August 2011

Those wanting loads of wine tasting notes and experiences can slide down to July – or any other month for that matter.

Italy grinds to a standstill in August. On August first many shop owners roll down the metal grids that bar their shop fronts and tape small signs stating that they are going on vacation for two or three weeks.

This has to do with the country’s pagan past, although some Italians try to pin the work stoppage on the Virgin Mary and others think it has something to do with workers’ rights.

In 18 B.C. the Roman Emperor Augustus decided to gather up all the rituals and celebrations devoted to the harvest gods and place them in the month that bears his name. What better tribute to himself than officially establishing a continuous eating, drinking and orgy binge?  In the fifteenth century the Roman Catholic Church began to absorb pagan rituals into their own rites by tying them to an existing Christian celebration. The fifteenth of August had been designated, since the sixth century, as the date of the Virgin Mary’s assumption into heaven. Hence, the harvest festivals metamorphosed into a celebration of the Virgin Mary. The fifteenth is now a national Italian holiday called Ferragosto. A special mass is performed at the churches but the basic desires of the Emperor Augustus are not overlooked. Whether they are church-goers or not, all Italians know that Ferragosto is to be celebrated by eating to excess and drinking in the company of friends and relatives.

Verona’s centro storico is a ghost town. Stanley and I can walk for thirty minutes in the morning and not meet a soul. In the afternoon we may meet a few confused, wandering tourists and middle-aged Italian men who are on their own, as thy have sent the wife and kids to their second house by the sea or in the mountains.

Here are some of the things we see on our walks:

August 10: The only tasting I did was my tasting lesson with my student Matteo.  I am preparing him for his Wine And Spirit Educational Trust professional exams.

Today he brought: Non-vintage Ribolla Gialla Spumante  from Az. Agr. Ronchi Sa Giuseppe Bright. Firm perlage. Pale yellow with gold highlights. Clear rim, pale yellow core. Vaguely tropical notes on the nose (pineapple, kiwi). On the palate: green gage plums, medium acidity. Light to medium body. Creamy texture. The palate follows the nose.  Decent commercial wines.

I presented a 2003 Zamuner Rosé and we agreed it was a decent commercial wine.

With dinner (a hot dog. Yes, I know I am supposed to eat gourmet chow all the time so as not to ruin my sensitive palate but…its summer!!) I drank a glass tankard of Zamuner rosé. Yippee. There is something wonderfully decadent about drinking sparkling wine from a tankard.  I did it the first time with my husband and his mother at a swish pub in Birmingham (England, not Alabama). I urge you to try it: slip your delicate hand through the mug’s sturdy handle and quaff Champagne (or other fine sparkling wine).  Ah…

Sparkling wine, please
It is hot and humid. In this kind of weather my favorite beverages are in order of preference: sparkling water with a slice of lime, unsweetened ice tea with a slice of lemon, ice-cold beer or….good sparkling wine.

Here are the sparkling wines that have buoyed me through this hotisimo and humidisimo month.
Franciacorta Rose Brut 2006 from Villa (fruity and elegant), Equipe5 Brut Riserva (fresh and easy), Guistino B. 2010 from Ruggeri (juicy fruit and sprightly), Zamuner Rosé (crisp, with a fine weave of berry fruit).

Amarone fans can leap down to the July 11&12 entry. I was fortunate enough to be able to taste 144 Amarones blind over a 2 day period.

July 26 A San Gio Idle at Le Vigne di San Pietro
Carlo Nerozzi and his business partner Giovanni Boscaini host the San Gio Video Festival (www.sangiofestival.it) jury and participants at their immaculate Le Vigne di San Pietro estate (www.levignedisanpietro.it)

2010 Custoza (made from a blend of Garganega, Trebbiano, Cotese, Tocai and Incrocio Manzoni) Bright. Very fresh and fruity. Apricot and pear flavors unfold on the palate. Pure and supple. The flavors and fragrances are still firm and bright after 15 minutes in the glass. This is excellent wine.

July 25 San Gio invades Accordini’s new winery

For the past 17 years our pal Ugo has organized the San Gio Video Festival. Jurors and film types from around the world – Japan, China, The US, France, Spain, Iran…and the list goes on – descend on Verona from the 23 to the 27th of July. Ugo always arranges morning visits to vineyards for the visitors. Today we are off to visit Accordini. I have long been a fan of this estate’s wines and it is a pleasure to see their new hilltop winery.

2010 Valpolicella Classico Vibrant ruby. Fresh, fruity. Almost grapefruit at first. Bright cherry flavor that expands with a bit of time in the glass. Very clean and appealing on the palate.

2008 Valpolicella Classico Ripasso “Acinatico” Deep ruby color. The nose is immediately appealing, with clear cherry fruit fragrances. Mouth-filling an lively.

The 2007 Amarone is deeply colored ruby. Ripe cherry notes dance across the palate, a cinnamon spiciness infuses the flavor.

July 15 More Wine…107 to be exact!!

Bernardo picks me up in his little convertible, which to me looks like something Malibu Barbie would drive, and we head out to Valpolicella for round three for me and round six for Bernie in the tasting marathon.

Today we do whites, Veneto IGTs made from indigenous varieties and sweet wines. Again all the wines are tasted blind.

The high scorers (90) for me are the following:
Teroldego 2007 and Calto 2005, both produced by Marion and Palazzo della Torre 2008 and La Poja 2007, both produced by Allegrini

For sweet wines, I gave my highest score (90) to 2007 Recioto de Valpolicella from Santa Sofia.

July 13 My Cesar Milan Moment
I am walking home from the vegetable market. I stop to chat with a woman and her dog Coco (well, I chat mostly with the dog.) The woman asks me what to do about her little (10 pound), nervous dog, who barks every time another dog passes the windows of her office. I tell her to say no in a firm way and to place her hand on the dog’s shoulders/neck – nothing aggressive, just enough to get his attention and communicate that she are in charge.

“So, it is not a good idea to hit the dog,” she says.

“No,” I say, shocked at the very idea of hitting a creature that weighs less than my handbag. “All you will do is create a dog who is afraid of you. Image how sad life would be if you were afraid of your master,” I say.

There is a song in my heart when I leave this woman: (if she follows my advice) I will have saved a doggie from a series of useless whacks!

July 11 & 12 The Big Amarone Tasting 144 – yes 144 – wines!

All the wines are tasted blind (this means that the tasters are unaware of the wine’s identity) in an air conditioned room in the Valpolicella Consorzio office. Greta, who works for the Consorzio, has bagged and tagged all the bottles. (For those not used to large-scale blind tastings, the preceding phrase refers to slipping all the bottles into cloth bags with draw string tops and attaching a numbered tag.).

There are six tasters. The tasting has been organized by Bernardo Pasquali for the Vini Buoni d’Italia Guide. The guide only lists wines that are made from indigenous varieties.

My absolute favorite Amarone in this blind tasting (the one that got my highest score ever – 95 ++) was 2006 Amarone “Casa dei Beppe” from Viviani.

I have long been a fan of Viviani wines and it was wonderful to have my convictions confirmed within the context of a blind tasting that included 144 wines. Hip, hip, hip hooray!

Second: Marion (score: 93) I was also delighted that my esteem for the wines of Marion were confirmed in this blind tasting.

Other producers who presented a wine that scored 90 on my list include: Venturini, Ca’La Bionda, Speri, Tommasi, Guerrieri Rizzardi, Villa Bella, Brunelli, Tenuta Sant Antonio (with “Campo degli Giglio”), Musella, Castellani, Villa Monteleone, Accordini, Bertani, Corteforte, Cantina de Negrar, Zeni, and Monte Tondo. I was completely surprised by this last entry because I always think of Monte Tondo as a producer of first-rate Soaves. So I was doubly pleased to see that the estate’s Amarone was also of very high quality.

Those producers who had a wine with a score between 85 and 89: Masi, Begali, Nicolis, Fabiano, Aldegheri, Cecelia Beretta, Corte Forte, Ruffo and Zardini.

