So many great things happened for Tracie P and me in 2011 but they are all eclipsed by the miracle of Georgia Ann Parzen, who arrived on Monday, December 12.

Around 3 a.m. this morning, as Tracie P and I cleaned the soiled linen in the bassinet and changed another dirty diaper, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the prayer that Jews say after going to the bathroom: Asher Yatzar ([Blessed Are You] Who Has Formed [Humankind]).

Blessed are You, HaShem, Our G-d, King of the universe, Who created the human with wisdom and created within him many openings and many cavities, exposed and known before Your Throne of Glory, that if one of them were to be ruptured or one of them were to be blocked it would be impossible to survive and to stand before You for even one hour. Blessed are You, HaShem, The physician of all flesh who acts wondrously.

Over the course of the year, Tracie P and I have been blessed with many miracles: the miracle of Georgia’s conception, the miracle of our healthy pregnancy, the miracle of Georgia’s delivery, and the miracle of our family, who supports us with their love and devotion.

This morning at 3 a.m., we paused again to reflect on the miracle of a dirty diaper and the health of our baby girl.

On this Christmas 2011, I’m happy to report my business has continued to expand and Tracie P’s been loving her new position selling fine wines. I launched a new wine column for the Houston Press and my band released a new record. My first wine list was well received in Los Angeles and I was invited to speak on Italian wine and wine writing at a number of conferences held this year in the U.S. and Italy. I’ll never forget my first Cretan sunrise on the day of the first European austerity vote, nor the Venetian sunshine on Tracie P’s face on a bright winter’s day on the Grand Canal.

This year’s blessings are too many to count and not a day goes by that I don’t look in the mirror without remembering the long and often challenging road that delivered me to this special moment in our lives.

And so, on this early December morning, as Georgia and Tracie P slumber, and I can hear the first birds begin to chirp with the Texas dawn, I’ll say a prayer for a dirty diaper and I’ll thank my lucky stars that it turned out so right for strangers in the night.

Piedmont Thanksgiving Six-Pack

Valli Unite 2010 Bianchino (Cortese)
Vajra 2010 Dolcetto d’Alba
Cavallotto 2008 Dolcetto d’Alba Vigna Scot
Giamello 2007 Barbaresco
Vajra 2006 Barolo Albe
Vajra 2009 Moscato d’Asti (375 ml)

A classic flight of 6 wines for Thanksgiving, arranged in order of body and structure. The Cortese is by Valli Unite, a commune of hippie natural winemakers. The Vajra Dolcetto is mama Judy’s favorite wine. the 2008 single-vineyard Dolcetto by Cavallotto is a richer and more powerfully mineral expression of the grape variety. It’s the ideal Thanksgiving wine, with bright acidity to pair with the wide variety of flavors of the holiday meal and just enough tannic structure to stand up to the dark meat of the turkey. The 2007 Giamello Barbaresco is one of my favorite expressions of Nebbiolo this year. The 06 Barolo will drink beautifully with a little aeration. And the 375ml Moscato is the perfect wine to have around the house when folks stop by and you want something easy, sweet, and low in alcohol. It’s our favorite Moscato d’Asti of all time. Each six-pack is intended for a party of 6 persons.

$140.75
(average bottle price $23.46)

*****

California Thanksgiving Six-Pack

Donkey & Goat 2010 Untended Chardonnay (3 bottles)
Donkey & Goat 2010 Alexander Valley Carignane (3 bottles)

If you dig Natural wine, this is the funky stuff for you. I was thrilled that I was able to obtain an allocation of Donkey & Goat. Their production is extremely small and wonderfully brilliant. The “untended” Chardonnay is from an abandoned vineyard that the couple have resuscitated. It’s been growing wild for 30 years, I’ve been told. Don’t get this six-pack if you’re afraid of acidity: it’s the winery’s signature and it’s what makes these wines so exciting and it’s what allows them to make them with minimal sulfuring. Great stuff.

$178.13
(average bottle price $29.69)

*****

Cirò 3-Pack

‘A Vita 2008 Cirò (100% Gaglioppo)

The ‘A Vita winery is a member of Italy’s most rigorous Natural wine association, VinNatur and the wines are grown and vinified chemical- and additive-free. However light in color, this is a tannic wine that will only get better every day that it’s open. I was thrilled when Tracie P and I first tasted this wine back in January and today it’s one of the best sellers on my list at Sotto in Los Angeles. Beautiful fruit, gorgeous pure tannin, and that lip-splitting acidity I’m always looking for. It’s my number-one wine for 2011..

