Raccolta Selections: Primitivo

Raccolta Selections: Primitivo
Torre Quarto Tarabuso and Leone de Castris Santera

At this time of year grills across the nation are filled with steaks, chops and ribs of Flintstonian proportions. Such basic carnivorous meals have a certain primitive appeal. Perhaps that's why primitivo from Puglia makes a perfect match for charcoal-grilled meats - a big chunky wine for big chucks of meat.

Primitivo is not about finesse. When made well it produces a rich, intensely fruity wine of moderate tannins. Primitivo is for pleasure now: not for analysis, debate or hoarding away in your cellar for years. There is nothing wrong with pleasure now, right? The problem with primitivo is that it is always generous: even before it becomes wine. The generous nature of this vine and the warm sunshine of Puglia means that many producers let it over-produce and end up making a wine that is a shadow of what is can become in the hands of winemakers reaching towards quality over quantity.

Then there is the zinfandel problem. Some time ago scientists announced that zinfandel and primitivo were one in the same: genetically identical. Unfortunately this led to an identity crisis in Puglia with producers diving headlong into California style winemaking with some even changing their labels to read zinfandel instead of primitivo. Thanks to the work of grapevine geneticist Carole Meredith, we now know that both zinfandel and primitivo trace their parentage to an indigenous Croatian grape called crljenak. However, they are more likely very close cousins than exactly the same vine. Primitivo and zinfandel arrived in both California and Puglia at more or less the same time meaning zinfandel probably did not come to the USA from Italy. So, although they share the same parentage, centuries in their respective climates has created two unique strains of crljenak - not twins.

While most primitivo is bottled under the Puglia IGT, the Manduria zone has been recognized as producing primitivo worthy of a DOC. This is not to say that primitivo is always superior to those labeled Puglia IGT because it is not and excellent primitivo can be found in many vineyards outside the DOC.

These two selections show the broad range of styles being produced in Puglia today. The more modern Torre Quarto might trick your friends into thinking they were drinking a California zinfandel, but the Leone di Castris could come from nowhere but Puglia.

2003 Torre Quarto Tarabuso, Primitivo, Puglia IGT ($15)
A bright and brilliant deep ruby. Just translucent. Smooth raspberry fruit dominates the nose that is layered with touches of cherry vanilla and cassis. The cassis note continues on the palate giving a rich bitter touch to the rich, warm raspberry and cherry flavors. Medium, round ripe tannins give just enough structure to the deeply fruity finish, but not enough to require additional aging. A nice touch of bitterness makes the ripe fruit flavors more enjoyable. Very modern in style.

2001 Leone di Castris, Santera, Primitivo di Manduria DOC ($15)
Bright light ruby with just a touch of garnet. Just translucent. Expansive, dense bouquet with fresh cherry pie aromas mixed with ripe plums, sautéed mushrooms and hints of iodine and rosemary. Round and ripe on the palate with lively bitterness balancing the ripe, earthy fruit flavors. The sweet rich dark fruit finish is supported by medium tannins and a firm mineral note.

2000 Leone di Castris, Salice Salentino, Riserva ($17) Bright ruby with just a touch of garnet. Earthy, smoky nose with dense bitter cherry aromas. Good complexity and balance on the palate with hints of tar blending with a ripe Mediterranean earthiness. The finish is very long with many layers of complexity ranging from sweet cherry to a tobacco bite. This is a wine to drink now or in the next year or two as a little more bottle age is sure to add complexity.

2001 Leone di Castris, Salice Salentino, Maiana ($12) Bright ruby, just translucent. The nose is full of forward, earthy fruit with a touch of warm Mediterranean sun. On the palate the wine is multifaceted showing bright fresh cherry fruit with a touch of dried mushrooms and a bitter minty note. The finish is balanced with medium tannins well carried by the ripe fruit. Ready to drink now.

Exceptional wines from Italian vines

Grape: Greco - an ancient white wine variety probably of Greek origin grown in Italy for over 2,000 years.
2003 Torre Quarto, Hirondelle, Greco, Puglia IGT ($15) Brilliant medium gold showing just the slightest hint of bubbles at the edge. Beautiful ripe pear and lychee aromas with touches of honey and hazelnuts. Those gorgeous flavors expand on the palate into a rich, but lively and fresh wine. The finish is very long and expansive, but also refreshing from the touch of tart acidity, nutty bitterness and barely perceptible touch of effervescence. No oak is used so all the luscious flavors come from the greco grape itself.

Raccolta Selection: Cantina Sant'Agata, Ruché

Raccolta Selection: Cantina Sant'Agata, Ruché, July 2004

Ruché just doesn't taste like it comes from Piemonte. It is a graceful wine, elegant and floral with a body more defined by its lively acidity than its soft, round tannins. If there is a wine in Italy to relate to fine Beaujolais it is most certainly not the tart dolcetto, which is often referred to in that context, but the refined smoothness of ruché can be more than a little reminiscent of a Fleurie or Chènas. Of course, ruché is not Beaujolais and has its own distinct character, but as most people have not tasted this delicious wine it is a fair way to set a point of reference.

Ruché now sports its own DOC, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato, and this small zone in the hills just outside of Asti is responsible for all the production from this rare variety. Now that DOC status has been awarded to this region you can expect to see production expand perhaps making ruché easier to find. This is one of those wines that one sip is likely to inspire gulps and case purchases. Ruché is pure forward fruit flavor.

Ruché is a bit of a mystery vine. Local wisdom says it is an ancient variety probably indigenous to the Monferrato hills. Even the origin of the name is unclear with some claiming it came from the name of a local monastery while another source points to a resistance to a particular vine disease. Whatever the case, little documentary evidence exists and the history of ruché is more folklore than fact.

Cantine Sant'Agata is making an exceptional assortment of ruché wines and excellent wines from Asti's two other important red wine vines: barbera and grignolino. Founded in 1916, the present generation, Franco and Claudio Cavallero, produces 150,000 bottles of wine from their own vineyards, which total 30 hectares. Other than a small amount of chardonnay all their vines are indigenous and all their wines are of excellent quality and value.

Raccolta Selection:
2003 Cantina Sant'Agata, Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato, 'Na Vota ($19)
Brilliant ruby with a just a touch of purple, quite translucent. Smooth, forward ripe cherry vanilla nose with a bitter tinge. a touch of cassis and lovely hints of wildflowers and violets. Firm and fresh on the palate with flavors that expand and grow mirroring the forward yet complex fruit and flowers of the bouquet. In the finish the cassis dominates carried by a refreshing acid zip.(89) The warm 2003 vintage produced particularly rich versions of lesser known Piemontese varietals like ruché. grignolino and freisa and you should keep an eye out for them as they are now in the market. They also offer a special selection ruché, Pro Nobis, to continue the Beaujolais reference, it is to regular ruché what Moulin-a-Vent is to normal Beaujolais. It has all the characteristics of the 'Na Vota on steroids. I will confess I prefer what I consider the more balanced 'Na Vota, but I am probably in the minority on that choice with most consumers preferring the chunky Pro Nobis.

2003 Cantina Sant'Agata, Grignolino d'Asti, Piemonte, DOC ($18)
Bright, very light scarlet. Very translucent almost a dark rosé. The delicate aromas are gorgeous filled with fresh wild strawberries, fresh cut mint and tart black cherries. This is a wine that dances across the palate with fresh crisp acidity activating every saliva gland you have. The flavors are pure wild strawberry with a bitter cherry tinge and a touch of tar. Just delicious - order another bottle. Serve lightly chilled.

Raccolta Selection: Villa Bucci

Raccolta Selection: Villa Bucci - July 2004

Ampelio Bucci seems to embody the elegance and style of Milan. Yet, he is making an impact in that most un-Milan of places, the rugged hills, mountains and coastlines of Le Marche. Since the 1700's the Bucci family has lorded over their estate in Le Marche, but despite the long family history, only under the current generation have their vineyards been raised to greatness. The aptly named Ampelio (coming from ampelos, ancient Greek for vine) has transformed this estate into one of Italy's most interesting white wine producers and a leading producer of Rosso Piceno.

The large property, almost 1,000 acres, not only produces fine wines, but sugar beets, corn, wheat, sunflowers and an extraordinary extra virgin olive oil from the ancient Carbonella olive. Since 2002 all the crops on the estate have been officially certified as organic by the EEU. Ampelio has taken extreme care in his vineyards, refusing to tear up old vines even though their production is severely reduced meaning his yields are less than half that allowed by the DOC. Old vines from extraordinary vineyards farmed with great care of course produce exceptional grapes and Ampelio is to be highly commended for choosing a winemaking approach that brings these essences from the vine to the bottle. No barriques, only large well-used barrels touch his wines. The resulting verdicchio wines literally sing with complexity, richness and fresh acidity. His efforts clearly show the potential of verdicchio from the right vineyards in the right hands and decidedly make the point that barriques and their resulting oak flavors add only confusion to the richly honeyed flavors of verdicchio.

While the labels are similar, wines labeled only Bucci are the regular cuvees (and lovely they are), while wines labeled Villa Bucci are reserve wines from the oldest vines and best vineyards.

As excellent as the red wines of this property are, it is their exceptional and age-worthy Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico wines that make them stand out in the crowded world of wines. Their unique flavors, textures and complexity make delicious companions to the finest meals. They are among Italy's finest white wines.

2000 Villa Bucci Riserva, Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore ($35)
Bright light gold. Smooth crème brulee aromas open into toasted hazelnut, vanilla with touches of ripe oranges. Rich, yet firmly bitter on the palate. Creamy, nutty flavors blend with a lively touch of bitter orange and ripe mangos. The firm flavors dominate the full, but structured finish. An extremely balanced and complex wine that I recommend aging a few more years to allow all the components to grow and blend.

2002 Villa Bucci Rosso Piceno($35)
Bright light ruby, just translucent. An elegant, layered complex nose with touches of bitter and sweet plum, black cherry, blood oranges, spices and fresh mint. Exceptional balance and refinement on the palate as bitter cherry flavors dance with chocolate, sweet plums, spices and cranberries. The finish is long, and lively with each of the aromas and flavors repeating themselves. A lovely wine that is ready to drink now and over the next 5 or 6 years. Villa Bucci Rosso Piceno wine is 70% montepulciano and 30% sangiovese.

2002 Bucci Pongelli Rosso Piceno DOC, Marche $16)
Brilliant light ruby, quite translucent. Warm raspberry fruit aromas mix with spices and a tart cranberry note to create a lovely fresh nose. Smooth, yet lively and fresh on the palate with clean fresh dark plum fruit mixed with a firm mineral note. The finish is fresh and clean, but not simple with a bracing acidity that calls for another glass. Pongelli is 50-50 montepulciano and sangiovese.

2002 Bucci Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore ($16)
Bright light gold. The creamy, layered aromas are filled with caramel apples, hazelnuts, honey and mango. Luscious and rich on the palate with firm toasted hazelnuts flavors that are balanced by a bright tropical citrus tang and a touch of caramel. These flavors follow in the long finish that while rich, ends on a note of fresh, lively acidity.

The wines of Bucci are Neil Empson Selections: Imported by Empson USA.

The Risotto Lesson

Risotto - rice in the Spotlight

Like individual gold nuggets they sparkled on the plate. Everyone else at the table looked at me with jealously. They wanted what I had. “Tough”, I thought. “They could have ordered the Risotto Milanese too. It was right there on the menu.”

Risotto is rice in the spotlight - the star of the show. This is a very different concept than the way rice is usually used in the United States, as a backdrop, something to fill up the plate. Risotto is a classic dish of northern Italy and there are as many variations as there are ingredients available.
What’s the big deal? Rice is rice, right? Wrong.

Everything is special about Risotto. The rice, the ingredients and the way it is cooked makes it not only delicious, but the most elegant rice dish in the world. Risotto, like all Italian cooking, is first based on the quality of the ingredients. To make wonderful risotto you have to have just the right rice and a fresh tasting broth that brings out the flavors of the other ingredients. The right technique is also essential. Without it you end up with a rice mush. Forget those who argue for shortcuts like pressure cookers. There are no shortcuts to great risotto.

Why would you want to take a shortcut? Making risotto is like therapy and much cheaper than lying on your shrink’s couch for an hour. The rhythmic and peaceful nature of making risotto has a mantra like effect. Perhaps this is the start of a new self-help book, “Kitchen Therapy, the way to spiritual enlightenment through stirring”. Risotto takes time. It is not hard to make, it just requires patience and a little care. Like all things involved with fine dining, risotto is not about speed. Not that it takes that long, only twenty minutes form the time you start, but in that it requires your undivided attention for those twenty minutes.

Unfortunately there is a lot of poor risotto sold in restaurants at high prices. If your risotto arrives at your table in less than twenty minutes you know they are cheating in the kitchen. Risotto made using shortcuts never has the texture and complexity of risotto properly made.
Risotto is much more than rice carrying other flavors. If you can’t taste each grain of this special rice dish keep trying. The goal is to learn the technique and then start creating your own recipes.

Risotto is rice in the spotlight.

The Rice

No you can’t use that big bag of rice sitting in your cabinet to make risotto. Risotto can be made from only three types of rice – all from Italy. Sometimes you see Arborio or one of the other types of Italian rice grown in the USA, but I say avoid them. To get stellar risotto you have to seek out the best Italian brands. Yes, that inexpensive box of Arborio at the Italian grocery will work just find, but with a little more investment in time and money you will find brands that cook and taste better.

The secret to risotto is in the way these types of Italian rice absorb liquid – in our case the broth. Each piece of the rice used for risotto has two characteristics:

A very soft starch on the outside that melts away from the kernel and makes gives the creamy texture to risotto.

A very hard inner starch that stays firm and gives the risotto its backbone – the ability to have in the finished dish an ‘al dente’ or firm texture to each grain of rice.
This combination of creaminess and an individual bite for each grain is what makes risotto so special. You can only create this unique combination with three types of rice.

Arborio

Arborio is the Marilyn Monroe of rice, very amply endowed with the outer layer of starch that melts away, but it is a little light on the inner, hard starch that gives bite each kernel of rice. These characteristics produce the very rich and creamy risotto style of risotto loved in Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna and Piemonte. The famous Risotto Milanese was born of this rice. Warning: because of all the soft starch it is easy to overcook Arborio and end up with rice porridge instead of risotto. You always want to be able to taste each grain of rice. It is grown primarily in Piemonte and Emilia-Romagna. You must buy the ‘superfino’ grade of Arborio. The superfino name can be applied to only the plumpest grains.

Vialone Nano

The rice of choice in Veneto and Fruili. This is a short ugly little guy and is almost the opposite of Arborio in that it has a strong hard inner kernel and is light on the soft outer layer that melts away. This is perfect rice for those who really appreciate the ‘al dente’ style. While Arborio creates a very creamy risotto, Vialone Nano is more grainy and each kernel is very distinct in the dish. A perfect choice for seafood risotto and very fresh vegetables. To me this rice is so distinct from Arborio they are almost different dishes.

