VINO

The Weekly Word of Vino, Italian Wine & Spirits

 

In This Issue:

August 29, 2006 

 

 

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Fall Wine Dinners and Tastings/Clearance Sale

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Wine Opinion: Can One Wear Rosato after Labor Day?

 

 

 

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Wine Tastings: Labor Day Barbecue Wines

 

 

 

 

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Fall 2006 Class Schedule

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Wine Dinners and Tastings/Clearance Sale

 

Vino and I Trulli Partner This Fall to Bring You Winemaker Dinners and Tastings

The Vino staff is very pleased to announce our new "Meet the Winemaker" Dinner and Tasting Series.

The current schedule includes:

A tasting and dinner with one of Italy's leading women winemakers
Filena Ruppi, Tenuta del Portale (Basilicata)
Monday, September 25
(details to be announced)

Produttori del Barbaresco: Old Vintages
A Vertical Tasting and Dinner moderated by Charles Scicolone, Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino
Tuesday, October 24
(details to be announced)

A Night in Sant'Angelo in Colle: Old Vintages of Brunello di Montalcino
Fabrizio Bindocci, Winemaker, Il Poggione (Toscana)
Tuesday, November 7
(details to be announced)

Damaged Label Clearance Sale
25% off select bottles


This Thursday and Friday from 5:30-7:30 Vino will be holding a clearance sale of label-damaged bottles, 25% off every bottle.

The lot consists of over 100 wines, including gems like:
Duca Enrico
Vintage Tunina
Radikon
Bovio
Abbona
and many others.

N.B.: There is one bottle of each wine. First come first serve, no returns or exchanges.

New Wines Added to Vinositeshop.com

Our new e-commerce site www.vinositeshop.com is now live and we've already added a number of new wines, including the wines featured in this week's tasting (see below).

For Manhattan customers, delivery is free for orders over $100 ($5 for orders under $100) and expedited shipping is available for outer-borough and out-of-state orders.

To shop and browse our wines online, click here.

 

Wine Tastings: Labor Day Barbecue Wines

 

This Thursday and Friday, August 31-September 1, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Bianco di Jacopo 2004 Ronco del Gnemiz
(click here to order)

Bianco di Jacopo ("Jacopo's White Wine") by Ronco del Gnemiz is named after owner Serena Palazzolo's eleven-year-old son (pictured right). "The vines we use for this wine are roughly as old as my son, so we decided to name it after him," she told us. Bianco di Jacopo is made primarily from Chardonnay grapes, with the addition of smaller amounts of Pinot Grigio. Well received by the American wine press, this "Super White" from Friuli is rich and well-structured. Limited availability.

Rosato 2005 Conti Zecca
(click here to order)

The Cantalupi Rosato from Conti Zecca is made from a blend of Negroamaro, Puglia's top red grape, and Malvasia Nera, the "red" expression of the Malvasia grape variety, which is cultivated throughout Italy as a red and white grape. The rosé color is obtained by limiting the wine's contact with the grape skins during maceration.

Grignolino 2005 Cascina del Frate
(click here to order)

Cascina del Frate's Grignolino d'Asti is a true wineamker's wine. Enologist Antonio Gozzelino is one of Asti's most sought-after consultants and his Cascina del Frate is where he makes his own wines. Virtually unknown outside of Piemonte, Grignolino is a red grape that makes for a rich, moderately tannic wine. It is often blended with Barbera and Freisa (varities that have relatively little tannin). Antonio's 100% Grignolino is a full-bodied wine, perfect for serving with grilled meats.

Le More 2004 Castelluccio
(click here to order)

The fruit for this classic expression of Sangiovese di Romagna is sourced from two estate-owned vineyard sites. Named "Le More" or "the blackberries," the wine shows the characteristic fruitiness of Sangiovese grown in Romagna, a land known for its rich foods and intense flavors.

Goj 2004 Cascina Castle't
(click here to order)

Cascina Castle't is an organic-farming winery whose painted bottles are as vibrant and intriguing as the wines it produces. The word goj means "the joy of the moment" in Piedmontese dialect (from the Latin gaudium or "enjoyment"). The winemaker intends this fresh, slightly sparkling Barbera d'Asti to be opened in joyful moments of celebration (hence the name).

Click here to browse and shop our wines online.

 

Fall 2006 Class Schedule

 

All classes last approximately 2 hours.

To register, please send an email to register@vinosite.com.

Please be sure to include the following information:

* Class and Date.

* Names and Number of Persons Attending.

* Billing information including 1) name as it appears on the card 2) card number 3) expiration date and 4) billing address and phone number.

* Day and nighttime phone number.

All reservations will be confirmed via email.

Due to limited availability, all reservations are final and no refunds or exchanges are allowed.