$75
(average bottle price $25)

TO ORDER, PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

BREAKING NEWS: TRACIE P LOVES PROSCIUTTO
(I know, I know… it’s not really news…)

In case you didn’t get a chance to see today’s post on our AMAZING dinner at Frasca in Boulder over the weekend, here it is. I really believe that Frasca is the best Italian restaurant in the U.S. today. There are many great Italian and Italianate dining destinations in our country. But at Frasca, truly great service, superb food, and a value-driven wine list really take this restaurant from A to A+ in my book. And for the record, I didn’t call my friends Bobby and Lachlan the owner to get a reservation: I just called like anyone else and was treated with extreme cordiality and genuine hospitality. At every step of the experience, Tracie P and noted how pleasant and warm the staff was. It’s the real deal… Click here for the photos and my post on our amazing dinner there.

In other news…

I am very excited to announce that I was able to obtain the Lettere for this month’s six-pack below! So instead of 2 bottles of Gragnano, the six-pack will include 1 bottle of Gragnano and 1 bottle of Lettere, Gragnano’s sister appellation. The wines are made from the same grapes Piedirosso, Sciascinoso, and Aglianico. The only difference is that Lettere (the name of the village) is grown farther inland and at a higher elevation. While the Gragnano is more grapey and more fruit driven, tending toward the sweet, the Lettere has more earth and is more minearl in nature. This is due to the fact that as you head up to the inland foothills of Campania, the soil because more and more volcanic in composition and thus more nutrient poor. I love both wines and it’s great to taste them side by side. (If someone prefers to receive 2 Gragnano or 2 Lettere, please just let me know.)

There are still a few six-packs left but they are going fast and I imagine I’ll run out with this e-blast. For more details on the six-pack and to order, please send me an email by clicking here. And here’s the original six pack post.

The 2007 Barbaresco by Silvio Giamello

I also have some 2007 Giamello Barbaresco available for $35 a bottle. If you like Produttori del Barbaresco, then you’ll recognize the style and the place of this wine: Giamello’s vineyards are at the northern tip of the Ovello cru of Barbaresco, where Produttori del Barbaresco sources the majority of its fruit for its classic blended Barbaresco. And as for Produttori del Barbaresco, Giamello had an incredible harvest in 2007. Aldo Vacca of the Produttori told me that 2007 might be the best vintage of Barbaresco during his time as export manager of the cooperative (and as soon as it hits the U.S. market, I’ll be doing an offering of the Produttori as well).

In 2007, Piedmont essentially had no winter. This accelerated the vegetative cycle and led to the fruit ripening early but – thanks to good weather throughout the year – ripening well. It is one of the most powerful expressions of Barbaresco I’ve ever tasted, more muscular and earthy than most recent vintages and reminiscent of 1989. I’m putting down as much as I can in my cellar and I’m offering the rest to the wine club. Just let me know if you want some and we’ll figure out how and when to get it to you.

For more details and to order, please send me an email by clicking here.

Mini Verticals of Struzziero Taurasi and Vallone Graticciaia

If you’re going to be in Los Angeles later this week, please stop by Sotto on W. Pico where I’ll be “pouring wine on the floor” Thurs.-Sat. nights. I’m really excited about mini verticals of Struzziero Taurasi (93, 97, 01) and Vallone Graticciaia (05, 06) that we’ll be featuring as flights. I posted about the Struzziero here and will post about the Vallone later this week. It’s been a blast to curate Sotto’s wine list and the response has been one of the most rewarding chapters of my career in wine. And I LOVE working the floor, pouring wine and talking to folks about the wines on our list. The wines in these flights are amazing and as far as I know, we’re the only restaurant in town to offer them as mini verticals.

THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORTING DO BIANCHI WINE SELECTIONS. I HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!

Summer Six-Pack

Elvio Tintero NV Bianco Secco Grangia
(white, gently sparkling)
Ciù Ciù 2010 Pecorino Le Merlettaie
(white, still)
Cantine Federiciane 2010 Penisola Sorrentina Gragnano
(red, gently sparkling)

2 bottles each

$90 for six bottles ($15 average bottle price)

TO ORDER JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Wines will ship on Monday, July 25. Free delivery for San Diego customers.

I cannot begin to convey how excited I am about this six-pack offering. Ever since Tracie P and I first tasted a bottling by Cantine Federciana a few years ago in New York, I’ve been lobbying to get these amazing and amazingly affordable wines here in Texas.

And I am here to tell you people: THAT DAY HAS HAPPILY ARRIVED!

There’s no one in my world who knows more about Gragnano than Tracie P. Here’s what she has to say about this low-alcohol, gently-sparkling, grapey, refreshing, and lip-smackingly delicious blend of Sciascinoso and Piedirosso grapes grown in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius — the ONLY wine that the Neapolitans drink with pizza.

I dare you not to like Gragnano (and its sister Lettere). Born in the Sorrentine peninsula, this is an irresistibly spritzy wine made to go with pizza, panuozzi, and all things warm and gooey. Like the self-deprecating comedian, the humility and spontaneity of this wine are its most endearing traits. Just say Sciascinoso and try not to smile.

