1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda Barolo La Rosa

1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda Barolo La Rosa, Feb. 2004

Saved by the Bank

Like Bordeaux and Burgundy, Barolo is a complex patchwork of communes and vineyards where sometimes the space of only a few meters changes the character of the wines produced. In Barolo and Barbaresco these differences were often lost as production was dominated by large producers who bought grapes from throughout the region and labeled them as simply Barolo or Barbaresco.

However, the explosion of estate bottled wines in Alba has been changing this and slowly-but-surely the market is becoming aware that there are differences between nebbiolo grown in Serralunga d’Alba and La Morra - just as there are recognized differences between St. Julien and St. Estephe or Corton and Volnay.

The commune Serralunga d’Alba is on the eastern edge of the Barolo zone and the sandstone soils produce some of the most tannic and structured of Barolo wines. At the northern tip of Serralunga, as it reaches towards Alba, sits the great La Rosa and Gattinera vineyards that surround the historic Fontanafredda estate. This estate is indeed part of Barolo history and some of the earliest Barolo wines produced came from these cellars – a tradition that dates back to 1878.

However, the greatness that was Fontanafredda had gone into hibernation until it was rescued by the bank. That's right the bank – Fontanafredda was acquired by Immobiliari S.p.A, Gruppa Bancario Monte dei Paschi di Siena, who has also invested in two Tuscan wine properties, Poggio Bonelli and Chigi Saracini. This influx of capital and leadership has launched Fontanafredda on the road to reclaiming past greatness.

As one of the largest and oldest estates in the region they had a core of outstanding vineyard holdings - most notably La Rosa and Lazzarito in Serralunga d’Alba and La Villa (a sub-section of Paiagallo) in the Barolo commune to build upon. Under the leadership of Director General Giovanni Minetti and winemaker Danilo Drocco the entire Fontanafredda line has seen marked improvement, but what is most exciting is the introduction of a range of single vineyard wines from their classic vineyards which they have called Tenimenti Fontanafredda. This important range of wines includes offerings from all the important DOC and DOCG zones of the Alba and Asti region. Each is a single vineyard selection and the stars are, of course, the three Barolo selections; La Rosa, Lazzarito La Delizia and Paiagallo La Villa. The Tenimenti Fontanfredda releases make this estate once again a producer that should be considered by anyone who loves Piemontese wines and the 1999 La Rosa is a wine that deserves consideration from serious collectors.

Tasting Notes: 1999 Tenimenti Fontanafredda, Barolo, La Rosa
Bright ruby/scarlet with just the lightest hint of orange. Just translucent. The aromas are an exotic mix of ripe dark fruits and leather with hints of dried porcini mushrooms. Smoky ripe plums show in the nose and on the palate are followed by layers of dusty burnt cherries and bitter oranges that are still held in check by firm, hard tannins that are somehow surprisingly round in their intensity. The finish is restrained by its intense tannins, but the powerful complex fruit flavors are already starting to show through. Tasted over a four day period and the wine was still fresh and showing no oxidation on the forth day. Decidedly a wine for long-term cellaring.

Too Much of Good Things

It was an “in” place with a “name” chef. Racy architecture and mind-dulling pulsing modern Muzak. Everything designed to stimulate every sense possible. The only things missing are simple, clean flavors, that have no chance of survival in these food discos.

There is this compelling and uncontrolled American feeling that more is better…

• more noise
• more flavors
• more color
• more, more, more…

My tuna tartare was overwhelmed by ginger, so what was surely sashimi grade toro was reduced to a searing ginger intensity that destroyed both fish and wine. Every course that followed was cursed by similar excess and obliteration of the prime flavors the dish was supposed to offer. After all, shouldn't tuna tartare taste more of tuna than ginger? What is sad in this more is better insecurity, is that the same chefs producing these excesses are also going out of their way to find the finest raw materials – then burying them under more and more of everything instead of letting their true character and elegance show through.

The same goes for winemakers today, who are harvesting some of the finest fruit ever produced, only to bury it under layers of oak and over-manipulation. The rule for chefs and winemakers should always be that the freshest and most expressive raw materials should be left alone to show their greatness. Add accents and highlights, but don’t destroy their essence. Cooking and winemaking should be like adding the proper frame to a great painting.

Oddly enough, the wine I ordered that night was just the opposite of the over-manipulated food. The  2000 Woodward Canyon Winery Walla Walla Valley Merlot (its OK to order merlot in Washington) was balanced and graceful. It was a wine full of edges and angles, unlike the insipid merlot offered by most producers today. It reminded me of the days (almost 30 years ago) when I discovered wine. A time when merlot was an interesting and compelling varietal only taking the lead in wines from Pomerol and Saint Emilion, before merlot became the wine hated in Sideways - and for good reason. This was a beautiful bottle, lean and firm with great complexity throughout. It was the best part of the meal and I saved my last glass to appreciate after the noisy food left our table in peace.

Food and Wine

Food and Wine: two words that seemingly go together like ham and eggs. Yet the reality of wine today is that more and more of it does not go well with food. As chefs continue to push the envelope of complexity, the wine industry seems to be veering in two divergent directions. One branch is going down the road of clean, industrial stability with flavor profiles determined by market research and the other going down the points-driven feeding frenzy of more-is-better powerhouse wines.

