are written on the wine labels. You’ll find Dolcetto, Barbera and Nebbiolo for reds and Arneis and Moscato for the whites. If these names don’t ring too many bells for you don’t be afraid, they won’t disappoint. Don’t be shy to ask your server for advice, they tend to be very knowledgeable on the local wines here.
As is the Italian custom, prime your palate with a sparkling wine. Most of the wineries here make at least one and the general standard is quite high. This will perfectly prepare you for the spuntini or little snacks that often arrive while you are considering the menu.
Arneis
The first course is sure to require a white wine, ask for a glass of Arneis, (pronounced arn-NAYS) the florally aromatic and delicate white wine that grows in the hills across the Tanaro river from the town of Alba.
Dolcetto
At the point in the meal when you are ready for a red wine it is best to start with a light and fruity one. Dolcetto is the perfect choice, it marries well with lighter dishes so it is very happy with pasta or white meats, Dolcetto has gobs of fruit and is pleasantly plummy in flavours and usually quite dark in colour. Dolcetto can be grown in several growing regions around Piedmont, the versions called Dolcetto di Dogliani and Dolcetto d’ Alba are the best of the bunch.
Barbera
Barbera is another mono-variety wine. The barbera grape is the most common in Italy, it grows almost everywhere but it is at its best in Piedmont. Barbera is like the nursery rhyme about the little girl with the curl “when she’s good, she is very, very good and when she is bad she is horrid”. There is a lot of astringent Barbera out there but in this region, in the hands of a skilled winemaker Barbera can be transformed from a staid old workhorse to an elegant prancing stallion. It is a wine soft in tannins, fresh of acidity and packed with cherry-berry fruit. Those versions matured in new French oak barrels (called barriques) demonstrate an added dimension of complexity and you’d do well to seek them out while you are in the region where the best examples are made.
Nebbiolo (also Barolo & Barbaresco)
Finally we come to Barolo and its charming and delightful sister Barbaresco. Both are made from 100% nebbiolo grapes, a variety that produces wines of elegance, firm tannins and amazing ageability. Unlike the other wines mentioned above, these two are named not for the grape variety but for the towns that they come from. Stylistically they are quite similar: robust, intensely sensual and commanding wines. They take a long time to mature and in fact Barolo can’t even be released for sale until it has been aged at least four years but it really starts to show after seven years from the vintage. It is not uncommon to find twenty year old versions on restaurant wine lists in this region and I would urge you to seek out a mature vintage of either wine. Mature Barolo has the singular characteristic of taking on the aromas of white truffles, no one can explain this phenomenon, perhaps it’s the subtle power of suggestion. After all when in truffle country, think truffles. The grape variety nebbiolo is often bottled with just the name of the grape variety on the label, this is usually an indication that the grapes came from a vineyard not classified as part of Barolo or Barbaresco, and it usually indicates that the wine is of a fruitier and easier drinking style. It will also be less expensive than either Barolo or Barbaresco.
Moscato
Moscato is a wine that most people love once they taste it for the first time, yet asked in advance most of them would deny liking sweet wines at all. Its charm comes from the distinctive aromas and delicate fruity taste, it is a wine that really tastes of fruit. Sweet rich peaches, honeyed ripe pears and aromas of orange blossom fill your senses. Indulge yourself, especially when offered a glass after your meal with a pastry dessert, you’ll just be following the Piedmontese example.
Where to Stay
The Langhe has many charming country Inns with excellent food and a few comfortable rooms. Some of them boast a Michelin star to acknowledge the cooking but none will disappoint. Here are a few of my favorites:
Giardino da Felicin
Right off the main square in Monforte d’Albe lies this lovely little country Inn. Twelve comfy rooms, the delightful Rocca family who run things and a very fine wine cellar makes this my favorite place to stay in the Langhe. The rooms have views of the surrounding Barolo vineyards and the food is by any standard splendid. Room for two with breakfast and dinner with wine included for about $325 cdn.