Btw, Sciasinoso is pronounced SHAH-shee-NOH-zoh. Are you smiling yet?

A cousin to Emilia’s Lambrusco, Gragnano’s versatility makes it an ideal wine for food pairing (I paired it with grilled Mahi Mahi fish tacos last night at Bahia in La Jolla). And with its low alcohol content, bright acidity, gentle fizz, and refreshing fruit (red and wild berry), it is the PERFECT RED WINE FOR SUMMER. I LOVE THIS WINE, PEOPLE. There, I just said it again…

For the first of my Summer Six-Packs, I’ve also included one of our favorite white sparkling wines from Piedmont, the Grangia by Tintero. This blend of Cortese and Favorita (Vermentino) weighs in around 10% alcohol. It’s light and bright and it’s grown not far from the Ligurian coast: it’s one of my favorite pairings for smoked fish (think smoked mackerel from Ensenada) and for California-style sushi (think California roll).

The third wine in the six-pack is a wine considered by many to be the greatest expression of the Pecorino grape, grown in the Marches, in this case in the township of Offida. I tasted the Ciù Ciù (pronounced CHEW CHEW) for the first time earlier this year and was blown away by its gentle spice and ripe fruit flavors and its gorgeous acidity. There’s a lot of mediocre Pecorino going around these days. This is the real deal Pecorino. And it was amazing with the seafood cocktail at Bahia last night.

$90 for six bottles ($15 average bottle price)

TO ORDER JUST SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Above: When I visited the Venica & Venica winery back in September of 2010, Giampaolo explained to me how he uses these “balloons” to collect the CO2 naturally produced by fermentation. He reserves the CO2 in these receptacles and then uses it to “cover” the wine when the wine has been racked to sealed stainless-steel vats after fermentation. By pumping small amount of CO2 into the vat from above, he ensures that the wine has no contact with oxygen during aging before bottling. This helps to maintain the freshness of the wines and it also makes it possible for him to bottle the wines with minimal addition of sulfites. I had read about winemakers using this system in France, but this was the first time I’d ever seen it in Italy.

The Venica Six-Pack

Pinot Grigio 2009
Malvasia 2009
Friulano Ronco delle Cime 2009
Sauvignon Ronco delle Mele 2009 2010
Balbium 2009 (two bottles)

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

$168 (plus tax and shipping)

Above: Did you know that Pinot Grigio (Gray Pinot) is actually a light-skin red grape and not a white grape? That’s what Pinot Grigio looks like during and after fermentation before Giampaolo filters the wine. (That’s the 2010 Pinot Grigio in the glass.)

Pinot Grigio

Giampaolo’s Pinot Grigio is simply one of the best you’ll ever taste. This is not the light, insipid Pinot Grigio that Americans have been taught to like by behemoth marketing campaigns that bottle Veneto-grown Pinot Grigio hundreds of miles away in Trentino intended solely for an American audience (nor is it Pinot Grigio grown “under the Tuscan Sun”). You’ll find Venica’s signature freshness and genuine fruit flavors (white stone) in this wine and more body than you may be accustomed to and you’ll note that it has a wonderful pink hue, a classic characteristic of Pinot Grigio from Collio (imparted by gentle skin contact).

Malvasia

Of all the grapes historically cultivated in Collio in Friuli, Malvasia is one of the most expressive in my opinion. While Malvasia is planted throughout Italy (and Europe, for that matter), here it takes on a brightness of fruit and a clarity and focus that I find unique with respect to its cousins in other parts of Italy. In Venica’s Malvasia, you’ll find more minerality than in the Pinot Grigio and apricot and peach flavors (as opposed to the white stone fruit in the Pinot Grigio). Of all of the whites in this flight, this is the most versatile in my view, straddling the cusp of aperitif and first course.

Friulano Ronco delle Cime (Tocai Friulano)

With Giampaolo’s Friulano, we really start to see the nobility of his family’s legacy in white wine begin to emerge. The Ronco delle Cime (literally, the hilltop of the peaks) is one of Venica’s top growing sites and combines the classic ponca subsoils (the unique sandy marl — flysch — Eocene seabed, typical of Collio). Here, the wine’s minerality plays gorgeously against its aromatic character (think grass and freshly cut straw) and more weight in the mouth with respect to the previous two entries in this flight. In my view, this is a benchmark expression of Friuli and Friulano (the grape variety).