It is all very romantic living in a 15th century palazzo in the centro storico of Verona. However, this is not the best location for wireless internet service. There are days when the only way to get a firm connection is to sit on a crate in a certain corner of the back balcony. (I do not believe the crate is essential in this process but location certainly is.) I have decided to blame the random placement of the photos in this month’s diary on the iffy connection.
At any rate, two very nice images arrived today and I thought they should be added to the June Diary. The first is Burt Bacharach and Franco Ziliani, taken at the concert organized by Berlucchi. The second is from Lorenza Vitali, of Witaly (www.witaly.it). It is a photo of me and Sra. Pezzi, owner of Fattoria Paradiso.

June 2011
June 29 Burt Bacharach and the Birthday Bash
The day dawns hot and humid. At ten, as sweat trickles down my back, I contemplate (first) the silk finery I have laid out to wear to tonight’s concert and (second) the hour-long late-afternoon train ride from Verona to Brescia where the concert will take place. I put the silk away and start ironing linen: better to arrive in wrinkled linen than damp silk.
We arrive at the Teatro Grande, an exquisite jewel box of a theatre – all gold arabesques and deep cranberry-colored plush. Michael says the color is more a cross between Papal scarlet and cranberry.

The first order of the evening is to honor our host Franco Ziliani, whose 80th birthday coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Franciacorta zone. Mr. Ziliani who met Guido Berlucchi in the 1950s and with him founded Guido Berlucchi & Co. (www.berlucchi.it), was pivotal in the development of this sparkling wine region.

Franciacorta, let me remind you, is in Lombardy (about an hour’s drive from Verona) and has achieved fame for the high quality of its sparkling wines, made with the same grape varieties and production methods used in Champagne.

The seven-piece band and three backup singers take their places and then Mr. Bacharach strolls on stage and seats himself at the piano. What follows is a supremely satisfying hour and a half of good music laced with nostalgia. His songs really did score our childhoods and youth. I hear in my imagination: Dianne Warwick, Jack Jones, Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Caterina Valente, Tom Jones, Gene Pitney, Christopher Cross, Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66, Hugh Jackman, The Beatles, The Carpenters.

Mr. Bacharach leaves most of the singing to his powerhouse trio. However, he leans into the microphone to sing Alfie. His voice is hoarse and cracked but his phrasing is superb. It is like hearing the song for the first time.

Thank you, Berlucchi for a lovely evening!

June 25 Stanley’s Big Two Hands Adventure or Two Hands in Paradiso

Several weeks ago we received an invitation to visit the Fattoria Paradiso (www.fattoriaparadiso.com) estate in Romagna for a tasting of Shiraz from the Australian winery, Two Hands (www.twohandswines.com).

When no dog-sitter could be found, the organizers kindly said we could bring young Stanley along. Stanley has eaten at top restaurants, travelled by train, bus and private plane and done his share of hotel stays. His manners are impeccable. We did not train him to be a gentleman-dog. It is just his nature.

Michael Twelftree, co-owner of Two Hands led the tutored tastings of Shiraz from his Garden Series. Peacock screams (caws? shrieks?) punctuated the tasting. Fattoria Paradiso has around forty of these birds strutting around the place, so peacock conversations are a part of the rural music here. (The way sirens on 61st and 3rd in New York are just part of that city’s rich pageantry.)

The Two Hand wines have a definite house style : The emphasis is on elegance, purity and expression of terroir.
When I left London (over 20 years ago, yikes!), Australian Shiraz was often a muscular wine with big shoulders and an unyielding attitude. Power was king in those days; the concepts of subtlety and elegance were dismissed as the namby-pamby refuge of ladies and old codgers who remembered the good old days. Thank goodness the pendulum has swung back. (Oh dear, I am beginning to sound like a codger-ette myself.)

“When we started the company ten years ago we wanted to be the first producers to show the regionality of the Shiraz grape,” said Mr. Twelftree. Two Hands has succeeded in this goal. Tasting through the Garden Series is a fascinating way to come to grips with the specifics of soil, climate and terrain that constitute terroir.

Each wine in the Garden Series is from a small specific area and each is named after a member or members of the families of Michael Twelftree and his partner, Richard Mintz.

My favorite of the six Shirazes we tasted was the 2009 Samantha’s Garden. Of it I wrote: a sprightly acidity lifts the bolt of silky, shimmering fruit (a mingling of cherries, blackberries and raspberries). A dusting of light spice. Long fruit filled-finish. 1000 cases of this wine are made.
Its region: The Clare Valley, near the northern end of Watervale.

2009 Harry and Edward’s Garden (Langhorne Creek Shiraz). A silky sensation undulates through creamy, cherry-tinged fruit. On the palate, there is an amalgam of mulberries, blackberries and just-ripe plums. Soft, firm tannins. Sprightly acidity brightens the velvety fruit.
Michael (my husband not Mr. Twelftree) wrote. “Patchouli/Indian Spices.” 300 cases are made.

2009 Lily’s Garden (McClaren Vale Shiraz) Firm yet soft on the nose – an iron hand in a kid glove. Tightly-knit. Fruit and acidity form a pleasing whole. On the nose very ripe plums, a drizzle of dark chocolate, a powdery sensation. A gentle wave of warm spices laps at the fruit.

The other wines tasted (which were all of very high quality but I will not tire you with my notes) were Max’s Garden (satisfying), Bella’s Garden (more linear) and Sophie’s Garden (a tad hot: fine wine, just not my favorite.)

“I didn’t grow up around wine,” says Mr. Twelftree. “At twenty-four I was invited to a tasting at a wine shop and this beautiful, wonderful world opened up to me.”

In the intervening years he has tasted widely and well, developing a fine natural palate. He also has the refreshing habit of saying exactly what he thinks…and what he thinks is usually vastly entertaining.

Later at the pre-dinner aperitivo (a tasting in disguise), Mr. Twelftree poured us a glass of Brunello di Montalcino Cuprano 2006 (www.cuprano.it). A rich knubbly weave of luscious fruit (there is no precise fruit – everything mingles to form a new entity). This clean, vibrant flavor carries through on the long finish.

As the tasting was winding up Graziella Pezzi, dog-lover and owner of Fattoria Paradiso, came over to compliment Stanley on his patience and to talk about her own dogs. Her company even has a line of wines named for an abandoned dog they found near the French border, which they called Peti Trufi. Her current dog is a small, faun-colored mongrel named Princie.

Fattoria Paradiso has provided wines for such events as the Nobel Prize ceremonies and dinners at the White House under President Clinton and for Pope John Paul II.

“I am here keeping the boat afloat,” says Sra. Pezzi, beaming. I like this woman and not just because she loves dogs.
Please let me quote from her brochure: “Wine is the supreme landlord of this refined farm that will warmly welcome you with its multi-colored dance of coupling peacocks, its swift flying of lively coloured pheasants, its instantaneous jumping of surprised hares that, here at the Fattoria, have always found a natural place to stay.”

June 24 Soave and Dialect Poetry
Ugo (you will find a description of Ugo in the Life in Verona section of this website) hosts another evening of poetry and vino. The producer this time is Le Mandolare. We taste Le Perle Brut Spumante (a bubbly blend of Garganega and Chardonnay), 2010 Soave Corte Menini, 2010 Soave Il Roccolo and 2008 Soave Monte Sella. There is a definite house style. The fruit has gentle apricot flavors and there is an appealing mineral undertow.

Ugo holds up each bottle in turn and parades up and down in front of the tables, presenting the bottles in the way a model on a game show would.

We sit in the yellow electric lights hung from the roof of the arcade that runs along Via Sottoriva. Ugo begins to read a poem.

“He always reads this one,” says Michael. “It’s the one about the guy whose willy is so cold he can’t piss.”

June 20 Hospital Visit
Well, I might as well confess. I took May off because I had to go into hospital for an operation. I had not had an operation since my tonsils were removed at the age of four. I was therefore pretty jumpy. I have to go in again today for yet another operation to tidy up the one that was done in May. A few hours after I had been wheeled back to my room, a clump of doctors sprouted around my bed and began debating whether they could send me home tomorrow. The verdict was decided when one doctor says: “She’s sitting up and reading a book! Of course she can go home!”

I received an email from a well-meaning friend who wrote: “Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.” It took me a nanosecond to realize the foolishness of that remark. There is no way to prepare for the worst because there is no way of knowing what “the worst” is. No matter how bad you think you have it, look around and you will find someone in a much more distressing state. If you cannot define something you certainly cannot prepare for it. So my plan is to continue drinking fine wine, eating lovely meals and have lively conversation with my husband and friends.

