Le Chiusure. Notice the trellising in the vineyard? Pergola Veronese (arched over the heads of the pickers like they do in Verona). This provides for more air to circulate around the bunches of grapes so there is less opportunity for fungus and rot.
Erbaluce grapes ready for harvest. Erbaluce literally translated means "grass of light".
Everything is done by hand at Azienda Agricola Favaro.
Benito and Camillo Favaro hard at work during harvest.
The two most famous exports from the region of Friuli in Italy are Prosciutto di San Daniele (ham from the town of San Daniele) and Friulian wines.
Today, in conjunction with the Association of Italian Sommeliers, I showed my Ronco Severo wines paired with two different types of Prosciutto di San Daniele.
The wine that seemed to go best with the salty and fatty ham was the Ronco Severo Tocai Friulano 2006. This wine is fermented on the skins for 42 days so picks up quite a bit of color and tannin from the skins and actually can be considered more of a red wine than a white wine.
Fermented only using native yeast and not filtered or fined in any way as well as no added sulfer at bottling makes this wine about as natural a product as you can get. Plus the grapes are grown using biodynamic principles.
Everyone seemed to really dig the wines and that makes me happy.
Above is a photo of me at the restaurant where the tasting was held. I make look hale and hearty in the photo but have a huge cold. Ugh.
Plus, Jenny made me answer all these questions about how I got in the business (ahhh, yes, Gallo Hearty Burgundy!) and what my favorite wines are (all of them . . . ) and then she cleaned up my messy, terse answers and added a dash of personality and I actually come off pretty good!
My friend Jenny Meier is writing freelance articles on wine and food for a new online site called www.behindtheburner.com and in her last article quoted me extensively (okay, so maybe extensively is a touch of an overstatement).
Go here to read about how to choose a wine for a dinner party.
As many of you know, I represent Bill Mayer's The Age of Riesling Austrian and German wines here in Southern California. These wines are magical. Come on down and taste some of the rarest and most interesting wines being made today.
Thanks.
Justin
Tasting at Elvino Wines:
Friday: 5:00pm to Closing
Saturday & Sunday 1:00pm to Closing
Three Wines -$12.00 No Reservations Required
Elvino Wines
TASTING MENU:
July 31st - August 2nd, 2009
Three Wines From Austria:
Austria's wine history goes back to the fourth century A.D., when the land that is now Austria was controlled by the Celts. These ancient inhabitants controlled much of what is now Central Europe, planting vineyards to make wine along the way. By 800 A.D., the time of Charlemagne, winegrowing was well established in the region, and by the King's decree, guidelines were set into place for viticulture and the classification of vines. Charlemagne was also responsible for the first tasting rooms and wine shops when he established Buschschenken, taverns and inns where winegrowers could sell their wines directly to the public.
Monasteries were responsible for most of the wine production in the Middle Ages. Monks from the Cistercian Brotherhood brought Pinot Noir from Burgundy and by the thirteenth century the Benedictines had already established many famous vineyards.
Though the Riesling grape came to the region in the Middle Ages, Austria's most famous grape, Grüner Veltliner didn't show up until early in the twentieth century. The most widely planted grape in Austria was actually developed in the laboratories of the KlosterneuburgWineAcademy, as researchers were searching for more frost-resistant grape types.
Our three wines this weekend come from the wine region of Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), which is actually in the northeastern part of the country. The name refers to the regions location along the lower part of the Danube river. Our two white wines are grown in the Wagram-Donauland area, east of Vienna. The Wagram is actually an ancient shoreline left behind as an ancient river receded towards the Danube. What's left is a cliff-like formation that runs parallel to the river. On top of and on the other side of the cliff is the hill country where vines are grown. Most of the soil is loess (löß), perfect feeding ground for Grüner Veltliner.
Our red wine is from vineyards just south of Vienna in the Thermenregion, named for the many natural hot springs that dot the area. The vineyard where Spaetrot Gabeshuber's Pinot Noir and St. Laurent are grown actually sits over a volcanic fault line. The winemaker believes this actually benefits the vines because of the constant warmth emanating from the ground. Once you taste their Klassik you'll have to agree that these were some happy grapes.
Taste All Three Wines/ $12 - No Reservations Required
Every Second Sunday of the Month is Sparkling Sunday
2007 bernard ott, riesling von rotem schotter Riesling Feursbrünn, Wagram-Donauland
Bernard Ott has built a considerable reputation in Austria for his Grüner Veltliners, but he also makes a small amount of Riesling as well as Sauvignon Blanc. In 2005 Ott committed to biodynamic vineyards, and according to importer Bill Mayer it has given Bernard more peace as he spends his time in the vineyards. The vines are planted in red gravel soils (Rotem Schotter), at elevations up to 1200 feet.
Made in stainless steel, this wine shows floral notes with crisp aromas and flavors of tangerine, lime and tropical fruits. Racy acidity and crushed-stone mineral flavors focus the fruit and keep everything on the palate clean and bright to the finish.
Spaetrot Gabeshuber 2007 spaetrotgebeshuber, klassik
50% St. Laurent, 50% Pinot Noir
Gumpoldskirchen, Thermenregion
In 1999 Johannes and Johanna Gebeshuber purchased the winery Spaetrot, in the famous winemaking village of Gumpoldskirchen, located less than a half an hour south of Vienna. The winery was a respected co-op in the 19th century but was in a state of decline when it was purchased in 1905 by the famous/infamous Mayor of Vienna, Karl Lueger. Lueger built large cellars and brought the winery up to the standards of the time, but by the 1990's the co-op was again in a state of disrepair, brought on largely by the wine scandal of 1985.
The Gebeshubers focused on bringing back the quality of the original Spaetrot.. With a respect for tradition the couple brought the high standards back to the vineyards and cellar. They have chosen to specialize in the traditional white vatietals of the region: Zierfandler and Rotgipfler, the wine this blend produces is also called Spaetrot throughout the region. The duo also grows red varietals: Blauburgunder (Pinot Noir) and St. Laurent, of which the Klassik is a 50/50 blend of.
Grown in the warm, fossilized soils around Gumpoldkirchen, this wine is ripe with cherry and red berry aromas. Flavors of black cherries and ripe red fruit mix with spice, floral and earthier notes of tea leaf. Delicious with duck, delicious with vegetarian lasagna.
New Arrivals
2007 BÄUERL, Grüner Veltliner, Federspiel Pichl Point Wachau, Austria $17.50
Johann Bauer's hands
Importer Bill Mayer's Notes: "There are still a few good values in the Wachau, wines of great integrity from small producers. And that's where Mr. Bäuerl comes in. Bäuerl (a very difficult name for us Yanks to pronounce correctly) is in the little village of Joching, up the street and behind Joseph Jamek. His estate is tiny, only 5 hectares (12 acres), though he leases 2 more. Though the vineyards overlap, the wines are quite different. Whereas Jamek is elegant, subtle, and fine, Bäuerl's are lusty and earthy, with plenty of stuffing. They are not the most elegant wines in the world, but they give you the goods, and are just packed with flavor. Young Johann Bäuerl is tall and thin, very boyish, and rather shy. Perhaps that is due to his very rudimentary English? His German is idiomatic and strongly accented, and not easy for me to follow. His hands, which are large and expressive, are farmer's hands, see the photograph. He has never exported before and is not well-known, yet. But it is clear that a fire burns in him. He is ambitious, wants to ascend to the front rank of Wachau growers, and with his energy and seriousness, I'm sure he will."
