Author: Bruno Donaggio

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After my stay with the guys in Le March I headed to Rome for a couple of days. After constant rain, the weather was great, clear skies and no humidity. In my opinion Rome is one of the great cities of the world. Since it’s on the travel triad for Americans it was swarming with my countrymen. I didn’t go to too many wine bars in the city in part because frankly, I got tired of getting lost looking for wine bars. Oh well, Every other bar calls it self a “wine bar” but most of them are restaurants that serve some wine.

On my way to the Coliseum I did pass a wine shop that advertised tastings. I stopped in and had a nice chat with one of the workers and asked for something white and local. She poured me the 2011 Casale Certosa Malvasia Puntinata. It was a very dark gold with a nose of honey with a dry, full mouth feel of tropical fruit with crisp acidity on the finish. A nice starter wine. I spent the day sightseeing and enjoying the weather. The next day I was able to stop by one of  the oldest wine bars in Rome, Trimani. It was a slick place with local businessmen enjoying lunch and a wine by the glass list that didn’t impress me much for one of the oldest wine bars in Rome. It wasn’t very extensive and short on local wines. I had the 2011 Castel del Monte Rosso. It had a very young nose, grapey, young and I thought it lacked some character.

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After the break in Florence I headed south to my new workaway volunteer gig in the March region. A couple of ex-pat South African guys who decided to chuck the rat-race back home and move to the country. They bought a run down sixteenth century villa in one of the town of Gualdo which is one of many Medieval hilltop towns in this part of Italy. They are renovating the building into a B&B. They have uncovered previously hidden beautiful frescos and the view from pool will be a killer. In the meantime, the house where I volunteered at was perched on a hill with a  stunning view of rolling green hills and craggy, snow capped mountains in the near distance.

On Saturday afternoon we took a drive to the town of Jesi, familiar to anyone who drinks Verdicchio which is the local star. On the way we stopped at an archeological dig with remains of a Roman coliseum and walls. We drove by a winery and decided to stop in. The winery,  Tenuta Di Tavignano was a beautiful property with well manicured grounds that would not be out of place in Napa, we stopped in the cantina for a tasting. We started with the 2012 Rose which is made from 100% of the local Lacrima grape. It was the color of cherry juice with a nose of red cherries, a  nice sipping wine. Next wine was the 2012 Pecorino which is the grape varietal. I like to think of this varietal as the starter wines to the more well know Verdicchio. The color was yellow with a nose of lemon and lime with some earthiness and mushroom on the fruit and crisp acidity on the finish. The final wine was the 2012 Villa Torre Verdicchio Classico. It was golden in color with a nose of wild flowers and mowed grass with notes of mango and nice mouth feel with great balance and nice acidity on the finish. The boys bought a case.

After my week stay with the guys I travelled to Perugia. A beautiful Etruscan town in the hills of Umbria, I stayed at a hostel that was a half hour bus red from town. Very rural, in fact in the middle of a farm. While I was there they told me of the local winemaker which was highly recommended. The winery was a couple of kilometers from the hostel so one afternoon I took a bike and headed out. The winery was Goretti and it’s a family run operation but they still manage to crank out a half million bottles of wine a year. When I made it to the winery it was a beehive of activity and there’s nothing like the aroma of manure to whet the appetite for a wine tasting. I was led to the tasting cave and sampled a few wines.

I began with the 2012 Grechetto. It was light yellow with a nose of grapefruit and mango with tropical fruit on the finish as well as firm acids. Not too bad for 3 euro a bottle. The next wine was the 2011 Il Moggio. It had an interesting label that changed color with the temperature of the wine. A white label meant the wine was warm, a red label meant it was cold and a pink label was just right. The color was yellow with a nose of earthy mushroom and oak with earthy fruit and nice acids on the long finish. It spent four months in barrel. The 2011 Fontanella Rosso is s blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. It was dark purple with a nose of grape bubble gum, very juicy  with cherry leather fruit notes. The 2007 Arringatore was the star of the tasting. About 60% Sangiovese and was dark red to black with an nose of violets and pencil shavings. Chewy, silky and concentrated and had a balanced, dusty and long finish. The 2010 Montefalco Rossso “Le Mura Saracene” was dark purple in color with a nose of sweet plums and was rustic and chewy with big tannins on the finish. The final wine was the 2005 Sagratino Montefalco “Le Mura Saracene”. It was black in color with a nose of sweet black cherry, chewy with some dried leaf notes on the fruit, I thought the finish was a little unbalanced.