June 19th Matteo’s tasting lesson
My tasting student Matteo has passed the first two exams in the Wine and Spirit Education Trust program. He is now preparing for the next phase and we will step up our tasting practice.
He brought:
2009 Saint Clair Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) Clear, bright. Medium intensity. Straw to pale gold color, with lemony highlights. Fresh, clean. Crisp acidity. Full and fruity (pineapple, greengage plums), with a softly herbaceous undertow. Medium-long finish. A very nice wine, indeed.
2006 Ladoucette Pouilly-Fumé Château du Nozet (Loire) The bottle was opened five days ago. Still fresh, still crisp. Pale straw with a wide clear rim. A flinty quality, well-knit flavors. A touch of butterscotch on the finish.
2005 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) The bottle was opened 5 days ago. Medium intensity straw yellow. A touch of exotic fruit. Again, its herbaceous character is more pronounced on the palate. Its fruit fades a bit but its acidity is firm.

June 15 Burt Bacharach – the man who scored part of my youth!
I return home to find an invitation to celebrate the 80th birthday of Franco Ziliani, owner of Guido Berlucchi & Co., makers of fine Franciacorta sparkling wine. To celebrate there will be a concert performed by Burt Bacharach!!! Excuse me, but….I know the way to San Jose…raindrops do keep falling on my head. Wow.

June 4 Zamuner rosé
The day after my visit to Faccioli, I open a bottle of 2003 Zamuner Rosé. It has a lovely, coppery hue. Its fragrance is well-knit, with hints of raspberries and frozen strawberries. On the palate it is light and refreshing.

June 3 A visit to Faccioli and a reflection on Zamuner
We visit the Faccioli winey. Marco Faccioli - who likes to remind us that he is of the new, YOUNG generation – shows us around. He has a genuine passion for sparkling wine and has thrown himself into experimentation, while keeping a watchful eye on the classic styles of Champagne.

He allows us to taste a couple of early trials so that we can better understand how he has learned and improved, based on knowledge gained from his early mistakes. I will keep an eye on these wines because they have potential – although they are a long way from perfection at the moment.

In the same zone, you will find the sparkling wine house of Zamuner. In the February 2011 diary I wrote of the 1998 Zamuner Brut Rosé: “The wine is fresh and inviting on the nose. It is rich, satisfying and lively. A description of flavor? Like all wines with a bit of age, the fruit flavors are not easily categorized. It is a pleasing amalgam of “ideas” of raspberries and “ideas” of strawberries. Well-made wines really do morph into something that is more than the sum of their parts as they mature.”

I took the month of May off, spending most of my time in the hammock on the back balcony, reading mysteries and drinking ice tea.

I did get out a bit. Here are my adventures in pictures:

Sculptures by Paolo Mezzardi (www.mylabdesign.it) at the Sandro Di Bruno winery.

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APRIL 2011
April 30 Bellbottoms!!!!
I see bellbottom trousers on a mannequin in a women’s clothing shop across from Piazza Erbe. (see April 4th note to understand why this takes my breath away.)

April 29 The royal wedding
We go to Daniels to watch the royal wedding. I have made cucumber sandwiches and scones and Daniel has whipped up anchovy paste and bought smoked salmon Buck’s Fizz flows freely.

April 27 I get a medal
A medal arrives from a school in Greece. I am chuffed. I have received this for helping them organize visits to historic wineries in the zone. How very thoughtful of them.

April 25 Easter
Bellavista Gran Cuvee Franciacorta 2005. I will not write a regular note, instead I will write an emotional note. This wine is practically perfect in every way, as Mary Poppins would say. It has a fine balance between elegance and personality. This is not an easy thing to achieve. I would like to say that we drank it on a terrace overlooking the sea. In fact, we drank it while watching Gordon Ramsey’s ritual humiliations on Cucina di Incubo (a.k.a. Kitchen Nightmares USA).

April 7 through 11 Vinitaly
This year I decided – because I did not feel tip-top – to only visit producers I have known for years (sometimes for a couple of decades). So here is a list of one of my favorite wines from each of my favorite producers. (If you want loads of notes for every single wine, then I invite you to whiz down to April’s past).

Villa Bucci Pongelli Rosso Piceno 2009. The color of blueberry juice. Fresh, lively appealing fruit (blackberry) on the nose and palate. A juicy fruit compote on the palate.

Mr. Bucci told me that one year an American came to his stand and said: “Hello, Mr. Fratelli.” Mr. Bucci told me he immediately crossed out the word “fratelli” (brothers) on his card. “You would think that visitors would do at least the minimum of research before they come to the stand,” said Mr. Bucci.

Vicentini Soave Terre Lunge 2010 Very floral. At this point – 4p.m. – this is the nicest white I have tasted today.

Ca Lustra Zanovello 2007 Merlot Sassonero There is a warm weave of perfumes. On the palate, a soft plummy flavor with a note of grass. Warm and enfolding.

Zamuner Brut 2005 Bright, uplifting acidity. There is an old-style (in a good way) sensation on the palate. Creamy toast on the nose – all lifted by a lemony zest.
Bortolotti Brut 2007 A fine weave, very compressed. A bit of orange pith on the palate.

Fattoria Zerbina Torre di Ceparana 2007. A blood orange sheen over lush ruby. A mouthful of fruit . There is an elegance on the nose that balances precisely on the point of lushness. A warm full cherry (not cloying) juice. Firm Lovely fruit-filled finish.

Villa Extra Brut 2006 (Chardonnay 90%, 10% Pinot Noir). Barrique 6 months. A lovely fresh apricot-pear fruit on the nose. Bright and appealing. On the palate a rush of lush ripe fruit followed by a fine soft finish.

Ferrari Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore 2001 Bright pale gold. Yeasty nose. A tangerine zestiness lifts the creamy fruit.

Masciarelli Villa Gemma Cerasuolo 2010 A lively deep pink with blue tones. A full, fruity perfume. Juicy, with bright acidity that leaves a fresh pleasing flavor. This classy little wine gives pleasure.

Az. Ag. San Giovanni Chiaretto 2010 Fresh with a silky bolt of light cherry fruit A soft sprinkling of minerals over light, fresh, inviting fruit
A new producer for me:
Le Colture Prosecco extra dry Light apricot scent On the palate, a knubbly texture leads to a soft fruit-filled finish.

April 4 The North Americans converge
North Americans have started to converge on Verona in preparation for Vinitaly. From the way they gave me the once over, I think I may have mistakenly convinced more than one visitor that bellbottoms are back in style in Europe.

April 2 A Field Trip to the Ricci Curbastro Agricultural Museum (and winery!)
Monica called asking if I would like to accompany her to Franciacorta to visit the Ricci Curbastro Estate and agricultural history museum. She has to write an article on the energy saving elements they have incorporated into their set up.
She picks me up. In the back seat are her two daughters (8 and 10). Conversation is nearly impossible. Monica’s ability to listen to two independent babbles from the back seat and my dribblings are just too much for her. I slip into a meditative state. I like enforced silences: I get my best thinking done at boring seminars and pointless press conferences.

We are met at the estate by Rhoda the Rhodesian Ridgeback and Sly the spotted Setter. Oh yes, and by Gualberto Ricci Cubastro, the elegant gent who founded the winery. He takes us through the museum. It is open to the public and receives between 8,000 and 10,000 people a year. “It’s a testimony to the vanishing past,” says Gualberto. “It will allow my children and grandchildren to understand what country life was like.”
For me the most thought provoking display was composed of implements made from the helmets and cannons left by the armies that passed through Italy during the Second World War. English helmets were turned into wine funnels. Big round American helmets were turned into buckets and hibachis. French helmets became scoops.

Monica left us to chase the children who were outside harassing the remarkably affable dogs. Gualberto opened a bottle of Ricci Cubastro Brut 2007. (60% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Blanc, 10% Pinot Noir). Very smooth and elegant. We shared a satisfying glass (or two) and the conversation turned to the USA. Gualberto had just returned from an aeronautics conference in Washington D.C. He had then driven from D.C. to New York City.

“They are very nice your policemen. You can talk to them,” he said. This assessment was based on his ability to charm his way out of a speeding ticket.