Sauvignon [Blanc] Ronco delle Mele

My friend and Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey likes to call Sauvignon Blanc “Friuli’s secret weapon.” If you follow along here or at my personal blog, you know that I generally avoid drinking international varieties grown on Italian soil. Friuli’s Sauvignon Blanc is one of the few exceptions for this rule of mine. Here, the variety’s aromatic character takes on a much more elegant note than, say, the classic Sauvignon Blanc of Sancerre (which I also love). The Ronco delle Mele (Hilltop of the Apples) is Venica’s top growing site and it is reserved for Sauvignon Blanc. The hilltop is so steep and the drainage so strong that Giampaolo’s grandfather planted apple trees on the slope to stop rain erosion (I’ve been there with Giampaolo). As a result the vines are able to thrive despite the harsh growing conditions. The resulting richness in the fruit delivers one of the greatest expressions of Sauvignon Blanc I’ve ever tasted. When Tracie P and I visited Giampaolo in February, we drank the 1998 (below). It was incredible… One of the best wines of that trip.

Magliocco

I’ve included two bottles of Giampaolo’s Calabrian Magliocco in this flight because, as always, I envision the flight as a dinner party for six persons. With this summer offering, you have 4 wonderful and truly delightful white wines — each with different weight and expressions elegance but all marked by their freshness — and then two bottles of the Magliocco (red) to go with your summer grill. So little of Giampaolo’s Magliocco is made on his family’s olive oil estate in Calabria that I didn’t even get to taste the wine until I got back to the States (California is one of the few states to get an allocation, btw). This wine is chewy and packed with earth and red and black fruit. And even in spite of the hot growing zone, it has that zinging acidity that I look for in all the wines we drink. Personally, I can’t drink enough of it… and so it seemed right to throw in two bottles to round this six-pack off.

I’ll be delivering and shipping the wines next week. Thanks for reading.

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Btw, did yall hear that Tracie P and I are going to be parents?
Here’s the announcement…

Above: Tracie P and I had lunch with our good friends Giampaolo and his wife Chiara at the winery in February.

Six-Pack: The Wines of Venica & Venica

Pinot Grigio 2009
Malvasia 2009
Friulano Ronco delle Cime 2009
Sauvignon Ronco delle Mele 2009
Balbium 2009 (two bottles)

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

$168 (plus tax and shipping)

It almost seems redundant to write descriptions for the wines of the legendary Friulian winery Venica & Venica. They are so well known and loved by collectors of Italian wine that the name speaks for itself.

Since I first met Giampaolo Venica (who now makes his family’s wines) back in September 2010, it didn’t take long for us to become fast friends: like me, he is a fan of Pasolini and he and I share a “humanist” approach to the culture of wine and food.

On June 22, Giampaolo and I will be hosting a winemaker dinner featuring the above wines at Sotto in Los Angeles (see details and reservation information below) and I’ll be delivering and shipping the wines in the above six-pack that week (you can also pick up the six-pack at Sotto, whether or not you chose to attend the dinner).

The six-pack includes 4 of his family’s classic white wines from Friuli and his 100% Magliocco from Calabria. I’ll post and blast notes next week when I’m back Stateside.

And in the meantime, I’ll let the wines speak for themselves. Thanks for reading!

Please join us for a special evening with
winemaker Giampaolo Venica
of Terre di Balbia (Calabria).

“The Land of Balbia”
a wine dinner with winemaker
Giampaolo Venica
Sotto Restaurant
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
7:00 p.m.
five wines, four courses
$120 plus tax and gratuity

TO RESERVE PLEASE CALL
310-277-0210

please note that reservations are
non-refundable but transferrable

When the celebrated Venica family of Friuli (northeastern Italy) realized that the cool winters of its native land were not suitable for the artisanal olive olive it wished to produce, its patriarch looked southward to Calabria, where some of Italy’s greatest olive oils are raised and pressed. Where there are olive groves, there are vineyards: it didn’t take long for the Venica family to begin raising Magliocco grapes, one of Calabria’s ancient varieties, known for its rich mouthfeel and bright fruit flavors, ideal for intense flavors of Calabrese cuisine. Thus was born Terre di Balbia, “the land of Balbia,” the ancient name of this magical and still untamed region of Italy.

Winemaker Giampaolo Venica will be joining us to discuss his family’s approach to biodynamic farming and its wines, including 4 of his Friulian white wines and his Terre di Balbia “Balbium” (red, 100% Magliocco).

Sotto wine director Jeremy Parzen, Ph.D. will also be on hand to introduce Giampaolo and his family’s truly legendary wines.

Guests will also have the opportunity to purchase the wines on the night of the event through our retail partner Do Bianchi Wine Selections.

Above: I’ll be working the floor at Sotto in Los Angeles on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, doing my sommelier thang… it’s super fun! Please come and see me and enjoy the awesome pizza (and if you want a Southern Italian Six-Pack, you can pick it up at the restaurant… just make sure to order before tomorrow evening). I hope to see you!

BREAKING NEWS: SOUTHERN ITALIAN SIX-PACK UPGRADE!