I recently purchased a bottle of 2003 Peachy Canyon Zinfandel, and it convinced me that when push comes to shove, I’d rather go with blander wines with my meal than wine that could double as fuel for the NASCAR circuit. A clean, if somewhat boring, Zinfandel at 13% alcohol, actually compliments a meal better than the Peachy Canyon that weighed in at a combustible 15.5%. Strange as it seems, commercial can be better than artisan when it comes to wine.

This it the greatest danger of today’s points driven wine criticism. Ultimately it will always reward wines that are at their finest on the first sip or two. However, these very same wines dull the palate after a half-a-glass and do nothing to enhance the food on the table. Not only do they not enhance it, they conflict with food – they very thing a wine is created for in the first place.

Balance, refinement, elegance are all attributes that are as important in the kitchen as they are in the cellar.

Pinot Noir, Fiddlehead Cellars, Fiddlestix, Seven Twenty Eight, Santa Rita Hills, 2002

Brilliant light ruby with touches of garnet. A nicely complex nose with hints of toasty oak, caramel sugar and black tea. Good ripe fruit on the palate, with tar and burnt wood notes over bright bitter cherry fruit. A lovely finish dominated by tea, smoke and a touch of vanilla. Very nice. Drink over the next 2 to 3 years.

Peachy Canyon, Zinfandel, Paso Robles, Westside, 2003

It's my fault. I should have know better as it clearly states on the label 15.5% alcohol. What the hell do you do with a wine like this other than drink it with over-ripe blue cheese. Like course port on the nose, but without the sweet pleasure and complexity offered by fine Oporto. Just a brutal, undrinkable wine that has no place at the dinner table, but might (maybe) be able to make an appearance with cigars after food has fled from the table in fear. To be avoided while eating.

New is not always better

The  usual foodie goal when they hit a city is to get to the new hot spots. To touch the new culinary buzz. This often means not only an expensive disappointing meal, but missing established restaurants that are still making your palate shiver with joy. Often it takes a situation out of your control to balance this drive to see the new and trendy and it was reservations made by someone else that brought me back to San Francisco’s Aqua. I have dined at Aqua about a dozen times and each visit was excellent, but this recent trip really brought home to me that new is not always better. Great restaurants are like great vineyards, they both make exceptional products year after year.

We chose the tasting menu, which was the right choice as, when visiting Aqua, or any other great restaurant, you want to taste as many dishes as possible.

This parade of palate stimulation went like this:

• Tartare of Ahi Tuna with Moroccan Spices
• Artisan Foie Gras with almonds, grapes, smoked duck and shallot sherry sauce
• Hawaiian Walu (escolar) with potato/fennel fondue, mussels and a golden raisin emulsion
• Alaskan Black Cod wrapped in smoked bacon with tomato and date chutney with glazed carrots

I replaced the suggested dessert course with a cheese course that include two lovely cheeses:

• St. Vrain: a cow and goat milk cheese from Colorado – really wonderful
• Pierce Point: A very nice cow’s milk cheese with a herbed crust from Point Reyes California

Each dish shimmered with enticing balanced, restrained, but complex flavors. Every plate was a small piece of edible art. As befitting a restaurant of this caliber, the wine list is excellent with a wide range of choices that go beyond local California wines. The food, wine, service and ambiance were exciting.

On my own I would have hit only the latest and that would have been a mistake. Consistent excellence seems to bore the public today and restaurants and wineries that make outstanding wines for many years often get ignored. Thanks to this wonderful meal, this will be a mistake I will try to avoid.

Aqua, 252 California Street, San Francisco CA - 94110 (415) 956-9662

Valle dell'Acate Nero d'Avola, Il Moro

Valle dell'Acate Nero d'Avola, Il Moro

For readers of wine newsletters the big question for Italian red wine makers would seem to be whether to use new small French oak barrels or giant well-seasoned casks. It is refreshing to see a winery choose neither and in the process make an outstanding wine that no one can fault for lacking complexity. The Valle dell'Acate Il Moro only sees stainless steel, but you will never guess that only by tasting. Once again we are reminded that it is vineyards and vines that make wines great - not coopers.

Valle dell'Acate is to be commended for betting their future on the great classic vine types of Sicily and their zone. They are also to be complimented for their restrained use of barriques. So many Sicilian wines today are overwhelmed by the heavy imprint of internationally styled "flying enologists" that seem more intent on turning Sicily into the next Australia. The wines of Valle dell'Acate show that you can make wines in a modern style without giving up traditional varieties and the unique dimension they can bring. In a world where wines are becoming more and more the same it is a good idea to be distinct.

The wines of this estate are unique and across-the-board delicious. Gaetana Jocono (pictured above) has been given the reigns of the winery created by her father in 1981, and under her leadership the wines are constantly improving. Although the estate itself was not established so long ago, she represents the 6th generation of the family involved in making wines from this region. Their vineyards are located on the southern coast of Sicily almost directly in between Siracusa and Agrigento. In these sun-soaked vineyards they focus on growing frappato and nero d'avola for reds and insolia for whites. Only one of their white wines, Bidis, includes a foreign varietal (chardonnay), while all other wines are pure examples of Sicilian varietals.

