The Weekly Word of Vino, Italian Wine & Spirits

In This Issue:

September 12, 2006

•	Upcoming Events and New Arrivals at Vino

•	Wine Opinion: a Wine the World Didn't Forget

•	Wine Tastings: Martha's End-of-Summer Wines

•	Meet Your Winemaker Dinner Series: Filena Ruppi

•	Fall 2006 Class Schedule

•	Sogno Uno: just a few cases left...

Upcoming Events and New Arrivals at Vino

Vino and the Scicolones Partner with St. Vincent's for a good cause... On Tuesday, September 26, Michele and Charles Scicolone will be pouring, talking, tasting, and mingling at "A Taste of the Village and Beyond," where Vino will be among the sponsors providing donations. The charity event will raise funds to help renovate St. Vincent Hospital's Manhattan Children's Inpatient Psychiatric Unit and will include food and wine tastings, auctions, and, of course, the chance to meet and chat with Michele and Charles. For details, click here. Vino and I Trulli Partner This Fall to Bring You Winemaker Dinners and Tastings Dinner with one of Italy's leading women winemakers Filena Ruppi, Tenuta del Portale (Basilicata) Monday, September 25, 8:00 p.m. Ristorante I Trulli There are a few places left for the dinner event but tickets are going fast so please reserve by emailing us at events@vinosite.com. see details below Just added: Filena Ruppi will be leading a free tasting of her wines from 5:30-7:30 at Vino on Monday September 25 prior to the dinner. Sogno Uno: just a few cases left!!! Because of limited quanities, Savanna Samson's Cesanese blend Sogno Uno is available for purchase exclusively on our website. For more on this much-anticipated wine, see below. To purchase, click here. To shop and browse our wines online, click here.

Wine Tastings: Martha's End-of-Summer Wines

Later this week, the staff at Centovini will be pouring wines at the Martha Stewart Living End-of-Summer party. The magazine's events coordinator asked owner Nicola Marzovilla to put together a tasting of "summer" wines to accompany antipasti prepared by Chef Patti Jackson. Although the party is for Martha Stewart Living staff only, you can taste the wines this week at Vino: This Thurs. and Friday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. 121 East 27th St. between Park and Lex. 800-965-VINO contact@vinosite.com Prosecco (tranquillo) 2005 Collalto (click here to order) While most Prosecco is vinified as a sparkling wine, locals often drink it as a still (tranquillo in Italian) but equally refreshing white. Its bright acidity and fresh fruit flavors make it a perfect food wine that will pair with a wide range of dishes. Prosecco - still or sparkling - is the wine of Venice par excellence. Orvieto Amabile 2004 Le Velette (click here to order) Orvieto is generally made as a dry wine but in this case the winemaker has stopped fermentation early, thus allowing the wine to retain some of its sugar and make it sweeter (amabile or "lovable" denotes sweet in wine parlance). This now unusual winemaking style was popular until the early twentieth century. Its subtle sweetness makes it an excellent pairing for salads (or other dishes with vinegar). Gragnano 2005 I Normanni (click here to order) Named after the famous pasta-producing township on the Amalfitan coast, Gragnano is made from Aglianico grapes (southern Italy's most noble variety) blended with smaller amounts of Piedirosso and Sciascinoso: each of these has been used to make wine in Campania since antiquity. This slightly sparkling version of the appellation is considered one of the best wines to pair with pizza - a dish they know something about in Campania, the region where it was invented. Mantovano 2005 Ca’ de’ Medici (click here to order) While most Lambrusco is made from Lambrusco grapes grown in the province of Reggio Emilia (in the region of Emilia), the fruit for this sparkling red is sourced from vineyards in the province of Mantova (region of Lombardia). Lambrusco is the quintessential food wine and pairs well with the rich foods of the Po River Valley. This particular expression of Lambrusco is richer in flavor and darker in color than most. During summer months, it is matched by the famous cured meats of Parma (Prosciutto, Culatello, Mortadella etc.). Grignolino 2005 Cascina del Frate (click here to order) When in Piemonte, drink as the Piemontesi do... The Piemontesi produce some of Italy's most coveted and collectible wines (Barbaresco and Barolo) but for their table wines, they prefer lighter wines with good acidity like this 100% Grignolino from the township of Asti (in the heart of Piedmontese wine country). In summer months, we tend to eat spicier dishes: this bright wine can hold its own with intensely flavored foods, like sausage with onions and peppers. Lacrima di Morro d'Alba 2004 Mancinelli (click here to order) The Lacrima grape is one of central Italy's emerging stars: very round, soft, and fruity in the mouth, it was virtually unknown outside of the country until about five years ago. The berries are so rich in sugar that as they begin to ripen, some of them inevitably split and begin to "cry," hence the name lacrima or "tear drop" in Italian. This wine is a classic example of Italy's wondrous mosaic of indigenous grape varieties. 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: a Wine the World Didn't Forget