Address: via Vallada 18
I - 12065 Monforte d'Alba
Telephone: 0173 78225
Fax: 0173 787377
E-Mail: albrist@felicin.it
Locanda del Pilone
This country villa is completely surrounded by Barbaresco vineyards and lies just a few minutes outside of the main town of Alba. The restaurant boasts a Michelin star and the six rooms are large and comfortable. There are great views in all directions and absolute peace and quiet. The cooking is modernized Langhe-style and the cellar boasts many excellent local wines. Room for two with breakfast dinner and wine included about $425.
Address: frazione Madonna di Como 34
I - 12051 Alba
Telephone: 0173 366616
Fax: 0173 366609
E-Mail: info@locandadelpilone.com
Hotel al Castello
A romantic and somewhat eccentric old castle converted to a hotel. There are fine views of the countryside from all the rooms. Rooms only, about $150 to $190. Meals extra.
Address: Piazza G. Marconi, 4
12060 Novello (Cn)
Telephone: 0173 744502
Fax: 0173 731250
E-Mail: info@castellodinovello.com
Trattoria Vignaiolo
A charming and simple trattoria routinely full of locals and a little off the beaten path. Traditional dishes of the Langhe served here with a broad list of serious local wines and very attractive prices. Upstairs there are four rooms that are homey and affordable. An excellent choice if you are on a budget or even if you are not.
Address: Regione Santa Maria 12, LA MORRA 12064 (Cn)
Telephone: 0173-50335
E-Mail: osteriavignaiolo@libero.it
Agroturismo La Briccola
In the heart of Barolo district, this charming country house is really an upscale bed and breakfast connected to a working farm, rather than a hotel. It offers all the charm that you would want in a country vacation. Lovely views of vineyards, delicious food and attentive owners make this a comfortable if simple place to stay.
Address: via Farinetti 9
I - 12055 Diano d'Alba
Telephone: 0173 468513
E-Mail: labriccola@virgilio.it
Il Boscareto
Finally a luxury hotel opens in the Langhe. The owners of Batasiolo winery embarked on this project some six years ago, tearing down the old farmhouse at the top of the Boscareto vineyard and installing a multilevel modern luxury hotel and spa. Of course the locals are appalled, they always are, but the region needed a top hotel to serve the increasing tourism trade. This is five-star luxury at it’s finest including a two Michelin star chef. Prices of course reflect the level of luxury.
Address: Strada Roddino 21
12050 Serralunga d'Alba (Cn) Italy
Telephone: 0173.613036
Where to Eat
While all the hotels mentioned above offer superb food here is a list of local restaurants in the Langhe that also offer excellent regional cuisine and wine.
Ristorante Belvedere
Very well named indeed, Belvedere (which in Italian means beautiful view) sits atop the highest point in the Barolo district in the town of La Morra, and looking out at the whole of the Barolo zone. Dining here may well have you rubbing elbows with rock-star winemakers like Anjelo Gaja or Bruno Ceretto but you may be too distracted by the food or the views to notice. Top quality traditional dishes of the Langhe, great cheese cart and a wine cellar that covers two floors. If you ask they may well let you visit the cellar where you’ll find the greatest wines of Italy and beyond.
Address: piazza Castello 5
I - 12064 La Morra
Telephone: 0173 50190
Fax: 0173 509580
E-Mail: info@belvederelamorra.it
Ristorante Bovio
The former owners of Belvedere sold up and moved down the hill to a charming old house where they set up again serving some of the finest meals in the region. Although a bit smaller that their former location, the new spot has all the great food and attentive service that one came to expect from the Bovio family while they ran Belvedere. As before, an extensive wine list is available. This is probably the new best place to eat in the Langhe.
Address: Via Alba, 17
12064 La Morra (Cn)
Telephone: 0173 590303
Locanda Borgo Antico
Locals love Borgo Antico because it puts a modern twist on the cuisine that they know so well. There is no doubt that the food is superb, but I go to the Langhe to have the traditional food which needs no improvement. Nevertheless, you’ll have a great meal here with outstanding service. One Michelin star.