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Decided to spend a couple of days in Florence, me and a million other Americans. I arrived on a Sunday and most of the wine bars were closed but I did manage to stop by a couple of them for local wine a porchetta sandwich. Now this is my kind of town, wine and swine.

Near the Duomo I stumbled on a local hole in the wall wine bar, Fiashetteria Osteria Nuvoli. Restaurant in the cellar and tiny wine bar upstairs where I stood with some of the locals munching on a porchetta sandwich. I had the 2012 Camillo Ciliegiolo. Darker than I thought it would be, very dark to dark purple with a nose of dark graphite and was tight and dusty, firm with good balance. For the next glass I had the 2010 Massari Motecucco which is a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was dark black with a nose of blueberries with concentrated fruit with notes of pencil shavings and black leather and toasted nuts on the finish.

After more meandering I stopped by another hole in the wall wine bar that I’ve seen listed in guide books, Note Di Vino. Lots of salami hanging from the ceiling but not an impressive wine by the glass list though the one wine I had wasn’t all that bad. The 2011 Cecchio La Morra Morellino Scanasino. The wine started nicely, it was dark red with a purple robe and had a nose of roasted coffee with tight black fruit with a bit of tartness at the end.

On next day, Monday more of the wine bars were opened. The hostel I stayed at ran a free tour of Florence on Monday morning so I spent that morning running after the tour guide and catching up on the iconic sites. After a couple of hours of sightseeing, it was time for wine. Which is not as easy as it sounds because that involves navigating Medieval streets. On the way to a wine bar I passed by this wine shop that was advertising a glass of the house Chianti for 2 euro. Why not. The wine was Lelame 2010 Chianti Classico. It was served from a magnum fiasco bottle. A blast from the past. It was black in color with a nose of dark berries and violet, concentrated and earthy and finished with fairly high citrus notes, but for the price, drinkable.

After a glass I was on my way to the wine bar I was looking for which was Casa Del Vino, a wine bar that had a few mentions in the guides that I researched. It  was a small place filled with tourists and local businessmen. I had a pannini filled with something the guy next to me ordered, I’m not sure what it was and I don’t want to know. The wine I drank was the 2010 Roggiano Morellino Scassano. It was dark red with a violet robe, with a nose of violet and roasted coffee and was deep and concentrated and was tight and firm with a dusty finish with firm but manageable tannin on the finish.

Stopped at one of the best pannini places in town not far from the Duomo. I Fratellini is a hole in the wall where the locals stop by for a sandwich on a heated roll with a glass of wine. You stand outside and eat and they have racks for you to put you glass on which you munch on your pannini. Good sandwich.

Chianti producer, Castello Verrazzano has a cantina a few blocks from the Duomo and I stopped in for a degustione. After consultation with my waiter, I ordered a salami plate and four wines. The first was the 2010 Chianti Classico. It was medium red with a nose of roasted nuts and bacon and was tight and firm with some tartness at the end. Nothing exciting but a good starter wine.

Next up was the 2009 Riserva Chianti Classico. It was medium to dark red with a nose of red leather and roasted meat, it was silky with notes of dried mushroom on the finish. Very tasty.

The 2003 Riserva Chianti Classico was red with an orange robe and had a mature nose of ripe plums, cigar box and smoky dried blueberries and was concentrated and velvety with roasted nuts on the long finish, it had great grip. Another nice wine.

My last wine was the 2009 “Sassella” Riserva which is their Super Tuscan. 100% Sangiovese, it was medium red with a nose of sweet leather and roasted hazelnuts with bright fruit, silky with firm tannin and very crisp acids on the finish, not as good as the previous two. On a side note, my waiter was very professional with the tasting but while I was still working on my last wine, another staff member dropped the check without me requesting it. In Italy that’s very rude.