Carnaroli

The new kid on the block. Carnaroli only arrived on the Italian scene in 1945, the creation of a Milanese rice grower who created a hybrid by crossing Vialone Nano with a Japanese variety of rice. This is the most expensive or the three types of rice and combines the strengths of both Arborio and Vialone Nano. Carnaroli has more than enough the outside soft starch to make a creamy risotto, but also has a substantial amount of the hard inner starch to make an ‘al dente’ risotto with clearly defined kernels of rice.

I recommend using and experimenting with all three until you establish your own personal preferences. With experience you will probably want to use all three depending on what kind of risotto you are making.

The Broth

Cookbook after cookbook suggests using chicken broth for risotto. With few exceptions a delicate beef broth will give you a far more complex and interesting risotto. Some chefs argue that chicken stock can give a bitter flavor to risotto. I have used chicken broth with good results, but greatly prefer the flavor of risotto prepared with beef broth. This is true for all except seafood risotto which is often cooked with plain water using flavors from the seafood itself to flavor the rice.
First an important definition, the broth you use for risotto is not stock. A stock is made by simmering meat or fish with bones and vegetables the resulting liquid is strained and often reduced to concentrate flavors. An Italian broth is often the byproduct of making a main dish like Il Lesso da Brodo, a boiled beef main course that creates a wonderful broth. To make a beef broth for risotto you use a piece of meat, add a couple of bones if you have them, and some aromatic vegetables. This broth is much more delicate than the classic French style stock made with many bones to create the rich flavor that is the basis for sauces. A stock would produce flavors too intense for risotto as the flavors are concentrated as the cooking proceeds.

The easy broth recipe:
In a 6 to 8 quart pot of cold water add:
>2 carrots peeled and halved.
>2 stalks celery with leaves if possible
>1 onion, halved.


>Bring the water to a boil.
>Add a 4 to 6 lb. chuck roast or other inexpensive cut of beef and two chicken legs and thighs and return to boil. Make sure the meat is covered by at least of two inches of water.
>Reduce heat to a simmer, cover loosely and skim any scum that comes to the surface.
>After two hours add 1 tbl. sea salt.
>Simmer gently for about 4 hours in total, or until the meat is very tender.
>When done serve the beef with your favorite condiments – like extra virgin olive oil and lemon or horseradish and mustard. Though not very Italian the beef makes great hot or cold sandwiches.
>Strain the remaining broth and refrigerate overnight , discard the vegetables . When cold remove the congealed fat. If you don’t have time to refrigerate strain the broth through a cheese cloth that has been in the freezer for at least a half an hour.
>If you prefer to use chicken stock use the above recipe replacing the beef with a 4 to 5 lb. whole chicken. For the decadent version of Risotto Milanese replace the beef with meaty beef shanks with marrow.

Serving Risotto

Primo or secondo? Risotto can fill both roles with style. Following the traditional Italian manner of eating; first would come the antipasti (appetizers), followed by the primo (the first course usually a starch like pasta or risotto), which would be followed by the secondo (main course usually fish or meat). However we find risotto such a satisfying dish we often serve it as the main course.
If you are having a formal Italian meal and going through all the courses, any of the these risotti as a first course will help make your dinner an elegant occasion. Because these are relatively rich risotto recipes, I would recommend a secondo featuring meat as fish may seem a little delicate after either of these risotti. Also if you follow with a meat course you can easily continue with the wine you matched with the risotto.

In Milano, they often serve Risotto Milanese in a way that breaks the normal rules of primo and secondo. Instead of a first course the risotto becomes side dish (more equal partner) to Osso Buco, the famous braised veal shank dish of Lombardia. Of course this risotto is also served as a traditional first course both in restaurants and at home.

Serving risotto as a main course is also a great opportunity to present a more elaborate cheese course to top off the meal. The textures and flavors of the cheeses are a great counterpoint to the risotto.

Primo or secondo? It’s your choice and you can’t lose.

Basic Risotto

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a first course (primo).
Preparation time: 45 minutes (20 minutes cooking time)

The basics:the basic technique
>10 or more cups HOT beef broth - Yours!!! See the easy broth recipe on page 3.
TIP: Keep the stock hot, almost boiling, over heat throughout the preparation
>1 small onion -FINELY chopped (the sweeter the onion the better, use Vidalias in season, but red onions are not recommended)
TIP: Take the time to dice the onion very finely. I do not recommend a food processor.
>1/4 pound UNSALTED butter. I recommend Pulgra or a European style unsalted butter as it has a richer flavor than commercial American butter. Use the American butter if you can't find the European style butter it will still be good.
TIP: Feel free to use a little more butter- the dish will be that much richer.
>2 cups - Italian Arborio or Carnaroli Rice - do not replace. You HAVE to use these unique types of rice imported from Italy
TIP: The rice is critical because these type of Italian rice absorbs a huge amount of liquid.
>2 glasses good dry white wine.
TIP: If you won't drink it don't put it in.

The beginning:
>In a large, large heavy sauté pan, melt all but 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium high heat DO NOT LET IT BROWN!
TIP: I use a 5 quart Calphalon sauté pan as the handle helps steady the pan while stirring. I don’t like using a pot with sides that are very high.
TIP: Keep the pan as hot as you can throughout the process without burning or browning anything! As you add the hot broth it should come to a light boil in the pan with the rice.
Once the butter is melted put the chopped onions in the pan and lightly sauté until just translucent DO NOT LET THEM BROWN!
FROM NOW ON YOU MUST STIR RISOTTO CONTINUOUSLY UNTIL FINISHED!
TIP: I recommend a broad flat wooden spatula. Stirring should be slow and make sure to reach all parts of the pan.
>Once the onions are just cooked add the rice and toss with the butter and onions. Cook and toss like this for about a minute.
>Add 1 glass of the wine and cook until evaporated, drink the other glass while cooking the risotto.

You have now reached the point of variations! The beginning and the finish is the same only the middle changes. TIP: You must have made up your mind before you get to this point which risotto you are going to make as the process must be continuous, not stop and go.

Variation One—Risotto con Funghi (porcini mushrooms)
The basics on page above plus:
>Dried porcini mushrooms soaked in a bowl of warm water for 2 hours (I use just over half of the 1 oz. package), then chop half of them finely and half coarsely reserving the mushroom broth. Strain the mushroom broth through cheesecloth and reserve– heat before using. Dried mushrooms can be sandy and this sand will fall to the bottom of the bowl where you soaked—try to leave the sand in the bottom of the bowl when you strain the mushroom broth.
TIP:No you can't use the bland fresh mushrooms they sell in the USA and fresh porcini are not available.
TIP:OK if you forget you can put them in very hot water (microwave?) for 30 minutes but I think the flavors are better and there is less chance of sandy risotto if you soak it longer. I like to do it for at least 2 hours. This makes an excellent mushroom broth that adds a lot of flavor to the dish.
salt to taste (don't forget when you add the cheese at the end it also adds salt).

Continuing from the beginning above:
>Once the wine has evaporated and you are drinking the other glass-
>Add the hot mushroom broth and the chopped mushrooms.
>Once the broth is absorbed by the rice began adding the HOT stock one ladle at time.
>REPEAT patiently adding one ladle of hot broth at a time waiting until it is almost absorbed before adding the next ladle.
TIP: To make really good risotto you have to stand there and stir it slowly but continuously. I really mean it! Everything must be prepared and organized in advance.
>From here to the finish is simple - keep stirring and keep adding the hot both as it cooks into the rice and keep drinking the wine in your glass.
>The process now takes about 18 minutes from the time you add the first ladle of broth to the rice. Start tasting the rice after 15 minutes to check the cooking progress. Each grain should retain just a bite—not a crunch.

Variation Two—Risotto Milanese - Italian rice with saffron
All of the basics above plus:
>Saffron powder (at least 125 mg.) mixed with one cup of the hot broth for 5 minutes or, preferably, saffron threads (at least 300 mg.) mixed with a cup of the hot broth and soaked for at least 30 minutes (60 is better).
TIP: Saffron threads are best and are prettiest in the finished dish.

Continuing from the beginning above:
>Once the wine has evaporated and you are drinking the other glass.
>Begin adding the HOT broth one ladle at time.
>After you have added one ladle of broth add either the saffron powder mixed with a ladle of hot broth or the saffron thread that have been soaking in a cup of the hot broth for at least 30 minutes.
>REPEAT patiently adding one ladle of hot broth at a time waiting until it is almost absorbed before adding the next ladle.
TIP: To make really good risotto you have to stand there and stir it slowly but continuously. I really mean it! Everything must be prepared and organized in advance.
>Salt to taste
>From here to the finish is simple - keep stirring, add keep adding the hot both as it cooks into the rice and drink the wine in your glass. Start tasting the rice after 15 minutes to check the cooking progress. Each grain should retain just a bite—not a crunch.
>The process takes about 18 minutes from the time you add the first ladle of broth to the rice.Start tasting the rice after 15 minutes to check the cooking progress. Each grain should retain just a bite—not a crunch.

Finishing both:

But when is the rice done? You have to taste it frequently after you have been blending in the broth for 15 minutes. The rice should be firm to the bite - not crunchy but also not soft like the steamed rice we make in the United States. The risotto should also be quite moist - not dry at all. It will look and taste creamy in your mouth.

The Mantacare:

>When the rice is just short of being done remove from heat and blend in what is called the mantacare, the remaining butter and cheese - this adds a rich creamy texture to the risotto:
>Blend in the remaining butter and
>1/2 of a cup grated Italian Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
TIP: The American versions of this cheese are all terrible. Please after all this work use real Parmigiano Reggiano.


Sprinkle with a bit of freshly chopped parsley, preferable Italian flat leaf
Serve immediately with additional freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Terrabianca 2001 Vintage

Raccolta Selections Focus Report:
Terrabianca 2001 Vintage - Aug. 2004

The disco music is pounding and the lights flashing. The photographers jostle for position. It's another Milan fashion show on the 24 hour Italian Fashion Channel (there are two) and the models prance down the runway in strange concoctions that only faintly remind us of the clothing people wear in the real world. It is all flash and hype designed to get attention in a crowded market.

So it is with modern winemaking. You can almost hear the disco music pounding out of the bottle as you pour wines that are so big that they don't seem to fit even the gigantic confines of the huge wineglasses so fashionable today. New oak flavors and aromas titillate the wine fashion show crowd just as strategically revealed breasts draw the cameras on the ramps of Milan. The fashion world and wine world are the same in that they like to show off things that you can't really wear or drink on a regular basis.

Suddenly, the Fashion Channel changes shows and the mood shifts. The clothing is refined and elegant and you can easily imagine the models dining (if they eat) in an elegant Milan restaurant right after the show without changing a stitch. The designs are still modern and innovative, but they are not exaggerations designed mostly to shock. Fortunately there are modern-style winemakers with this sense of touch. Fortunately there is Terrabianca.

Terrabianca, the creation of Roberto Guldener, is located in the Chianti Classico zone and the continued improvement of their wines gives us hope for the future of fashion conscious Tuscany. If Milan is the capital of Italian fashion, Tuscany is the capital of Italian wine fashion and the wines of the region have been distorted out of recognition by the rush to the designer enologist of the moment. The misuse of barriques and the contest to see who can come up with the highest level of dry extract has created a sea of overpriced wines that just are not very interesting to drink and impossible to tell apart. However, while guilty of some over-oaked wines as they developed their style in years past, Terrabianca has evolved and is making some of the most refined, balanced and interesting modern-styled wines in Tuscany. Guldener's wines are not over-extracted or over-oaked and show clearly the character of the Terrabianca vineyards and the varietals they grow. The flagship wine, Campaccio is not only delicious, but a relative bargain in the world of top Super-Tuscans and can easily found for under $40.00 a bottle (sometimes well under).

All the wines of Terrabianca present a seamless elegance and balance, just like Roberto Guldener himself. They improve in the bottle, but are delicious and drinkable from the day they are released making them among the best choices for restaurants and their clients. With this kind of quality we can assume the wines of Terrabianca will remain in fashion for years to come.

Raccolta Selections: Focus Report 2001 Terrabianca

2001 Ceppate, Toscana IGT (cabernet sauvignon 75%, merlot 25%) ($75)
Brilliant rich ruby, just translucent. Smooth, seamless blackberry with a slight cassis tinge on the nose with touches of tree bark and cinnamon. The smooth, elegant flavors continue on the palate and the finish. The herbal notes are lighter than in past vintages: flavors and aromas that often mar Tuscan cabernet. The finish is elegant and very smooth with round easy tannins carrying refined dark fruit, but is a little too herbal on the finish for my taste.

2001 Il Tesoro Merlot, Maremma, Toscana IGT ($55)
Brilliant bright ruby, just translucent. Exotic plum and spice nose with hints of burnt cherry and mint. On the palate it is round and mouth filling without any heaviness. Ripe bitter cherry flavors blend with cranberry touches all brought together by touches of fresh mint and dark roasted coffee. The bittersweet ripe cherry flavors grow in the finish with soft yet apparent tannins that give a note of firmness to the smooth flavors. Very refined and balanced.

2001 Piano del Cipresso, Toscana IGT (sangiovese) ($35)
Brilliant bright ruby, just translucent. Firm mineral notes lead quickly into smooth cherry vanilla and light cedar aromas. On the palate everything is in its place with balance and elegance the defining characteristics. Clean cherry vanilla fruit leads to bitter cranberry notes with a touch of lively mint. The finish is lively and refined with firm, but very polite tannins to carry the minty sweet cherry fruit.

2001 Croce, Chianti Classico Riserva, DOCG (sangiovese 97%, canaiolo 3%) ($30)
Brilliant bright ruby, just translucent. Elegant mineral notes combine with bitter cherry aromas mixed with touches of porcini and fresh mint along with hints of fine cigars. Exceptional balance on the palate with earthy notes blending with bright fresh raspberry and touches of vanilla, yet not one component dominates. The tannins are firm, but not at all harsh and the earthy flavors grow and become more and more complex in the finish. A stunning combination of terroir and modern winemaking with a wonderful lively balance throughout. No barriques are used for Croce only large Slovenian casks.

2001 Campaccio, Toscana IGT (70% sangiovese, 30% cabernet sauvignon) ($45)
Brilliant bright ruby, just translucent. Beautiful blends of cooking porcini, roses, dark cherries, vanilla and cedar blend into a fascinating complexity on the nose. On the palate deep burnt sweet cherry flavors blend with mint, tobacco and a warm earthiness into an exotic whole. The finish is exceptionally long and stops just short of powerful as the refined tannins blend with flavors that mirror everything on the nose and on the palate. Stunning balance for such a rich wine.

Raccolta Selection: Amarone

Raccolta Selection: Amarone - August 2004

Somewhere between the sublime complexity of the wines of Giuseppe Quintarelli and the dramatic port-like extract and drama of the wines of Dal Forno lives the real Amarone. No other great Italian wine shows such an extreme range in style than that offered by these two renowned Valpolicella producers. Giacomo Conterno and Elio Altare in Barolo and Montevertine and Fonterutoli in Chianti Classico may vary dramatically in style and method, but it is nothing compared to the differences between Quintarelli and Dal Forno.

