The Weekly Word of Vino, Italian Wine & Spirits

In This Issue:

September 27, 2006

•	Upcoming Events at Vino

•	Wine Opinion: How I Became a Pizzaiolo (Part II)

•	Wine Tastings: New Flights at Enoteca I Trulli

•	Fall 2006 Class Schedule

Upcoming Events at Vino

Weekly Wine Tasting Thursday and Friday September 21-22 5:30-7:30 FREE!!! Sample the new flight list at Enoteca I Trulli... for free!!! For more information see below. Vertical Dinner featuring Produttori del Barbaresco moderated by Charles Scicolone Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino Tuesday, October 24, 8:00 p.m. Ristorante I Trulli Limited seating, reserve now Like the appellation itself, the Produttori del Barbaresco winery is one of the world's greatest, yet also one of the most misunderstood. When vinified in the traditional manner (long maceration followed by aging in large, old oak barrels), Barbaresco can take 20 and even 30 years (for exceptional vintages) to reach its peak potential. While many Barbaresco producers have turned to new oak and concentration to create wines drinkable at an earlier age, Produttori has refused to change its approach to and philosophy of winemaking. Thanks to our relationship with the winery and its importer, we have obtained a lot of old Produttori del Barbaresco going back to 1978. The wines are coming directly from the winery to us. Highlights will include: 1978 Pora (cru) 1979 Asili (cru) 1996 Barbaresco and 1997 Ovello (cru) For more information and to reserve, click here. To shop and browse our wines online, click here.

Wine Tastings: New Flights at Enoteca I Trulli

This week's tastings feature new Fall flights at Enoteca I Trulli (flights consist of three tasting pours, organized by region, wine type, and/or theme). This Thursday and Friday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. 121 East 27th St. between Park and Lex. FREE 800-965-VINO contact@vinosite.com Flight #1 Native South The Native South flight features indigenous grape varieties of Southern Italy. Inzolia 2005 ERA (click here to order) The ERA winery is 100% bio-dynamic. Its Inzolia is made exclusively from the eponymous grape, vinified in stainless steel. Koine Verdeca 2005 Botter (click here to order) "Koine" was the Greek dialect spoken throughout the Mediterranean at the height of the ancient Hellenic empire, the lingua franca of Mediterranean trade and civilization. Here the name refers to the fact that in antiquity, Verdeca, known for its intense aromas and flavor, was grown throughout the Mediterranean basin. Fiano d'Avellino 2005 Terredora (click here to order) Fiano is one of Italy's oldest grape varities and was highly praised by Latin writers. The Roman soliders often remarked that the fruit was so rich that it was difficult to keep the bees away. Thus, the grape became known as apiano meaning "loved by bees," from the Latin apis or "bee." Over the centuries, the name was transformed from apiano to affiano and finally fiano (Avellino is the name of township outside Napoli where the grapes are grown for this appellation). Pliny marveled at the wine's great aging ability. Flight #1 Non-Native The Non-Native flight features red international grapes grown in Italy. Praepositus 2003 Abbazia di Novacella (click here to order) The famed Abbey of Novacella (Abbazia di Novacella) has been a European center of learning, sprituality, and culture since the twelfth century when it was founded as part of the Order of St. Augustine. Where there are monks, there are books and there is wine. The high-altitudes and pebbly soil of Alto Adige are ideal for the production of richly flavored and intensely colored wines. The friars of Novacella have made wine for more than eight centuries and the presence of Pinot Nero (locally called Blauburgunder by these speakers of German and Italian) dates back to the mid-eigteenth century. Merlot 2003 Planeta (click here to order) A ground-breaking wine from Planeta, this Merlot is blended with small amounts of Petit Verdot and spends twelve months in barrique before being released. Pietraforte 1999 Carobbio (click here to order) Although the Carobbio estate is more famous for its modern-style Chianti, it also produces some of the region's most coveted wines like this Pietraforte (named after the vineyard where the grapes are sourced). This wine is everything a classic Super Tuscan should be: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, bold and big in the mouth, with the classic vanilla and toasty flavors and aromas of barrique. 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.

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: How I Became a Pizzaiolo (Part II)

The reason that I said Michele answered me "sarcastically" (in the last installment) was because she knew very well that I could not cook anything (to read the last installment of "How I Became a Pizzaiolo," click here). In fact, when she would go away on press trips, she would leave the refrigerator full of food and all I had to do was heat it up or put it in the microwave. When she returned and opened the refrigerator, nothing had been touched. She did this twice and then stopped doing it. The joke was that I could not use the microwave or boil water. I lived off the kindness of friends, especially that of Nicola Marzovilla, the owner of I Trulli and Vino. Nicola would have dinner with me almost every night and I would bring a bottle of old wine. We would drink and eat into the wee hours of the morning. Friends would call and ask for Michele and I would say that she was out of town and they would invite me over for dinner. However, the gauntlet had been thrown down and I took up the challenge of becoming a pizzaiolo. I ate pizza in almost every restaurant in New York City (that means the outer boroughs as well!). I asked questions: for example, I learned the difference between between "00" (cake flour) and all-purpose flour; the different types of yeast; oven temperatures; and how to create a perfect Neapolitan pizza Margherita, which was named after Italy's eighteenth-century queen who loved the dish so much. I broke three pizza stones because I made pizza every day. It took a long time but I finally realized that I had the dough down to perfection because no matter how awful the pizza looked, it tasted great. Using only the best mozzarella, San Marzano tomatoes, and fresh basil (when I could get it), I made pizza! One day, not so many years ago, Michele was doing a demonstration at the Gustibus cooking school at Macy's and her agent and editor were both there. When Michele told the story of my learning to make pizza, they became hysterical because they knew that I could not cook anything. They insisted that Michele invite them over to our house to sample my pizza. Once they tasted the pizza, they could not believe how good it was and looked at each other and said -- almost simultaneously -- "this should be a book!" This is how Pizza, Any Way You Slice It was born. It's been many years that I have been recognized as a world authority on pizza: as a result of my new found fame and my well known love of and passion for Italian wine, many people ask me, "what do you drink with pizza?" With pizza I drink sparkling red wines, red wine from Campania and Basilicata, and if the pizza calls for it, white wine from Campania, such as Falanghina and Aspirinio d’Aversa. The Italians, however, will drink anything sparkling, and that includes beer, coca cola, aqua minerale gassata, and even prosecco and champagne (or "traditional method sparkling wine," as EU law requires us to call it when it is made in Italy). However, sometimes I've enjoyed older bottles of Barolo with my pizza margherita. Some may call this a sacrilege but I think it's a great combination: the Nebbiolo grape and all of its typical flavors such as tar, cedar, leather, tobacco, and good acidity, go great with pizza. Lastly, I only use four different toppings for my pizza: marinara, marinara with anchovies, margherita, and margherita with prosciutto and arugula. And basta cosi'. Next May, Michele and I will be leading a "pizza" tour of Campania. So stay tuned and look for information next spring. In the meantime, you can check out www.cantalupotours.com for updates. --Charles Scicolone, Wine Director, I Trulli and Vino Charles would love to hear from you. Please email him at charles@vinosite.com. To purchase Pizza Any Way You Slice It by Charles and Michele Scicolone, click here.