The distributor of the Benanti accidentally sent me the wrong wine for the Southern Italian Six-Pack (see my notes below) and as a result the 2007 Etna Rosso has been upgraded to one of the winery’s flagship wines: the 2005 Nerello Mascalese. And the best part? THE PRICE IS THE SAME! See my notes below. Wines will ship a week from today.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN SIX-PACK

Villa Matilde 2009 Falanghina
Benanti 2008 Etna Bianco Bianco di Caselle
Benanti 2007 Etna Rosso Rosso di Verzella
Benanti 2005 Nerello Mascalese
Gulfi 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Terre di Balbia 2009 Balbium Rosso
Pietracupa 2007 Quirico

$121 (plus tax, shipping, and handling if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego residents.
Pick up available for Los Angeles Residents.

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

This year has already been “my year in Southern Italian wine”: in February, I visited Puglia for the first time; I authored a Southern Italian wine list for my friends at Sotto in Los Angeles; next month I’m leading and seminar and tasting of Southern Italian wines at the Atlanta Food & Wine festival; and in early June I’m heading back to Puglia to sit as a judge in a native grape variety competition. (I’ll be working the floor at Sotto, btw, Weds.-Thurs., May 4-5, so please come by and taste with me and let me pour you some wine!)

Southern Italian wine is SEXY: there are more interesting wines coming out of Southern Italy than ever before, the fine wine world is buzzing about the caliber and quality of the wines to be produced there (if one more person compares Mt. Etna to Burgundy, I’m gonna heave!), and Southern Italian wines continue to represent the greatest value for fine wine in the world today (there is no doubt in my mind about this).

All of the wines in the current offering (except for the Benanti) are currently featured on the list at Sotto (at the restaurant, we try to carry only one label from each producer and so in Benanti’s case, it’s one of the winery’s top bottlings of 100% Nerello Mascaelese). Please see my notes below and I know that when you taste these wines, you will be blown away — as I am — by their originality, their food-friendliness and downright deliciousness, and the incredible value (about $20 average bottle cost).

Villa Matilde 2009 Falanghina

Acidity! (Let me say it one more time) ACIDITY! This wine has the zing and the pop that Tracie P and I look for in wines that we drink at home. Falanghina has been cultivated in Campania since antiquity (a favorite of the 1st century Romans, btw) and this clean, bright wine is very true to its variety. White stone fruit, bright acidity… I love it and could drink it every day.

Benanti 2008 Etna Bianco Bianco di Caselle

I first tasted the wines of Benanti from Mt. Etna (Sicily) about 6 years ago in New York. Today, Mt. Etna has become one of the sexiest places on earth for fine wine. Benanti’s wines are all about elegance, focus, and clarity… This is a 100% Carricante (white) grown on the high slopes of Mt. Etna (some of the highest growing zones in Europe), where the volcanic soils impart an incredibly delicious minerality — I would even say saltiness — to the wines.

Above: One of my favorite posts over at the blog this year was “My Olive Bread Gas Station Epiphany,” which took place in Puglia.

Benanti 2007 Etna Rosso Rosso di Verzella

A 100% Nerello Mascalese. Again, look for wonderful minerality here, extreme focus and elegance, and one of the best red wines I’ve tasted in 2011.

Benanti 2005 Nerello Mascalese

As I mentioned above, I received this wine because the distributor inadvertently sent it to me but charged me the same price as for the entry-level red by Benanti. I’ve been pouring this wine at Sotto since the restaurant first opened and it is simply ONE OF THE MOST STUNNING RED WINES I have tasted this year: elegant, lithe yet powerful, volcanic soil and meaty flavors matched by red and black fruit… An incredible value (thanks to the distributor’s screwup!).

Gulfi 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria

This wine is the staff favorite and top seller at Sotto. A blend of Nero d’Avola (which imparts tannic structure) and Frappato (which balances the former with red and berry fruit flavors), there is no better way to describe this wine than YUMMY! It’s got that wonderful lightness of body and just enough tannin to make it my favorite red wine to pair with seafood (one of the reasons it’s so popular at Sotto). Cerasuolo di Vittoria is made in the township of Vittoria in the province of Ragusa in the southeast of Sicily.

Terre di Balbia 2009 Balbium Rosso

This wine is made from 100% Magliocco on the Calabrian estate where the Venica family raises its olive oil. This is perhaps the most original and striking wine I’ve tasted in 2011. Gently tannic and with generous fruit, this wine has a mouthfeel and weight to it that you need to experience to full wrap your mind around it. It has a wonderful chewiness and a brightness that delightfully surprised me. As with the family’s Friulian estate, Giampaolo’s wines are all about freshness and clean fruit. Here earth and fruit come together in a way that I know will surprise and thrill you. We do it by the glass at Sotto and we can’t keep it in stock!