Raccolta Selection: 2001 Il Moro, Nero d'Avola, Sicilia IGT
Rating: A * Value: Excellent * Price: $22
A rich concentrated wine that is aged only in stainless steel to allow the intensity of the nero d'avola grapes to show clearly. Nothing in complexity is given up by not using wood in this multi-faceted wine - a big reminder that complexity comes from the vineyard not the barrel.
Tasting notes: Bright scarlet ruby, just translucent. Intense ripe raspberry aromas are blended with tobacco, leather and just a touch of prunes. Rich and mouth filling with a firm structure. The fruit is dense, very ripe and concentrated with a hot tobacco bite that balances the rich sweetness of the fruit. The finish is long and dramatic mirroring the tobacco and raspberry of the aromas. The tannins are apparent, but well integrated. Three of four years of bottle aging will be rewarding. A dramatic and distinctly Sicilian wine.

Other highly recommended wines:
-2002 Il Frappato: Bright ruby with purple hints, just translucent. Explosively grapy, juicy and fruity with almost a note of that "foxy" aroma you find in American grape varietals. The sweet grape flavors continue on the palate with lush grape/cherry jam impressions. The finish is dry but the sweetness of the fruit leaves a sweet impression. All this fruit sweetness is braced by a zesty acidity. A good wine for spicy tomato sauces and aged cheeses.

-2002 Insolia: Bright green/gold. Fresh apple, pear aromas with walnut highlights. Lively, clean and refreshing on the palate with good fruit balancing the zesty acidity. The clean sweet pear flavors are carried nicely by the acids. A pretty, crisp and enjoyable white.

Prosecco

Raccolta Selection: Prosecco

Every spring I travel to Verona for the Vinitaly wine trade fair and the week in Veneto always gets you thinking about the local wines. Sparkling Prosecco is everywhere in Veneto and a glass often automatically arrives at your table in even humble ristorante. It is a wonderful custom and few things wake up your palate or improve your mood like the refreshing froth of bubbles. Most Prosecco Spumante is pretty bland stuff, but as in every wine region there are dedicated producers with good vineyards that make wine of exceptional quality. Fortunately the number of producers making quality Prosecco Spumante is increasing every year. In Col Vetoraz and Bellenda you will find wines that represent the best this variety can offer.

After a hard days work a stop at the bar for a quick drink is a tradition stretching back several millennium. In the USA it's Miller time and in the UK a pint of bitter, but in northern Italy you are more likely to find working men with large work-hardened fingers holding a delicate fluted wine glass and quaffing Prosecco while munching on salami and potato chips. Sparking wine is part of everyday life in Italy, not something for anniversaries and New Years Eve - and it's priced accordingly. Our local bar is decidedly blue collar, but behind the bar is always a magnum of Prosecco on ice and more than a few of the oversized bottles disappear down the throats of thirsty Italians every day.

While Prosecco is often thought to be the name of a sparking wine, it is actually the name of a grape. In Veneto, wines from prosecco grapes are made into still, frizzante (lightly sparkling) and Spumante (sparkling) wines with quality ranging from tasteless to deliciously fruity and charming. Charm is what Prosecco Spumante is all about and the lovely fresh peach and citrus flavors of this grape are brought alive by the bubbles. Prosecco is for fun and for enjoying as often as possible and while it will never challenge the complexity of Champagne - for pure easy pleasure and refreshment the frothy sparking wines of Prosecco can't be beat. The simple pleasures of Prosecco remind us that very enjoyable wines can be created from humble varieties in the hands of dedicated and educated winemakers with the best vineyards.

Stretching out north and northwest of Venice are endless prosecco vineyards most of which produce flavorless frizzante and sparkling wines sold for a few Euros a bottle in grocery stores, which are often "improved" by adding a dollop of Campari or Aperol. However, on the hills around the town of Conegliano the prosecco vine is most at home and produces wines with such exceptional aromatics and freshness that the region has been awarded its own DOC, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. The sub-region of Cartizze is considered the finest of all and wines from this small zone add that name to their labels. These wines sell for a few more dollars than plain Prosecco, but are worth it due to their additional complexity and depth - all without giving up any of their charm. Dryness designations follow the Champagne model with Brut being the driest and Extra-dry being just off-dry. Prosecco sparkling wines are made by the Charmat method, which is the best method for preserving the luscious fruit flavors of this grape.

The delicious fruit flavors and aromatics of the best wines from Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene possess such a unique and pleasurable character that they should not be considered budget Champagnes, but sparkling wines with their own place in the wine world. The choice is not which is better, Champagne, Cava or Prosecco, but which is better for the moment and, of course the budget. Prosecco is a fruit driven wine and it is the quality of the fruit flavors that define the best wines from this region. These easy fruit flavors make Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene the perfect choice when you are looking for refreshment and one of the best of choices for brunch - Easter or not.