The estate also has 8 apartments to let and a fine airy conference room in addition to the museum and the exceptionally pleasing wines.

March 28 Vinitaly Wine Competition
I get a call asking me to fill in as a judge at the wine competition. I do not like to do all 5 days as it comes just before Vinitaly and, frankly, 5 days of tasting from 9 to 5 is exhausting. I agree to do the last 2 and ½ days.

I receive emails congratulating me on my bella figura when interviewed by a Rai3 TV food and wine program. Hip hip hip hooray.

From March 25 to 27 Wines I liked from my visit to Piedmont
Frattelli Rabino Nebbiolo 2009. Bright. (The color is difficult to assess in the light of the tasting room). The fragrance is pure pleasure – elegant strawberry/blackberry fruit. The palate shows all that the nose promises: silky texture pleasant fruit. I am told that it sells for around 12 Euros in local shops. For me this is good value for money.

All the wines I taste at Rabino had clean, precise fruit; they were wines that gave pleasure. Notably among them: Arneis 2010, Roero 2008 (100% Nebbiolo).

You will not find a barrique in my cellar, says Andrea Rabino. “I am one of the few in the zone who can say that.”

Saglietti Nebbiolo Langhe 2009 (tasted at the Cantina Comunale di La Morra). Bright garnet/ruby. On the nose: Fine strawberry-like fruit, with an undertow of moist autumn leaves. On the palate very appealing, a vibrant acidity weaves through the firm velvety fruit.

Monfalletto Cordero di Montezemolo Barolo 2006 (tasted at the Cantina Comunale di La Morra) Pale garnet. Floral (light note of violets), warm, in the perfume there is a hint of musk. Elegant and pleasing. An idea of liquorish. Long, evolving finish. A good commercial Barolo for those seeking finesse.

Renzo Castello Dolcetto Diano d’Alba 2009 Blue tinged ruby. Closed on the nose at first. But on the palate a creamy note infiltrates the juicy berry fruit. A tannin tingle. A pleasing firm fruitiness on the finish.

Mascarello Giuseppe Dolcetto Diano d’Alba 2009 Bright fresh. Lively pleasing berry fruit. Very good on the palate: a tight weave of juicy and inviting flavor.

There were a few other decent wines but I tasted them much too hastily due to our Organizer’s “hurry up so that we can hang around outside waiting for…something to happen” leadership-style.

Now that the producers have read their names and left the site, let me tell you about this trip—myohmyohmy.

March 25 A Trip Back in Time (and not always in a good way).
We meet Luciano, the organizer (so to speak) of our tour in front of the motel. He looks like a guy who has his “office” at a back table in a Times Square MacDonald’s. His hair is unwashed, uncombed and unkempt. His clothes (jacket pockets stuffed with wadded up bits of paper and soiled business cards) have been slept in – recently and often. His big, hangdog face shouts “failure”. I instantly feel sorry for him. This impulsive emotion quickly wears away.

We see Francesco T., also a captive on this trip. He offers to let us ride in his car. The other journalists pile into their cars and we follow Luciano out on to the highway.

We come to a wide spot in the road, a sort of casual parking lot between a restaurant and high stone wall. Luciano’s car stops and the rest of us park and get out. We cluster on the side of the road. Luciano trudges over and lights a cigarette, takes a puff. The journalists eye each other nervously. The unspoken question – Why are we here? – hangs in the air. Luciano takes another puff and waves a hand toward a house a few meters up a dirt and gravel drive and tells us it used to belong to the Italian Royal Family. We stand silently waiting for more. There is no more.

“Come on,” says Luciano, throwing his cigarette onto the road. “We’ve gotto go or we’ll be late.” We silently get back in our cars.

We arrive at the Cantina Comunale di la Morra, a very attractive wine shop (www.cantinalamorra.com). The manager is well prepared and offers us interesting wines to taste. In the parking lot Luciano confesses that wine really isn’t his thing. “History,” he says. “is my real passion.” This phrase will be repeated at least twice a day for the remainder of the trip.

We arrive at a wine cellar where the manager is the world’s greatest living authority on everything. He expresses his superiority by shouting down even the most timidly offered opposition. He (who clearly speaks no English) knows more about the English wine trade than people who work in the English wine trade. He knows more about packaging that people who have successfully worked in the sector. He knows more about silicone corks than people who have actually experimented with them. To his credit: his winery is clean, his wines are decent. But they are not nearly as good as he thinks they are.

We drive to the restaurant and I teach Francesco (who happily and truthfully says he speaks no English) the word: shambolic.

Luciano falls asleep at the dinner table.

We drive back to the hotel and I teach Francesco the word Brouhaha.

March 26 Kerfuffle
We emerge from the motel at 8:30.
“Shambolic,” Francesco joyously shouts at me.
“Brouhaha!” I reply.

I try to teach him today’s word: kerfuffle. “But it’s easy,” I whine. “All the words – shambolic, brouhaha and kerfuffle – are loosely related in meaning because they all can be used when describing this trip.”

The new word is too much for Francesco who wants instead to have a colorful English phrase for “I’m parched.” At the next stop he steps up to Luciano and recites: “I. Want. To. Wet. My. Whistle.” Luciano (who, I believe, also speaks no English) give him a “Why-was-I-born-to-suffer” look and walks away.

Most of us clamber into the commune minivan and we set off with the Sicilian and Genovese journalists following in their car, as there is not enough room for all of us in the van.

We arrive at Priocca, where we are met by the mayor, a bright-eyed energetic soul. We stand in the sunshine next to a statue of Padre Pio.

“We have a lot of mixed marriage here,” says the major. “The women are Calabrese.”

It seems that in the 60s and 70s the local women did not want to face a life of drudgery on the farm, so they caught the bus for the Big City, where they subsequently married city slickers. This left a lot of desperate Piedmontese men, who ended up making arranged-marriages with Southern women. “They are hard workers,” says the mayor.

We visit a nice meat and cheese deli – Azienda Agricola Bricco del Prete. After admiring their wares, we are led around back to be given a tour of the abattoir. I don’t feel like standing next to beef carcasses in a windowless room and neither does the lady from Genova so we watch the horses in the paddock and take the sun.

Off to the summer residence of Carlo Felice. We are met in the main hall by The Professor. “We have to make this snappy,” he says, pointedly looking at his watch. “Because I’ve got to get back to the old folks home in time to give the codgers their lunch.”

He shows us some superb Chinese hand-painted wallpaper. There are evidentially only 5 other places in the world with such fine examples. “But the local philistines turned these rooms into a grade school for a while! And children being children, they defaced these priceless treasures,” says the seething Professor. Indeed, many of the figures within a child’s reach have penciled in mustaches, beards and glasses.

Off to a flash tasting at a very pretty place (Alla Corte degli Alfieri). Back in the bus and up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna dei Boschi in Vezza d’Alba. Where another mayor, Carla, and her crew have pitched in to make us a home-style lunch. It is a lovely, informal meal, served with gusto and goodwill. When we are heading toward dessert, the Sicilian starts pontificating on Sicily. He has done this at every stop.

After 30 minutes I think: I cannot stand another minute of this.

After 15 more minutes I have an epiphany: I do not have to stay!

I go outside, sit in the sun, close my eyes and listen to the traffic whizz by on the distant highway. Forty minutes later Michael rouses me and we head back to the bus.

We stop at The Natural History Museum of Roero, a room filled with taxidermied animals in glass display cabinets.

“Most of specimens are road kill”, Carla, the mayor, reassures us. There are also two drawers of insects brought in by school children.

Then another winery. This one is the dirtiest winery I have ever visited. The barrels are stained around the staves and rims. The doors of the empty stainless steel tanks are caked with wine stains. There are tiny daubs of white mold on the moist spigots of the tanks. There is water three inches deep in the lowest part of the cellar. That said, the wines themselves are not bad. But…I believe that good winemakers should follow the same rule as good chefs: clean as you go.

After a few photo opportunity stops we visit another winery. Great visit. Then off to the restaurant. Our minivan dutifully follows Luciano into another vast parking lot. Luciano leaps from his car and raps on the window of the van.
He flings his arm toward a distant building. “That’s the Università del Gusto,” he says. Then he mutters something about a jailbird’s wall. (muro di galiotto) “But we have no time to stop or we’ll be late!” He lumbers back to his car.