Address: località Boschetti 4
I - 12060 Barolo
Telephone: 0173 56355
Fax: 0173 560935
Trattoria della Posta
About ten years ago this trattoria moved from an ancient building in the centre of the town of Monforte to a new location on the road to Serralunga. The new setting really allows the merits of the kitchen to shine. Traditional Langhe food and service, multi-course meals and superb wines make this one of the top spots for a classic Piedmontese meal.
Address: località Sant'Anna 87
I - 12065 Monforte d'Alba
Telephone: 0173 78120
Fax: 0173 78120
Osteria del Arco
In Italy the pecking order in terms of dining goes: restaurant, trattoria then osteria (or hostellerie to use the old translation). The osteria is where you’ll get good honest food without pretention or high prices. Osteria del’ Arco is a fine example. Although the creature comforts have been allowed to creep in over time, the basic premise is good food, not too fancy. A recent visit demonstrated that the food here is as good as any other eatery in the Langhe but the prices and the ceremony are kept to a minimum. It is located just off the main square right in the centre of Alba.
Address: piazza Savona 5
I - 12051 Alba
Telephone: 0173 363974
Fax: 0173 228028
Trialto partners to visit in the Piedmont region include: Fontanafredda, Michele Chiarlo, Aldo Conterno, Azelia, Bruno Giacosa, Ca’ Du Rabajà, Domenico Clerico, and Elio Altare.Decouvertes en Vallée du Rhône, Day 3
March 7, 2011
Day 3 – Fair E, F, G
Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Baumes de Veniss, Luberon, Ventoux
Passion for Pink
Think of the South of France and you are compelled to consider long lazy afternoons by the pool of your own special Mas. Cicadas chirping, the gentle lapping sounds of the water, the wafting subtle aromas of the garrigue and the sun warming your soul as you lie on the lounger sipping a cool iced Rosé wine. So far away are the frigid winters of Canada; so near are the memories to be cherished in the future.
Just as Marseilles is thousands of miles from San Francisco; so the dry rosé from the South of France is so many thousands of miles from White Zinfandel. God help us but it seems that finally after twenty years of sliding backwards, wine lovers are finally opening their eyes and palates to dry rosé wine that is anything but that sweet, sticky horrid concoction that set pink wine onto a collision course with disaster.
It was not always so. I recall very well my early years of wine consumption in the late 1960s and early 1970s enjoying the pleasures of Chateau Ste. Rosaline. Like the pink flesh of baby salmon hatchlings the beautiful multi-dimensional shadings of this wine defied description while it glistened under the dew of ice water hugging the glass. I was not alone. At that time wine lovers around the world knew that on a hot day there was simply no better way to relax than with a soothing glass of rosé from the South of France. Today consumers have a whole new set of offerings and it seems that wine lovers are about to re-embrace the passion for pink.
It was only three years ago that the BCLDB Buyers felt that it was safe to order a pallet (50 to 60 cases) of dry rosé from around the world for summer consumption. This year Trialto will do more than triple that in BC and rest assured that in 2012 it will be double again.
So what is it about this unique wine? Well first of all, what is most important to discuss is what rosé is not. It is not heavy, it is not tannic, it is not rich, ponderous, teeth-staining or powerful. What it is is delicate, festive, aromatic (usually) elegant and above all simply fatuous and downright happy, and who doesn’t need more of that? Good examples can stand up to butterflied leg of lamb grilled á la Provençal, garlicy grilled prawns, Loup de Mer au fenouil, Bouillabaise or simple grilled burgers. Think of summer, imagine your best mates hanging around the BBQ one warm evening and then add rosé; a recipe for good times.
Domaine de Beaurenard makes a lovely Côtes du Rhône Rosé that is delicate, silky and fresh. It smells like treading on wild strawberries and drinks like your Aunt Mabel. Pop the cork on a bottle of this and marinate some big fat prawns in olive oil, garlic and herbes de Provence. If you aren’t happy inside half an hour you are just not trying.