Raccolta Selection: 2004 Bellenda Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, Brut

The elegant bottle with the long narrow neck contains a wine that lives up to its presentation. It has a brilliant green/gold color filled with lively tiny bubbles. The aromas are fresh and alive with touches of peaches and sweet apples. On the palate it is creamy and frothy with sweet peach and melon flavors balanced by crisp citrus and a refreshing acidity. The finish makes you take yet another sip. ($17)

A John Given Selection: Imported by John Given Wines

Also very highly recommended: Col Vetoraz
With vineyards centered in the elite Cartizze zone Col Vetoraz is producing an excellent range of Prosecco sparking wines. These are wines that exhibit exceptional fruit purity and elegance. The Cartizze di Valdobbiadene N/V, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut And Prosecco Millesimato Dry are superb examples of the best that can be coaxed from the prosecco grape.

A Jens Schmidt Selection: Imported by Montecastelli Selections

Poderi Boscarelli

Raccolta Selection: Boscarelli

The "modern" vs. the "traditional" winemaking debate continues in Italy, but for me varietal character is the major issue in Italian winemaking. This is a more important yardstick than the often confusing terms of "modern" and "traditional". There are many great winemakers that are very modern in their approach that make wines that still maintain the integrity of both their vines and terroir in their wines. As long as a producer respects the true flavors that their vineyards give them the questions of which types of barrels are used and what types of oak become secondary.

Poderi Boscarelli is the perfect example of an estate that has handled this balancing act very well. All of their wines are elegant and complex, but they have not lost that bit of "wildness" that layers personality into the best wines of Montepulciano. Each of their wines are worth seeking out.

Raccolta Selection: 2000 Poderi Boscarelli
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Vigna del Nocio

The complaint of where to find true Tuscan sangiovese character in wines frequently comes up in this era of heavily oaked Tuscan sangiovese wines that are often blended beyond recognition by the addition of too much cabernet sauvignon. One answer may lie in Montepulciano and it is hard to imagine a more complex example than the extraordinary 2000 Vigna del Nocio from Poderi Boscarelli. As good as this wine is - the barrel sample I tasted from the exciting 2001 vintage promises even greater things. The 2001 will be released next January.

Vino Nobile may have a grand name, but it seemed the winemaking revolution that swept Tuscany in the 1970's overlooked Montepulciano. Some producers, notably Avignonesi and Poliziano tried to push the region forward, but the lack of an easily identifiable style of Vino Nobile and the loose regulations of the DOC meant that there were a lot of mediocre wines sold making the name far less "Nobile" in the eyes of many consumers.

There is also a lot of confusion caused by the name of Montepulciano and the wines of the Vino Nobile zone do not use any of the grapes from the vine of the same name. The montepulciano vine is responsible for some very good wines in Marche, Abruzzo and Puglia, but you won't find a drop of it in Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. In the case of Tuscany, Montepulciano is a lovely hilltop medieval village located east of Montalcino near the border with Umbria. As in Montalcino, the unique characteristics of the sangiovese vine in this region inspired its own name and the Montepulciano branch of the sangiovese family is called prugnolo gentile. The DOCG regulations remain very loose here and still allow for up to 20% of other approved varieties and a maximum of 10% white varieties. Fortunately the regulations amended in 1999 also allow for 100% varietal sangiovese wines. Obviously there still can be a lot of variation in style even within these new regulations.

The concept that prugnolo gentile is "the sangiovese" of Montepulciano is another concept that is dying in the face of the ongoing refinement of clonal selection of sangiovese in central Italy. As vineyards are being replanted throughout Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti Classico the types of sangiovese vines selected are from clones that have been identified as providing certain characteristics and superior wine and more attention is devoted to these variables than to if the vine is "brunello" or "prugnolo gentile". Thus on a technical sheet for Vigna del Nocio they list the blend as "80% sangiovese/prugnolo gentile" as it is blend of various selected clones of sangiovese with prugnolo just being one of the clones in the mix. Banfi claims they identifed 650 "clones" of brunello when they started their research in Montalcino and from this it is clear that claiming wines are made from "brunello" or "prugnolo gentile" are no longer very precise statements. The fact of the matter is that all the top wines of the best zones are now increasingly being made from a selection of the finest clones of sangiovese available without regard to the zone of their birth.

While the big firms in Montepulciano have grabbed most of the spotlight, a small gem has continued to shine brightly since being founded by Paola Corradi in 1962. Poderi Boscarelli has always been dedicated to quality and produced some this region's best wines year after year. While traditional in style, they have introduced innovations that enhance the quality of their wines without giving up the character of their vineyards. The barrels used for Vigna del Nocio are 500 and 1,000 liters - not 225 liter barriques and the oak used is both Slovenian and French. The 15% of merlot in the blend fleshes out the lean character of the sangiovese without overwhelming it. The Vigna del Nocio is a must-have for serious collectors of sangiovese. Pictured above Paola, Luca and Niccolò De Ferrari Corradi.