In between these extremes are many excellent producers and, unfortunately, many commercial producers who use the commercial appeal of the Amarone name to sell wines of inferior quality. Featured in this issue are four very good, but very different producers that fall between the extremes: Speri, Novaia, Castellani and San Rustico.

Currently the wines from the small, but lovely and balanced 2000 vintage are now in the market, but many bottles of the very good 1998 vintage are still on the shelves and may be relative bargains due to better exchange rates when they were released. While Amarone certainly improves with age, the up-front hedonistic character and bit of residual sugar often proves too tempting and pleasurable so few wait to pull the corks - although, if you do, your patience will be rewarded.

Raccolta Selections:
2000 Novaia Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Vigneto Le Balze (15.5%) ($65)
Brilliant, bright ruby. Just translucent. Warm, rich baked cherry aromas layered with dense fresh raspberry with an earthy note adding complexity. Smooth, yet powerful on the palate with concentrated super-ripe cherry flavors that blend sweet dark fruit flavors with a hard mineral touch. The finish explodes with brilliant fruit and a smooth warmth that is balanced by a fresh acidity. A Jens Schmidt Selection-Imported by Montecastelli Selections

2000 Speri Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Vigneto Monte Sant'Urbano (15%) ($60)
Brilliant, bright ruby. Barely translucent. Rich sweet and bitter chocolate notes blend with ripe, fresh cherry aromas and a concentrated minerality. Exceptionally rich yet firm and balanced on the palate. This is an intensely firm and flavorful wine with great complexity and depth of fruit. The concentrated bitter chocolate flavors blend with sweet cherry, bitter oranges, build on the palate and flow into a the warm, structured finish that ends with touches of mint and iodine. Ripe, complex and delicious. A Neil Empson Selection-Imported by Empson USA

2000 San Rustico, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico (15%) ($40 - best buy)
Brilliant, bright ruby. Just translucent. Delicate rose and violet aromas expand into cherry liqueur and bitter chocolate notes. Firm tart cherry flavors blend with ripe cherry notes balanced by minty cherry cough drop highlights. The finish is firm with warm cherry fruit balanced by complex earthy, minty and mineral notes.. A very firm wine that has great potential in a few years. Very classic in style. A John Given Selection-Imported by John Given Wines

1998 San Rustico, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Vigneti del Gaso (15.5%) ($50)
Brilliant light ruby, just translucent. Warm, earthy nose with layers of cooked porcini blended with baked cherry, cassis, cigar smoke and a touch of iodine. Smooth, velvety deep bitter cherry flavors blend with fresh raspberries, cassis and fresh mint. The finish is very expansive with the mint flavors growing joined by bitter chocolate, bright cherry and menthol. Complex and exceptional layered - the lively long cherry menthol finish is amazing. This is not an overwhelming, port-like Amarone, but a balanced wine with fresh acidity to counter the alcohol and ripe fruit. A John Given Selection-Imported by John Given Wines

1998 Michele Castellani, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Monte Cristi ($40)
Deep, bright ruby. Just opaque. Pungent, raspberry jam and cassis aromas. Clean deep cherry fruit. Ripe and big on the palate. Long huge bittersweet fruit flavors blend with bitter chocolate and cassis liqueur flavors. The mouth-filling flavors are long and complex. Warm, lush dark cherry flavors broaden into a warm satisfying finish. A Mario Belardino Selection-Imported by Bedford International

1998 Michele Castellani, Amarone delle Valpolicella Classico, Cinque Stelle, Collezione Ca' del Pipa
Dark dense ruby. Big bittersweet black current nose with a pungent iodine note broadening into tar and burnt cherries. Bitter cherry cough drops with big, tarry black raspberry fruit flavors. Very tight and firm even with all this sweet fruit power. The finish is hard and soft at the same time with firm tannins and very ripe cherry and dark chocolate flavors going into a warm almost brandy-like burn. A Mario Belardino Selection-Imported by Bedford International.

Tenuta Scilio Valle Galfina

08/04 

Sicily makes a lot of wine. More than most countries. Not so long ago Sicilian wine was not something anybody had any interest in except as thick cutting wines for thinner northern wines or as jug wine for everyday consumption. The last twenty years has seen a total change in the reputation of Sicilian wine and wine shop shelves are full of Sicilian wines with "artist" labels, big prices and bottles as thick and heavy as the wines.

Like the rest of Italy, Sicily has become a battleground between so-called "traditional" and "modern" wines. However, we should ban the word "traditional" from this debate. The real argument should start when a wine loses its sense of place. Without a sense of place, or terroir, wine is only a beverage to wash down a meal, not something worthy of debate. All the best winemakers today are modern in their approach introducing better vineyard practices, more controlled winemaking and consistent temperature control. There is no such thing as a true "traditional" winemaker, making wine exactly as they did 100 years ago - as least no one making great wine.

So the issue is not "traditional" vs. "modern", but between wines that have a distinct and therefore more interesting character and those made in a style that reveals more about how they were made than where they where made. A Sicilian wine that does not taste like it is from Sicily is simply a commercial product designed to be a wine beverage that pleases the broadest range of consumers possible. There is nothing wrong with making such a product and good clean commercial wines admirably fill the need for everyday wines. What is wrong is charging more than everyday prices for such wines. Sicilian wines like Planeta, Morgante, Cottanera and Firriato exhibit beautifully executed technical winemaking. They are quasi-perfect when you look at the numbers. However, they are also soulless international citizens: wines without a home or a need for one. Therefore they are nothing more than top-quality wine beverages that could come from anywhere and I believe that is the goal of the people making them.

On the BBC there is a very entertaining program called "Top Gear" where they compare various automobiles. In one program they were comparing three sports cars, one of which was an Alpha Romeo. For ten minutes they talked about the qualities of the other two cars and the problems of the Alpha, but in the end they all picked the Alpha because it was just so damn much fun to drive. I think wines are the same. Some brands may be very well-made, but wines that really sing of the place and vines that made them are so much more fun to drive.

There are many producers using modern methods while still maintaining the integrity of their terroir and vines. High on the north-east slopes of Mt. Etna lies the Valle Galfina estate of Tenuta Scilio. The Scilio family has done an excellent job of introducing modern wine making techniques while still respecting the traditions of this ancient wine growing area. From 20 hectares of organically grown vines, planted to only indigenous varieties, they produce a range of delicious wines that speak clearly of the mineral laden soils of Mt. Etna and the fine character of the nerello mascalese vine.

Raccolta Selections:
1999 Tenuta Scilio Orphéus, Etna Rosso DOC ($25) Brilliant ruby, just translucent. The rich, deep raspberry and black current aromas blend with cigar smoke and ripe menthol/cherry notes. Mouth coating without being a bit heavy, the flavors offer ripe sweet plum and bitter cassis notes blended with firm mineral and bitter cherry highlights. The finish is warm, but not overripe. The balanced tannins are approachable now, but a few years patience should be well rewarded. Beautifully made and a pleasure to drink, this is one of the most interesting wines coming out of Sicily and happily is clearly a Sicilian wine - not Australian shiraz. A blending of nerello mascalese(80%) and nerello mantellato(20%) this wine is aged for one year in 225 liter oak barriques followed by one year of bottle age before release.
.
2000 Tenuta Scilio Sikélìos Rosso di Sicilia IGT Not unlike a tawny port in character and weight. Bright light ruby with garnet hints, quite translucent. Ripe plum and prune aromas blend with fresh raspberry and bitter chocolate. Warm and ripe on the palate with flavors of raisins and fresh, warm cherry pie. The finish is round, rich and sweet without being heavy. The round tannins disappear in a warm richness. This sweet wine is made by drying the grapes in the sun before fermentation.

A John Given Selection-Imported by John Given Wines

Wine Gods

By Craig Camp
Friday, June 27, 2003

I HAD just recently arrived in Heaven when my door harps rang. At the door was a messenger with a beautiful engraved invitation to a wine tasting hosted by God himself. As the messenger left, I realized some important information was missing; I called out to him, "Where are the date and time?"

"You are new here, aren't you?" he responded.

Realizing that perhaps time was not quite an issue here in the ever-after, I put on my best robe and headed off to the tasting that was to be held at the Heaven Four Seasons. I walked into the hotel and was stunned. To think I had thought the Four Seasons in Chicago was posh. The lobby was an infinite glass atrium and the music that was echoing off the glass was very familiar. Sure enough, as I rounded the corner by the bar there was John Lennon playing Imagine -- just with slightly different words.

I found my way to the tasting room, which was spectacular. At each of the twenty seats were six gigantic Reidel glasses. They were called the 'barrique' model because each one held 224 liters -- I guess when they said it was a barrel tasting they meant it. As I took my place I looked to my right and was amazed to see Robert Parker.

"Jesus Christ (I've got to learn to stop saying that here) Bob." I said. "What are you doing here? Are you dead?"

"No, I'm fine," said Bob. "I guess God has to sell his wine too, so I got an invitation and even I wouldn't miss this tasting."

On my left was Marvin Shanken, publisher of the Wine Spectator. I asked him what had happened to him and all he could say was, "Once again, too much foie gras at the Grand Tasting Gala this year and I could not stand to buy yet another tuxedo. So I decided to end it all by drinking our top 100 wines of last year, but I didn't even get close -- I only got to number 20, then I had some kind of allergic reaction to oak and here I am."

So there I was with Marv on my left, Bob on my right, and I let my eyes wander over the other guests. There was the Baron, the Barone, the Baroness, the Veuve, the Dom and, for some reason, Generalissimo Franco (must be that special Vega allocation he got) all dressed to the nines. I could only guess why I was invited, but I didn't care as it was just so cool to be here and I had confidence in my own palate -- God's wine had to be pretty good stuff right? "I can only imagine the prices," sang John Lennon.

All of a sudden everyone scurried for their seats, and a group of angelic sommeliers entered the room followed by God himself. After God gave a very nice multimedia PowerPoint presentation the sommeliers poured the first wine, which was white, and we all begin to swirl with reverence. I put the wine up to my nose and . . . nothing. Yes, that's right, nothing. It was clear, with totally neutral aromas and no flavor whatsoever. "This is new for us this year," said God. "We think this terroir is perfect for producing this 'food wine' style of wine. Everyone except Parker (who is more important than God when it comes to wines) nodded in agreement with comments like "elegant" and "refreshing." For my part, I just kept quiet -- perhaps my taste buds were out of practice after dying and all.

Then came the five single-vineyard red wines in a group. As they arrived, God went into a detailed presentation of the distinct terroir of each vineyard. It took me both hands to lift each glass, but I went through tasting each wine with maximum concentration -- although it was hard to ignore the oohhs and aahhs of the assembled angelic palates. My taste buds were in total confusion. Every wine looked and tasted the same. Dark purple, sweet oak, high alcohol, soft well-integrated tannins and . . . well, that was it. I could only think what the heck were you supposed to eat with wines like this?

Then God looked right at me and said, "What are your comments on these wines." Jesus Christ (I really have to stop that) -- Why me? I thought.

"Well," I stuttered, "the extract is amazing." "Exactly!" stormed God. "We cut yields to only one grape per vine!"

With that everyone in the room leapt to their feet with loud applause and at the same moment the first course of the luncheon arrived. It was foie gras, which of course now that Charlie Trotter had stopped using it was much cheaper and easier to buy than before. "Are you going to finish yours?" asked Marvin.

Lunch went on for a few eons or so and I forget the number of courses, but it finally came to an end. I admit to having a heavenly buzz after all that. Finally, God's marketing people whisked Him away to a consumer tasting that He was doing that evening at $10,000 a halo for some charity.

I left feeling a bit confused, very full and a little drunk. I had heard about these wines all my life -- they were the best and the most expensive; after all they were made by God. Yet as I flew home on my cloud I felt somehow let down. Yes, they were good, but not that good for that much more money.

I decided to walk the last few blocks (or whatever they are called here) to walk off the meal and suddenly from behind a dark cloud I heard a voice. I thought to myself, I've got to take it easy on that foie gras, but then the voice was there again and it was calling me. "Hey buddy come over here I need to talk to you," said the gravely voice. I was drawn to it and as I got closer I saw a reddish glow. All of a sudden the devil was in front of me.

"Jesus Christ," I exclaimed. (I'm never going to make it here am I?) "You're the Devil."

"No kidding, kid," said Lucifer. "Listen kid," he said. "Tell me about the tasting, are those wines as great they used to be?"

"What do you mean?" I asked the Devil. "Did you used to go to the tastings?"

"Hell kid," said the Devil. "I used to be the winemaker until one day I had an argument with Him about too much new oak and I got thrown out of Heaven."

All of a sudden I felt a sudden fear that Someone was watching me and I took off running. I could hear the Devil behind me shouting, "Wait! Wait! Did they use micro-oxygenation on the new releases? Wait! I've got to know, man."

I raced home and slammed the door, not knowing what to think. I guess there is just no arguing with God -- I mean, who is going to listen, and then you just get thrown out of Heaven or worse yet, tastings at the Four Seasons.

Simple vs. Complex

By Craig Camp
Friday, July 11, 2003

TODAY I am drinking a fizzy Lambrusco Secco without a specified vintage. For the last three weeks I hadn't let a wine pass my lips that wasn't at least fifteen years old. The change in experience is significant.

For the last month I was faced with the realities of actually moving my wine cellar. In the process I assembled about four cases of orphans, odds and ends, low-fills, forgotten bottles, and wines probably past their prime. These wines needed to be consumed not moved, and the deadline was quickly approaching. I figured I was just the man for the job.

The first week was wonderful. Our kitchen was still in working condition and we were still taking the time to cook. As the move was still three weeks away, we were still packing at a relaxed pace and inviting friends over to eat and to drink these old wines with us. Highlights of the first week were 1980 Girard and Fisher Cabernet Sauvignon, 1983 Poniatowski Vouvray, and 1980 Lafon Meursault. These were all extraordinary wines with multi-layered complexity. I was quite pleased with the dilemma presented to me and the solution I decided on. I was drinking great old wines at every meal. A wine lover's dream.

The second week started out well with an assortment of 1981 red Burgundy from producers like Domaine de la Pousse d'Or, Lafarge, and Rion. Each was a little past its prime, but they were still very nice wines with complexity of flavor that most pinot noir wines only dream about. That week also heralded the start of packing the kitchen. The wines were lovely old pinot noir from an average vintage. The kitchen was a mess. The food started to get simpler and faster as the impending moving date was starting to become a little more of a reality. I opened another case of wines and moved quickly through some disgusting old California chardonnay bottles from the late 80's. Girard Reserve, DeLoach OFS, Calera, and others were brown, foul-smelling wines most of which went straight down the drain. A pair of delicious chardonnays, 1988 Kalin LD and Matanzas Creek, saved the California chardonnay contingent from total embarrassment. We finished up the week with some Bordeaux. Several pretty petite chateaux wines from the early eighties were subtle, delicate wines and 1982's from Chateau Soutard (a favorite wine of mine) and Chateau Haut-Marbuzet were outstanding and exactly ready for drinking.