Tomorrow we are tasting Rasteau and Cairanne.Decouvertes en Vallée du Rhône, Day 2
March 5, 2011
Day 2 – Fair B, C, D
Hermitage, Crozes Hermitage, St. Joseph & St. Peray
There are few vineyard sites in the world that are more impressive or more storied than the Hermitage hill. Lying on the left back of the Rhône above the town of Tain, this site has supported viticulture since Roman times and from medieval times has produced some of France’s (and the world’s) greatest red and white wines. Indeed, Hermitage has at different times in history been more revered than Bordeaux and would have been the wine of choice of knights heading off to the Crusades.
Today we find a hillside about one kilometer long and rising about 300 metres above the banks of the Rhône. It is a patchwork of vineyards owned by the great names of the Rhône as well as some small, relatively unknown growers. Today at the fair there were fourteen winemakers pouring reds and whites of the appellation. Notable by his absence was the undisputed champion of the northern Rhône: Jean Louis Chave.
We tasted through whites first and found a broad range of styles from highly stylized oaky white wines to pure expressions of terroir unadulterated by the hand of a winemaker. Typical flavour profiles of white Hermitage are honey, white flowers, notes of beeswax, pronounced minerality and power. Red Hermitage displays multi-layered aromas including tobacco, ink, coal, spice, blue and black fruits and flavours of all the above mentioned, along with deep minerality, a sense of steeliness and power above all. These are multidimensional wines that take decades to reach their peak of drinkability and while tasting them is a pleasure; it is also a chore to fathom the depths and peaks of flavour nuances.
We left this section of the fair convinced more than ever that while the wines of this appellation reach the summit of viniculture, they are some of the most difficult to understand.
A further note about the reds: Syrah and Shiraz are essentially the same grape. We found tasting the Hermitage today that there was a very long distance between these reds and even the very top red shiraz wines of Australia. Not necessarily a difference in quality but certainly a difference in style and while Hermitage has long been an inspiration to Aussie winemakers we can’t help but feel that the potential is there for a bridging of the gap in style.
The satellite appellation tastings of Cornas, St. Joseph and St. Peray did not offer wines anywhere near the complexity of the Hermitage tasting, nor did the wines cost $300. We found profound wines from Cornas that will sell for $80. To mention one winemaker among a group of 60 it is easy to refer to Vincent Paris. He is a Cornas specialist, making three cuvees of Cornas. The Granit 30 is a wine made from what he calls young vines – vineyards with an average age of less than 30 years (by the way, the Granit 30 does not refer to the age of the vines but the degree of the slope of the vineyard). This wine was expressive, juicy and fresh and just made you want to have more of it. The Granit 60 (60 degrees of slope) was from older vines and was a serious expression of terroir interpreted by Syrah. Big broody and grippy. Finally, the Cuve Geynale comes from 100 year old vines in the steepest most granitic soils and is an epic wine that every collector needs and will sell for only about $75.
We tasted a range of red and white wines from St. Joseph that offer all the style and finesse of the northern Rhône for well under $40. In the end we felt that this appellation had the broadest appeal and the best value of the northern Rhône appellations.
Tomorrow we’ll be in the southern Rhône.Decouvertes en Vallée du Rhône, Day 1
March 3, 2011
Day 1 – Fair A
60 Wineries exhibiting from the appellations of Condrieu and Cote Rotie.
Address: Salle Polyvalente, Allée du Château, 69420 AMPUIS
Big adventure! We arrived about 09:30 at the fairgrounds from Lyon and immediately set about tasting white wines.
After working our way around the room tasting nearly 50 white wines from Condrieu we took a break for lunch. All in all the whites from the 2009 and 2010 vintages seem to match the popular hype; superb wines from an exceptional pair of vintages.
The Decouvertes en Vallee Rhone is a moveable feast of a wine event. Fifteen venues in six days starting from the northern Rhone appellations of Condrieu and Cote Rotie down to Costieres de Nimes, Chateauneuf du Pape and the Luberon in the south. Each day a different set of events in different towns, different types of facilities and different sets of winemakers.