On the motorway Luciano’s car whizzes past the exit. He slams on the brakes, sending the driver of our minivan into a panic.

“Go on, you can’t stop on the highway,” he exclaims, as if Luciano could hear him. When it becomes clear that Luciano will not move, our driver nervously backs up to the exit.

“Luciano is not trustworthy on the road,” says a journalist who has known him for years.

We have dinner with two mayors, three producers and a mayor who produces wine.

March 27 Taradiddle
More hours of photo opportunities at foggy roadsides and producers who are never introduced and farewells that lengthen to the point of embarrassment. (Hurry! Hurry! Wait. Wait.)
We arrive home in the evening. Hooray.

March 16 Enoteca degli Alighieri (www.ristorantealighieri.com)
Our pal Ugo presents Caferro. We sit at a table with the owner of the estate, Daniele Ferasin and Damiano Peroni, the winemaker.

Spumante Rose 2010 The color of pale strawberry juice. Bright, fresh and lightly fruity on the nose. These characteristics are echoed on the palate, where I found a soft amalgam of strawberry, raspberry and blueberry fruit – very light. It reminded me of sorbet. The grape varieties: Merlot (80%), with Raboso (20%).

Merlot 2008 Soft fruit (brambles and blackberries). The fruitiness on the nose follwos though on the pale. Nice, pleasing. Medium finish. Excellent quality/price ratio.

I ask Daniele what his export markets are. He says: “The Cayman Islands and Montecarlo, and a bit in Japan.”

Never in all my years of asking this question have I heard such a surprising reply. The usual response is usually: “German, the USA, and a bit in Japan”.

It seems that by chance he met a very exclusive jeweler at a luxury goods trade fair, one thing led to another and now his simple, juicy wines are in Jet Set territory.

“Our goal,” says Damiano, “Is to make a 100% Raboso.”

In my book, Wines of Italy, I describe Raboso like this: “The name “Raboso” may be derived from rabioso, a dialect work used to describe fruit that is still a little acerbic. Raboso performs best in stony alluvial soils , and is most likely a descendant of a wild variety navtive to the Piave River Valley.”

March 14 Pizza Provencal & Caffetteria Fuoricorso (www.barfouricorso.it)
We walk Stanley down to the university district of Verona to visit Matteo’s bar for the first time. It is splendid. There is a small garden courtyard at the back which would be super on summer evenings. The décor is sleek but no slick. Matteo makes us each a Buck’s Fizz, with a splash of Cointreau. The wine list is small but perfectly formed and the prices are pitched at a student clientele, with 2.50 being the average price for a glass. I will recommend it to people looking for a quiet drink during Vinitaly. And I will most definitely bring out-of-town friends here.

I make the best ratatouille of my life. What makes the difference? Half a teaspoon of crushed coriander seeds. I put a layer of the ratatouille on a base of whole wheat bread dough crust. I drink a glass of Monte Santoccio Valpolicella 2007 with it. Nice match. This ripasso is very versatile when it comes to food and wine pairing.

March 13 Tasting Lessons for Matteo
I am preparing Matteo for his Wine and Spirit Educational Trust certificate exams. Every Sunday he brings two bottles of wine and his study guide textbooks, and we taste and go over his notes. I am chuffed because his on-line tutor complimented him for noting CO2 in the notes he has submitted to her. CO2, which manifests itself as tiny bubbles that cling to the bottom of the glass in still wines, is an indication that the wine has been held under a blanket insert gas (CO2). It is a technique often used in the production of fresh young wines.

Today we taste:
Mosel Riesling Dr. Loosen 2008. Slight CO2!!! Pale straw with greenish highlights. Clean. A light floral note and a sensation of lime-like acidity. Well balanced light sweetness. Persistent fruit on the medium-long finish. A touch sweetness on the back palate. Good commercial quality wine.

Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso Monte Santoccio 2007 Medium-depth ruby. Good acidity. Nice idea of cherries. Soft tannins an undertow of warm spice. Matteo serves this wine at his bar.

March 5 Bardolino-land
Off we go to Villabella. We have visited this producer of fine juicy wines many times in the past. But today will be something special. After years of painstaking renovation they have just put the finishing touches on Hotel Villabella Relais, a five star hotel. The rooms are impeccably and imaginatively decorated. The terrace looks onto a 16th century English-style garden.

We are here to witness a cooking demonstration performed by the hotel’s chef, Giuseppe D’Aquino. He shows us how to prepare fresh pasta (if you happen to have a professional kitchen mixer and electric pasta press) and a chocolate flan with a creamy center.

We then sit down to lunch. Along with the meal we drink Villabella wines. Among them:
2010 Bardolino Chiaretto A deep pink verging on pale rose. Nose: Uplifting acidity, freash a note of red berry fruit (raspberries, strawberries and cherryes). The palate follows the nose.

2010 Bardolino Chiaretto “Pozzo dell’Amore” Vibrant rose color, with a blood orange tinge. On the nose is a welcoming amalgam of red berry fruit. Vibrant, juicy fruit on the palate (strawberries and raspberries).

2010 Bardolino Classico Vigna Morlongo Soft, satisfying. A sensation of heavy silk on the palate.

Then off to Le Fraghe. Matilda Poggio is the owner/winemaker here. “I started the estate myself so I always had the freedom to make wine my way,” she says.

2010 Bardolino Chiaretto Rodon Very perfumed. A spritz of minerality infuses the red berry fruit. Very tightly knit. Macedonia. Fresh citrusy and the richness of berry fruit. A fine salinity on the finish.

“I think one could knock back quite a lot of this,” says Michael.

2010 Bardolino Vibrant ruby color. A spiciness. After 10 minutes it broadens into a pleasing bolt of ripe, crisp fruit. A sprinkling of black pepper on the finish.

We visit two other wineries. Both interesting in their way. At the end of the long day, we ride back to Verona with Monica and Clementina (2 wine journalists extrodinarire.) Deep Purple (smoke on the wah-tah/fy-urh in the sky-eeee) throbs from the CD player.

March 3 Trapped!
I am trapped at a winery on top of a steep hill in the middle of nowhere with nine interpreters for nine hours. It is not a pleasant experience. But let us draw a veil (drape, curtain, cloak) over the entire unpleasant experience.

When I get back to Verona I call Michael. He suggests that I meet him at the Osteria Carroarmato. I stand in the doorway of the osteria, press my palms against the sides of head and do a silent Evard Munch scream.

Annalisa sees me and says: “You need some belle bollecine.” She opens a bottle of sparkling wine. The three of us stand at the bar and eat anchovies and bread and let a couple of glasses of Marcato Durello wash the interpreters out of my head.

February 28 Soave Blog – the Grand Opening
I am doing a weekly blog in English for the Soave Consorzio – and today is its official start. More news as it develops.

February 27 Hooray for Bordeaux
Matteo comes over, bringing with him a bottle of 2006 Chateau L’Ermitage Listrac-Medoc. I am helping Matteo prepare for his Wine and Spirit Educational Trust exams, which he will take in Madrid in April.

Part of the exam is – of course – tasting. I have taught wine tasting in New York, London and Italy, and I studied blind tasting for 3 years with Maggie McNie, M.W., when I lived in London. I am a good tasting teacher, if I do say so myself.

The wine is fresh, fruity and appealing. After the lesson, we drink it with a mushroom casserole (in which I have daringly added a couple of spoonfuls of pear mostardo (a kind of Italian chutney). Very nice wine.

February 25 Heat may be on its way, let’s celebrate!
We have just heard that the heating-man will come on Tuesday to put in a new boiler. Nearly a week with no heat and no hot water has taken its toll on my soul. (Thank goodness for Joyce, who lets us come to her house to bathe!)
I open a bottle of Villa Bucci Riserva 2007 (Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi). We drank the 2009 vintage when Marco (the handyman) and Aldo (his electrician buddy) came round.

Villa Bucci Riserva Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2007: a rich straw, with golden highlights. On the nose there is the dusky scent of dried elderflowers surrounded by sprightly acidity. On the palate there is richness – an elegant yet knubbly texture (like raw silk). Flavors: shades of apricot and greengage plums, shot through with a zesty minerality. Long finish. Very satisfying wine. Thank you, Mr. Bucci, for making this wine.