Italian Wine 101
Wednesday, September 27, 6:30 p.m. ($55)


Wine educator Robert Scibelli, DWS, gives a command performance with his popular Introduction to Italian Wine course. Participants will sample wines from different regions of Italy, learn how wine is made, and explore Italy's wonderful range of winemaking styles and traditions.

A specialist in Italian wine, Robert Scibelli currently serves as the National Development Coordinator of the International Wine Center in Manhattan where he also lectures on a wide range of wine-related subjects.

The Killer B's: Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello
Wednesday, October 4, 6:30 p.m. ($95)


No, it's not an Alfred Hitchcock movie: Wine Director of Vino and I Trulli, Charles Scicolone, guides course-participants through a tasting of Italy's most sought-after and collectible appellations, Brunello di Montalcino, Barbaresco, and Barolo, including single-vineyard and blended wines from some of Toscana's and Piemonte's most famous producers. This seminar is a must for both connoisseurs and neophyte collectors of Italian wine.

Charles and I Trulli have been nominated for outstanding wine service and wine list for five years running by the James Beard Awards. Charles coordinated wines for the Italian-themed Year 2000 James Beard Awards. He has lectured on Italian wines for the Italy America Chamber of Commerce, the Agricultural Ministry of the Region of Sicily, La Cucina Italiana, The Italian Trade Commission and The Smithsonian Institute. Recently, Charles worked as a consultant for Waterford Crystal on their new line of stemware. He has appeared on national television on Emeril Live!, In Food Today, Ciao Italia, and Cooking Live and has been a guest on The Arthur Schwartz Show and was a weekly wine commentator on The Bea Lewis Show on radio. Charles is a member of the Wine Media Guild.

Pizza, Any Way You Slice It
Saturday, October 14, 1:30 p.m. ($85)


Charles Scicolone (see bio above) teams up with his wife, celebrated cookbook author Michele Scicolone, to teach this ever-popular course on pizza based on their best-selling and definitive work on the subject, Pizza, Any Way You Slice It. With Ristorante I Trulli as the backdrop, Michele and Charles lead this hands-on seminar where participants learn how to make true Neapolitan pizza dough, experiment with traditional and fusion toppings, and sample wines that pair well with pizza.

Michele Scicolone is a cookbook author and writer who specializes in food, wine and travel. Her Mastering Pasta, Noodles and Dumplings was published by Williams Sonoma/Free Press in October, 2005. Her 1,000 Italian Recipes, was nominated for a 2004 James Beard Award and was a main selection of The Good Cook book club. She is also the author of The Sopranos Family Cookbook and Entertaining with the Sopranos, cookbooks based on the popular television show. Michele's writing appears regularly in Bon Appetit, Wine Spectator, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Gourmet, Food Arts, and many others.

Noble Nebbiolo
Wednesday, October 18, 6:30 p.m. ($85)


Many believe that the word Nebbiolo comes from the Latin nebula or "cloud": the famous fog of Piemonte helps to keep the grapes cool as they ripen to perfection in the late summer/early fall. While the Nebbiolo grown in the Langhe hills is used to make the most notable expressions, Barolo and Barbaresco, Nebbiolo is also used to make Piemontese appellations Carema (in Carema) and Ghemme (in Novara) among others, as well as Valtellina in Lombardia (where it is used to make dried-grape Sfurzat or Sforzato) and the Valle d'Aosta. Participants in the Noble Nebbiolo seminar will sample a variety of Nebbiolo and Nebbiolo-based wines as they explore a wide range of winemaking styles and techniques. Wine director Charles Scicolone leads the guided tasting and comments on the many different Nebbiolo clones, aging potential, tasting profile, and the similarities and differences between the Nebbiolo grown in the Langhe and that cultivated in other parts of Italy.

Vintage Italian
Wednesday, October 25, 6:30 p.m. ($95)


Old wine is a topic dear to Wine Director Charles Scicolone's heart: there is perhaps no other subject that inspires him to wax poetic than a tasting of vintage Italian. Especially today, wine lovers are tempted -- by producers and wine sellers -- to drink open bottles young. In his Vintage Italian seminar, Charles leads participants through a guided tasting of young and old wines as he discusses what to look for in young wines in order to assess their longevity and reveals how wine and tasting profiles evolve (e.g., secondary and tertiary flavors and aromas found only in vintage wines). He will also discuss cellaring and wine collecting. Aglianico, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo are just some of the grape varieties that will be tasted (young and old).

Italian Wine and Cheese
Saturday, November 4, 1:30 p.m. ($85)


What could be better than having dinner with Charles and Michele Scicolone over a variety of Italian wines and cheeses at I Trulli, where Michele discusses the formaggi and Charles pairs the wines? In what has become one our most popular courses, Charles and Michele hold court at the restaurant and discuss fresh, aged, and ripened cheeses, cow's milk vs. goat's vs. sheeps, and in what has proved to be the high point of the event, Michele tries to stump Charles with an unusual and hard-to-pair cheese. This seminar fills up fast and availability is extremely limited.