We returned from lunch and tasted through another 40 to 50 red wines, primarily from the Côte Rotie appellation. By about 4:00 pm we were ready to call it a day but first we took the opportunity to call at the winery of Rene Rostaing, a Liquid Art supplier for the last 11 years and not in attendance at the fair. Monsieur Rostaing greeted us warmly. He invited us to taste in the cellar and we were pleased to taste through what were arguably the best wines of the day. Rostaing’s wines are refined in the extreme, elegant and sophisticated but with no lack of power. The surprise wine of the Rostaing tasting was the 2008 Côte Rotie. While the 2008s at the fair were generally soft and evolved compared to the 2009s and 2010s; this wine had power and finesse to burn. This was explained by the fact that Rostaing had sold off most of his 2008 fruit to negociants and made only the classic Côte Rotie with fruit from the top Crus of La Landonne and La Côte Blonde. While it is hard to call a wine that sells in our market for near $80 at retail a bargain, one cannot deny that this wine has breeding that should command a much higher price.
Overall impressions after the first day of the fair are that the hype surrounding 2009 and 2010 vintages in the northern Rhône is not exaggerated and there will be justified consumer interest in these two vintages. We will be well positioned to take advantage of that interest.Introducing Ca’ du Rabaja’
January 10, 2011
This past fall Trialto was pleased to welcome a new producer from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, Ca’ du Rabaja’. Lorenzo (Renzo) Alluto journeyed to Canada to introduce his family’s wine to us during the Italian Trade Commission Wine Tour. Now after a few months wait the wines are here.
Ca’ du Rabaja’ stands on top of the hill of the Rabaja’ cru in the Lange, around 1.5 kilometres from the tower of Barbaresco. The family farms about 35 acres (12 hectares) of estate and leased vineyards, on half of which Nebbiolo is grown for the production of Barbaresco. The vineyards are located in historic wine-growing sites, including Rabaja’ and Pora in Barbaresco, Pajorè in Treiso, Cascinotto, Serragrilli, Serracapelli and Balluri in Neive. Within the Rabaja’ vineyard, the Alluto Family owns a massive 5.5 hectare section of the best location that forms a natural amphitheatre. This site is considered amongst the best vineyards in the world along with particularly notable others including the Côte d’Or’s Le Musigny and Le Montrachet; Chablis’ Les Clos; Champagne’s Clos du Mesnil and Clos des Goisses.
To help him in his work, Renzo has enlisted his old friend, Dante Scaglione, who, after 16 years as cellar-master for Bruno Giacosa, has become one of the giants of traditional winemaking in the Langhe. Together, they created a classic, old-style vinification for Ca du Rabaja, using long macerations and aging only in large botti. Besides Nebbiolo, two further reds - Barbera and Dolcetto - are joined by the white Arneis.
The wines:Ca' Du Rabajà Langhe Arneis 'Meriggiare' DOC 2009
Straw yellow color with beautiful green tints. Intense nose opens with notes of lilac, pear, melon and apricot. The flavour is full and pleasantly while alive and composed.
Average production: 8,000 bottles
Ca' Du Rabajà Dolcetto D'Alba DOC 2009
Ruby red color with beautiful purple highlights. The nose opens with intense varietal black cherry, blueberry, and anise. The palate is dry, with fine almond balance.
Average production: 7000 bottles.Ca' Du Rabajà Barbera D'Alba DOC 'Bricco Di Nessuno' 2008
Deep ruby red color. Its aroma is intense and rich with hints of jam, cherries, myrtle, black pepper, juniper berries. The mouth is full, dense, savoury, with a wonderful textural finish.
Average production: 7000 bottles.Ca' Du Rabajà Barbaresco DOCG 2007
A beautiful shade of garnet red. The nose is intense, warm, with hints of jam, cocoa, sweet tobacco, and black pepper. The mouth feel is full and warm with fine tannins.
Average production: 8400 bottles : unfilteredCa' Du Rabajà Barbaresco 'Rabaja' DOCG 2007
Deep garnet red. The nose is compound and complex which evokes the rose with cherries, blueberries, anise, and nutmeg. The mouth feel is full, rich and brooding.