Pietracupa 2007 Quirico

This is a 100% Aglianico from Avellino — the town of Paternopoli to be exact, from the San Quirico neighborhood (hence the name, after the 4th century Christian martyr Quiricus). I didn’t want this six-pack to get too expensive but I wanted to make sure there was an Aglianico in it and this wine is another staff favorite at Sotto. It’s vinified in a lighter style, with shorter maceration time, thus making it less tannic than the winery’s Taurasi (one of the greatest expressions of Aglianico). I love the approachability and the freshness of this wine and it’s my go-to pairing for the heavier meat dishes at the restaurant. Great stuff… I know you will love it as much as I do!

SOUTHERN ITALIAN SIX-PACK

Villa Matilde 2009 Falanghina
Benanti 2008 Etna Bianco Bianco di Caselle
Benanti 2007 Etna Rosso Rosso di Verzella
Gulfi 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Terre di Balbia 2009 Balbium Rosso
Pietracupa 2007 Quirico

$121 (plus tax, shipping, and handling if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego residents.
Pick up available for Los Angeles Residents.

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Above: Giampaolo Venica has become a good friend. When we’re not talking about wine, we talk about Pasolini and his legacy in Friuli (where Giampaolo and his family live). His Terre di Balbia is 100% Magliocco raised in Calabria (how about that, wine geeks?), one of my favorite wines of 2011. See notes below. I’ve just confirmed that he and I are going to be hosting a dinner at Sotto in Los Angeles on Weds. June 22.

SOUTHERN ITALIAN SIX-PACK

Villa Matilde 2009 Falanghina
Benanti 2008 Etna Bianco Bianco di Caselle
Benanti 2007 Etna Rosso Rosso di Verzella
Gulfi 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Terre di Balbia 2009 Balbium Rosso
Pietracupa 2007 Quirico

$121 (plus tax, shipping, and handling if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego residents.
Pick up available for Los Angeles Residents.

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

This year has already been “my year in Southern Italian wine”: in February, I visited Puglia for the first time; I authored a Southern Italian wine list for my friends at Sotto in Los Angeles; next month I’m leading and seminar and tasting of Southern Italian wines at the Atlanta Food & Wine festival; and in early June I’m heading back to Puglia to sit as a judge in a native grape variety competition. (I’ll be working the floor at Sotto, btw, Weds.-Thurs., May 4-5, so please come by and taste with me and let me pour you some wine!)

Southern Italian wine is SEXY: there are more interesting wines coming out of Southern Italy than ever before, the fine wine world is buzzing about the caliber and quality of the wines to be produced there (if one more person compares Mt. Etna to Burgundy, I’m gonna heave!), and Southern Italian wines continue to represent the greatest value for fine wine in the world today (there is no doubt in my mind about this).

All of the wines in the current offering (except for the Benanti) are currently featured on the list at Sotto (at the restaurant, we try to carry only one label from each producer and so in Benanti’s case, it’s one of the winery’s top bottlings of 100% Nerello Mascaelese). Please see my notes below and I know that when you taste these wines, you will be blown away — as I am — by their originality, their food-friendliness and downright deliciousness, and the incredible value (about $20 average bottle cost).

Villa Matilde 2009 Falanghina

Acidity! (Let me say it one more time) ACIDITY! This wine has the zing and the pop that Tracie P and I look for in wines that we drink at home. Falanghina has been cultivated in Campania since antiquity (a favorite of the 1st century Romans, btw) and this clean, bright wine is very true to its variety. White stone fruit, bright acidity… I love it and could drink it every day.

Benanti 2008 Etna Bianco Bianco di Caselle

I first tasted the wines of Benanti from Mt. Etna (Sicily) about 6 years ago in New York. Today, Mt. Etna has become one of the sexiest places on earth for fine wine. Benanti’s wines are all about elegance, focus, and clarity… This is a 100% Carricante (white) grown on the high slopes of Mt. Etna (some of the highest growing zones in Europe), where the volcanic soils impart an incredibly delicious minerality — I would even say saltiness — to the wines.

Above: One of my favorite posts over at the blog this year was “My Olive Bread Gas Station Epiphany,” which took place in Puglia.

Benanti 2007 Etna Rosso Rosso di Verzella

A 100% Nerello Mascalese. Again, look for wonderful minerality here, extreme focus and elegance, and one of the best red wines I’ve tasted in 2011.

Gulfi 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria

This wine is the staff favorite and top seller at Sotto. A blend of Nero d’Avola (which imparts tannic structure) and Frappato (which balances the former with red and berry fruit flavors), there is no better way to describe this wine than YUMMY! It’s got that wonderful lightness of body and just enough tannin to make it my favorite red wine to pair with seafood (one of the reasons it’s so popular at Sotto). Cerasuolo di Vittoria is made in the township of Vittoria in the province of Ragusa in the southeast of Sicily.

