How to draw a kitty . . . and other ways to kill time while waiting for an appointment at Chez Panisse

While waiting to taste with J at Chez Panisse last week, the kids of one of the employees taught me how to draw a kitty and a dolphin. My week was made.

Diversity is key to a good import portfolio

Diversity is the key.  Italy has thousands of grape varieties so to try to get them all would be madness . . . but we can all dream, can't we?

Here are all the grape varieties I currently have from Italy.

Nebbiolo - G.D. Vajra, Luigi Baudana, Favaro and Davide Carlone
Dolcetto - G.D. Vajra and Favaro
Barbera - G.D. Vajra and Favaro
Freisa - G.D. Vajra and Favaro
Pinot Nero - G.D. Vajra
Chardonnay - Luigi Baudana
Riesling - G.D. Vajra and Luigi Baudana
Nascetta - Luigi Baudana
Moscato Bianco - G.D. Vajra and Musto Carmelitano
Erbaluce - Favaro
Croatina - Davide Carlone
Vespolina - Davide Carlone
Corvina - Monte Santoccio
Rondinella - Monte Santoccio
Molinara - Monte Santoccio
Corvinone - Monte Santoccio
Pinot Grigio - Ronco Severo
Sauvignon - Ronco Severo
Friulano - Ronco Severo
Ribolla Gialla - Ronco Severo
Refosco - Ronco Severo
Schioppettino - Ronco Severo
Merlot - Ronco Severo
Vermentino - Santa Caterina
Ciliegiolo - Santa Caterina
Canaiolo - Santa Caterina
Cabernet Sauvignon - Santa Caterina
Albana di Romagna - Tre Monti
Sangiovese di Romagna - Tre Monti
Trebbiano d'Abruzzo - Cirelli
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo - Cirelli
Pecorino - Abbazia di Propezzano
Passerina - Abbazia di Propezzano
Aglianico - Musto Carmelitano

Arriving on next container:

Falanghina
Fiano

Vini Praesidium from the Abruzzo . . . coming to our shores . . .

I tasted these wines first five or more years ago or so at ViniVeri, one of the shadow conventions that take place the same time as VinItaly in Verona.  ViniVeri producers are usually practicing organic or biodynamic but aren't dogmatic about it like the producers at some of the other upstart fairs.  

At the time, I was just starting to import Italian wine and these wines caught my taste buds because they weren't like any other wine I had tried before . . .  or since.  But at the time, I just couldn't swing a brand like this and I was already selling the famous and respected wines from Emidio Pepe through another portfolio I represented, so it just didn't make sense.  And I only had tasted their current vintages at that time and not any of the older vintages.

I stopped by this year to taste their wines again, fully expecting that someone else would have picked them up by now, and to my surprise, they were still free on the West Coast, and they had their current selections, 2009 Montepulciano and 2013 Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo . . . but even more fascinating, they had some older vintages, the 2006 and the 2001.

And they blew my mind.  

The 2006 was as fresh as most wines straight after the harvest.  The flavors were so strong and so primal that I thought I was tasting a wine that was much younger. It all started to make sense.  This is what Montepulciano can be . . . a certain style to be sure, and not the last word on it, but wow!

The 2001 vintage had so much balance and so much finesse but at the same time power.  The expression "the iron fist in the velvet glove" sprang to mind and I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth. It lingered on my tongue and in my soul.

The next day, I had the pleasure of crashing a retrospective tasting of Emedio Pepe wines to celebrate his 50th year making his iconic Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.  We tasted: 1967, 1975, 1985, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2007. The wines were lovely. Some, of course, better than others. The 1967 Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d'Abruzzo was the highlight.  A wine that had aged perfectly. 

Emidio Pepe- truly a lion of the wine business

But I must say, I couldn't get the Praesidium wines out of my mind.

Sometime your first instinct is the best instinct and I knew then that I had to have these wines for my portfolio.  Totally different from the wines of Francesco Cirelli which are made on the coast and are what I would call almost an avant garde representation of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, the wines from Praesidium are the exact opposite.  They need years to become accessible.  Years to open up and show their true character.  Years to blossom from something shy and awkward into something shining and true and good.

So here they are:

2013 Praesidium Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo                             
2009 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva
2006 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva
2001 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva 
1998 Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva

The 1998 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva, the 2001 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva  and the 2006 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva, are older vintages, always kept in their cellar, hewn from rock in the mountains.  The 2009 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva is their current vintage, just released.  "Riserva" because it stays in the winery for five years before being released in the world. Two years in tank, two years plus in a mix of old slavonian botte and older barrique and then a year in bottle.

And of course, they make a Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo to rival all other Cerasuolos.  Bled off the fermenting Montepulciano after two days on the skins, it is almost too intense, more like a red wine than a rose` and will also reward a few years in the cellar.

From the winery: “We aim to create a true expression of the wine of this unique area using traditional and artisan methods in the vineyard and the cellar. We think that the wine, being a cultural product, born from the interaction between man and nature, has its own unique personality and it is necessary to allow the wine to express itself in the most spontaneous and natural manner. Our philosophy originates from the lifestyle led by our family since the beginning and passed down through the decades of farming work. In the vineyard, we have always tried to understand the needs of the land, by work that is aimed to assist nature, without forcing or manipulating it, and definitely without the use of synthetic chemical products. From having both the utmost respect of an area of land particularly appropriate for growing the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo vines, and the continuous research into the quality of the grapes, we reinforced the idea that the quality and the healthiness of the wine are strictly related. The artisan work in the cellar consists of reducing the operations to its essentials, which allows us to pursue our objective: produce, from the vinification of a single vine variety, a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine that is the most authentic expression of its native land.”