Average production: 5640 bottles : unfilteredMendozan Terroirs: Behind the Cuvee of Catena Alta Malbec
December 22, 2010
Although “Argentine Malbec” and more specifically “Mendozan Malbec” are common descriptors in the mind of most of today’s savvy wine drinkers, it is now time to start taking note of the sub-regions of Mendoza and their differing vinous profiles. For example, when looked at from the perspective of “degree days” (aka The Winkler Heat Summation Scale), Mendozan sub-regions are spread as far as Region One (Gualtallary), where Burgundy sits, and Region Four (Eastern Mendoza), where California’s San Joaquin Valley sits, with other Mendozan regions falling on almost every point in between.
What accounts for such an extreme variation in climate in a singular region? Certainly one of the biggest factors is altitude, with the sub-regions being tucked into the foothills of the towering Andes Mountains – with each 100m travelled up or down in elevation, a degree Celsius is lost or gained. Vineyards in Mendoza cover over 1000m in altitude! Latitude also comes into play as another option in the search for micro-climates, travelling up to 70km south from the traditional vineyard sites surrounding Mendoza City provides cooler vineyard sites. And finally, the fact that Mendoza is a desert alleviates the pressure to harvest prior to fall rains (something that is almost a constant foreboding factor of vineyard life in every other wine region in the world). So one can plant in the cooler and cooler regions and simply wait for the phenolics to slowly ripen, as happens with brilliant results in Catena’s high altitude vineyards.
The two sub-regions known for producing the highest quality grapes in Mendoza’s 140,000 hectares of vine, are that of the Lujan de Cuyo and the Uco Valley – these regions alone providing ranges of altitude from 869m (or 2850’) all the way to 1524m (or 5000’). It is in these two sub-regions that we find three of Catena’s estate Malbec vineyards – Adrianna, Nicasia and La Piramide – almost the entire basis of the Catena Malbec line from Catena, to Alta, to Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino. Only Catena’s Angelica vineyard falls in another sub-region (that of Maipu), but given Angelica’s high-quality old vines and original clones, this vineyard certainly produces the quality of grapes that the Catena family prescribes.
Adrianna is, in fact, the highest vineyard in Mendoza where Malbec is planted. At the time of planting Nicolas Catena’s own vineyard manager advised him that Malbec would never ripen there (in some respects this is like trying to ripen Malbec in Burgundy!). But armed with ardent belief that to attain the greatest and most complex fruit, some risks had to be taken – these risks! And the risks paid off. The Malbec grape in particular had a peculiar reaction to being so close to the sun – the grape skins grew to be approximately 6 times thicker than when grown at regular altitudes, contributing very high levels of everything that makes great red wine great: loads of ripe, polymerized tannins, rich colour and intense, multi-layered flavours. The grape was simply trying to protect the propagation of its species – its seeds – from sunburn, resulting in arguably the best Malbec in the world!
For the Alta line, individual lots of each of the estate vineyards are selected – lots which always give the best expressions of the vineyards. The yields in these lots are then reduced through pruning, training and meticulous green harvesting, with each lot being barrelled separately, waiting for the final blend to take place.
At a recent tasting at the winery, we were privy to how this blending takes place through tasting the individual lots and then blending to make the cuvee:
Catena Alta Malbec is made up of five lots from four estate vineyards, ranging between 2850’ in elevation and 4725’. The blend changes from year-to-year but is typically 70-75% Adrianna and Nicasia and 25% Angelica and Piramide, a blend of high-altitude and very high-altitude. The differences of expression in these vineyards is incredible – almost as distinct as differences between the varietals of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, with the lower-altitude Angelica and Piramide Vineyards expressing chocolate, spice and unctuous red fruit, while the higher-altitude vineyards providing ample acidity and tannin expressed in red and black berry fruit. The finished Alta Malbec certainly greater than simply the sum of its parts!Catena Alta Malbec Lot Tasting:
Angelica Lot 18 (2850’): This vineyard, named after Nicolas’ mother, is made up of 80 year-old vines. This was the vineyard that Nicolas Catena analysed in his initial studies into the various clones of Argentine Malbec, finding 145 different clones. Malbec from the Angelica vineyard, especially Lot 18, provides a rich and chocolaty fruit character, with plum flavours and a rich velvety texture. The Malbec here is definitely ripe, being the warmest site going into the blend. The average temperature during the month of ripening is 21 degrees Celsius.