February 22 Calamity upon Calamity
Just before we set off for Emilia Romagna our hot water heater died. I asked Marco, the handyman, to come round and see what he could do to fix it. He said: “Turn it off now! It is a time bomb. Do you want to die?”

Well, we returned from Emilia to find that the electricity for our oven no longer worked. I decided to fix it myself. This was a big mistake. I pulled out not only the plug but all the wiring that should be in the wall. I was able to do this because the original wiring had been done by – I don’t want to speak badly of chimpanzees here -but creatures who clearly had not gone to electricians’ school. I called Marco once again. Bless him. He and his electrician buddy, Aldo, came by on their lunch hour and sorted things out. They declined my offer of payment but not my offer of a glass of wine. The only white I had to hand (Marco prefers white) was a Villa Bucci 2009 Verdicchio. Bucci’s Verdicchio has won the Gambero Rosso 3-Glass award (their highest accolade) several times. It managed to please not only wine judges but also the palates of Marco and Aldo. When I said the names Bucci and Verdicchio, Marco immediately said: “Jesi”. Wow: A handyman who knows his wines. Am I lucky or what?

2009 Villa Bucci Verdicchio: the wine has a wonderful texture on the palate. The perfumes are of elderflowers and fresh butter. The palate is mouth-filling and an intriguing mineral wave undulates its way through the flavor.

The electrician and Marco were happy to accept another glass, as was I. Our apartment is in the most beautiful street in Verona’s centro storico, we have two balconies but – call me bourgeois – I have reached a point in life where I want an apartment where the electricity and heating work!

February 21 Tasting at the International Museum of Ceramics (MIC) in Faenza
Conversations over-heard on the bus ride to the hilltop town of Dozza:
“I have over one hundred and sixty thousand wine labels in my collection. This is interesting, no?”

Gentle Reader, let us silently answer that question and then move on.

A Polish journalist comes out of the hotel complaining about service.
“I’m going to destroy that hotel,” he says.
“Physically or psychologically?” asks a witty Swede.

We get out of the bus, march up a hill and enter a stunning fortress. We sit and listen to statistics and good natured – if vague – remarks about the Sangiovese di Romagna D.O.C., we taste three wines and then head back to the bus and back to the town of Faenza.

The ceramics museum is one of the best tasting venues I have ever experienced: bright natural light, tables arranged for the easy flow of traffic – plus the opportunity to see some exceptional ceramic and pottery displays.

I spot Enrico Drei Dona and ask him about the 2010 vintage.

“It was one of those years in which experience in the vineyard shows,” he says. He goes on: “For the last three years we have done satellite scans of our vineyards. In this way we can follow the temperature and ripening of every two meter area. The scans are practically a map of every plant. It’s an intelligent use of technology.”

Here are the wines at the tasting that I found interesting, in order of my tasting them.
Podere Morini Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva “Nonno Rico” 2008 The wood tannins are pronounced but the fruit is big enough to handle them. The owner thinks the wine will last for another 8 to 10 years.
Ferrucci Sangiovese di Romagna 2009 Fresh berry fruit, pleasing. All the wines in this producer’s range had an attractive, fruit-driven style.

Calonga Sangiovese di Romagna “Bruno” 2009 (a cru of 40 year old vines.) Nice, pleasing, firm.

Drei Dona Sangiovese di Romagna “Notturno” 2009 Satisfying fruit, soft yet firm; by that I mean the fruit caresses the palate. It retails for around 7.80 euros in a shop. Good value for money.

“Seductive fruit,” says Michael.

Drei Dona Sangiovese di Romagna “Pruno” 2007 Soft, full fruit (raspberry, ripe cherry an undertow of blueberry), uplifting. On the palate a wonderful fabric of fruit flavors (those mentioned above) plus a frisson of acidity. A lively, long finish.

Big News, I have added another winery to my list of favorites in this zone: Giovanna Madonia, Cantina di Bertinoro.
G. Madonia Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore “Fermavento” 2009 Good fruit, nice vibration of acidity. Satisfying. Frankly, the word “satisfying” has become my highest accolade. This wine retails for around 12 euros in local shops.

G. Madonia Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva 2007 “Ombroso” Exceptional. Very pleasing. It retails for around 20 euros in shops. I want to try these wines again. I will seek them out during Vinitaly and will write complete notes on them at that time.

Zerbina Sangiovese di Romagna Ceregio 2009 Soft, diffused color. Fresh. Rich, ripe cherries, with a sensation of an amalgam of raspberries and blackberries and plums. It retails in Italy for between 5 and 6 Euros. Great value for money.

Zerbina 2007 Sangiovese di Romagna “Torre di Ceparano”. Firm tannins shape the fresh, attractive fruit. Long finish. All of a piece, from nose to finish. It retails in Italy for around 12 Euros.

Zerbina Sangiovese di Romagna “Pietramora” 2007 Dark, ripe plums buoyed by sprightly acidity. Firm, pleasing flavors from start to finish.

February 20 Off for our annual appointment in Emilia-Romagna
Every February we go to Faenza in Emilia Romagna for the Sangiovese Anteprima tasting. In the past it has been an intimate affair, mostly Italian journalists, and a very interesting experience. (For views of other Sangiovese Anteprima tastings, see previous February diaries). This year the event was a tad more ambitious and included a busload of foreign journalists and a field trip to the pretty town of Dozza, where we listened to thirty minutes of statistics.

Let me begin by saying that 2010 was a difficult vintage. If you take a swing by my notes on 2009 and 2008 you will find me waxing ecstatic over the depth of fruit and the richness of flavors. With 2010 the quality of the wine really depends entirely on the skill (and good fortune) of the producer. I tasted some bright, fruity wines and also wines that were dilute and unbalanced.

Here are the wines from the 2010 barrel sample tasting that I found particularly good.
Drei Dona 2010 Sangiovese di Romagna DOC Superiore Riserva “Pruno” Color: near opaque, dark purple sheen over a blue/ruby center. Decided tannins. An attractive nose – bright and fruity (red and black berries). It lacks the depth that it has shown in other vintages (but then all the wines do. Nonetheless, it manages to give a pleasing sensation that bodes well for its future.) On the palate the pleasing, vibrant fruit (again red and black berries) unfolds elegantly. Possibly the best of the nine wines in the tasting.

Zerbina 2010 Sangiovese di Romagna DOC Superiore Riserva “Pietramora” Color: vibrant, deep fuchsia sheen over deep ruby. On the nose: warm strawberry/ bramble fruit spun through with mandarin acidity. On the palate: the impression of fruit remains firm and broadens, taking on a vaguely blackberry note.

Dinner at Ristorante S. Domenico in Imola. As always the food and service were superb. (For a complete dissection of the splendid menu and a view of the peculiar eating habits of journalists see previous February diaries.)

Davide O. is also at the tasting. I last met him at the Chianti Rufina event in Florence. At that time he asked me to send him a copy of Bacchus at Baker Street (a book I wrote about all the wines and spirits mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories) because he wanted to do a podcast and radio interview with me about it. The Bacchus book came into the conversation because Davide has a pash for the James Bond books and has written about the Champagnes chosen for the books and for the movies. Like every wine buff he has noted all the errors the films make with vintages! He, as did I, began reading the Sherlock Holmes stories at the age of twelve and we both started on James Bond not long after. I must mail him a copy of the book…what fun… a podcast.

February 16 I am in a taster’s thoughts
Michael called me from the other room. “Come look at this email I just received from Lorenzo Zonin,” he said. In it Lorenzo said that he had been browsing through Kyle Phillips’ website, italianwinereview.com and came across the following note:

“The wine is from an 80 year-old vineyard that yields about a thousand bottles per year. Impenetrable pyrope with black cherry rim. The bouquet is intense, with plum fruit supported by alcohol and greenish spice laced with hot iron and jammy sweet accents. I can almost hear Patricia Guy saying “the real deal.””

Kyle and I have tasted together on many occasions and in many regions over the years. One memorable time in Puglia he leaned across the table and said to me: “How much will you pay me not to publish the fact that you say ‘wowie zowie’ when you taste a wine you really like?”