Tre Monti!

"The heart of the winery lies in the center of the farm estate in Imola, where only estate-grown grapes are vinified. All of the vineyards are managed according the principles of sustainable viticulture, which mandates inter-row cover-cropping and the lowest possible use of chemicals. In addition, recent years have witnessed surprising gains as a result of considering the phases of the moon in relation to certain vineyard management practices (one of the doctrines in biodynamic agriculture), such as hedging, planting new vines, and, in some cases, the harvest itself. The winemaking operations too, watched over painstakingly by the experienced and talented Vittorio Navacchia, are animated by a philosophy of minimal intervention. Every step is carried out with full respect not only for the integrity of the fruit, but above all for the unique character of each growing year, so that Vittorio can ensure that the final wines fully expresses all of the conditions that gave it birth."

I met Vittorio and David (and their father Sergio) this year at VinItaly and we vowed to try to work together in some way as soon as possible.  And here we are.

I have been looking for a great Sangiovese based wine for the portoflio for by the glass placements and have been combing all of Tuscany to find an older style of wine that is more pointed towards sharing with food then as a beverage to be drunk on its own and it seems like all I needed to do was to look a little to the North!  Tre Monti Campo di Mezzo Sangiovese di Romagna is everything I was looking for; light bodied but with a long finish and true Sangiovese character of bloody iron and smoky meat.

And when I first tasted the Albana di Romagna, a varietal of wine I had never experienced before, I was blown away.  It has a taste I more associate with Chenin Blanc from the Loire than anything else.

We have limited stock on this first installment but will be getting more in the fall.

2012 Albana di Romagna „Vigna Rocca“
2012 Sangiovese di Romagna „Campo di Mezzo“
2010 Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva „Petrignone“
2010 Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva  „Thea“

New Ronco Severo wines have arrived!

2012 Sauvignon
2010 Friulano Riserva
2011 Ribolla Gialla (in magnum only!) 
2010 Merlot Riserva
2010 Schioppettino

G.D. Vajra Langhe Riesling 2012 makes everything all right . . .

2012 G.D. Vajra Langhe Riesling

Sometimes you just need something to get you through the end of the day.  A day when it was too hot.  A day when you just felt kind of low.  A day that needed a pick me up at the end.  Well, this is the wine.

Made from Riesling planted almost thirty years ago now by Aldo Vaira from cuttings from the vineyard of Marcel Deiss, this is the wine that I just really needed to have at the end of my day.  Aromas of peaches and honeysuckle and a little petrol with piercing acidity and tart flavors of freshly picked grapes and a completely dry long finish.

I am smitten.  Aldo Vaira always says that Riesling is a great wife for Barolo in the Langhe and I would agree.  This wine is so complete and utterly delicious, that it took my mind off of all the petty problems of the day and brought me directly into the present.  I was in the moment.  And I could relax a little and enjoy the food in front of me.

Call or email me if you want to find this iconic example of Riesling from Piedmont in your area.

What I learned at VinItaly this year . . .

New wines from Abbazia di Propezzano arriving May 15th 

Hi,

Back from VinItaly.  I go every year and every year I have some sort of sickness that prevents me from fully enjoying the week but this year, I was good, and it was amazing to be (almost) in full form for the fair.  I was sick the week before so was still recovering a little but it turned out great.  The only thing that I didn't like was that I missed my family very much this year.  A week away is rough on my lovely wife and a week away is a long time for the children, who grow so fast and change so fast.  It is tough to leave them, but hopefully worth it so I can try to make a good living and give them a great environment of love and security as they grow and mature.

Things I learned this year:

1. Doing my research before arriving is key to having a successful fair.  I pinpointed a few needs in the portfolio and went out and found them after researching beforehand.  I picked up four new producers that will be arriving in the fall.
2. Don't trust other importers to be as honorable as you are or do what you would do in a given situation.  It is a competitive marketplace out there and good wineries of a certain size and style are actually not that easy to come by.  All is fair in love and wine importing but I guess I am a little old fashioned and try to not cross certain lines.  Others importers may not see the same line in the same place as I do.  
3. Use the resources I have in the country to my best advantage.  With some of the hottest producers in Italy in my portfolio, I need to use them to find and attract other talented winemakers to my portfolio.  And it works.  
4. Always stay the whole fair.  I confirmed two of the four deals I made at the fair on the last day. The crowds are gone and people are relaxed and the masks come off and you can really talk with people and connect.
5. Remember why I go in the first place.  I love the Italians, I love the food, and I love how I feel when I am in Italy.  I feel like I am nineteen years old again and having the experiences of a lifetime ahead of me.
6. Lastly, I need to remember to trust my gut.  Whatever my first instinct of a brand is usually the best and most clear picture of them I am going to get, before I get influenced by them, by others, by the urge to do right by people and to be nice and to be seen as a nice guy.  That doesn't make for good decisions.  And this year, I think I avoided most of that.

When I started this five years ago, only one of my wines was imported by other importers in the U.S.  Now, almost all of them are in NY/NJ and some others are in multiple states.  I am proud of them and hope that their success continues to expand.  Producers like Cirelli went from being totally unknown to being one of the producers with the most "buzz" at the fair.  It is thrilling to see a producer grow and change and become something prized in the market.

The wines of Francesco Cirelli.