Then it was our last week and the kitchen was essentially in boxes. Cooking and entertaining were almost out of the question. There were still two cases of wine to go. In the refrigerator were bottles of white Burgundy waiting to be consumed. All the Reidel had been packed away and replaced by a few Libby glasses that were to be left behind. Our meals were coming from the deli down the street and other carry-out and delivery places. The 1985 Chablis Grand Cru Clos Domaine Laroche was excellent, but it seemed lost next to the Quizno's subs. The Drouhin 1988 Puligny Montrachet, rich with a firm mineral backbone, fared better with carry-out roasted chicken from Greek place on the corner. As I pulled the corks from bottles of 1983 and 1987 Valentini Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, I realized I had had enough. Drinking old wines everyday was getting, well, old. My palate was yearning for some simple, fruity wine from the latest vintage. We were leaving the next day and I had to give up. I taped up the remaining case and gave it to a friend.

I was wishing for fruit. Soon my wish came true.

We arrived at our new home in Italy with only our luggage. The rest of our belongings are on a ship somewhere on the Atlantic not scheduled to arrive for weeks. Our first mission was to get a car. We knew what we wanted so that was not a problem, but discovered it would not arrive for two weeks. Not a problem, we thought. After the stress of our move, hanging around the house for a week or so felt like a good idea. Although we live in a very small town there is a wonderful bakery, a small grocery store that would qualify as a gourmet shop in the United States, and an excellent ristorante and pizzeria, all within five minutes walk. Everything you need for a relaxing week at home.

The only problem was wine. The little grocery only has a small selection with most of the wines being from the 2002 vintage -- both red and white. These are young, bright, fruity wines, often vivace, which means they are a little bubbly. So my wish came true and I have come full circle. I have gone from drinking nothing but great wines with average food to drinking nothing but average wines with great food. Be careful what you wish for.

It Italy wine is mostly a casual beverage people don't think much about. It's just something you have with your meals. There are no full-service American style liquor stores here and you have to go out of your way to find an enoteca, or wine shop. This means only the local wines for us until the car and our shipment arrive. As we live right on the border with Piemonte most of the choices in town are barbera in one form or another, but they aren't the barbera labels you see in the United States. Most of these are from commercial producers who only sell here. The top quality brand available in our local store is Fontanafredda, a company that makes good, solid, unexceptional wines. The only Barolo offered is theirs and it's not bad -- especially at €12.00.

Last night I was drinking a barbera given to me by my new next door neighbor. He was quite proud of it as he had gone to the coop, "selected" the wine, bought several demijohns, and bottled it himself. We're eating outside and he can see us so I feel obligated to drink up. Drinking young wines everyday is getting, well, boring. My palate is yearning for some complex, complicated wines with some bottle age.

Much of what makes wine interesting and fun is the variety of experiences available. If you only have ordinary wine it becomes a simple beverage like iced tea or Coca Cola. If you only drink great wines your palate becomes jaded and snobby. The excitement comes in finding the right wine for the right moment. Sometimes a Lambrusco Secco is a better choice than Lafarge Volnay.

I wish my car would get here.

BORE DOE

By Craig Camp
Friday, September 12, 2003

bore doe

cab er nay saw vee nyon

mare low

saw vee nyon blahnk

sem eh lon

Not so many years ago if you could not pronounce these words you were out of it in the world of wine. Now cabernet and sauvignon have almost become English words, merlot has become the object of scorn by connoisseurs, and Bordeaux only gets attention for its most expensive wines: those about to go under Robert Parker's knife.

Bordeaux is so much more than just those wines classified in 1855 and the stars of Pomerol, St. Emilion, and Sauternes. The entire department of the Gironde is one huge vineyard, making it the largest single fine-wine region in the known universe (according to NASA). To give you an idea of the scale: Bordeaux exports more wine than the entire United States produces.

Food wines are in this year, and people like to talk about balance and elegance -- even if they don't mean it. Balance, elegance, and complexity are what made Bordeaux famous in the first place. It seems reasonable to assume that, out of the ocean of wine produced in Bordeaux, there might be some wines lower in price than the superstars and higher in quality than the grocery store plonk most of the cooperatives produce. Why not drink them?

In a time when merlot is the red wine of the moment, the more moderately priced wines of Bordeaux should be having their heyday in the United States because most of them are predominantly merlot. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your viewpoint) for them, the name merlot does not appear on the label so most consumers don't have a clue that Chateau This or Chateau That represents their red grape of choice.

Technology and new winemaking techniques have overrun Bordeaux in the last decades. For the top wines this is a matter of heated debate with many claiming these methods have robbed the best wines in Bordeaux of their unique character (sound a bit like Barolo Wars?). However, for lesser vineyards this influx of new vineyard-management and winemaking techniques has often greatly improved their wines, meaning there are more bargains than ever coming out of Bordeaux.

Even though these new-style wines from Bordeaux have more body and color than in the past, they don't have the dense ripe sweet flavors of their American and Australian cousins made from cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Well-made Bordeaux possesses a certain restraint and grace not possessed by many new world wines. Often, palates accustomed to the Eminem-style palate attack of a Rosemount or a Kendall Jackson will dismiss the wines of Bordeaux as too Jackson Browne in style. Ahh . . . but once you experience good Bordeaux with food you will change your mind and start thinking more of Ornette Coleman than Jackson. The wines of Bordeaux possess a certain potential energy that is realized when dining, and that energy requires a bit of attention on the part of the user to release its full power. These wines dance on your palate rather than attempt to conquer it.

Label-phobia may be Bordeaux's biggest problem. What does all that stuff mean? Let's try to boil it down. First, the classifications.

Cru Classe are the top wines of the Haut Medoc region, which is the home of the famous communes; Marqaux, St. Julien, Pauillac and St. Estephe. It's in these communes that you find the hallowed Chateau names like Lafite Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild, Latour, and Chateau Margaux. The wines classified in 1855 according to the historic prices they were commanding on the market are from this area and are broken down from top to bottom into first, second, third, fourth, and fifth "growths" (properties). These wines range from expensive to outrageously expensive. Just to confuse, Chateau Haut Brion from the neighboring Graves region was included in this classification in 1855 simply because it was too famous to ignore. The great sweet wines of the Sauternes region were also included in this classification with the incomparable Chateau d'Yquem being designated a "First Great Growth" -- a designation only bestowed on what many believe to be the greatest sweet wine produced.

Below this are, in descending order: Cru Exceptionnel, Cru Bourgeois Superieur, and Cru Bourgeois. Next down the ladder are the basic Bordeaux appellation controlee (controlled place names -- the name of French wine law) and Superieur for wines with one degree more than the minimum of alcohol required for straight Bordeaux and Graves. It is in these categories where the bargains are lurking.

Premier Grand Cru Classe are the top wines of the St. Emilion region and Grand Cru Classe are the second level. Their first classification was done in 1955, and it helped propel St. Emilion out of the shadow of the Haut Medoc. This classification has been more updateable than the Medoc classification, which is generally considered long out-of-date. Graves introduced a very simple classification in 1959 that includes just fifteen properties designated Grand Cru Classe.

You'll often see the terms "left bank" and "right bank" used to refer to the wines of Bordeaux. This refers to which side of the Gironde river the region falls on. So Pomerol and St. Emilion and their various satellite regions are "right bank" wines while the wines of the Medoc are "left bank" wines. Graves and Sauternes are south of the city of Bordeaux. Visit www.bordeaux.com for an excellent map and a good general overview of the Bordeaux wine region. In general, right bank wines use more merlot and cabernet franc and the wines of the Medoc have higher percentages of cabernet sauvignon.

Bordeaux is the ultimate blended wine. For reds there are five main varieties with three of those defining wines of quality. Those three varieties are cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc, which can be joined by small quantaties of malbec and petit verdot. All the best red wines of Bordeaux are produced from various blends of these varieties. The style of the wine depends on the dominant varietal combined with the characteristics of the vineyard where it is grown. Merlot is far and away the most heavily planted red variety because, in addition to its round easy flavors, it is an early ripening vine and is therefore less threatened by poor harvest weather conditions. White Bordeaux (yes they make white wine in Bordeaux, tons of it, and it's good) is produced from three varieties: sauvignon blanc, semillon, and muscadelle. Semillon is by far the most widely planted and is responsible for the great sweet wines of Bordeaux. In Graves, sauvignon blanc often leads the way in many blends for the great white wines of that region, especially for the whites of the important sub-region Pessac-Leognan. Semillon brings a lush texture to dry whites while sauvignon blanc brings an herbal raciness -- a terrific combination. Muscadelle does not play much of a role in the production of great wines, but can produce lovely floral wines for early drinking.

That's the global view of a broad and diverse wine region, but where do you find the values? Just as in every other area, the really famous names have become wines for rock stars. That means finding wines from lesser regions that are produced by overachievers. Look for wines from some of these place-names:

Red Wines: Premieres Cotes de Blaye, Cotes de Bourg, Cotes de Castillon, Medoc, Haut Medoc (and Listrac and Moulis), Lussac-Saint Emilion, Montagne-Saint Emilion, Puisseguin-Saint, Lalande-de-Pomerol, and Canon-Fronsac.

Dry White Wines: Entre-deux-Mers and Graves.

Sweet White Wines: Cerons, Cadillac, Loupiac, and Sainte-Croix-du-Mont.

If you are ever wondering about the name "claret," which today refers to the red wines of Bordeaux, the word comes from the French word clairet, which is the name used for rose wines.

Repeat after me: bore doe.

Left Brain - Right Brain

By Craig Camp
Tuesday, December 2, 2003

THE LEFT side of the brain is the center of objective thought; it is logical, sequential, rational and analytical. The right side of the brain is the center of subjective thought; it is random, intuitive, holistic and synthesizing. Left-brain thinkers focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained types, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity. Most people favor one side or the other, while a few Renaissance people are able to use both with equal agility.

Perhaps this explains preferences in wine appreciation. Left-brainers love varietals like cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, chardonnay, and sauvignon blanc. These varietals do well in many parts of the world. Their character is reliable, measurable, and predictable with flavors that develop in a clear and linear way. Right-brainers favor wine from grapes like nebbiolo, tempranillo, chenin blanc, and riesling. These capricious varietals only reach greatness a few tiny zones of the planet and are usually dismal failures outside their home zone. The flavors of these wines feature dramatic tannins, flavors, or acids and radically change in style from one small vineyard plot to the next.

Left-brain wines dominate auctions, collector's cellars, and press reviews. It is possible to produce excellent wines from these vines in large scale and they are the only choice to pursue for any cool-thinking, logical producer. A walk into a large wine shop will confirm the wisdom of their logic as the chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon sections claim more shelf space than all the other varietals of the world combined.

The creative but impractical right-brained winemakers chase their dreams at all costs, planting nebbiolo on this hillside or riesling on that in an all-too-often futile attempt to recreate the greatness that these grapes can show in their homelands. Often the market ignores the results of their struggles, but a few of these dreamers (Randall Grahm for example) even get lucky and hit it big.

Perhaps the ultimate illogical, but most artistic, of all varietals is pinot noir. No other varietal has turned the dreams of so many winemakers into a frustrating nightmare. It has become the Holy Grail of winemaking and right-brained producers the world over have become obsessed with creating pinot noir that can rival the wines of its native home, Burgundy.

The problem with pinot noir is that it teases winemakers with greatness. Unlike nebbiolo, which leaves no doubt that it can't make great wine outside of the Alba region, pinot noir can create outstanding wines in other regions . . . sometimes.

There is no doubt that pinot noir is one of the great wine varietals, but the question is, does it have to taste like Burgundy to be great pinot noir? For example, nebbiolo grown in California is a pathetic shadow of Barolo. However, pinot noir grown outside of Burgundy often tastes delicious, but it just doesn't taste much like Volnay or Chambertin.

Does a varietal have only one model; a model that is often defined simply because it was first? Does pinot noir have to taste like Burgundy to be great pinot noir?

Josh Jensen, proprietor of California's Calera vineyard, worked in the vineyards and cellars of Burgundy before returning to California where he began a search for the limestone soils of Burgundy combined with the right climate for pinot noir. It took him years to find the right spot high in the mountains of California's central coast and right on top of the San Andreas Fault. That was in 1975 and now almost thirty years later Calera Vineyards is recognized as a great producer of pinot noir. However, even after Jensen's quest for just the right location, do his wines taste like Burgundy? No, of course they don't, but they do taste like great pinot noir. Jensen's early struggles to grow and make pinot noir and to get anyone's attention were so difficult that it inspired Marq DeVilliers to write a book about it, The Heartbreak Grape.

There are producers throughout the world's winegrowing regions that have chosen to follow Jensen and people like him. Unfortunately for them, most have not attained the heights that he has with his great single-vineyard pinot noir wines: Jensen, Selleck, Mills, and Reed.

For years now you could find top examples of pinot noir from California, Oregon, New Zealand, Australia, and obviously Burgundy, but what was wrong with Italy? Italy has extensive plantings of pinot noir and many zones with the right climate and soil, yet the wines were thin and loaded with weedy and herbal aromas and tastes. These faults were created by heavy overproduction and an uncritical local market, but today this is all changing and there are winemakers throughout northern Italy chasing the Holy Grail of making great pinot noir.

However, most consumers greet the best in Italian pinot noir with the same lack of enthusiasm they had for the early releases of Calera. Just as New Zealand and Oregon produce unique and interesting styles of pinot noir, there are several Italian regions worthy of serious attention. As with excellent pinot noir everywhere, the number of producers making these top wines is few and the amount of wine they make is small -- required characteristics for right-brained winemakers. The best examples of Italian pinot noir are coming from Piemonte, Lombardia, Alto Adige, Trentino, and from one loner in the hills of Toscana.

Tino Colla, of the famous Barolo and Barbaresco producer Poderi Colla, planted a vineyard with pinot nero (pinot noir) in 1977 and the results have been exceptional. His wines are minimally handled and are bottled after about a year in a mixture of new and old Slovenian and French oak casks. The result is a fascinating blend of classic Piemontese flavors and bright, fruity pinot noir fruit. The Campo Romano Pinot Nero of Poderi Colla shows great promise for pinot nero in Piemonte. It is worth noting that this wine qualifies for a DOC Langhe designation although it is 100% pinot nero.

Vittorio Pancrazi planted a vineyard west of Firenze in Toscana in 1975 with sangiovese. The results where less than hoped for and the resulting wine was thin, lightly colored, and sold off in bulk. Then in 1989 a visiting enologist spotted the problem. The nursery had sold Pancrazi pinot nero instead of sangiovese. This lucky accident had given him the oldest plantings of pinot nero in Toscana and gave birth to his passion to create great wines from these grapes. The vines had been planted in soils high in iron that were excellent for pinot noir and today they have expanded the vineyards and have replanted with the finest clones for this terroir. As winemaker Niccolò D'Afflitto noted, "What's fine in Burgundy is not necessarily the best here." Today the Marchesi Pancrazi wines are well recognized as leaders in Italian pinot nero.