February 15 Another day, another tidying project.
I decide to tidy up the bookcases and box up the books I can bear to part with. After hours of sorting – I love books and own a ton of them – I decided to crack open another bottle that had been hiding on the bottom shelf of the wine tower. This one Agostino Vicentini’s Valpolicella Superiore 2007. It is still fresh and satisfying, with a slight wave of overripe cherries on the palate. We drink it with spaghetti in a sauce made from sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and onions.

Vicentini is known for its top quality Soaves but their Valpolicella is always exceptionally well made too. They also produce cherries. At picking time we often go out to their orchards with the Ugo-naughts (our pal Ugo’s family) – a splendid outing. We eat cherries by the handful for days. If anyone within the sound of my voice has an interesting cherry recipe, feel free to email me. No pies need apply.

February 11th A day to celebrate – just because
I start cleaning out the cupboards and closets and I find three bottles of 1998 Zamuner Brut Rose on the bottom rung of our wine tower. I love this wine. So to celebrate having dealt with the debris in the closets, I open a bottle.

The wine is fresh and inviting on the nose. It is rich, satisfying, fresh and lively. A description of flavor? Like all wines with a bit of age, the fruit flavors are not easily categorized. It is a pleasing amalgam of “ideas” of raspberries and “ideas” of strawberries. Well-made wines really do morph into something that is more than the sum of their parts as they mature.
I have always had a pash for mature Champagne and Champagne-method sparkling wines. Their texture changes into something more viscous and I love the evocative character of their fragrances.

February 10th A visit to Zanoni
Annalisa, our friend who owns the Osteria Carroarmato (and who was a witness at our wedding), picks us up and we set off for Zanoni (email: pietrozanoni@libero.it). Annalisa serves his Valpolicella in her osteria and is very keen on it.

The winery is spotless and the drying lofts are particularly well placed. A steady breeze sweeps across the room, allowing the grapes to dry naturally.

We go to the cellar to taste from the barrel.
2010 – a blend of fresh grapes and slightly passito grapes. Rich, fuchsia/purple sheen over ruby. Fresh clean, juicy fruit.
2010 – the grapes were dried for one month before pressing. A fresh minerality. A vibration of tannin. An undertow of salinity and a creamy texture.

“Every barrique has its own story,” says Piero Zanoni.

After the wines have undergone malolactic fermentation, Piero will blend them to create his Valplicella Superiore.

2010 Amarone Barrel Sample: lively sheen over opaque deep ruby. An interesting amalgam of tart fruit and minerals. Full nose.

“This is one of my first experiments with Oseleta,” says Piero. This wine will be blended with the wine in other barrels when the time is right.”

I wrote in my book, Wines of Italy: “Oseleta is a rare and precious gem. It has everything: excellent structure, full flavor and silky elegance. Yet it was one the verge of extinction in the early 1979s. Why? Because in those days in its home ground, the Veneto’s Valpolicella zone, the emphasis was on quantity and Oseleta is a notoriously low yielder. Fortunately the grape was rescued by enlightened viticulturists in the province of Verona.”

We go to the tasting room to sample wines that are already bottled and on the market.
2009 Valpolicella. A soft consistent ruby color. An old-fashioned nose – and this is a compliment! It reminds me of real Valpolicella before the fashion of making Valpolicella into “mini-Amarone”. Lovely, fresh, forward nose. A bright cherry juiciness.

“Some producers treat Valpolicella as if it were a useless younger son. But we take pride in our Valpolicella. This is the type of wine that made our zone important,” says Piero.

“These wines can also age if they are from a good year. The 2007 is drinking well now,” he adds.

“Then let’s try it,” says Annalisa.

While we wait for Piero to return, Annalisa says: “I’ve found good straightforward Valpolicella has the capacity to age well. It is drinkable and enjoyable in youth but it offers good drinking even after up to seven years.”

2007 Valpolicella. Elegant color turning toward ripe plum. Silky texture – all of a piece from the gently elegant nose through to the finish. Tightly-knit fruit. A refreshing compressed fruit on the nose.
With age, Valpolicella loses its cherry fruit flavor and heads toward an amalgam of very ripe cherries and plums.

2007 Valpolicella Superiore A consistent bruised cherry/ruby color. Lovely soft plummy fruit buoyed by sprightly acidity.

“I don’t do ripasso because I don’t believe in the technique,” says Piero. “My mania is to always look for a fresh inviting perfume.”

2006 Amarone A sprinkling of bright spice over velvety fruit on the nose. A very pleasing vibration of fruit on the longish finish.

2004 Amarone A lovely plum sheen. Fresh youthful nose. Very tight weave. The “fruit” flavors (plum, ripe cherries) blend into one harmonious whole.

The primary grape varieties used in Valpolicella are Corvina and Corvinone.
My identifier for Corvinone has always been dark plums – both in color and flavor.
My Corvina identifier is cherries.

JANUARY 2011
First things first: Michelle Lovric’s book The Mourning Emporium has come out in an Italian edition. The U.K. Publisher has made a trailer for her books The Undrowned Child and The Mourning Emporium. To see it, click here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4_nYiYVMa8

January 29 The Annual Amarone tasting.
(For notes on other annual Amarone tastings, just whiz down to the January slot of previous years. To read my notes from an interesting tasting of older Amarone vintage that I conducted, go to the November 2010 diary. For more on the background of Amarone go to the Wine & Dine section of this website.)

All the Amarones below are from the 2007 vintage.

Accordini, Stefano “Acinatico” Opaque blue-black center with a rich ruby sheen. On the nose: bright with a creamy undertow. On the palate, the wine has a sprightly acidity that buoys a broad, precise ribbon of cherry fruit. Clean, fruit-filled finish. The wine is already on the market.

Antolini, Pierpaolo & Stefano Diffused black-cherry color. A green note on the palate. Very silky texture. A salinity. Compressed elegance. It still needs time in order to show at its best. (A note on the 2006 Antolini can be found in the November diary).

Monte Faustino di Paolo Fornaser Deep color. Fresh cherries with a light, fresh infusion of tobacco. Very spicy, warm fruit. Well-knit. I detect a note of crabapple syrup. It will be released onto the market in two years.

Monte del Fra (from a barrel sample). I will have to try this in a year to understand how it will develop. It will be released on the market in two years.

Guerrieri Rizzardi (barrel sample) Opaque, Freshness emerges from the glass like a spring breeze. Compact fruit. It will be released on the market in two years.

Roccolo Grassi Opague. Wood hits me in the throat now, but the fruit underneath his full and supple. It will be released onto the market in November of this year.

“It is best to drink our Amarone after ten years,” says Marco Sartori, co-owner and winemaker at the estate.

Venturini, Massimino & Figli Classico: Opaque blue-black center with ruby sheen. The scent of ripe cherries immediately emerges from the glass. The wine has undergone appassimento for 4 months will be released in September 2012.

Venturini, Massimino & Figli Classico “Campomassa” Very full, round and rich. A lovely cushion of warm fruit that compresses into a firm, light line on the finish. The wine has undergone 5 months appassimento and will be released on the market in September 2012.

Speri: Opaque. Fine. Linear. Satisfying. Nice to consider because its production is 100,000 bottles yet it gives cherry flavor and all the characteristics of an Amarone. (Many of the previous Amarones have a production of around 8,000 bottles.)

Tedeschi. Compressed cherry fruit. Sleek. Will be released onto the market in June.

Tenuta San’Antonio “Campo del Gigli” Appealing cherry fruit, compact. A rod of spicy infused cherry that stays firm from first impact through the lingering finish.

“We are moving toward a more elegant style,” says Armando Castagnedi. “We are looking for complexity and freshness.”
The wine will be released in September of 2012.

“Right now we are on the market with the 2005 vintage,” says Armando.

Pasqua Cecilia Beretta “Terre di Cariano” Firm, cherry fruit. Concentrated, a bright burst of acidity, a satisfying fruit-filled finish.

For a note on Pasqua’s Cecilia Beretta Amarone della Valpolicella “Terre di Cariano from the 1998 vintage, see the November 2010 Diary.

I tasted several other interesting Amarones and will write more fully about them in the coming months.

At the tasting we see our friend Tiziana. She has invited us to her new house in Valpolicella for dinner.