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Enough of this fresh mountain air, I was missing the joy of sucking car fumes and jostling the crowds for my morning cup of coffee. I decided to take an over night trip to Turin which is about a two-hour train ride from Pettenasco. My room was a few blocks from the Porta Nuova terminus and I got to go about looking for wine bars. Now in Italy nothing is as straight forward as one might think and you would think that wines bars would be a dime a dozen in the capital of Piedmont but the front desk at the hotel was of no help and in my meandering around the city I ran into a few but unfortunately they were not open in the afternoon and when I returned in the evening they were still closed. The city had some beautiful piazzas and wide boulevards and it was great to feel the energy of the crowd while I walked around.

I did have a tasting, I was walking and spied a shop, “Vino Quotidiano” with some spigots on the wall and hoped they served wines by the glass. It turns out that it was a wine shop and the spigots were to serve wine in “sfusi”, young fresh wine for immediate consumpsion that you would come in with an empty bottle or jug to be filled. Your everyday wine and at 2-3 euro a liter, it was cheaper than water. The very hospitable gentlemen in the shop, Paolo Valentino took pity on me and offered me a couple of samples from the spigot, a drinkable Barbera and an organic Dolcetto. I enjoyed the Dolcetto, it had a very interesting aroma profile and if I had a spare liter bottle handy I would have filled it up and taken it back for home consumption. Paolo was a fellow wine enthusiast and offered to take me to cantina the next day to drink wine but unfortunately I had to leave the city that day but I appreciated the offer.

Before leaving the next day I heard about the car museum in town so I took the subway a few minutes south of the city center and made my way to the museum. It was a huge building and I had high hopes for I would see in the museum, but alas it was closed that Tuesday morning. On the way back to the subway station I did stop by the Eataly store. Beautiful huge warehouse with a great selection of overpriced food and spirits, just like in New York.

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Sampling the local wines in Piedmont has been harder than I anticipated. I thought just being in area would have given me access to an ocean of wine. I’m finding out that not having a car and relying on the notoriously shaky Italian mass transit system presents challenges and visiting wineries here are not like stopping by at a winery in New York or California.

This past Thursday I decided to do a day trip to wine country again, this time I was running solo. Since the Gattinara region is the closest I decided to spend the day there. As it turns out, there is no direct rail service to the town of Gattinara. After much computer time looking for ways to do this trip, I was able to figure out that I can take the train a nearby town down the road and walk to Gattinara (ab0ut 40 minutes).  After catching an unbelievably slow local train, I made it to my destination, the town of Romagnono Sesia. As it turned out it was a unusualy hot day and that 40 walk to Gattinara burned off a lot of calories and sweat.

The first cantina I stopped at the outskirt of town was Anzivino, a label I was not familiar with. In the small tasting room the very hospitable host poured me three red wines. I started with the 2006 “Bramettera” which is about 85% Nebbiolo with the rest local grapes. It was medium red with a nose of candy pencil shavings with notes of cigar box on the fruit with firm acids and a nice finish. Next up was the 2006 Riserva Gattinara. It was dark red with an amber robe and had the same candy pencil shavings on the nose as the first wine, silky with graphite on the fruit with firm but manageable tannins. The last wine I tried was the 2006 “Faticato”. Nebbiolo from 50-year-old vines, it was dark red with a nose of stewed fruit and chewy fruit with some mint tones on the finish, firm tannin and a nice hit of acid at the finish. It was a nice wine.

I left the cantina and finally made it to the town of Gattinara. Not a very big town and surprisingly the only cantina I found was the cantina for the Gattinara Cooperative. I started with their entery level Nebbiolo, the 2009 Spanna. About 85% Nebbiolo with the rest Vespolina. It was light red with bright fruit. Next wine I tried was the 2004 Gattinara. Dark red with an amber robe, it had an interesting nose of stewed red fruit and sweet graphite and was chewy and chunky with silky tannins and at 8 euro a bottle interesting enough for me to buy one. Couldn’t find any other wine stops in Gattinara so I made my way back to the train station for the ride home. One stop away was the town of Ghemme which I recognised as another Nebbiolo town so I decided stop off to seek out wine cellars and try the local juice.  Big mistake. Ghemme is a small town and I had arrived at the start of the siesta which means that everything except the coffee bars were shut down tight. Nothing was open and that included anything having to do with wine. And of course the next train out didn’t leave for a few hours so my time in Ghemme consisted of walking around the central piazza and drinking lots of coffee. I think the next wine outing will be to go to one of the local towns that have a few enoteche and drink the local juice hassle-free.