Tasting notes: 2000 Poderi Boscarelli,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Vigna del Nocio
Brilliant ruby with just a hint of garnet. Just translucent. A grand sangiovese in every aspect. The aromas combine layers of vibrant bitter cherry fruit, with earthy dried porcini mushroom notes. On the palate the wine is rich and firm at the same moment. Layers of ripe, sweet raspberry flavors combine with bitter cherry and earthy, tarry highlights. An extremely complex wine that is it be admired for its terroir focused flavors and for winemaking that does not give up earthy flavors for the simple forward charm of ripe fruit. This is a wine that politely requests at least ten years of bottle age, but will not disappoint now with enough time in the decanter. I will point out that I tasted this wine at the end of a day when I tasted over 60 top sangiovese wines and it still stood out as something special. ($50)

Comments on a barrel sample of 2001: This vintage of Boscarelli Vigna del Nocio promises to be a classic. Dense and structured, it takes all of the characteristics of the 2000 up several notches. Buy both and drink the 2000's while you are waiting for the intense 2001 to grow up. An extremely highly recommended wine for collectors.

A Neil Empson Selection

Dolcetto d'Alba, Rocche dei Manzoni, La Matinera, 2004

Deep ruby with purple notes. Bright, fresh expansive bitter black cherry fruit aromas with a pinch of cassis. Very smooth on the palate with dark bittersweet dark fruit flavors livened up with a tangy cranberry punch. More than enough acidity to carry the round fruit flavors. Very modern, but not in the New World mold as there is plenty of acid backbone and tartness to make this a lovely match for foods. Drink now, the sooner the better. Don’t wait.

Wine Solo

They walked up to the bar of a very elegant restaurant and asked for the wine list. After a few minutes they ordered a bottle of Talbott Chardonnay - and that was it. Food was not part of the equation. Not much attention was paid to the expensive bottle of wine. In fact, the only comment made was that it was too warm and they asked the bartender to ice it down. The two of them finished off the bottle without taking a bite.

This drinking wine without food is something I often forget people do unless it happens right in front of me. It is so out of my range of thinking. I just can't separate the two. The fact, of course, is that probably most American wine drinking is done in this way - as a cocktail not as a part of the meal.

This makes an interesting dilemma for winemakers as making wine for cocktail purposes is not the same as making wine that compliments food. The result of this dilemma are an awful lot of "dry" white wines that are not dry at all, as they contain significant residual sugar. That sugar tastes pretty good on its own, but pair that sweet chardonnay up with some oysters and the match is less than spiritual.

The beverage wine industry has nailed down the cocktail wine style perfectly producing sweet chardonnay, flavorless pinot grigio and merlot without a interesting edge to be found. These wines disappear down the palate without distracting the drinker with a lot of character that could interrupt the conversation.

This is why wine drinkers on a budget, that still want interesting wine that goes well with food, almost always have to look to Europe for their bargains as making wine to match well with food is too deeply ingrained in their society to be totally overwhelmed by industrial winemaking. Lovely, reasonable priced wines can still be found in places like Macon, Beaujolais, Loire, Abruzzo, Le Marche and Piemonte among many others.

It is a shame that the American wine industry has totally abandoned this type of wine.

Pinot Noir, Pisoni, Estate, Santa Lucia Highlands, 2003

What a lovely wine. Deep ruby in color, but still translucent. Expansive velvety nose full of spices, violets, vanilla and a rich earthy bittersweet black cherry fruit. Velvety and creamy on the palate, it still packs a crisp acid bite to hold it all in balance. The finish is very long and makes you stop and experience the full sensation of each sip. A shade hot in the finish, but the other qualities of this wine more than make up for this slight fault. It should age beautifully over the next five or six years. Expect to pay big bucks if you are lucky enough to find a bottle.

Élevage

Written words can be such beautiful things. Artfully used, they can communicate the emotions we feel inside of us. Wine is an emotional experience for many of us, but so often words about wine are only presented in a sterile textbook style or in the combative debate fashion of the wine forums. Every once in a while a writer succeeds in conveying the pleasure that the appreciation of wine brings to so many. This experience, which wine somehow brings to us, is lovingly described by Vincent Fritzsche, a Portland Oregon educator, in his charming wine blog, Élevage. (http://elevage.blogspot.com)

Fritzsche describes his blogging in this way, “Élevage is French for breeding or upbringing. It also refers to the maturing or raising of young wine until bottling. Élevage is also sometimes described as the educating of a wine, which got me thinking about my own education of wine. And so this blog, updated when I'm able. There's much more to write than I make time for.”

True, he does not post everyday, but when he does it is well worth reading. Best of all, reading of his experiences bring a reflective moment to your day to ponder your own experience with wine. I highly recommend visiting Élevage.

The Oregon Winter Blues

The days have now turned into months and I can’t tell you how much I miss it. I had heard about the dismal Oregon winter, but I never expected this – gray after gray day of…

No farmer’s markets!

I can only take heart from the telltale signs of coming springtime that our farmer’s markets will soon return. These markets are everywhere from early spring through late fall and Oregon is blessed with many small farms that bring their produce directly to the consumer through these markets. Every type of fruit and vegetable, meats, cured meats, cheeses, wines and anything and everything delicious you can imagine comes to market in this way. The market for the small farmer is strong in Oregon, where consumers go out of their way to buy local produce – even at the chain stores, which are forced to identify goods from local farms due to consumer demand. The fact that consumers here demand local produce means that new farms are popping up throughout the state and the fact the producers can command retail instead of wholesale prices for their goods creates a situation where a small farmer can succeed.