Grappa and Italian Brandy
Wednesday, November 8, 6:30 p.m. ($75)


Back by popular request, the Grappa and Italian Brandy seminar includes a tasting of a wide variety of distillates, fruit- and pomace-based (spitting is encouraged!). Following the grappa mania of the late 1980s and early 90s, a tide of grappa flowed into this country, not all of it good. Today, myriad labels are available to the consumer but quality varies greatly and in some cases, you pay more for the hand-blown Murano bottles than you do for the contents. As an extra added bonus, I Trulli and Vino's Operations Manager Jim Hutchinson will lead a hands-on demonstration of how to prepare a flavored grappa (an excellent holiday gift idea).

Amarone and the Wines of Verona
Wednesday, November 15, 6:30 p.m. ($95)


This class is a must for collectors of Italian wine. The wines of Verona and the Valpolicella are often Italy's most misunderstood and are certainly among the most unique in the panorama of Italian winemaking. Amarone and Recioto (both dried-grape wines) are some of the world's most collected and collectible appellations. These are long-lived wines with great power and depth. But the province of Verona also produces Soave, an appellation that has enjoyed a renaissance as winemakers have moved away from commercial production, and a wide range of monovarietal wines. Wine director Charles Scicolone leads a guided tasting that includes dry and sweet wines, white and red classics, and some of the cutting-edge and more unusual labels that have appeared in recent years.

 

Wine Opinion: Can One Wear Rosato after Labor Day?

 

As the end of summer approaches and the sun starts to set earlier in the sky and Labor Day is upon us, real men (and women) turn their attention to barbecues. I, for one, love the outdoor grill and everything that can be made on it. However, when it comes to cooking, the only thing I do is pizza. The only thing I cook on the grill is pizza. I leave it for the rest of the world to make those delicious dishes with their extraordinary sauces, for which they all have a secret ingredient.

I love almost everything on the grill. Many years ago, I was at a barbecue party in the country outside of Roma where they had grilled quail, lamb, sausages, and a Roman specialty, pajata, which is the small intestines of milk-fed veal. Usually, you eat pajata in a tomato sauce served over rigatoni. But it also served grilled, although it is very hard to find in restaurants. The hosts of the party served it with bread that has been toasted over the grill and lightly drizzled with olive oil: the grilled pajata was so delicate that it melted on the hot bread and in your mouth.

More recently, Michele and I were guests at the home of a good friend in Sag Harbor. He served us skewers of lamb alternated with thick pieces of crusty bread and cubed pancetta. This was wonderful and the bread and the lamb picked up the flavor from the pancetta.

Another time, we rented a house in a small hamlet called Bottai outside of Florence. The owner's house was also on the property and one Sunday he invited us over for a barbeque. It was on that occasion that I had the best bruschetta I'd ever eaten. While there are many imitations, the true bruschetta, or fett'unta, "the anointed slice [of bread]" as it is called in Toscana, consists of simplicity itself: a grilled piece of stale salt-less Tuscan bread, rubbed with fresh garlic, and then anointed with bitter, green Tuscan olive oil. And what goes best with a dish like this? Sangiovese, you say? You are right. That's why I chose the 100% Sangiovese di Romagna for this week's tasting.

In Sicilia they don't celebrate Labor Day but they do grill calamari and octopus, which is one of my favorite forms of seafood. As you know, I will drink red wine with almost anything but in this case, these two foods cry out for white wine. There no red wine that would work here. In my opinion, if you match these two foods with red wine, you will get an undesirable metallic taste. The way to eat seafood is right off the grill, all by itself, nothing on it but a little salt, lemon, and olive oil, served with a structured white wine like the Bianco di Jacopo.

This Labor Day, I plan on opening some bottles of Grignolino. The weather will hopefully be hot and sunny and I don't want to drink wines that are too heavy or too high in alcohol. In my opinion, Grignolino is one of those perfect barbecue wines because it goes with many different grilled foods. It's not too dense, the alcohol is not too high, and it's easy to drink.

When choosing wines for a barbeque, you need great food wines, with not too much tannin and good acidity, especially because summer grills tend to be spicy and intensely flavored.

And of course, what summer barbecue would be complete without a glass or two of rosato. The Conti Zecca rosato is perfect: made from Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera, it’s got a lot of character but is always light and refreshing, not too high in alcohol.

The fashionable among us, of course, would not be caught dead drinking rosato after Labor Day, but I, for one, like to drink it all year round if it goes with the food that I am eating.
--Charles Scicolone, Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino

Charles would love to hear from you. Please email him at charles@vinosite.com.