The Oltrepo Pavese DOC is in the southern tip of the Lombardia region and it was here in the early 1980's that the Braggiotti family purchased the Tenuta Mazzolino and planted pinot nero, chardonnay, and cabernet sauvignon alongside local varietals like bonarda. The family hired two French enologists, Jean-Francois Coquard and Kyriakos Kynigopoulos, who were well experienced in these varietals, and agronomist Roberto Piaggi, and the impact of this team is seen in the bright, juicy, and complex pinot nero they have created and named Noir. The success of Tenuta Mazzolino is bringing serious attention to the Oltrepo Pavese region.

So while left-brained winemakers in Italy are busily planting cabernet and merlot in Maremma, there are few right-brained dreamer types planting pinot noir on rocky hillsides in a completely illogical pursuit of their pinot noir dreams.

I can't wait.

The wines

-Poderi Colla, Campo Romano, Pinot Nero, Langhe DOC, 2001 ($26.00). Bright scarlet/ruby with just a touch of garnet. Translucent. Layered complex nose. Ripe spiced plums and strawberry aromas broaden into dark wild cherry. Racy and complex on the palate with wave after wave of flavor. Ripe cherry and wild strawberries expand into complex tar, porcini and oak flavors. Still a bit lean and closed on the mouth and nose but very promising. The finish is long and spicy with apparent but well integrated tannins.

-Marchesi Pancrazi, Villa di Bagnolo, Pinot Nero, Rosso Toscano IGT, 2000 ($40.00). Bright scarlet ruby. Translucent. Complex tar and cherry aromas that broaden into sweet plum with shitake mushroom and wood hints. Zesty and layered on the palate with lively acids and full tart cherry and strawberry flavors that evolve into oak, leather and tar components. The finish is firm but broad with the tarry, oaky flavors lingering.

-Tenuta Mazzolino, Noir, Pinot Nero, Oltrepo Pavese, DOC, 2000 ($35.00). Bright ruby with purple hints. Just translucent. Ripe spicy blueberries aromas lead the clean, sweet aromas that are balanced by a tart cherry note. Very perfumed. Bright and lively on the palate, The ripe dark fruit flavors are rich and sweet with an underlying note of toasty oak. Clean, long fruity finish with a firm grip of tannin at the finish which shows some hotness. The fruit flavors are mouth-watering.

A Round Trip Ticket to Introspection

By Craig Camp
Friday, August 22, 2003

"I'd like a round-trip ticket, please. It's my fiftieth birthday and I'm treating myself," I announced.

"Ah, then you'll be wanting a ticket to Introspection," said the old ticket agent.

"Yes, please. How much does it cost," I asked?

"Your ticket is free," he said with a wry smile. "It's the other passengers that have to pay."

All aboard! Yes I have hit the big five-oh and it is time for of a bit of obligatory introspection on what has happened to wine in the 32 years since I discovered it. It's worth noting that for 29 of those years it was legal for me to drink it.

I'm sitting and staring at two glasses of red wine. Behind them are two large brown paper bags, each containing a bottle. I have been sniffing, swirling, tasting, and re-tasting them for about an hour and diligently taking notes. Finally, having decided that I prefer the wine on the left I remove each of the bottles and place them behind the corresponding glasses of wine. Behind the glass on the left is a large funny shaped bottle of Almaden Claret and on right a large funny shaped bottle of Almaden Burgundy. It is 1975 and I am starting to really get serious about wine, but this is not the beginning of my connoisseurship.

My first experience with "wine" comes during my first week of college. I don't think I've ever seen anyone consume a drop before except in the movies. One of my new dorm mates arrives on the floor with a case of Boone's Farm and (as our throats are extremely dry for some reason I can't seem to remember) we promptly consume the case. My buddies and I spend a good part of that night driving the porcelain bus. As I'm not impressed with this new beverage, I return to my beverage of choice at the time: Leinenkugel beer ($1.99 for a 12-pack of longnecks). For the next few years the only wines that I touch are the Mateus and Lancers Rose wines from Portugal that we buy for special dates and because the empty bottles make cool candle holders.

Then in 1974 I go to Europe to study for a semester and that changes all that. One night in a weinstube in Strasbourg convinces me that wine is something special and before you know it I'm staring at those glasses of Almaden trying to discern the differences in two bottles that probably contain the same wine.

It was so simple then. Everyone knew most of the good wines were French with a smattering of good German, Italian, and California wines thrown in. Everything has changed: the wines, the people selling them, and the people drinking them. Was it really the good old days?

There's no doubt that wine is, overall, technically better today. There are no more disaster vintages like 1972 in Bordeaux, except when vineyards are devastated by hail as La Morra in Barolo was in 2002. There's also no doubt that wines have less individual character now that producers use technical market research and the media to determine the style of wine they make. On the other hand because of the sheer number of people making wine today you can still find producers that are committed to making wines of character as compared to wines of technology. Fortunately for us, you can find these dedicated wine producers making wines loaded with personality in literally every important wine growing region in the world. No longer can any wine region be ignored by connoisseurs as in the past when the entire attention of the wine world was focused on a few regions in France.

The worst changes over the last decades have been skyrocketing prices. Even adjusted for inflation the great wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy were at least within range for occasional tastings. It is much harder and more expensive to taste the great wines of the world today.

Combined with rising wine prices, the increasing size and cost of glassware is making wine seem even more of an elite beverage for the chosen few. I'm getting a little tired of glassware that can hold an entire bottle. I've always associated using good glassware with having good speakers on your stereo system. Why buy a great stereo and then buy cheap speakers? This analogy no longer seems to hold true, however, as wine glasses are now larger than speakers. There was an old cartoon in the New Yorker where a man sat at a table with a giant glass of wine. In the caption he told the waiter the doctor had told him to cut back to only one glass a wine a day. It was funny then, but it is reality now.

Today there's a widespread belief that California is in its "golden age." I'm not so sure. As I go over my old tasting book and I read my notes and scores from the late seventies and early eighties, those wines sound quite delicious to me now. All the cabernet sauvignons hovered around 12% alcohol and were often aged in large redwood upright casks. They were graceful wines made by wineries like Krug, Martini, Parducci, Wente, and Mirrasou -- and they went well with food. A few were aged in barrique, some of them French and some of them American. No, these wines would not blow away the jaded palates of wine judges today, but they were balanced wines that developed nice complexity after a few years of bottle age. Stony Hill was there making lovely pinot noir and chardonnay while newcomers like Stags Leap Wine Cellars and Chateau Montelena joined the already great cabernet sauvignons that had been produced by Beaulieu and Inglenook for years.

In the early eighties the Heublein corporation had absorbed the BV and Inglenook properties and the accountants and MBAs were busily starting to destroy these venerable old names. During this time they hosted an annual charity auction and had a series of tastings in major cities to promote the event. During one of these events they offered vertical tastings of every available vintage of BV Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Inglenook Cask Selection Cabernet Sauvignon. There were over twenty-five vintages of each wine lined up on tables for you to taste and re-taste to your heart's desire. I spent an entire afternoon just tasting up and down the rows of bottles again and again. This was an extraordinary experience with extraordinary wines. The hotel ballroom was also full of famous bottles from the great chateaux of Bordeaux and these two California wines held their own without a problem. They charged at what in those days was the outrageous sum of $15 to attend.

France seems to have gone to into some kind of schizophrenic fit over the last decades. Thirty years ago French wine had attitude. It was cooler than everybody else and it knew it. The bottles seemed to give you the feeling that there was something wrong with you if you didn't like what was inside. Then in one fell swoop French wine lost its confidence. There was that tasting Steven Spurrier put on in Paris in 1976, which was swept by Napa Valley wines, and then there was Robert Parker and the 1982 vintage in Bordeaux. It was not long before the high extract, high alcohol style overtook terroir everywhere -- even Burgundy. Thankfully, France seems to be getting back its attitude and confidence. Burgundy is once again Burgundy and the wines there may be better than ever. Bordeaux is still getting its courage back, but is starting to show some of that old aristocratic attitude that we used to know and love. One of the benefits of all this change in France has been the improvement in the wines of many lesser appellations. Today France produces a more diverse array of excellent wines than it did in the past. Thank goodness, given the prices of Bordeaux and Burgundy today.

Germany was the entry-level wine for many people thirty years ago. Retail stores bought thousands of cases of Liebfraumilch and Piesporter Michelsberg. They were sweet, light, fruity, and the perfect starting place for palates unaccustomed to dry wines. Then white zinfandel came along and destroyed the German market in the USA. It took decades for the German industry to recover. The good part of this is that now the attention is on quality German wines. Not so many years ago wine lists ignored Germany, but today fine German estate wine is a part of every top wine list. However, German wines are still ignored and misunderstood by most even as many wine experts argue that riesling may produce the greatest food wines on the planet.

The wine producing giants Italy and Spain have been reborn. The wines from these two countries bear little resemblance to those of twenty years ago much less thirty. In the past the massive grape production went mostly into innocuous jug wines for local consumption. Today they are leading the quality charge with a range of bottlings and indigenous vines that bring a wonderful and unique character to their wines. Fortunately, their marketing savvy is improving along with their wines. Remember the famous Chianti bottle wrapped in straw? That straw wrapping is called, in Italian, a fiasco. The disastrous marketing of poor Italian wines in the past introduced this term to the English language. Certainly no other wine producing countries offer the huge potential for such a broad range of quality wines. Italy has a head start on Spain, but I don't think Spain is going to be left behind.

There are so many other changes: The explosion of Australia and the emergence of New Zealand, South American, South Africa, Austria, and other names we never even considered to be significant wine growing areas in the past. The growth of these regions, which are not tied to tradition, has fueled huge advances in the technology and philosophy of winemaking. Some of these changes have been bad and some have been good -- depending your own interests and perspective.

In the past the wines were intimidating, but today it is the sheer number of choices that intimidates.

The first time I order wine in a restaurant I'm nineteen (hey, I look older) and I'm trying to impress a girl. I request a carafe of the house red from the tuxedoed waiter. Upon his return he pours a bit of wine in my glass and waits for my pronouncement. At first I'm unsure what to do, but almost instantaneously my mind recalls some image from an old movie. With calmness and style I lift the glass, swirl, and taste. I look up at the waiter and announce my approval. I'm cool.

Unfortunately wine has become more swaddled in style and pretense than ever. You have to have just the right wine; with just the right food; in just the right glasses; at just the right age; at just the right temperature; made by just the right enologist; with just the right score. Perhaps everyone should start with Boone's Farm and a ride on the porcelain bus.

Speaking of scores:

- N/V Almaden Claret -- 16 points / $1.99 for 1.5 L.
- N/V Almaden Burgundy -- 15.5 points / $1.99 for 1.5 L.

A Love Story: Iron Horse Vineyards

By Craig Camp
Friday, May 23, 2003

BARRY AND Audrey Sterling went to France for the first time in their thirties. They were already in love with each other. Then they fell in love with France. They still love France; the food, the wine and the lifestyle. In fact they still love Europe, having lived and worked in London and Paris and raised their children there. So why are they living on a farm in a sleepy corner of California’s Sonoma County?

The Sterlings searched long and hard to buy a winery in France, but found nothing with the right feeling. They wanted to make great wine, not just wine. After seven years of frustration they returned to their native California in the mid-seventies and on one rainy day were shown a muddy, hilly vineyard by future partner and son-in-law, Forrest Tancer, and discovered what was to become Iron Horse Vineyards.

Iron Horse is a world unto itself. Hidden away on a group of rolling hills, reminiscent of Tuscany, in the cool Green Valley, it is the opposite experience of visiting the tourist ridden Napa Valley. You have to watch carefully to see the sign for Ross Station Road and then you wind up that narrow country road, through the plum orchards. When you cross the small bridge, which often floods over when it rains, you have arrived at Iron Horse.

Life at Iron Horse is a hybrid between the international sophistication of Paris and the down-home country life of rural Sonoma County. This milieu of experiences and tastes have created not only a unique lifestyle for the Sterling family, but a collection of wines that are as elegant and intelligent as Barry and Audrey themselves.

The Iron Horse experience became a magnet for the Sterling family, pulling their daughter, Joy, from a career in television news and then their son, Lawrence, from a career in law into the family wine business. Joy and winemaker and partner, Forrest Tancer, were married in 1990. Lawrence's wife, Terry, has not only continued her law career, but designs most of Iron Horse's labels and graphics. Iron Horse is truly a family affair.

Life at Iron Horse is graceful and elegant. However, what makes Iron Horse stand out in the world of California wine is the single minded dedication of the Sterlings and winemaker Tancer to making wines that are designed to enhance and elevate the experience of dining. To be clear, I am not talking about the insipid wines that many try to rationalize as "food wines" in an unsuccessful attempt to cover-up the over-production in their vineyards. The wines at Iron Horse have nothing to do with those types of wine, as Tancer makes wines with complexity and depth -- they are just not palate burners.

The wines at Iron Horse are a little schizophrenic, but with good reason. They produce wines from two vineyards: the Sterlings' Iron Horse Vineyard in the chilly, foggy Green Valley, and Tancer's T bar T vineyard in the warmer Alexander Valley. The relatively cool climate of the Green Valley produces the ideal fruit for the Iron Horse sparkling wines and for refined chardonnay and pinot noir, while the T bar T vineyard has just enough warmth to slowly ripen cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, sangiovese, sauvignon blanc, and viognier. These distinct vineyard locations are why Iron Horse can produce wines with such multiple personalities making everything from delicate blanc de blanc sparking wines to Benchmark, a rich red produced from cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc.

Understandably, most people know Iron Horse for excellent sparking wines. For me, these wines, produced by the classic Champagne method, are among the few sparkling wines produced in the United States that can challenge French Champagne for complexity and texture. The secret of this is simple enough: not only do they have the right vineyards for producing classic sparking wine from chardonnay and pinot noir, but also they give their wines the extended bottle aging required to make truly complex sparking wines.

However, most people are not as familiar with their stylish and balanced still wines. Their chardonnay wines remind one of well made Chablis, with a hint of California fruit at the finish. Tancer's outstanding pinot noir has a Burgundian, almost Volnay-like balance and finish. The sangiovese and viognier are some of the few California examples of these wines that actually have varietal character. The various Iron Horse wines made from the classic Bordeaux varietals are structured, yet the tannins are well integrated into the ripe but not overripe fruit flavors. Tancer has also created his own blend of sauvignon blanc and viognier, called Cuvee R, which marries beautifully the racy flavor of the sauvignon with the exotic tropical flavors of viognier.

Tancer and the Sterlings have committed themselves to making wines with balanced alcohol, acids, and tannins that are not overripe or over-oaked. That means their wines have the 89 Point Disease. Critics tasting these wines without food and in large groups often miss wines like these that do not hammer their palates into submission. Wines like these are often presented in the press with great tasting notes, but with scores in the high eighties -- just under the radar of buyers driven by The Wine Advocate and The Wine Spectator. But Iron Horse has discovered the vaccine for 89 Point Disease in the dynamic and vivacious Joy, Iron Horse's director of sales and public relations, whose personal energy and belief in their vision can win over the most jaded tasters to their philosophy.