Without the farmers markets, we would be faced with only the bland choices offered by large corporate farms and grocers. Even the Whole Foods stores and their type cannot compete with the freshness, variety and great flavors brought to us by farmer’s markets. They are a national treasure.

Thanks to Adam Mahler at The Untangled Vine, we have become aware of the efforts of Congress-person Marcy Kaptur of Ohio (do we need to mention she’s a Democrat) to introduce legislation that will support the growth of farmer’s markets on a national scale. Needless to say, I think this is a great cause, not only for our stomachs, but for our environment, as small farms are less damaging to the planet than large scale corporate industrial farming. Check out The Untangled Vine for more details and here for Kaptur’s article in The Nation.

Take a few minutes to support small family farms and organic agriculture and write to your Congress-person in support of this effort. If your representative is a Republican, you may want to write twice.

Seven Hills, Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, 2001

Rich ruby, bright meaty aromas with bright black fruit. Very appealing across-the-board with full spicy flavors highlighted with toasty oak and bittersweet  current fruit flavors. Spicy and a bit too oaky in the finish. Drink up over the next several years as there is more charm and power here than complexity. A very enjoyable wine.

Château Léoville Barton, Saint Julien, 2002

Brilliant medium dark ruby. The nose is tangy with mint and tarragon with touches of cedar and black licorice. Still lean-and-mean on the palate, although it is not aggressive. Very refined and balanced and certainly approachable with some fat to counter it - like some thick lamb chops. The finish is still closed and needs a few more years to fully develop. A very good, but not great Bordeaux that at about $60 a bottle seems a little pricy. Still all-in-all a very classic and well-made wine that will please the Bordeaux lover.

Barbera d'Alba, Alessandro e Gian Natale Fantino, Vigna dei Dardi 2001

Bright light ruby. Very smooth and aromatic nose filled with spice, fresh lavender - all with a little tart bite at the end.  Bitter black cherry and cranberry fruit somehow ties into a very smooth package. Delightfully balanced and refreshing throughout, the finish just explodes with fresh acidity and a myriad of wild flowers and a sweet touch of candied lavender. Yumm.

Vietti Baroli - 1999

Vietti Baroli

Deciding between the Vietti single vineyard Barolo wines is like choosing between listening to Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday sing Body and Soul: they may be different, but you can't lose.

The wines of Vietti continue to defy easy characterization. The current fashion is to drop Barolo and Barbaresco producers into one of two slots: modern or traditional, but the wines of Vietti are neither modern nor traditional - they are Luca Currado in style. The wines of Vietti are the perfect example of how winemaking has evolved in Piemonte and each wine in the Vietti portfolio is an excellent wine worthy of your attention.

Winemaker Luca Currado represents the fourth generation of his family at Vietti and brings with him that feeling of history. Luca's father, Alfredo, was one of the first in Barolo to bottle single vineyard wines. Like a jazz singer sees a song, Currado sees the grapes from his vineyards as something to be interpreted, but with respect to the original creation - of the songwriter or the vineyard. To him the tools of the winemaking trade are vehicles for bringing the flavors of the vineyard to the bottle and not an end in themselves. During a tour of the Vietti winery you see all the bells and whistles of modern Italian winemaking: roto-fermenters and barriques, but they are alongside all the traditional tools of the Langhe: large Slovenian oak botte and open-top fermenters that allow the cap to be punched down by hand (well a mechanized version of it anyway). For Currado the tools of winemaking are to be carefully selected and used in the correct situation. On the controversial roto-fermenters he observed, "I don't like them and they are not something for great vineyards or vintages with a natural concentration of flavor. For grapes with concentrated flavors they extract too much and the wines start to taste artificial, but for grapes from lesser vineyards or years that are lacking in flavor they can improve the wine."

In fact, Currado will be removing detailed winemaking data from his new fact sheets as he feels it prejudices tasters before they actually taste the wine. "You don't ask Charlie Trotter (the famous Chicago chef) to provide you with the recipe before you taste his food," noted Currado.

"When it comes to winemaking both Elio Altare (an ultra-modern producer based in La Morra) and Bartolo Mascarello (an ultra-traditional producer based in Barolo) are probably both right considering their respective terroir," says Currado. "You need to make wine in the style the vineyards give you."

Nothing speaks better for Currado's philosophy than his wines. Tasting his single vineyard Baroli is a revelation as they are all aged in slightly different ways, but all arrive at the same point in that each speaks clearly of the vineyards and villages where they were born. In none of the wines do the winemaking techniques used overshadow the character of the wines. By selecting techniques with the vineyards and vintage in mind instead of following a set recipe Currado has created a group of outstanding and diverse wines. I strongly encourage Barolo/Barbaresco buyers to seek out the incredible 1999 vintage, which is still available in many markets and at lower prices than the super-hyped 2000 vintage releases. All three of these wines are equally highly recommended - just like Ella and Billie.