Terre di Balbia 2009 Balbium Rosso

This wine is made from 100% Magliocco on the Calabrian estate where the Venica family raises its olive oil. This is perhaps the most original and striking wine I’ve tasted in 2011. Gently tannic and with generous fruit, this wine has a mouthfeel and weight to it that you need to experience to full wrap your mind around it. It has a wonderful chewiness and a brightness that delightfully surprised me. As with the family’s Friulian estate, Giampaolo’s wines are all about freshness and clean fruit. Here earth and fruit come together in a way that I know will surprise and thrill you. We do it by the glass at Sotto and we can’t keep it in stock!

Pietracupa 2007 Quirico

This is a 100% Aglianico from Avellino — the town of Paternopoli to be exact, from the San Quirico neighborhood (hence the name, after the 4th century Christian martyr Quiricus). I didn’t want this six-pack to get too expensive but I wanted to make sure there was an Aglianico in it and this wine is another staff favorite at Sotto. It’s vinified in a lighter style, with shorter maceration time, thus making it less tannic than the winery’s Taurasi (one of the greatest expressions of Aglianico). I love the approachability and the freshness of this wine and it’s my go-to pairing for the heavier meat dishes at the restaurant. Great stuff… I know you will love it as much as I do!

SOUTHERN ITALIAN SIX-PACK

Villa Matilde 2009 Falanghina
Benanti 2008 Etna Bianco Bianco di Caselle
Benanti 2007 Etna Rosso Rosso di Verzella
Gulfi 2009 Cerasuolo di Vittoria
Terre di Balbia 2009 Balbium Rosso
Pietracupa 2007 Quirico

$121 (plus tax, shipping, and handling if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego residents.
Pick up available for Los Angeles Residents.

TO ORDER, SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Above: Savio, Ottavio, Alessandro, and Alessandra (first names only, please) of the Valli Unite cooperative and agriturismo in Piedmont.

Hippie Wine Six-Pack

Valli Unite 2009 Brut & Beast
Valli Unite 2009 Barbera Gaitu
Coturri NV Sandocino (Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Syrah/Zinfandel)

two bottles each

$132 (plus shipping and handling if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego and Los Angeles residents.

TO ORDER, SIMPLY SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

There are so many great wines from Italy available today in the U.S. Nearly every week I taste with this or that importer or distributor and discover a wine that I didn’t know about. Such was the case when I tasted a few weeks ago with my friend Amy Atwood in Los Angeles, who always has killer wines in her bag. She turned me on to a biodynamic cooperative — a hippie commune, really — called Valli Unite. Here’s how the Valli Unite (united valleys) describe themselves:

Nestled high up in the hills surrounded by green and fruit bearing trees, fields of vines and fruits, a center village consists of a cluster of stone and brick buildings covered with green — this is home base for 25 people who live and work together. Food, wine and labor is divided equally. Each has his/her own role, working the land, tending to the animals or cooking in the kitchen to sustain an alternative lifestyle that was originally designed by Ottavio as a way for himself a few other local farmers to survive in an industrializing world. After 30 years of commitment to the land, nature, and one another — Valli Unite is going strong…

And when you taste their wines, you taste the freshness and purity of fruit that only chemical-free winemaking (freed of the yoke of industrial winemaking) can deliver.

From the Valli Unite, I’ve included a gently sparkling white blend and a 100% Barbera, both of which knocked my socks off (two bottles each).

And I’ve also included a wine, a red blend (two bottles), that I really dug by Tony Coturri, an Italian-American and the father of Natural winemaking in California.

Above: Tracie P and I hung and picked grapes with Tony last year in Texas, where he comes to make wine with his friend Lewis Dickson. (Check out my write-up of Lewis and his wines here.)

The red thread of this transnational six-pack is the fact that all the wines are raised in chemical free environments by people who believe that real, wholesome delicious wines should be accessible to all (the average bottle price for this six-pack is $22).

Valli Unite 2009 Brut & Beast

A beautiful, fresh, gently sparkling white blend of Cortese with smaller amounts of Moscato, Favorita, Chasselas, and Timorasso. Tasting note: FRIGGIN’ DELICIOUS. A wine that I could drink every day.

Valli Unite 2009 Barbera Gaitu

Gorgeous Barbera with the bright, bright acidity that I look for in this grape. Juicy red fruit. Lip-smacking, wonderfully food-friendly wine. I’m actually putting some of this down in my cellar because I think it will get better with a year of age on it. Loved this wine.