La Piramide Lot 4 3100’ (945m): The Piramide vineyard is named after the Catena winery – literally a neo-Mayan pyramid built in homage to the ancient inhabitants of the region. This vineyard is planted with the 145 different Malbecs Nicolas Catena found in the Angelica vineyard but organized into distinct lots for analysis. The fruit profile taken from La Piramide Lot 4 is dominated by dark fruit flavours and spicy black pepper notes.
Nicasia Lot 1 3700’ 1130m: The Nicasia vineyard is planted with the five best clones originally found in the Angelica vineyard. This is the furthest south of Catena’s estate vineyards, in the Uco Valley in the district of San Carlos. During harvest, the thermal amplitude (difference between nightime and daytime temperatures is almost 15 degrees Celsius. The Malbecs grown in Lot 1 of Nicasia provide tart black fruit flavours with racy acidity and abundant minerality. A personal favourite!
Adrianna Lot 9 1400 (4600’) & Adrianna Lot 3 1440m (4725’): The Adrianna vineyard is also planted to the top five clones as found in Nicasia and is thought to be the highest Malbec vineyard in the world. Fruit from Lot 9 provides intense floral aromatics and flinty minerality, while Lot 3 provides incredible power, concentration and structure.Recap of the Trialto Fall Tour 2010
November 16, 2010
This October 18th to 21st Trialto hosted over 18 top winery partners touring across Canada in our first ever “Wines of People, Place and Time Tour”. It was a resounding success. Just ask any of the 18 winery representatives who joined us, the 50 or so Trialto employees across Canada who participated, or the hundreds of trade, media, and consumers who showed up in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, or Vancouver.
The purpose of the tour was to allow a broad selection of our partners, who might not typically tour across or visit Canada regularly to showcase and introduce their wines to a new and very appreciative audience.
Those who attended the tour events heard stories told by the very people who make and take these very special wines to market. And those who joined in experienced and tasted firsthand the passion that goes into each and every bottle. There were plenty of new discoveries and special moments for sure.
It was a lot of work, but well worth the effort. Trialto is proud to be partnered with wineries that truly represent “Wines of People, Place and Time” « Vins de terroir, d’époque et d’humanité ».The following is a list of all the winery partners who joined the tour.
Argiano, Tuscany, Italy
Bodega Noemia, Patagonia, Argentina
Anne-Louise Mikkelsen, Export Manager
Brokenwood Wines, Hunter Valley, Australia
Iain Riggs, Winemaker and Managing Director
Château d'Or et de Gueules, Costières de Nîmes, France
Diane de Puymorin, Proprietor
Chono Wines, Chile
Sergio Reyes, Managing Director
Delta Vineyards, Marlborough, New Zealand
Matt Thompson, Winemaker
Dog Point, Marlborough, New Zealand
Matt Sutherland, Export Director & James Healy, Winemaker
Fontanafredda, Piedmont, Italy
Marinella Mariano, Export Manager
Kaesler, Barossa Valley, Australia
Reid Bosward, Proprietor and Winemaker
L’Ecole No. 41, Washington State, USA
Marty Clubb, Proprietor
Parés Baltà, Spain
Joan Cusin, Proprietor
Poplar Grove, Naramata, Canada
Ian Sutherland, Proprietor and Winemaker
Quinta do Vale Meão, Portugal
Luisa Olazabal, Marketing Director
Renacer, Mendoza, Argentina
Patricio Reich, Proprietor
Southbrook, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada
Ann Sperling, Owner and Winemaker
Sperling Vineyards, Okanagan, Canada
Ann Sperling, Owner and Winemaker
Tait Wines, Barossa Valley, Australia
Bruno Tait, Managing Director and Winemaker
Tenuta di Biserno, Tuscany, Italy
Peter Ferguson, Export Manager
Zardetto, Prosecco, Italy
Gianfranco D'Aniello, Export Manager