Raccolta selection: 1999 Vietti Barolo: Brunate, Rocche and Lazzarito (all $75)

1999 Brunate (La Morra): Brilliant scarlet/garnet, translucent. Expansive sweet plum and ripe cherry aromas blend with the pronounced tar characteristic of the Brunate vineyard. The mouthfeel is expansive and generous and filled with tar and black licorice over bittersweet black cherry flavors and luscious ripe raspberry notes. The tannins are well integrated, but substantial.

1999 Rocche (Castiglione Falletto): Brilliant scarlet/garnet, translucent. Elegant and delicate on the nose with spiced plum and expansive floral aromas. Very structured and lean on the palate with flavors that continually grow, evolve and expand. The dark fruit flavors are filled with spices and a delicate tar and leather note. The finish is still closed, but the promising floral hints under the firm tannins show great promise for the future.

1999 Lazzarito (Serralunga d'Alba): Brilliant ruby/garnet, translucent. Dense and concentrated on the nose which is full of smoked plums and black pepper. A big, brooding nebbiolo on the palate with intense tar and black pepper flavors riding on the massive sweet dark fruit with almost a cassis touch. The finish is long, powerful and tannic and the strong tar and black pepper flavors linger for many minutes.

Banfi

Raccolta Selection: Banfi, April 2004

Geppetto was a master craftsman who dreamed of building something so perfect it would become real. The Mariani master craftsmen had the same dream and invested all their skills in building the perfect winery. Pinocchio needed a little magic to become a real boy, but, as no magic was available, the Mariani family had to settle for hard work and a lot of money to make their dream a reality. While there is not a lot of romance or magic in the Castello Banfi story there is a tremendous level of professional skill applied to their vineyards and winemaking. The result is an extensive portfolio of technically perfect wines. With their Brunello di Montalcino wines they go beyond technically perfect and seem to have found a bit of that magic Pinocchio required to become a real boy for they are indeed real wines.

1999 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino

Every year it seems to arrive in your Inbox like clockwork: you could almost set your watch by it. It's the press release from Castello Banfi announcing that once again they have been awarded the grand prize at Vinitaly and crowned as Italy's best winery - for the 11th time in a row. At this point, we can assume it's more than luck.

Ninety wine pros swirled, swished and spat their way through almost 3,500 wines and at the end, when the last spit-bucket was dumped, Castello Banfi had yet again racked up more cumulative points than any other Italian winery and their 1997 Brunello di Montalcino was awarded the Grand Gold Medal as best wine of the fair. Success is a hard thing to argue with.

John and Harry Mariani invaded somnolent Montalcino in 1978 with their millions generated from the sales of Riunite in the United States and, "a vision to depart from conventional winemaking rules and craft products that would appeal to modern consumer tastes while continuing to satisfy the lofty demands of the connoisseur." It is fair to say that they have more than achieved this goal. However, the biggest gift the Mariani family has bestowed on wine lovers was not their own wines, but the fact that they almost single handedly caused the rebirth of Brunello di Montalcino and inspired a quality revolution that has improved all the wines of the Montalcino area. Before Banfi (b.b. on the Montalcino calendar) great Brunello was found at few estates. Today, (a.b.) there is a rainbow of interesting wines that range from austere, elegant classics to high extract, oaky fruit bombs. In 1977 b.b., there were less than 15 producers now, in 2004 a.b. there are more than 150 to choose from. As in Barolo and Barbaresco this revolution and the resulting explosion of styles and creativity has made these regions far more dynamic and the hot debate over which is best has propelled all of them into the international spotlight formerly occupied only by Bordeaux and Burgundy. A little controversy is a good thing for both quality and marketing.

I was glad to see the Brunello win the big prize for Banfi instead of the double capital letter duo of ExcelsuS and SummuS or the good student of the group, Cum Laude. As good as these wines are, for me, their Brunello di Montalcino wines have always been the most impressive. Research conducted by Banfi has redefined the brunello clones of sangiovese. Their study isolated over 600 clones of brunello and identified the best types for whatever results the winemaker is looking to achieve - be that quality or quantity. Banfi has used this research to maximum effect and produces excellent wines in the southern section of Montalcino, which was traditionally considered inferior to the more temperate northern area of the zone.

Whether you are a Banfi fan or hater, Castello Banfi has changed the entire meaning of the name Brunello di Montalcino and after three decades is now part of what Montalcino is and what it will be in the future. They are respected in Italy because they have given more than they have taken and Montalcino will be forever in their debt.

Raccolta Selection: 1999 Villa Banfi Brunello di Montalcino ($60)
Tasting notes: A radiant, brilliant ruby. Just translucent. Fresh ripe cherry, raspberry and violets lead the aromas, but the underlying tobacco and black truffle notes slowly grow and blend with the sweet fruit. Round ripe and full, but not heavy on the palate. The flavors are seamless and refined moving effortlessly from bittersweet cherries; to pungent tobacco; to sweet raspberry; to black pepper; to blueberries; to warm spices. The finish at this early stage is dominated by sweet dark fruits and round, integrated tannins.