Lunch with Barry and Audrey in their restored Victorian home at Iron Horse is an elegant yet comfortable affair. First, Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs is poured. Soon Forrest and Joy walk up from their house to join. When the food is ready, Audrey graciously ushers each guest into the dining room and places him or her in just the right seat. Conversation is an art at the Sterling's table and topics range from politics to art, and of course to food. The idea of scores and reviews just don't enter your mind or the conversation as you sip on the silky, perfumed pinot noir, which is beautifully matched with roasted salmon. This is what wine is about. Robert Parker who?

A Wine List in an Italian Village

By Craig Camp
Friday, October 24, 2003

IT'S LIKE a war. Chicago is a tough town for business, even the wine business. Large retailers like Sam's and Binny's are in constant combat with each other, much to the benefit of consumers. However, some of the best wine values in Chicago hide away on the third floor of an old building in the Loop. To top off their bargains, even the proper Reidel wineglasses come with the wine you select from their extensive inventory of over 45,000 bottles.

They only have one restriction: you have to drink it there. The twist is that this is not a retail store, but the historic Italian Village group of restaurants: Vivere, the Italian fine dining location, and The Village and The Cantina Enoteca, both offering classic Italian-American cuisine.

"When I started we had Virginia Dare on the list," said co-owner Ray Capitanini who, with his brother Frank, took over the restaurants from their father, Alfredo, who founded the Italian Village in 1927. Virginia Dare, a sweet wine from the indigenous American scuppernong vine, was the most popular wine brand in the United States before prohibition and staged a brief comeback during the years after repeal.

"My father came to the United States and did not know a thing about restaurants," said Capitanini. "He got a job as a dishwasher, learned the business, and worked his way up to opening his own restaurant. The only setback he had was during World War II when he had to change the name to Alfredo's Village because of the anti-Italian feeling."

The Capitanini family has a wonderful collection of early menus that are in pristine condition. These menus feature items like Spaghetti with Meatballs for 80 cents, Veal Marsala for $1, Barolo at $3 a bottle and Corvo for $3.75 a bottle. Yes, the Corvo was more expensive than the Barolo. Times have changed.

In 1961 the brothers created The Florentine Room, Chicago's first Italian fine dining restaurant. "We were selling liter bottles of Chianti," remembered Capitanini. "We were the first to change to 750 ml. bottles and one of the first in the city to put vintages on the wine list. But you could only put on the list what was available."

With the arrival of the 1980's they wanted to push the restaurant towards even higher quality-levels. First, in 1981, there was the arrival of wine consultant Tom Abruzzini. "He was my mentor and tormentor," said Capitanini, referring to Abruzzini's legendary tasting marathons -- some lasting all night. Working together, Capitanini and Abruzzini created one of America's finest wine lists and won a Grand Award from The Wine Spectator in 1984, just three years after they started.

To bring the quality of the food up to the level of their new wine list, in 1983 the Capitanini family hired renowned cookbook author and expert on Italian cuisine Giuliano Bugialli as their consultant for a price that was staggering at the time: for $10,000 a visit, Bugialli would come in four times a year and redesign their menu for the season. "We were serious about trying to improve," said Capitanini.

They had redone the wine list and the menu, but in 1990 they decided it was time to bring the room to the level of the wine and food. The slightly worn, old fashioned Florentine Room was reborn as the visually dynamic Vivere. Vivere, which means "to live" in Italian, was created by Jordan Mozer, the hot restaurant designer who also conceived The Cheesecake Factory among many others.

Today the restaurants are run by a new Capitanini generation, but Ray, supported by consultant Robert Rohdin, has kept his touch on the great wine list he created. Sommelier Ron Balter has taken over day-to-day control of a wine list that has become a treasure chest for wine lovers. On taking over such a large list Balter commented, "When I arrived three years ago it wasn't like there was much to do with the list. It was like taking over as groundskeeper at Versailles. There was only a little trimming to do."

There is plenty of good food at these restaurants, and the current menu at Vivere includes excellent dishes like Pappardelle con Cignale Brasato (pasta with wild boar sauce) and Medaglioni di Carne di Cervo (grilled venison medallions), but the higher purpose for going here is to drink the wines. Balter presides over a list of more than 1,000 selections (and tens of thousands of actual bottles), and the restaurant is expanding the cellar so it can accommodate 1,200.

"When I first came we redid the whole cellar," recalled Balter. "It took a while. I had to move 45,000 bottles one-by-one. I also created a new inventory and wine-list system and created a full training curriculum for our staff."

Balter has put his own stamp on the list in the last three years. "I like wines that speak of terroir, that are not over-oaked," is how he describes his taste. "I don't like to buy wines for window dressing. I like to build verticals (multiple vintages) of wines and we need enough to both sell and age. We are not trying to just look good for awhile by buying a case. We need depth of inventory to age the wines."

What makes the wine list at Vivere such a bargain is the price of older wines. "We don't buy at auction, but only on release so the wines are always under our control in our temperature controlled cellar," observed Balter. "We also buy in quantity so we can negotiate better prices and have the wines on the list for years while they are maturing."

"When the 1985 vintage of single vineyard Gaja wines came out they were $250 a case and we have kept that reflected in our prices over the years," said Capitanini. "We decided right from the beginning to keep our prices down and that is why there are so many wines on the list that you can't find anywhere else and they are priced reasonably. We always wanted our customers to order a second bottle because they felt they were getting a good deal."

"We care about value," stated Balter. "For example, one year ago we took Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio off the list. Not that it is bad wine, it is just a bad price/value relationship. We can give customers 7 or 8 pinot grigio wines that are better wines and better values. The price was just beyond our comfort factor. Customers don't seem to care and love the other wines we recommend."

One of the unique aspects of the Vivere wine list is that it goes far beyond Italy and offers a deep selection of wine from every major wine growing region, including France.

"We made an investment in 2000 vintage Bordeaux futures and I asked our importers what other restaurants were buying futures," said Balter. "They told us that restaurants don't buy futures and said that only one other restaurant in town had ordered. Now those wines are 33% more expensive and we can pass those savings on to our customers."

The wine list at Vivere is a thick tome, but it is well organized so as to make browsing easier. In the Cantina Enoteca and The Village there is a two-page short list, but the main list and every wine on it, as well as the services of sommelier Balter are available in each of their three restaurants. Even with the thousands of bottles he has to deal with everyday, Balter can't help but get attached to them. "Sometimes I feel bad when we sell the last bottle of a wine -- like selling out one of our babies."

"For over forty years I have been trying to convince people to drink fine wines with their meals," concluded Capitanini. "This wine list is a passion for me."

Put It In Your Mouth

By Craig Camp
Friday, August 29, 2003

WHERE DO you start? Start at the beginning. Look before you leap as they say.

If you want to learn about wine you have to start at the beginning. So where is that? The beginning is the same for all things that are about taste. It's your mouth. To learn about wine you need to put a lot of wine in your mouth. Not all at once, but as many types and styles as often as you can: this is a tough class.

However it is not enough to put the wine in your mouth. You have to wake up that mouth and its close friend your nose to begin to comprehend why people like me can bore to death other humans at dinner by talking for hours about what's in the glass. By the way, I'm free for dinner tonight.

In order to understand what you have put in your mouth you need a sense of heightened perception. In other word, you have to pay attention. You have to take some time. Tasting is all about time and attention. As amazing at it may seem most people don't pay that much attention to the wine they just tasted. They don't go beyond a kind of vague pleasant fruity flavor before lurching back into that fascinating conversation they were having. This helps explain the success of Kendall Jackson.

It sounds easy right? You just have to pay attention. Yet it seems one of the hardest things to do. The first step in paying attention and really starting to learn about wine is taking notes. You have to write it down. Writing tasting notes forces you to focus on the tastes, textures and aromas of wine. There is no one way to take notes. Some anal-retentive types keep a database (hey, I think it works great), others keep drawers full of crumpled napkins with their notes in between the stains. I still have my first tasting notes book and boy is it cute. When I look at in now it reminds me of some school project kids bring home to their mothers on Mother's Day. I took a photo album with paper pages then soaked off the label of each bottle, pasted them in the book and wrote my notes next to them. The point is not the format, but the act itself. This alone will teach you more about wine and your own palate than any other technique.

Notes need not be complicated, but you will want to record a few things:

1. Name and vintage of the wine. If it is imported write down the name of the importer because if you find an importer you like looking for their label can lead you to many new wines.

2. Color: Red, white or rose? Dark or light? Try to describe the color: Scarlet or ruby? Green or gold? Brilliant, dull or cloudy?

3. Aroma: Spend the most time here as what we call taste is actually mostly smell. Here is where you get to be creative and search for words that describe what you smell. Is that boysenberry or black cherry? The most important thing is to use your own words and associations. Just because everyone says syrah smells like black pepper and nebbiolo smells like tar and roses does not mean those will be your associations. Other aspects to note: Are the smells are strong or weak? Is alcohol evident? Over ripe or under ripe fruit? Sulfur?

4. Taste and Texture: Here is another opportunity for flowery prose. Stretch a bit to find the right words to describe the flavors you taste. Remember there is no "right" answer. Taste is personal and what you are writing down is how it tastes to you. Make sure you note the textures of the wine: astringent, soft, light or heavy -- or a combination textures. If you sense a little alcohol burn, note it here. Pay attention to acidity and tannins. Acidity is the tart taste on the tongue. In very high acid wines you almost have the impression of bubbles on your tongue. Tannins are for all practical purposes a red wine thing. Tannin is that drying taste you get in a cup of strong un-sweetened tea. It leaves a dry taste in your mouth.

5. Food: Describe how well the wine matches with the food you are eating.

6. Give the wine some sort of score. You need a personal reference point. Some use the 100 points scale others use grades like they use in school: A+, B-, C and so on.

The notetaking process can be as short and quick as you want or as the situation permits. For instance I do not recommend taking long detailed notes while on a first date or while enjoying your 20th wedding anniversary with your spouse and to answer your question, yes I'm divorced.

Now that you're taking notes it's time to wake up that palate even more and to do some comparative tastings. In the beginning, I would not suggest setting up side by side comparative tastings of wines to determine which wine is the best, but as a method to learn the flavors of wines by tasting wines with diverse characteristics in relation to each other. Get a sweet, a medium sweet and a dry white wine and compare them. Get chardonnays from Australia, California, South American and France and try to discern the stylistic differences. Try a zinfandel, a syrah and a cabernet sauvignon from California and look for the distinct varietal flavors. The possible combinations are endless. Be sure when you are comparing wines in this way, to learn their basic characteristics, that the wines should be of the same vintage, similar price and the whites should be the youngest vintage available. These kinds of tastings are great excuses for dinner parties.

Keep an eye out for tastings hosted by restaurants and wine retailers as they are a great opportunity to taste many wines at reasonable (hopefully) prices. I am always amazed that the vast majority of people that attend these events take no notes at all. Take the time to write down even very brief comments at these events. You will be astonished at how much more you remember.

Okay, now you are tasting, taking notes, and comparing different wines and that palate of yours is finally getting out of bed. What's next?

What's next is a good book or two. Normally people think you should start with a book, but for wine novices I think it is a good idea to taste a bit first so you have some idea of what the heck the author is talking about. In the very beginning it is more important to find a local wine merchant that you can trust. A good wine merchant can get you started in a way no wine book can and with wines that are available in your market. Too often wine books talk about wines that are not available in every market. Ask your wine merchant to help you put together the types of tasting listed above. Often small wine shops are a great place to learn because of the individual attention you receive and are worth a little extra driving time.

Finding the right book to start with is almost as hard as buying wine. Often novices are put off when they go to the book store and see the long, dry tomes that fill the wine section shelves. Then there are the books for morons. If you are not a moron or a geologist whose hobby happens to be wine most of these books don't seem to fill the bill. What wine novices need is an Avenger: someone to protect them from getting ripped off and to help make wine fun to drink and buy. Fortunately for us there is such a force. The Wine Avenger lives and he is Willie Gluckstern, the opinionated and cantankerous New York based importer of good wines with funny labels -- that happen to be excellent values. Gluckstern has put together probably the best book in the market for wine beginners. His book The Wine Avenger debunks many of the myths that scare people away from wine and steers readers to wines of great value. For more information on The Wine Avenger visit his web site at: www.winesforfood.com. If you get the wine bug badly enough after reading Willie's book there is a long list of excellent wine books to strain your book shelves.

If you take notes, attend tastings, find a good wine merchant and read The Wine Avenger before you know it you will be held in high regard by all your friends as a wine expert and when you enter the largest wine shop or open the thickest wine list you will be able to select wine with confidence.

There remains one more talent you need to acquire on your way to becoming a wine expert. You must learn how to spit. Get a glass of water, go to the sink, pucker up and practice. No notes required.

Fried Chicken Liver Salad

By Craig Camp
Friday, September 19, 2003

IT'S HOT, I'm a bit jet-lagged and it's lunch time. I'm not very hungry, but refuse to miss a meal here. We stop at the first restaurant we spot in this tiny village because it's not likely there will be many others. We order a bottle of the local wine and then attempt to order light. My salad arrives quickly and I can only smile as I looked down at my "light" salad. This salad is a hefty affair dotted with fried chicken livers and dripping with a barely poached egg. I take a sip of the local wine: Meursault Charmes from Michelot-Buisson. Not bad. Not bad at all.

You've got to love Burgundy.

Burgundy is all about eating and drinking. Everyone there is growing or raising something to eat or drink, and when the Burgundians aren't at work they're eating and drinking what they grew and raised. Come to think of it they eat and drink at work too. Burgundy is a gently beautiful pastoral expanse, ideal for contemplating some of the world's most complex wines.

After lunch we're off to visit Dominique Lafon, an old friend and producer of what many feel are the greatest wines of Meursault, a Montrachet beyond compare, and red Volnay wines that equal the best of that appellation. Fortunately the winery is only a mouse-jump away and we're there in minutes. Dominique emerges from his house smiling broadly wearing tall rubber work boots. He's thin with a shock of uncontrollable hair and has one of those faces that will make him still look like he's 29 when he's 50. He looks quite the farmer: a very different impression than the business suit and tie look he had while visiting the United States representing the selections of shipper extraordinaire Becky Wasserman. He worked with Becky for a few years after university and then returned to his family estate, Domaine des Comtes Lafon, and took over the reigns from his father. Although the wines of Lafon were famous before, Dominique has taken wines of exceptional quality and dramatically improved them. No small feat.

He's wearing a sweater in the intense heat of the afternoon and we soon find out why. As we descend the short stairway into the tiny cellar the temperature drops at least 30 degrees. In the dark and cold of his cellar Dominique dips his glass wine thief into the first barrel of Meursault. Although the wine is ice cold and has barely finished malolactic fermentation, the extraordinary breed and complexity of the wine are already clearly showing. As he leads us from one barrel of chardonnay to the next I'm getting the same feeling you get when listening to Ravel's Bolero: the theme repeats but grows, intensifies, broadens, and gains energy with each passage. At the end we arrive at the Montrachet. The wine feels almost solid instead of liquid in your mouth, so concentrated is it. It's not possible to produce chardonnay wines of more exceptional quality. These wines are other-worldly.