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Finally got a start on my wine tour Wednesday. A couple of the locals decided to spend the afternoon visitng the local  wineries so we filled up a couple of cars with the locals and my colleagues and headed out to the wineries. The Gattinara and Ghemme wine appellations (and towns) are about a half hour drive from home base so it was decided to start there. The wineries in this part of the country still observe siesta so we made our first appointment for 2:00. I suggested Cantine Vallana since I’ve had their wines in New York and in fact I had their wines last month when the New York distributor of the wines held their portfolio tasting at the Metropolitan Pavillion. The winery has been a family run operation for genertations and they use a low tech in making their wines.

After a drive along lake-side, mountain roads we arrived at our destination where we were promptly greeted by the matriarch of the Vallana family who handed us off to our host for the afternoon a member of the family and the winemaker, Francis Fogarty. (now that’s a fine Italian name). It seems that the maternal side of the family is Vallana and the paternal side are the Fogarty’s. Francis’s English was very good and took us on a tour of the facilites starting with the large concrete barrels where the wines ferment and then down to the old cellars. At the end of the tour we ended up in the tasting room which looked like a Bavarian hunting lodge and at where they stored bottles of their library wines. The oldest bottle in the collection had the vintage year of 1692! It was time to taste and Francis asked what should we start with. I felt that we should start with a lighter red so I suggested the 2011 Grignolino. It was light red, almost a rose with a barnyard and dried mushrooms on the nose, bright fruit and nice astringency on the finish. A nice starter wine.

Next up was the 2009 Spanna which is 90% Nebbiola with the rest of the blend the local grape Vespolina. Dark red to black with a slightly closed nose of violets, it was velvety, dry with juicy tannin and bitter almond on the finish.

The 2004 Bocca. which is the name of a local village, was dark red to black with floral, dark violets on the nose with chewy violet fruit and bitter almond notes and firm acidity on the finish.

The 2004 Gattinara was medium red to dark with a nose of sweet smoke and violets with silky fruit, firm acids and dusty tannin on the finish. It was a very nice tasting on one of the few sunny days of the week.

We spent more time at Vallana than we anticipate so we had time for one more stop and headed into the town of Ghemme where we stopped at the cantina of Lorenzo Zanetta. We were poured the 2005 Ghemme which is 90% Nebbiola and the balance Vespolina. It was black in color with a brown robe and a nose of black licorice and dark fruits, it was concentrated and tight with a meaty finish and firm tannins.

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On my way to Piedmont. A grueling nine-hour flight from New York to Moscow to change planes to Milan. Then a bus to the train which took me to my destination, a small town called Pettenasco on Lake Orta. The resort is a long uphill climb from the town. Everything involves climbing. Climb a big hill to work, climb a big hill to get back from the local village. At the resort we are fed all vegetarian meals and all delicious of course since it is Italy. Working on my planning my wine trips but having a hard time since I’m finding out that many of the wine towns don’t have direct rail connections and the Italian bus schedules are a mess. Did have my first glass of wine a couple of days ago at the local bicycle club which has a typical Italian bar. The local house wine is a Barbera and at 1 Euro a pop, I can’t complain about the price. Will make it to Gattinara tomorrow.

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On Saturday night Snooth, an online wine magazine, held their people’s voice awards grand tasting. The event was held at the Altman Building where I’ve attended wine events before.

This tasting was strictly a consumer event so it was more of a party than a business event; not that that’s a bad thing. The event had a good crowd with a good vibe and I managed to find enough interesting juice to keep me occupied.