Fattoria Zerbina

Raccolta Selection: Zerbina - May 2004

Sangiovese from Romagna has a well-earned bad name. Most of it is industrially produced cheap grocery store wine, a significant amount of which disappears down the throats of thirsty tourists crowding Ravenna, Rimini and other Adriatic coast tourist favorites. However, there is a small group of producers that are making wine lovers sit up and take notice - if they actually get the opportunity to taste the wines.

Clearly the finest wine estate in Romagna is Fattoria Zerbina where the dynamic and energetic Cristina Geminiani (pictured above) has taken her family's estate to the peak of winemaking excellence. These are probably the best Italian wines you have never tasted. Cristina is working tirelessly to change this situation and spends a significant amount of time on the road crusading for not only her wines, but those of Romagna's other top producers. The best Romagna producers, Drei Donà, Fattoria Zerbina, San Patrignano and Stefano Ferrucci, have banded together in an organization called Il Convito di Romagna to help spread the word that Romagna is home to some very fine vineyards and wines.

After graduating with a degree in agriculture from the University of Milan, Cristina's passion for the great sweet wines of Sauternes led her to continue her studies at the University of Bordeaux. Then after a stint with famed enologist Vittorio Fiore she began her personal quest to make great wines at Fattoria Zerbina. Her experience and drive has created one of Italy's finest wine portfolios that includes: the "Super-Romagna" Marzieno; Scaccomatto, one of Italy's best dessert wines; Pietramora, a stunning pure sangiovese and Ceregio, one of the tastiest red wine bargains you can find anywhere.

Cristina describes her winemaking philosophy in this way, "In my winemaking I aim to complete and integrate each of the values of each single vineyard, fully respecting the high potential of the fruit from each special area. Only by releasing the pure character of the vines in each microclimate can we show the real value and richness of our terroir."

The foundation of Cristina's success has been her dedication to the vineyards themselves. Comments Cristina, "In each vineyard you can find small areas where the soil is different and where the response from the clone (specific type of vine) and its rootstock can radically change. It is our duty to follow these small individual aspects and to keep them as a treasure and to use this knowledge for the following harvest so we can be always increasing the quality of our wines."

Over twelve years of experience came together with what Cristina calls "a perfect vintage" in 2001 to make some memorable wines at Zerbina. The warm dry summer created the perfect climate for the red wines while the white albana variety she uses for her dessert wines saw an excellent development of botrytis (noble rot) in the late fall. Cristina considers this to be a benchmark vintage for their wines.

Out of this great vintage comes two outstanding wines from Fattoria Zerbina. Each wine is distinct in character and deserves a place in your wine collection.

Raccolta Selections:
2001 Fattoria Zerbina, Marzieno, Ravenna Rosso IGT ($50)
(70% sangiovese, 15% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 5% syrah)
Aging prior to release: 15 months in 225 liter French and American oak barrels (70% new) and 12 months in bottle.
Tasting notes: A vibrant brilliant ruby, barely translucent. The aromas are complex and dramatic with dark fruit and floral perfume leaping out of the glass. This is an almost perfect wine with a seamless blend of power and complexity. Pungent tobacco notes highlight the concentrated cassis with bitter cherry fruit flavors. The oak components harmonize with the deep fruit flavors and round tannins. This wine is so lush now it may be tempting to drink, but five or more years will bring out a whole new layer of complexity.

2001 Fattoria Zerbina, Pietramora,
Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva (100% sangiovese) ($65)
Aging prior to release: one year in 225 liter French oak barrels (70% new) and 18 months in bottle.
Tasting notes: A brilliant glittering ruby that is dark yet still translucent. The aromas are firm, still a little closed, but already showing a bright raspberry fruit with a touch of iodine and a hard mineral note. The wine starts a little slow on the palate then explodes with a layered complexity. The finish is still hard at this point with plenty of tannin, but leaves a very long bittersweet fruit finish full of spiced plums and baked cherries. Do your best to wait at least five or more years before pulling the cork on this structured, powerful beauty.

All too often only the top wines of an estate get all the attention, but in the case of Fattoria Zerbina it is not wise to ignore their fine pair of wine values at the lower end of their price list. Fortunately, winemaker Cristina Geminiani applies the same rigid standards to these wines that she does to her top-of-the-line selections and she produces two gifts for wine lovers on a budget.

rosso: 2002 Fattoria Zerbina, Ceregio, Sangiovese di Romagna ($14)
Brillant ruby. Just translucent. Racy, bright bitter cherry fruit flavors. While filled with gorgeous fruit, this is no Australian shiraz-style wine as it has a firm backbone of acidity, plenty of sangiovese varietal character and structure that clearly speaks of its Italian birth. This wine has become a perennial candidate for house-wine-of-the-year.

bianco: 2003 Fattoria Zerbina, Dalbiere, Trebbiano di Romagna ($14)
A more refreshing white wine you won't find. Absolutely packed with bright peach and apple flavors with a clean note of walnuts. The zesty acidity will leave your mouth watering and the fresh flavors will leave your palate satisfied. Fresh seafood anyone?