So much for the tease: today the wines of Dominique Lafon are almost impossible to buy and the prices are as other-worldly as the wines. This was not always the case. Not so many years ago in the early 80's, when Dominique was selling wine instead of making it, he actually hosted a winemaker dinner at Froggy's restaurant in the Chicago suburbs. The guests sampled all the wines of Lafon except the Montrachet along with an elaborate dinner and personal commentary by Dominique -- all for about $50 (US) per person. As hard as it seems to believe now, there was a time that even small Burgundy estates had to promote. Today this is not the case. Dominique no longer does winemaker dinners and can safely stay at home devoting his attention to the vines he loves.

Burgundy is recognized the world over as making incomparable red wines from pinot noir and incomparable white wines from chardonnay. It is recognized thus despite the reality that most people never drink these wines. Some of the reasons are clear. Red and white Burgundy are produced in tiny amounts compared to other French regions, and they're usually expensive. Out of the tiny amount produced, most is of quite ordinary quality sold at prices too high for what is in the bottle -- simply because of a famous name on the label. Then there's the added confusion of vintage variation, which is a real concern in Burgundy, although, as in most regions, technology prevents the total disasters that used to occur.

Besides the danger of getting ripped off there is the other intimidation: the Burgundy fanatic. This intensely competitive and obsessed breed will use any means to obtain just a few more bottles of the object of their obsession at seemingly any price. It's a dog eat dog world. Hey buddy, two falls out of three for those last three bottles of Lafon.

So the question is why bother with Burgundy? There are certainly many fine chardonnay wines produced throughout the world and serviceable pinot noir is made in California, Oregon, New Zealand, and a few other spots. The answer is that the wines of Burgundy are so unique in character and have the capability to be so complex that the homework and effort required to buy and drink fine Burgundy is more than worth the effort. You will be rewarded.

Now when I talk about effort here I don't mean some awful dreary toil. This is not a statistics class. The first step is to find a good wine merchant. (How many times do I have to say this?) If there is one thing in all of your wine buying that will bring you the most benefit it is finding a merchant who cares about wine and who cares to learn about your palate. Nowhere is this more important than with Burgundy where in great vintages some famous people make average wines and in poor vintages a really dedicated winemaker can still make an excellent wine -- at a good price.

Often these dedicated Burgundy merchants are small shops like Howard's Wine Cellar (773-248-3766) located on the north side of Chicago. Here Howard Silverman uses his thirty years of experience to seek out not only the obvious choices, but excellent wines from small producers. Establishing rapport with someone like Howard will greatly reduce the number of disappointments you experience in the quest for great Burgundy. Taking the time to seek out and establish a relationship with a merchant in your market is essential.

The production of wine in Burgundy is divided between two types of operations: the "negociants" that grow and buy grapes and wines then blend them, and the "domaines" that make and bottle wine from their own vineyards. The vast majority of the domaines produce minuscule amounts of wines, usually from only their own sub-region, and quality can vary from the pinnacle to the pits. The negociants produce much larger volumes, often from every sub-region of Burgundy. Because of their larger production they often have the latest in winemaking technology and rarely make really terrible wines, but often their wines are on the bland side, losing the character of the vineyards in favor of a more consistent style. Some negociants can produce individual wines of the highest quality, and they rarely produce undrinkable swill.

If you are just starting out with Burgundy the wines from the negociant Joseph Drouhin consistently and well represent the regions where they're grown. While not cheap they are always fairly priced and exceptionally reliable. You will find excellent maps and an overview of Burgundy on Drouhin's Web site at: www.drouhin.com.

Buying negociant wines takes just a little research before you discover the houses whose styles you enjoy. The domaines are another matter. There are now hundreds of individual domaines bottling their own wines and the quality can vary wildly. How do you work your way though this maze without memorizing everything written by Clive Coates? (A worthwhile activity for any Burgundy fanatic.) Once again we return to the basics for buying good imported wine: you have to learn the names of shipper/importers that work with wines you have enjoyed.

That's where someone like Aunt Becky comes in. American expatriate Rebecca Wasserman moved to Burgundy in 1968 and opened Le Serbet, her Burgundy shipping business, in 1979. From day one, Becky has been dedicated to finding wines of varietal purity that clearly sing of the vineyards where they were born. No one has been as dedicated to the essence of what makes Burgundy unique.

"The wines of Burgundy are suffering. Graded, scored, compared, analyzed, auctioned, undervalued, overpraised -- they are losing their 'raison d'etre' and their mission which is to be savored at table and served with food. Try this little experiment, an exercise in free association. Inscribe the names of several of your favorite Burgundies, red or white, on index cards, and place them face down. Turn the first one up and write down (honestly) the first thoughts that come to mind. If those thoughts are not primarily culinary, you and your Burgundies may need help in the form of some serious book therapy involving wine literature written before the language of advertising, the wine bite, infected our favorite topic of conversation," writes Becky on her Web site, www.leserbet.com.

Look for the "Selected by Rebecca Wasserman" on the back of a bottle of Burgundy and you can be assured of experiencing a wine made with great passion and respect for its place of birth.

If you find Burgundy intimidating try working your way through the wines of Joseph Drouhin and the wines selected by Becky Wasserman and after a while you will have developed your own lists of preferences with little risk and be ready to broaden your search. As I said, this will not be a chore.

Last but not least in importance (excuse the prejudice) are journalists that can reliably guide you to the finest bottles. British writer Clive Coates has proven the most reliable resource on Burgundy over the last several decades. He is to be commended for focusing on excellent tasting notes instead of scores. His publication, The Vine, is available through his Web site, www.clive-coates.com. The best source in the USA is easily Claude Kolm and his Fine Wine Review that is available though his Web site, www.finewinereview.com. Both guides are money well spent not only for Burgundy, but for dependable recommendations from many other wine regions.

At their best there are few wines that can match the red and white wines of Burgundy for sheer complexity, and wine regions that produce equally great red and white wines are indeed a rarity. Be forewarned, though: quality can be addictive and once your eyes open to the layered complexity of Burgundian chardonnay and pinot noir there may be no going back. Burgundy is dangerous.

I think it's time for a light lunch.

Predator Sommeliers

By Craig Camp
Friday, August 1, 2003

THE RESTAURANT was elegant and deservedly famous. My large group arrived almost as one and we were ushered to our table by the overly gushing maitre d'. Almost at once the owner arrived and deposited himself at our table, obviously pleased by the presence of several winemaking celebrities in our group. It was a typical business dinner in the wine trade. I was starting to get paranoid and could feel my American Express card starting to twitch excitedly in my wallet. The sommelier soon arrived at the table and the look in his eyes would have scared my accountant to death.

"I would be pleased to select your wines for the evening," said the sommelier.

"Great," responded everyone in our group except me.

My AmEx card was champing at the bit so hard now that I could barely stay seated.

"Perfect," oozed the owner. "I'll have the chef make you a special menu."

"Wonderful," shouted my guests whose charge cards where safely hibernating in their wallets.

The sommelier returned to our table with a dusty bottle. "Here is a real treat for you," cooed the sommelier. "This is the only bottle they had available in the auction, but the other bidders gave up when they saw we were determined to have it at any cost."

This was the climax for my American Express card and I felt an intense pain in my . . .

Then I woke up with my heart pounding fast and a gripped by a cold feeling of fear. It was only a nightmare, even if one through which I'd lived repeatedly.

(music slowly raises in the background - the theme from Jaws)

Yes I had been there face to face with that most fearsome of creatures: the predator sommelier.

The predator sommelier is a deadly hunter with a keen sense of smell that can discern gold, platinum, and black cards from the dining room's remotest regions. Their natural habitats are over-decorated dining rooms with big reputations, outrageous prices, and food that makes you expect Louis XIV's imminent arrival. They are a species closely related to the predator captain and the predator waiter, but are more vicious because of their exceptional speed. A master predator sommelier can kill an expense account in a matter of seconds; while it takes a predator waiter's an evening's toil to draw a tenth as much blood.

Scientists have been unable to determine how the benign non-predatory sommelier becomes a predator sommelier, but there are several theories. One study pointed to daily exposure to foie gras. Another study by a well known psychiatrist blamed extended exposure to snobby customers begging to be looted. This last study was recently questioned when it was discovered that the good doctor had been sold a bottle of 1972 Petrus for $600.00 in a famously stuffy French restaurant the evening before he proposed his theory.

Before there are too many howls of protest, please read the following disclaimer: The vast majority of sommeliers are honest, hardworking people who take great pleasure in discovering exciting wines that are great values and in passing those wines and values on to their customers. It is their passion to share their knowledge with their clients.

This does not negate the fact that there still are plenty of predator sommeliers, waiters, and restaurateurs out there who approach their customers with the same love and respect that P.T. Barnum had for his patrons.

The predator sommeliers weapon of choice? His victim's dining companions.

The strategies are simple, but effective. The sommelier arrives at the table with a bottle already in hand. After a short but lovely story about the wine, the sommelier asks if you are interested. The host does a quick survey of the delighted faces of his guests and agrees without knowing the price. Quick as a wink the $170.00 bottle of Chablis is in the Riedels. However, there is just a bare taste for the host when the sommelier arrives back to her glass.

"Would you like a second bottle," he asks the host with a pleased grin?

A European wants to try an American red and asks the sommelier for a zinfandel recommendation. With enthusiasm the sommelier raves about a new zinfandel that has just arrived, but it's not on the list and would he like to try it. Glancing at his now drooling guests he orders the bottle. Though no one mentions a price, the zin adds a zippy $150 to the tab.

It is a simple process. The host does not want to look cheap.

The long gone Le Perroquet restaurant in Chicago had one of the most successfully organized wine selling systems I've ever seen. Everyone on the floor was a consummate wine pusher and they worked as a seamless team.

The rules of service were:

-Keep the glasses full so guests can't count the number of glasses they drink. There's no surer way to cut consumption than to let the guests know how many glasses have gone down their gullets.

-The first bottle must be emptied before the main courses arrive.

-Pour heavy on those drinking slow and light on those drinking fast.

-Use large glasses and if at all possible empty the bottle before you arrive back at the host.

-If one person at the table is considered the wine expert make sure you short pour on that glass so the expert needs to order another bottle.

-If there is one guest that is obviously into wine and the host is not, make sure that person's glass is empty while the host's glass is full.

It was a thing of beauty for a wine salesman to see them push bottles through the dining room. This type of institutionalized pack predatory behavior is far more dangerous that the occasional rogue predator sommelier.

You see many examples of this, but several stick out in my mind. In one famous restaurant there is a dedicated sommelier who seeks out unique and interesting wines which are often great values. The 400% mark-up that his restaurant's owners demand turn the otherwise civilized fellow into an unwitting predator sommelier every time he sells a bottle. It is painful to order wine there as the interesting bottles start at $100.00.

Institutional predatory behavior is amazing in its audacity. Once I was hosting a luncheon for Angelo Gaja at the Chicago location of a famous Italian restaurant group, when the manager burst into our private dining room just as our pasta course arrived and announced that white truffles had just been delivered and who, of my twenty-five guests, would like some on their pasta. As you might have guessed every hand in the room went up. When the bill arrived the manager had added $25.00 per person for the truffles. The same restaurant was famous for buying off-brand wines with famous place-names and then selling them to unsuspecting customers at outrageous prices. The waiters also approached the table as soon as you sat down and asked you if you preferred still or sparkling water while forgetting to mention they charged $6.00 a bottle for water that they would keep replacing as soon as you finished the bottle.

Why do we allow ourselves to be so readily taken? Insecurity, intimidation, and the desire to please their guests make diners easy targets for predators.

My most nerve-wracking experience occurred when I took well-respected Master Sommelier, Joe Spellman, to lunch at Alain Ducasse in Paris several years ago. Spellman not only has a great palate, but is the exact opposite of the predator breed of sommelier. As Ducasse had recently visited Charlie Trotter's, where Spellman was working at the time, we were ushered into the fabled kitchen dining room. I was excited to say the least and prepared to drop the big bucks on such a rare and exciting dining experience.

Then the sommelier arrived and announced he had selected a particular wine for each of our courses. I felt a sharp pain come from inside my wallet. For over four hours course after extraordinary course arrived at our table and with each course the sommelier would arrive and open an equally extraordinary bottle: old Salon Champagne, Grand Cru red and white Burgundy, Premier Cru Classe Bordeaux, ancient Vouvray and Sauternes . . . there was even a range of old vintages of Vega Siclia. At the end we retired to the bar for old Cognac and coffee.

This was the single greatest wine and food experience of my life. When the time came for the check to arrive I reminded myself this was a once in a lifetime event. With a deep breath I opened the check expecting to see a bill in excess of $2000.00 -- and that was for two at lunch.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I opened the bill. There was just a note saying "With our compliments," signed by Ducasse and his sommelier. The entire thing was free.

There is a God and just as I had been told: his name is Ducasse.

Super Whites: Friuli reaches for the top

By Craig Camp
Friday, June 13, 2003

A MILD-mannered white wine entered a phone booth next to a winery and with a swirl of color and a whoosh of air a superhero suddenly appeared. What's that in the sky? Is it a white Burgundy, a Napa chardonnay? No, it's Super Whites!

Named by Slow Food and backed by its public relations machine, the Friuli "Super Whites" tasting tour once again rolled through the United States. Over thirty wine producers from Friuli, the most northeastern region of Italy, left their red wines at home and showcased their best whites. Fruili has become justifiably famous for excellent white wines and producers are doing their best to get the story out.

The real superheroes of Friuli are their indigenous vines: ribolla gialla and tocai friulano for the whites and refosco, schioppettino, and pignolo for the reds. That is not to say the wines from French varieties can't be excellent, but the unique flavors and textures of Friuli's own grapes offer a distinct style and balance that make them stand out in a world dominated by vines of French heritage. It also means that they get little more notice than Clark Kent.

The late Mario Schiopetto revolutionized the winemaking of the region more than thirty years ago by introducing stainless steel fermentation and aging, which allowed the expansive fruit flavors produced by the regions vineyards to express themselves. Soon he was followed by now-legendary winemakers like Silvio Jermann, Livio Felluga, Nicola Manferrari (Borgo del Tiglio), and Josko Gravner.

Today Fruili is recognized as the finest white wine region of Italy, and recent surges in the quality of its red wines have made this region the only area of Italy to produce both world-class red and white wines. Small producers, in the hills on the border with Slovenia, in the sub-regions of Collio, Colli Orientali del Friuli, and Fruili Isonzo are relentlessly pushing the quality envelope, and with each vintage are producing wines of complexity with a balanced power that is the hallmark of these vineyards.

