Tre Bicchieri Returns

The Tre Bicchieri tastings are returning to the United States! Organized by Gambero Rosso, the bible of Italian wines, these special tasting bring together dozens of producers from all over Italy, as they pour their top-rated Tre Bicchieri wine for the media and press.

The 2016 "Vini d'Italia" is the 29th edition of this guide, published by Gambero Rosso. For this year's guide, some 22,000 wines from a total of 2400 producers, there were 421 wines that were awarded a Tre Bicchieri rating. This rating is the highest given by the publication and it goes to the most outstanding wines from all over Italy. What's great about this award is that is it not only reserved for the most celebrated red wines, such as Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino and Amarone, but also less famous reds such as Dolcetto, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Rosso Piceno, along with may stellar whites (Verdicchio, Vermentino, Timorasso, et al) and of course, several prominent sparkling wines from Franciacorta and Trentino, along with a few examples of Prosecco.


There will be three tastings in the US, starting on February 4 in Chicago at the Bridgeport Art Center, 1200 W. 35th Street. Register here for this event (press) and here for trade.

Here is a link to a list of the participating producers who will be pouring their wines in Chicago.


The tasting in New York City will be held on February 9 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th Street. Register here for this event (press) and here for trade.

Here is a link to a list of participating producers who will be pouring their wines in New York City.


The tasting in San Francisco will be held on February 11 at Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard. Register here for this event (press) and here for trade.

Here is a link to a list of participating producers who will be pouring their wines in San Francisco.


I'll be attending both the Chicago and New York City tastings - hope to see you there!

Un disastro!

Let me say at the outset that the purpose of writing posts for this blog and for my Learn Italian Wines blog is to share information and at times, educate readers about wine. I have been in the wine business for 31 years and have been writing professionally about wine for more than 13 years. I specialize in Italian wines, having made more than 50 trips to that country, visiting wine regions from north to south. I have written dozens of articles for major wine publications and recently wrote my first book about Italian wines, which will be released soon.

Clearly, I love Italian wines and believe that they are among the best of the world. So when a respected voice in the industry writes mistruths and mistakes about Italian wines, I'm not exactly thrilled.

A few months ago, I was asked by a publisher rep if I would like a copy of the latest edition of Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course for review purposes. I replied that I would and having read a good deal of the book, I was ready to pass along a positive judgment. There is a good amount of worthwhile information in this book, especially toward the end, where there is a chapter on how to taste. This is something that everyone should think about more often, no matter whether you are a beginner or someone with decades of tasting experience.

But any good that is presented in this book is overshadowed by his section on Italian wines. I won’t go into everything that is wrong here, as I don’t have the space available, but let me say it now – this is a disaster!

I want readers to know that this essay of mine is not a knee jerk reaction. I read Zraly’s text more than a month ago and made up my mind then to write about this. But I thought I would speak with other people in the wine industry first. I then spoke about this to several producers and other individuals in Italy who also work with Italian wines for a living. I wanted to discover their thoughts about this and see if my opinions were something that they shared.

A few people who know of Kevin told me that he is a Francophile. There’s nothing wrong with that. I love French wines as well and drink them whenever I get the opportunity. But the point here is that Zraly has written a book about wines of the world. In reality, his bias toward French wines clearly shines through in this book. It’s subtitled a Complete Wine Course, but a better title would have been a French Wine Course along with sections on other wines of the world.

There is a separate chapter on the white wines of France, but there isn’t even a separate chapter on the wines of Italy; rather Italy shares a chapter in this book with Spain. Furthermore, the section on Italy deals almost exclusively with a few famous red wines, as the country’s white wines are largely ignored (more on that later). Look, I don’t have a problem with the author devoting a separate chapter to French white wines, but not even a separate chapter on Italy? He decided to write so little on Italian wines (especially in comparison with the wines of France) that this subject became merely part of a chapter. Again, if Zraly prefers French wines that’s fine, but he’s clearly not giving Italian wines their fair due in this book.

As for the section on Italian red wines, there are several key mistakes. He writes that Chianti must be 80% minimum Sangiovese. Actually, it’s 75% for most versions of Chianti, such as Chianti normale or a Chianti from one of the seven districts, such as Chianti Rufina, Chianti Colli Senesi, etc. The 80% requirement for Sangiovese is only for Chianti Classico. This is something that’s been in effect for several years; all Zraly had to do was look this up on the internet.

Then he writes about a change to regulations for aging Barolo in wood. He writes that Barolo now has to be aged for only one year in wood. This is simply incorrect. I emailed a winemaker in the Barolo zone and also checked the Barolo disciplinare to learn the correct information; the minimum aging in wood for a Barolo is eighteen months, not one year. Now I realize that Italian wine laws change quite often, but the simple fact remains that the minimum aging is not one year now and never has been. It used to be 24 months, which was changed to 18 months. Zraly does mention that it was 24 months several years ago, so if that was what he listed in the book, one could forgive him, as one could say he hadn’t updated this information. But to list one year as the figure, when it is not that period of time today and never has been, well, that’s simply incorrect and a sign of not doing the proper work. For a book that is supposed to be one of the finest available about wine education (we read that on the inside front as well as the back cover), this is a careless mistake.

Then there are a few really stupid or strange things he writes. Under the heading “easy-to-find Veneto producers”, he lists Quintarelli. Wait a minute! Quintarelli, easy to find? Where does this guy shop for wines?