I started the evening with some Pinot Noir. I had visited Cambria’s tasting room up in the hills when I did my Santa Barbara wine tour so I sampled the 2011 Pinot Noir “Julia’s Vineyard”. It was young and purple, juicy with bright cola fruit and nice balance.  From Matanzas Creek, the 2011 Sauvignon Blanc  was a mouthful of grapefruit. I stopped at Willamette Valley Vineyards and had the 2009 “Bernau Block” Pinot Noir which was light red with a nose of smokey black cherry, velvety with citrus notes on the finish. From Ferrari-Carano I had the 2010 “Siena” which was medium dark with a nose of dried herbs and red leather fruit on the balanced finish. I continued with Cali and had the Twomey Cellars 2008 Merlot. Dark red with black licorice on the chewy fruit. Silver Oak poured a couple of vintages on their Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2006 was black, tight with dark plum on the nose with some camphor on the tight finish.  I  thought the 2008 was hard and unbalanced. Chappellet Winery poured some interesting juice. The 2010 Signature Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was black with a nose of dried herbs, it was big and chewy with a dusty finish. Their 2009 “Pritchard Hill” Cabernet Sauvignon was inky black with a closed nose, very concentrated  with firm, dusty fruit on the finish.  Jordan Vineyard’s 2010 Russian River Valley Chardonnay was the toasty and buttery style. They poured a library wine from a magnum, the 2003 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was medium dark, concentrated with a nose of camphor, finished firm with crisp acids.

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March madness is winding down with a flurry of tastings. On Tuesday I stopped by at a couple of them.

The first event of the afternoon I attended was the spring portfolio tasting of David Bowler Wines. The event was held at the Metropolitan Pavilion, the venu of choice for many tastings in town. I decided to concentrate on California and New World wines at this tasting.  My first stop was at Cold Heaven Cellars. Last year during my Santa Barbara wine tour, I along with my travelling buddy had stopped by the unassuming tasting room in Buelton. He was a club member and we were given the “A” tour and I remember enjoying the wine. Today I enjoyed the 2010 “Nevertell” Pinot Noir, it was dark purple with a nose of blueberry with chewy, bright dark fruit and nice balance. The 2010 “Queenscup” Pinot Noir was dark red to black with a asian spices on the nose with dusty red cherry fruit with a touch of acid on the finish. I next stopped at Porter Creek Vineyards. The 2010 Russian River Valley “Timbervine Ranch” Syrah was dark red to black with a nose of herbs and red cherry with bright fruit and notes of oregano on the finish. They poured a couple of library wines that weren’t listed in the tasting book, the 2005 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir poured from a magnum was tasty, medium red with brambly, dried herbs on the nose with light velvety fruit and good balance. The 1997 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was amber to brown in color with a pretty nose of leather and red licorice with tight fruit and brown leaf notes on the long finish.

I decided to get to one more tasting that day and I headed to the BNP Spring portfolio tasting which was held at Rouge Tomate restaurant at 10 East 60th Street. I wasn’t familiar with this distributor but I was told they had a nice Bordeaux portfolio. They weren’t kidding. They had a large portfolio of Premier and Grand Cru wines. Not only were they pouring some of the top wines  in the world, but they were showcasing older vintages as well. Usually, at a distributor event they will pour the new releases, in this case that would be the 2010 and 2009 vintages. That’s understandable since the point of the tasting is to show the current releases to the industry people who would buy the wines. But they wines haven’t come together at that stage and you know the wines are a shell of what they can be. To drink a Bordeaux with some maturity or at it’s peak is an experience you won’t forget and there was some really good juice here.

The wines were grouped according to the appellation. Some of the wines I enjoyed:

I started at Saint-Emillion and had several nice wines from there. The 2006 Chateau Angelus was dark red to black with a nose of black fruits, tar, and leather, velvety with great balance on the long finish. The 2000 Chateau Canon was dark red with an amber robe with a nose of cherry leather, medium dark fruits with great balance on the long finish. The 2000 Chateau Faugeres was black with a nose of stewed black cherry, tight velvet with silky tannin on the long finish. The 2006 Chateau Bea-Sejour Becot was black with a big perfume of dark red roses with some toasty notes and dark cherry fruit on the tight balanced finish. I had a trio of vintages from Chateau Simard. The 200o was dark red with a brown robe with a nose of cooked fruit and medium fruit with velvety tight tannins. The 2001 was medium red with a dusty, green pepper nose and camphor nose, it was tight with black licorice fruit and firm. The 2004 was dark red with toasty, green pepper on the nose with good dusty fruit.