The artistic passions of these winegrowers found the production of single-variety wines too limiting. Inspired by the success of Silvio Jermann's splendid wine, Vintage Tunina, a blend of chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, tocai, and picolit, it is now almost impossible to find a top winery that does not produce a "super-blend." Each winemaker sees this wine as a personal statement and each blend is a unique melange of the varieties in the vineyards. Although these blends are usually a producer's most expensive wines, only varietal wines made from a single grape qualify for D.O.C. status. So they are labeled only as I.G.T. Leading "super-blends" include: Jermann Vintage Tunina and Capo Martino, Miani Bianco, Vie di Romans Flor di Uis, and Bastianich Vespa.

Friuli has recently gotten a big public relations boost in the United States as Joseph Bastianich, partner of celebrity chef Mario Batali and son of the celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich, began producing excellent wines from the estate he purchased in Collio. Needless to say his wines are getting huge exposure at all of their restaurants. To his credit, all the wines under the Bastianich label are of the highest quality.

Stainless steel may have created the foundation for Friuli's modern success, including the rare wines of Gravner. However, the never-satisfied Josko Gravner left stainless steel behind for barrels, and now has left the barrels behind for amphorae and an ultra non-interventionist style of winemaking. These are radical wines often causing heated debates because of their brownish color and intense flavors. They have to be tasted to be believed.

The last decades have seen the emergence of a bevy of inspired wines from estates ranging in size from small to tiny. In addition to those mentioned above, look for Le Due Terre, Dorigo, Villa Russiz, Borgo San Daniele, Dario Raccaro, Ronco del Gelso, and Radikon among many others producing excellent wines loaded with personality.

In a mere three decades, Friuli has gone from making simple wines for local consumption to being Italy's most diverse producer of super-premium wines. Now that is a super feat.

Some Super Stars from Super Whites 2003

-2000 Bastianich Vespa: A new-style wine blended from chardonnay and sauvignon blanc with a touch of picolit and just the right amount of oak.

-2001 Borgo San Daniele Tocai Friulano: The wine of the tasting. Exceptional depth and power and a finish that will not go away, this is an extraordinary white wine.

-2002 Girolamo Dorigo Ronco di Jeri: A round, rich, and creamy sauvignon blanc without a hint of the (in)famous cat pee aroma.

-2001 Schiopetto Tocai Friulano: A classic wine. Very firm in style with clean minerals balanced with lively ripe fruit flavors.

-2001 Vencia & Vencia Sauvignon Blanc: Racy, zesty and fresh with crisp grapefruit balanced by rounder ripe peach flavors.

-2002 Villa Russiz Tocai Friulano: Round and complex, exceptionally perfumed.

-2002 Jermann Capo Martino: Always exceptional, this wine did not disappoint. Beautifully balanced with exotic honeysuckle aromas and a texture that is creamy and zesty at the same moment.

-2001 Vie di Romans Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc: If the Borgo San Daniele Tocai was the wine of the tasting, Vie di Romans was the table of the tasting. All three of these wines are exceptional and this may be the best chardonnay of the region.

Fear of Wine: 100 Points of Perfection

By Craig Camp
Friday, October 10, 2003

SURVEY AFTER survey says that people's number one fear is public speaking; number two is ordering the wrong wine in a restaurant.

See those guys behind your back chuckling over that pinot noir you're having with your salmon while you chuckle about the Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay they're drinking with theirs?

When ordering wine in restaurants, what most people want is not to be wrong. The situation is always the same: One guy at the table is considered the wine expert. He usually isn't, but as he once pronounced merlot correctly during an office coffee klatch he has been anointed the company wine expert. From that moment on every time there's a business dinner the 46-pound wine list is deposited in his lap. Everyone at the table stares at him waiting for the pronouncement. The sommelier leans expectantly forward. Damn, that Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon sure looks good. (Better safe than sorry.)

It's very profitable to be the safe choice. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been made by wineries that have succeeded in becoming safe to order. Mondavi, Opus, Jordan, Santa Margherita, Louis Latour, Sonoma Cutrer, and many others make a tidy living by making wines that taste consistently pleasant -- also known as just good enough. In return for their lofty goal of pleasantness, they are rewarded by grateful consumers who happily pay ultra-premium prices for the privilege of ordering a wine that will not offend. These wines do have the added benefit of keeping the conversation on the business at hand -- nobody will be talking about the wine.

These wineries keep their star status by producing a few cases here and there of a super-cuvee chosen from a few barrels of the thousands of barrels of wine in the winery. These modern recipe wines then capture a high score somewhere and the PR machine goes into high gear. (They learned this method from the Chicago Cubs who know that a few playoff victories will keep the fans packing Wrigley Field for another hundred years. Silver Oak and the Cubs have a lot in common.)

The same fear does not exist in Europe. In Italy if they want to have fish after a first course that called for a robust red there is no problem. Either they continue drinking the red or change back to a white depending on their whim or if the first bottle is empty. No one is watching you.

In the United States wine has become either an icon or a lighter cocktail than beer instead of a mealtime beverage. This is confirmed by the fact that most American wine drinkers do not regularly drink wine with their meals at home during the week and perish the thought of even a single glass at lunch. Wine has become a public image that suggests status and education, and the bottles you order confirm or destroy your status as an intellectual and a financial success.

With the intensity of the newly converted we are sure that there must be an absolute right and wrong. This zeal has created the cult of scores. Wine religion fanatics will go to outrageous lengths to obtain a wine scored 98 points while ignoring a wine scored 93 points at half the price. The focus on only the elite and most dramatic of wines tells people with normal well-adjusted minds that there must be an absolute truth when it comes to wine quality. Being that absolute truth can be hard to find it seems much safer to stay with the famous and expensive bottles that all will recognize.

There is a law of inverse relationships when it comes to food-and-wine matches and wine scores. It seems the higher a wine's score, the worse it is with food. Wines that score in the 90+ point range have become incredibly similar regardless of their place of birth. The recipe for high-scoring wines is well-known by enologists and throughout the world they are creating technically perfect specimens that reach towards exactly the same image of 100 point perfection instead of lower-scoring individual personality. It is easy today to line up expensive cabernet sauvignon- or chardonnay-based wines from Australia, California, France, Spain, and Italy and to not be able to guess which came from where. It's as though they want there to be one wine in the world that everybody is trying to make. What fun would that be?

If you want to make wines like this, let me save you several years of study at UC Davis followed by several apprenticeships: the recipe for top scoring wines is simple and easy to do with enough money and sun . . .

1. High alcohol -- for big flavors, sweetness, mouth feel and texture.

2. New French oak -- heavy doses of high-toast French oak to boost bouquet and add sweetness on the palate.

3. Massively high solid extract for even more body, often attained by technical means in the winery.

4. Big color -- also often reached by technical means in the winery.

While this recipe is great for making wines that stand out to a taster faced with a line-up of 100 wines to judge, it also makes wines that just don't taste that great with foods other than barbecue and wild boar -- wild boar barbecue?

All of this hype and precise rating is a bit intimidating for the person who just wants a nice bottle of wine with dinner, and that means yet another bottle of Jordan Cabernet gets its cork pulled.

The king of wine reviewers is Robert Parker, whose recommendations are awaited breathlessly by subscribers who then fight it out, going from retailer to retailer to get a wine that scored two points more than another.

But if people are so obsessed by his opinions then why don't they listen to him?

In the Wine Advocate, Robert Parker writes about his scores, "80 to 89 (points) is equivalent to a B in school and such a wine, particularly in the 85 to 89 point range is very, very good; many of the wines that fall into this range often are great values as well. I have many of these wines in my personal collection."

Me too, in fact now that I think about it, most of the wines I like to drink on a regular basis fall into this slot. Don't get me wrong, I get impressed by flashy show wines just like everybody else, but I spend my own money on wines whose scores from the Wine Advocate and the Wine Spectator average in the high eighties. For me this is the sweet-spot for wines of regional character. I also think a wine that sells for 20 bucks retail ought to be pretty damn good. Who said the starting point for great wine should be $50? Twenty dollars for 750 milliliters of wine is hardly a drop in the wine bucket.

Ask yourself a serious question: what is the difference between a 92 point wine selling for $75 and an 89 point wine selling for $20. Statistically the answer is zero or insignificant -- so the only answer would seem to be $55. However, it can be so much more than money. The differences also include varietal and vineyard character -- things that many a ninety point wine has given up to reach join that exclusive club.

It seems there is a lost world of producers making excellent wines mislaid between the famous safe names and the hot 95+ point wine of the moment. One camp of consumers loves the rock-solid vintage-to-vintage continuity and safe boredom of neutral wines like Santa Margherita while the other camp likes flamethrowers like Turley. Between, there is a universe of outstanding wines, loaded with individual personality, that sell for a fraction of the price you pay for famous mediocrity and today's fashion statement.

Today for lunch I made risotto con rucola and gorgonzola piccante. For fun we tried a white and a red to see which best complimented the dish, which clearly went both ways. Each was delicious with the risotto and both are equally unknown. The red, 2000 Ronchi Barbaresco, may never see 95 points, but was bright and delicious and sells for around $34 (a bargain!). The white, 2000 Il Feduccio Yare from Abruzzo, was deep, complex and sells for $30. Both are wines that will give you hours of enjoyment at the table and you will feel good about the $30 or so they set you back. The world is full of such wines once you get beyond the brand names and the brand name scores.

Now, how many points should I give them?

ABPG - The struggles of fine Pinot Grigio

By Craig Camp
Friday, July 4, 2003

YOU REMEMBER ABC, that insider phrase used by serious wine types when asked what wine they would like to taste. Their response is ABC, anything but chardonnay. ABC seems to have been recently joined by another varietal: ABPG, anything but pinot grigio. The wild success of pinot grigio in the United States has made it another grape that's too popular to like among those in the know about wine.

As recently as the late 1970s pinot grigio had no foothold in the American market and only local importance even in Italy. As the story goes, Tony Terlato, owner of Paterno Imports, changed all that when he ordered 18 bottles of different pinot grigio wines, while dining alone, to taste one night at a restaurant in Alto Adige, and discovered Santa Margherita. How he found eighteen wines bottled under the name pinot grigio in those days remains a mystery, but the rest, as they say, is history -- or at least legend. Terlato's successful marketing of the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio brand created not only the pinot grigio market in the United States, but also in Italy. Less than 30 years later, Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is the number one selling premium imported white wine brand in the United States, reaching combined sales of 445,000 cases in 2002 according to Adams Beverage Dynamics magazine.

This accomplishment has earned Santa Margherita the privilege of being the brand that serious wine folks love to hate: the number one ABPG.

"At first pinot grigio was a chic new name. A name that turned on sophisticated customers," says Ray Capitanini, owner of the Italian Village and Vivere restaurants and creator of the first great Italian wine list in Chicago. "Pinot grigio was the ice breaker for good Italian white wine."

"When I first started in the wine business, I could not figure out why they were so popular," says Seth Allen, president of Vin Divino, a prestigious fine wine importer. "Many were oxidized and were made by people with a commitment to quantity not quality, but then I tasted wines like Eno Friulia and Jermann."

But Santa Margherita is just the tip of the iceberg these days. Pinot grigio sales have exploded in the United States and new domestic examples from California and Oregon are popping up every day. More than 6 million cases of pinot grigio, or about 12% of total wine imports, were projected to be sold in 2002 according to the forecasts of the 2002 edition of The U.S. Wine Market: Impact Databank Review and Forecast. This followed a 40% increase in sales over the previous three years as reported in the same trade journal. These huge surges pushed pinot grigio to the position of the number one imported category of table wine in the United States as it raced past former import leaders merlot and chardonnay.

There's nothing like success to earn you the scorn of connoisseurs.

This scorn is causing a serious marketing problem for Italy's best pinot grigio wines. Howard Silverman, owner of Howard's Wine Cellar in Chicago, observes, "Pinot grigio has become an entry-level wine for inexperienced wine drinkers. The ones that graduate to better wines don't want to go back to the wines they started with and don't try the top wines. The problem for serious Italian pinot grigio is that most pinot grigio drinkers don't want to spend any money. It's easier for me to sell high priced California or Oregon pinot grigio than the best Italians."

The name pinot grigio, or pinot gris as it is called in France, means "gray pinot." The grapes are not actually gray at all, but rather have a light reddish color similar to the flame tokay table grapes you see in American supermarkets. If you buy the classic pinot grigio from Livio Felluga you will notice the wine has a light salmon tinge that it gets from a brief period of skin contact during fermentation. Pinot gris is part of the same family of vines as pinot noir and pinot blanc. The finest examples of this variety are produced in Alsace (France), Friuli and Alto Adige (Italy), and Oregon (US) -- the latter, in particular, seems to be betting its white wine future on it.

"You have to open a lot of bottles to sell premium Italian pinot grigio," says Vin Divino's Allen. "People don't want to spend money on a wine category with a bad image. You have to convince them." Apparently he's doing that with some success: his Peter Zemmer and Villa del Borgo brands each sell more than 50,000 cases per year in the United States.

Yet, as with all mass produced products, somewhere there are keepers of the original flame that created all the heat in the first place. If you look hard enough, you can still find the true believers. Finding good pinot grigio is difficult, but the quality of wines produced by the finest pinot grigio producers in Italy makes it worth your efforts to seek them out.

The best of Italy's pinot grigio wines come from only a few zones in the two northeastern-most regions: Alto Adige (which borders with Austria), and Friuli (along the border with Slovenia). The wines from Alto Adige have a wonderful freshness and acidity from the alpine climate, while the wines from Friuli are richer and more complex. The best Friuli wines come from the zones of Colli Orientali del Friuli, Isonzo, and Collio. As with all things, quality doesn't come cheap and the best examples of Italian pinot grigio start at around $18.00 and can approach the $40.00 mark -- a hard sell indeed.

When it comes to vintages, stick to the youngest wines available for inexpensive pinot grigio wines: not more than a year old. For instance, the crisp, fresh, zesty 2002 Peter Zemmer from Alto Adige is already in the market and is a refreshing aperitif. However, for the more complex pinot grigio wines listed below, two or three years of bottle age will reward you with a more interesting and multi-layered wine.

At the end, we must return to the beginning. Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is a crisp, clean wine that will not offend anything except your wallet and your intelligence. It is true it sells in Italy for about €5.50 in a store, but like all brands that establish a category it demands a premium. Sure you can buy facial tissues than cost less than Kleenex, but we still have a tendency to call all the tissue brands Kleenex don’t we?

The finest pinot grigio producers

-Livio Felluga, Collio

-Castello de Spessa, Collio

-Russiz Superiore, Collio

-Cantina Produttori San Michele Appiano, St. Valentin, Alto Adige

-Schiopetto, Collio

-Villa Russiz, Collio

-Borgo San Daniele, Friuli Isonzo

-Viticoltori Caldaro, Soll, Alto Adige

-Alois Lageder, Benefizium Porer, Alto Adige

-Ferdinado e Aldo Polencic, Collio

-Isidoro Polencic, Collio

-Ronco del Gelso, Friuli Isonzo

-Pierpaolo Pecorari

-Bastinaich, Plus, Colli Orientali del Friuli

-Jermann, IGT (Collio)

-Vie di Romans, Dessimis, Friuli Isonzo