In my opinion, there are many great grape varieties in Italy. Four, however, stand out because of the uniqueness and the nobility of the wines that they produce and their ability to age. These grape varieties are: Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Sagrantino, and Aglianico. While the first three have become well known in North America, the last is only now beginning to become a household word. Like most wines from the South of Italy, it's taken longer for it to catch on here. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't make for great wine. In fact, it's one of my favorite grapes. The Aglianico grape was brought to Southern Italy by the Greeks. Today, its Latin name Vitis hellenica or "Hellenic grape variety" is a reference to the grape's origins. In the fifteenth century, it became known as Aglianico. Many people are familiar with the Aglianico that is grown in Campania, which, in the form of Taurasi, makes great wine that can last for thirty or more years. Most do not know, however, that Aglianico was first cultivated not in Campania but rather in Basilicata, the region that forms the insole of Italy's boot. It was planted in the volcanic soil of the sunny slopes of Mt. Vulture, a luckily extinct volcano that last erupted roughly three hundred years ago. Aglianico from Basilicata would be called the wine that time forgot if it were not for a few great producers. I have been drinking these wines for the last twenty-five years, both here and in Italy. Some of these wines have been twenty-years old or older and the longevity of these wines is truly amazing. There are two winemakers, in particular, who stand out. The first is Donato d'Angelo, who was one of the first to introduce Aglianico del Vulture to the United States as a fine, collectible wine. The other, by coincidence, is his wife, Filena Ruppi of Tenuta del Portale, whose wines I have had fortune to drink and to taste over the years. The Aglianico they grow in Basilicata is slightly different than the clone grown in Campania. The berries are bigger and as a result, you get a wine lighter in color because of the skin-to-pulp ratio. These wines have a rich, cherry-like aroma, with hints of tar, good acidity, and long finish. They are very well balanced wines and most importantly, they are great food wines that will stick around for a very, very long time. I recently tasted Filena's Riserva 2000: this is a wine that, in my opinion, will reach its peak in fifteen to twenty years. It's one of my favorites. I met Filena for the first time over fifteen years ago at Vinitaly and she was already making excellent wine back then. I am very glad that she is coming to Vino and I Trulli on September 25, and I am looking forward to tasting her wines with her. I know there are a few spots left at her winemaker dinner: I can't think of a better way to pass an evening than eating and drinking her wines with her, trading notes and impressions. As you all know, my wine opinion is accompanied each week by my picture. However, I am going to have a new picture taken next week. The only thing that could replace my face would be a bunch of Aglianico grapes. Notice how large the berries are in the picture here to the right and enjoy. --Charles Scicolone, Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino Charles would love to hear from you. Please email him at charles@vinosite.com.

Meet Your Winemaker Dinner Series: Filena Ruppi

Dinner with one of Italy's leading women winemakers Filena Ruppi, Tenuta del Portale (Basilicata) Monday, September 25, 8:00 p.m. Ristorante I Trulli 122 East 27th St. (Between Park and Lex. Aves.) $100.00 per person (including tax and gratuity) Ten seats available. to reserve please send an email to: events@vinosite.com Five Wines, Including: Pian del Carro (cru) 2001 Aglianico Riserva 2000 Vigne a Capanno 1998 Four-Course Dinner featuring Basilicata specialties The Tenuta del Portale winery in Basilicata is quickly emerging as one of Southern Italy's most coveted and collectible labels. Led by Filena Ruppi, the wife of famed producer Donato d'Angelo and an acclaimed winemaker in her own right, Tenuta del Portale has been producing single-vineyard Aglianico del Vulture since the late 1990s when she acquired a sizable estate in the region's only DOC. "My wines are intended to convey a message from the past to the future," says Filena. A prime example of her keen awareness of her heritage is the Vigne a Capanno, named after a now obsolete vine-training method whereby the indigenous reeds of Basilicata were used as stakes for the vines (the reeds were used to build a capanno, i.e., a pergola). Since she began growing her own grapes in the late 1990s, she has always used Guyot training for her vines but the reference to the capanno method represents her respect for and homage to the winemakers who came before her. The 1998 is showing beautifully right now: Filena is bringing bottles herself especially for the occasion. And while her traditionally vinified Riserva 2000 is also drinking well right now, she tells us that it certainly has 15-20 years ahead of it. "In the cellar, we treat this wine very traditionally," she says. "The resulting wine is an example of Aglianico's great aging ability and its power." The Aglianico del Vulture appellation (in the northern section of Basilicata, which forms the insole of Italy's boot) is by far one of Southern Italy's most interesting and vibrant. Made from grapes grown in the shadow of the extinct volcano Mt. Vulture (VOOL-too-reh), this wine is considered one of the South's most noble and most coveted. The presence of Aglianico in Basilicata dates back to the era of Greek colonization and by the time the Latin poet Horace was a young man, it was widely cultivated there (many claim, indeed, that his famous line, nunc est bibendum, "now is the time for drinking," is a call to drink Aglianico). The volcanic subsoil of the highlands surrounding Mt. Vulture and the high elevation create the ideal environment for the cultivation of long-lived wines that show minerality and structure.

Sogno Uno: just a few cases left...

Web Exclusive!!! The long-awaited Sogno Uno has finally arrived. The wine, the product of a collaboration between actress Savanna Samson (pictured right) and maverick winemaker Roberto Cipresso, has been the talk of the Italian wine world since it was first introduced a few months ago. Sogno Uno or "Dream One" is Ms. Samson's first foray into the wine world. It is a blend of Cesanese with smaller amounts of Sangiovese and Montepulciano, made from grapes grown in Lazio. The front label reveals an image of Ms. Samson while the back label quotes from the second book of Virgil's Georgics. The passage, one of the work's most famous, describes an offering to Bacchus, god of wine. For those of you who don't read Latin, a translation follows: Grim masks of hollowed bark assume, invoke/Thee with glad hymns, O Bacchus, and to thee/Hang puppet-faces on tall pines to swing./Hence every vineyard teems with mellowing fruit,/Till hollow vale o'erflows, and gorge profound,/Where'er the god hath turned his comely head./Therefore to Bacchus duly will we sing/Meet honour with ancestral hymns, and cates/And dishes bear him; and the doomed goat/Led by the horn shall at the altar stand,/Whose entrails rich on hazel-spits we'll roast. To purchase click here.