“May I bring…..” I say.

“Your little dog Stanley. Of course,” replies Tiziana.

Actually I had been going to say. “May I bring a bottle of Villa Franciacorta?”

Thus Stanley gets the pleasure of running around Tiziana’s very atmospheric (high ceiling, stone walls, tiled-floor) dining room.

She has also made up the top floor of the house into a B&B suite: large living room with fireplace, large bedroom. For more information about renting the suite: rossoravanello@alice.it.

January 28 The Big Amarone Tasting Dinner. Venue: Ristorante ai Teatri
A four course meal, each course made by a different chef.
The Antipaso is a pate made of wild boar, venison and calves liver, with crabapple sauce and thin slices of poached walnuts. This dish is absolute perfection. The chef: Hans Peter Sander of the Ristorante Tirolerhof. For more information about his restaurant cum bed and breakfast go to: www.tirolerhof.or.at.
Throughout the meal sommeliers brought round bottles of Valpolicella and Amarone.

The only Valpolicella that moved me to take a note was the 2008 Monte Garbi from Tenuto Sant’Antonio. Rich, warm, fresh, satisfying. Very silky on the palate.

Many years ago I crashed for a few days in London on the floor of a photographer pal’s studio. At the time he was shooting what would become the packaging photo for Marks and Spencer’s pot pies. A battery of assistants spent days baking pies in three different types of ovens. The food stylist and the photographer would scrutinize each batch of pies as they emerged. On the afternoon of the third day, they finally found, what the photographer called, The Hero Pie.
Well, 2008 Monte Garbi from Tenuta Sant’Antonio was The Hero Valpolicella at the dinner.

DECEMBER 2010
Music Pick of the month: Anything by Lou Rawls.

December 28 HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINEMA
Every 28th of December Ugo organizes a tribute to cinema by showing a silent film, accompanied by a musician – sometimes a pianist, sometimes a guitarist but usually by an accordion player.
Tonight’s film is Broken Blossoms, subtitled The Yellow Man and the Girl. The star: Lillian Gish. It is show in a deconsecrated church.

Following the film, cake and wine is served. After a few minutes of obligatory chat I sit down to finish a Sudoku. (Michael says that at times I am antisocial. I reply that this is not true – I simply prefer doing puzzles to engaging in small talk – whoops – perhaps he is on to something.)

Three men come in have a look at the frescos. One of the men comes up to me and says: “Are you Patricia Guy? I’ve read almost all your books.”

He is an Italian who has lived in the UK for 16 years and imports wine.

I have to say that this encounter with a fan perks me up, particularly as it occurred in the unlikely venue of a deconsecrated church at midnight.

December 26 Tea with the ladies and the tea master
Every year we go to Ugo and Steffie’s for Tea. Michael is the Tea Master as he is the only English person among us. He takes his duties very seriously. Susanna (a passionate anglophile), Steffie and Eleonella make cucumber sandwiches and cakes. Tea begins at around 5 and merges into dinner.

With dinner we drink:
2006 Milleunanotte, a Nero d’Avola from the Sicilian producer Donnafugata. The wine is dark, near opaque. On the nose is a wild blueberry/blackberry infusion. It is a warm, velvety mouthful of sprightly fruit. A medium-long flavorful finish.

Table talk:
Francesco, one of Ugo’s 14 year old twins, says he has to read The Secret Garden in English for school. This leads to a discussion of P.L. Travers (author of Mary Poppins). Ms. Travers interest in the work of G.I. Gurdjieff leads the conversation to the Golden Door and mythology. This leads to Hitler, which in turn leads to Mussolini!

At the end of the meal we drink Donnafugata’s Ben Rye 2006, a Passito di Pantelleria mde from Zibbibo (a type of Moscato) grapes. It is a rich tawny with orange highlights. A creamy mouthful of juicy raisiny fruit. An idea of fresh caramel. Sprightly, uplifting acidity. It is like a bolt of heavy silk unfolding on the palate. A fine balance between richness and acidity. An undertow of mandarin orange with fresh candied organce peel. (For notes on older vintages of Ben Rye go to the April 2010 diary entry.)

“You have to try this wine with ginger cookies,” says Ugo.

December 24 CHRISTMAS EVE FROLICS
We go to Geppy and Germana’s apartment for a Neapolitan Christmas Eve dinner. This means that all the dishes are based on fish. Cooking duties are shared between Germana and Geppy’s tiny (she is as tall standing up as I am sitting down) 90 year old mom.

We drink Lighea 2009 produced by Donnafugata. The wine, a dry Moscato, is vibrantly fragrant, filled with lively ripe fruit notes: hints of apricot dance around pure moscato grapiness. An attractive salinity emerges on the palate and carries on through the longish finish. Very satisfying wine. It is an excellent match for the spaghetti in seafood sauce.

Table Talk:
“Where’s nonna?”
“She’s in the kitchen frying. There is oil all over the place. She’s a machine di guerra (a powerhouse) in the kitchen,” says Germana of her mother-in-law.

At the end of the meal Geppy brings out a bottle of “Special Schotchland Very Old liquor”. On the label there is a drawing of a man in a kilt doing a jig.

“We bought that in 1949,” says Ornelia, Germana’s mother and a psychic (she visited the White House during the Reagan years. For more about her see the previous December diaries).

“Should we open it,” asks Geppy.

“It’ll be poison,” says Nonna.

“Sure, open it,” says Ornelia, the psychic, “I’ll have a glass, spirits don’t bother me.”

It has a pleasant, creamy fragrance and a wallop of alcohol.

After dinner we head to Ugo’s for his annual After-Mass Christmas get-together.
(for a full account of this even look in any of the previous December diaries.)

December 12 A MERRY WURSTEL CHRISTMAS
Three years ago the Region of Alto Adige made a deal with the city of Verona to set up kiosks in Piazza dei Signori. The sound system played Bing Crosby singing White Christmas and Gene Autry (remember him?) singing Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Because the Alto Adige has a very strong German heritage, the square was duly filled with vendors selling wurstel, kraut, waffles and beer. None of these are common Veronese fare. Veronese protested the showcasing of “foreign” products.

Well, my friends, this year the event has been enlarged to include two adjoining piazzas, one of which has a “Santa’s House” where children can get their picture taken on Santa’s knee.

Why is this fact worthy of note? Because locally it is Santa Lucia who is responsible for bringing presents to children (around the 13th of December). Santa Claus is a fairly recent addition to the holiday mix. Now lucky little Veronese children make out like bandits – getting prezzies from both these magical spreaders of joy and toys.
Meanwhile in Piazza Bra, the Santa Lucia stands soldier on. It is only a matter of time before this good witch fades away.

December 10 DANCING DOGS AT 1 A.M.
Michael nudges me. “Put on your glasses. You’ve got to see this.”
I groggily find my specs. The television is tuned to one of our new sports channels. Michael has found the Dog Olympics. I did not know they existed. The event that he woke me to watch is: Dog Dancing. I watch a Belgian woman and her small excitable pooch do a snappy routine to a Michael Jackson medley. I watch an Italian woman and her large St. Bernard-ish dog swirl around to the theme song from Aladdin. Oh, the wonders of digital TV.

December 6 CHRISTMAS WITH THE SEVEN SAMURAI
It is midnight and Ugo, Fraccaroli, Michael and I are walking down via Mazzini. There is not another soul on this short but very chic pedestrian-only shopping street. The store windows are decked out in festive style, with holiday greetings plastered in every window. I counted 2 “Natale”, 17 “Christmas (or Xmas) and 1 “Noel”.

We are returning home after Ugo’s showing of the Seven Samurai – the three hour version. “The shorter cut is just a war picture,” says Ugo. “It leaves out all the great human interest stuff.”

It is part of Ugo’s Kurosawa series. Last week was Rashomon. There are images that are so beautiful (and seductive) in Kurosawa films that I want to live for a moment within their reality.

December 1 LET’S GET DIGITAL
Today television broadcasting in our part of Italy went digital. From 7 channels and 3 local stations, we are suddenly able to get 40 channels – most of them showing reruns of Law and Order. There are also 4 sports channels but I don’t count those as I will never watch them. When Michael turns on sports programs I am asleep within 40 seconds. It is astonishing.