Coturri NV Sandocino (Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Syrah/Zinfandel)

The fact that Tony isn’t afraid to release a mixed-vintage red wine (in this case 08/09) is a sign that that commercial success and marketing considerations don’t shape the way he makes and sells his wine. I was blown away by the freshness in this wine combined with earthiness and lots of wonderful vegetal and savory flavors. This is probably going to be my favorite grilled meat pairing wine. Brooklyn-cut pork chop anyone?

Hippie Wine Six-Pack

Valli Unite 2009 Brut & Beast
Valli Unite 2009 Barbera Gaitu
Coturri NV Sandocino (Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Syrah/Zinfandel)

two bottles each

$132 (plus shipping and handling if applicable)

Free delivery for San Diego and Los Angeles residents.

TO ORDER, SIMPLY SEND ME AN EMAIL BY CLICKING HERE.

Ronco del Gnemiz Six-Pack (Colli Orientali del Friuli)
2 bottles Ronco del Gnemiz 2006 Bianco di Jacopo
2 bottles Ronco del Gnemiz 2007 Sauvingon
2 bottles Ronco del Gnemiz 2005 Rosso di Jacopo

$169 plus tax (shipping and handling if applicable)

Click here to order.

Free delivery for San Diego and Los Angeles residents.
Wines will ship Tuesday of next week from San Diego.

The folks at one of my favorite Friulian wineries, Ronco del Gnemiz, like to tease me: “We do all the things that Jeremy doesn’t like for our wines: we use selected yeast for fermentation and we age them in barrique,” said winemaker Christian Patat when I visited him and his lovely wife Serena Palazzolo (whose father bought the property and founded the estate in the 1960s). On paper, I shouldn’t like these wines. But when I first tasted them back in the late 1990s in New York, I was blown away by their freshness, their bright bright acidity, and their genuine fruit and their intense minerality.

Of course, Christian doesn’t use “killer” yeast that creates a manufactured aroma or flavor in this wine. He uses a neutral yeast that allows him to be sure that he will complete the alcoholic fermentation of his white wines before malolactic fermentation begins. (While alcoholic — sugar to alcohol — fermentation occurs in all red wine, malolactic fermentation in white wine turns malic “good” acid, the kind Tracie P and I like, into lactic “buttery” acid.) And when it comes to the application of small cask, Christian is using the wood to oxygenate his wines and not to impart wood tannin or toasty, oaky flavor.

The other thing about these wines is that the folks who make them are super cool. The last time I was in Friuli, Serena and Christian helped me track down a hard-to-find edition of Pasolini’s Friulian poetry. They knew just the bookstore in Udine that would have it. They have a pretty rad jazz collection, too.

The bottom line is I THINK THESE WINES rock and while they are nearly impossible to find on the West Coast, I was able to snag this small allocation. This first six-pack for 2011 features 2 of each label.

Ronco del Gnemiz 2006 Bianco di Jacopo

This wine is named after the couple’s older son and is made from 100% Chardonnay (when’s the last time you heard me recommend drinking Chardonnay from Italy??!!). While I wish I could have included some of their awesome single-vineyard Chardonnay in this offering, the price point would have been too high (the COF blogger group and I were blown away by the 2004 single-vineyard Chardonnay Sol and I can obtain recent vintages for you if you like). Don’t look for Chablis in this wine… Look for Friuli… You won’t be disappointed…

Ronco del Gnemiz 2007 Sauvignon

You might be surprised to see me put this wine after the Chardonnay in the present flight. While I love Ronco del Gnemiz’s interpretation of Chardonnay, the Chardonnay grapes come from some of the estate’s younger vines, making for a more youthful, more approachable expression of the variety. The Sauvignon Blanc, on the other hand, is the winery’s flagship (in my humble opinion) and it’s with this wine that we start to see some serious structure and complexity. Definitely worth aerating for an hour or so before service. You wouldn’t believe how Mrs. Sancerre herself — Samantha Sans Dosage — was blown away by Serena and Christian’s wines when we tasted them together last week at the winery.

Ronco del Gnemiz 2005 Rosso di Jacopo

50% Merlot 30% both Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Schioppettino, 5% Refosco. Merlot in Colli Orientali del Friuli (and Collio) has been a big revelation for me. The unique subsoil of the eastern hills of the region that border Slovenia are made of Ponca:

Dense but brittle ancient seabed, layered in flysch (as it’s known in the technical jargon), a unique expression of calcareous marl that forces the roots of the vines to span out along the layers of rock in search of water. The theory goes that as the roots are stressed by this obstacle, they absorb the minerality of the marl. In the wine, the resulting saltiness combines with the fresh fruit the same way peanut butter and jelly combined in your mouth when you were six. Utterly delicious…

Ronco del Gnemiz Six-Pack (Colli Orientali del Friuli)

$169 plus tax (shipping and handling if applicable)

Click here to order.

Free delivery for San Diego and Los Angeles residents.
Wines will ship Tuesday of next week from San Diego.