At Pessac-Leognon, I was too late to try the Chateau Haut-Brion but the 1999 Chateau Haut-Bailly was tasty with dark red color and a nose of camphor, tar and leather with silky fruit and a long finish.

At Margaux. the 2004 Chateau Rauzan-Segla was black in color with a closed nose and black fruit. The 2008 Chateau Palmer “Alter Ego de Palmer” was black in the glass with a slightly closed nose of black fruits and was chewy with firm dry tannins at the end. The 2004 Chateau Giscours was black with a big perfume of black plum and camphor with deep, silky fruit and a dusty and long finish, I thought it was drinking beautifully now.

At Saint-Julien, the 2004 Chateau Leoville Barton was black with a brambly, black licorice nose, velvety fruit and great balance on the long finish. A another nice wine.

At Pauillac, the 2006 Pauillac de Latour by Chateau Latour was black with a nose of toasted nuts, silk with toastiness on the firm, tannic finish.

At Saint-Estephe, the 2000 Chateau Calon-Segur was dark red to black with a nose of dried herbs with dusty velvety fruit with a balance, long finish. The 2006 Chateau Montrose was dark red to black with a toasty nose with very tight fruit and firm tannin on the finish.

At Pomeral, the 1999 Chateau Gazin was black with a pretty nose of leather, smoke and camphor with nice chewy fruit and firm tannin on the finish.

Sometimes the best wine tastings aren’t necessarily the biggest ones with the most wines. On Monday I attended a small tasting that had some outstanding juice with some pretty tasty appetizers.  Maison Louis Latour had a tasting of their red and white 2011 Burgundy. The event was held at A Voce restaurant in Columbus Circle and I was able to enjoy the wines with a nice view of Christopher Columbus.

I started with the whites which included the hierarchy of Burgundy wines that included village wines, Premier Cru and Grand Cru wines. It was a great opportunity to drink a horizontal of wines from the same producer. The highlight of the tasting was the opportunity to sample a four vintage vertical of Corton-Charlemagne. All of wines with the exception of the  Corton-Charlemage, were barrel samples from the 2011 vintage.

I started with the village wines which include the entry level Beaune then on to the Meursault, the Puligny-Montrachet, and the Chassagnes-Montrachet.  The 1er Cru I sampled include the Meusault “Blagnay”, the Meursault “Genevrieres” which was gold in color with a nose of honey and pineapple with steely and mineral notes on the finish. I continued with the Pugliny-Montrachet “La Garenne”, the Pugliny-Montrachet “Les Folatieres”, the Chassagnes-Montrachet ‘Cailleret” and the Chassagnes-Montrachet ‘Morgeot” which was gold in color with great mouth-feel, balanced fruit and a tight miniral finish.

Next up were the Grand Cru. I sampled the Batard-Montrachet and then the vertical of Corton-Charlemagne. The non barrel samples included the 2010 which was light gold, toasty and tight, I didn’t think it was the most balanced of the vertical. The 2009 was beautiful, light gold with a nose of nutmeg with medium fruit with some oak notes on the nice finish. The 2007 was gold in color with a nose of honey and toasty peaches with great balance and a long finish, a really nice glass of wine that I think is at its peak.

After the whites the red were a little anticlimactic and I think the 2011’s really needed some more time for the flavors to round out. The wines I samples were the Santenay, the Beaune, the Pommard, the Aloxe-Corton, the Gevrey-Chambertin, the 1er Crus of Aloxe-Corton “Les Chaillots”, the Volnay “En Chevret”, and the Beaune “Vignes Franches”. The Grand Cru wines were the Corton Close du Roi, the Corton Grancey, and the Chambertin.

It was a tasty afternoon of some excellent Burgundy.