Wine Sediments

It’s the first time for me to open a bottle and to announce to all the world that I opened it. I decided to open a good bottle of Aglianico del Vulture Doc. Exactly, it’s an Aglianico del Vulture DOC Carato Venusio 2001, the winery is Cantina di Venosa. We are in Basilicata, north-est of […]

Every year for the last 6 or so years at Vinitaly, Sicily has been front-and-center in the advance of Italian wine. Wineries such as Planeta and Donnafugata have raised the bar of expectations, while other lesser known wineries, such as Arancio and Colosi have increased interest in easier to access styles of wine. More established […]

Negroamaro is an ancient red wine grape variety in the South of Italy. In particular it’s widespread in Salento, the region in which I live. But it’s usually to see it in all Puglia, the southern region within Salento is. We are talking on the tacco d’Italia, that is to say the heel of Italy.
It’s […]

When it’s a Primitivo, naturally.
New world winemakers have, albeit grudgingly, abided by law that you cannot call a wine made outside of a given European region, by the name of that region. Champagne is only produced in Champagne, Bordeaux in Bordeaux, and so on. It isn’t the methods that differ, nor the grape varieties used, […]

DNA testing has confirmed that Crljenak Kaštelanski - no I can’t pronounce it either - a Croatian grape variety and Zinfandel have the same genetic profile. The fact that the Italian Primitivo is also one and the same has given rise to a new name for the variety - ZPC (not that anyone I know […]

 
Anyone who has ever ventured south to the Italian town of Lecce will know they have landed in a place that marks time far differently from our accustomed Western Urban approach. The region has a long history, many conquests, empires and epochs.

Along the way, a grape rooted itself into the history of the region of […]

Notes from a few wine pro’s, all of us thinking less about awards and more about a rewarding experience.
Tony McClung of Neil Rosenthal Wine Merchants,“I went to a tasting recently of an Italian importer that I respect very much… I left a bit concerned. I could see a lot of higher alcohol, over-extracted wines creeping […]

Adam Lechmere wrote recently in Decanter, “IGT and DOC divide Italian wine world”. It seems the Italian wine world is all a dither over an internal debate over the pros and cons of DOC vs. IGT wines. Bravo, Adam, for reporting this.
I respect Cotarella for what he has done in the Italian wine landscape. Spend a […]

It’s not an old Christmas tradition, but during the holiday season I break out the grill and make my mothers Timballo di Melenzane, from Calabria, which I have been making since I was 14. In America it was called Eggplant Parmigiano and it has become my signature dish and has changed and evolved as I […]

We aren’t able to tout the health benefits of wine in America  and health leaders have openly warned against it . In Italy, they don’t have a problem with wine and health. On Dec 5 , 2006 , Giacomo Tachis, the Master of winemakers and consultants in Italy, will give a symposium on Wine as Medicine . […]