Even worse is his note on Amarone, which he writes derives from the Italian words amar, meaning bitter and one, meaning big. Huh? I mentioned this to a few producers in Italy and their reaction ranged from laughter to outright disbelief. This guy is a leading wine educator?

I mentioned that the Italian section is primarily about red wines; Zraly concentrates on Amarone, the big reds of Piedmont (Barolo and Barbaresco) and four famous wines of Tuscany: Chianti, Vino Noblie di Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino and Carmignano. However, there is not one word – not a word! – about Bolgheri. How did Zraly decide to leave this out? It certainly couldn’t be because the wines are too expensive, as he writes a great deal about classified growths of Bordeaux that retail for hundreds of dollars per bottle. He also writes a good amount about the premier and grand cru bottlings from Burgundy. I can understand in a book such as this that there isn’t room for everything, so some wines are deleted. But we’re not talking about an obscure red wine from Basilicata or Calabria here, we’re talking about Bolgheri. Even if you only know two wines from here – namely Sassicaia and Ornellaia – you know about Bolgheri. Given that there are two full pages on the wines of the Loire Valley in France, couldn’t Zraly at least written a paragraph about Bolgheri? Especially given the fame of these wines? Again, his bias toward French wines while ignoring many distinguished Italian wines, is striking (also, there is no mention Morellino di Scansano, one of Tuscany’s most successful red wines of the past decade).

While this is bad enough, this doesn’t even come close to the outrage I feel about his few brief paragraphs about Italian white wines. Zraly writes that he doesn’t teach classes about these wines as the leading examples of these products imported into America, such as Soave, Frascati and Pinot Grigio, tend to retail for about $15. So what? Doesn’t it stand to reason that the leading wines in terms of sales from anywhere – Italy, France, Chile, Australia, Spain, etc – sell for $15-20? Yet he has an entire chapter on French white wines, most of which are much more expensive than $15. It’s quite an illogical argument. It seems clear that he doesn’t taste many examples of Italian white wine.

Kevin, have you tried this?

Or this? These are two outstanding Italian white wines.

Also, by writing what he does about these wines being $15, he tends to dismiss then singlehandedly, as though they’re not worth his – or anyone’s - time. Yet I wonder if he’s tasted the Pieropan Soave Classico lately or other examples of Soave Classico, such as Cantina del Castello, Ca’ Rugate, Gini and Pra. They all retail for about $14-16 dollars and they are excellent values. If Zraly means this book as a text for beginning and intermediate wine drinkers, he’s doing them a disservice by not highlighting these wines.

Of course there are single vineyard offerings of Soave in the $18-25 range (not a great deal of money and certainly on par with white wines from the Loire and Bordeaux that he praises in the book) that are marvelous wines. Soave has become relevant again and these cru offerings are first-rate wines, yet there’s nothing about them in this book. Apparently Zraly doesn’t care much for these wines, if he samples them at all.

Zraly has brief lists of varieties and wines from several Italian regions; he admits that he doesn’t have the space to cover all twenty wine regions. That’s fine, but take a look at his list of grapes in Friuli-Venezia Giulia: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc. That’s it! Has he ever heard of Friulano, the signature grape of the region? How can he leave this out? Wouldn’t you think that it would be easy to remember Friulano when writing about Friuli?

But all of this doesn’t even hold a candle to his most outrageous statement in the book, which happens to deal with Italian white wines. Continuing his reasoning about why he doesn’t teach a class on Italian white wines, he writes:

“The Italians do not traditionally put the same effort into making their white wines as they do their reds – in terms of style and complexity and they are the first to admit it.” (page 187).

Can you believe he actually wrote that? I had to read the sentence several times to make certain my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me. Yes, I’m quite certain that great vintners such as Leonildo Pieropan, Roberto Anselmi, Silvio Jermann, Sabino Loffredo and Ciro Picariello would admit they don’t put much effort into their white wines. What a truly outrageous statement!

Again, does Zraly even drink Italian white wines? I mentioned this statement to a producer in Alto Adige and told him that it seemed as if the author wrote this some forty years ago. His reply to me was that, yes, some four decades ago, one could say this about Italian white wines, but certainly not today. For anyone who has been paying attention, the amazing level of quality of the best Italian white wines has been one of the major developments in the wine industry over the past fifteen to twenty years. Has Zraly even noticed?

Zraly, by the way, also writes that recent plantings of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in Italy have “elevated” the quality of Italian white wines. How can he say this? The best white wines in Italy, the ones that have truly been among the country’s best over the past twenty years are largely not produced from these two varieties, but rather from Verdicchio, Friulano, Vermentino, Garganega, Cortese, Greco, Fiano, Falanghina and several dozen more. It’s these indigenous varieties that are at the core of greatness of Italian white wines.

While I’m angry and terribly disappointed with Zraly’s take on Italian wines, there’s a bigger problem here. It’s the mere fact that he could write this and get away with it. Can you imagine the reaction he would have received if he had written mistruths and had as many incorrect facts about the wines of France or California? He would have been tarred and feathered and run out of town. Yet, I’ve not read any other criticism of his text on Italian wines. Where is the outcry? Where are the Italian producers and importers on this? To me, this entire situation shows the lack of respect for Italian wines in this country.

I applaud Zraly for being a positive source for wine in this country and also for writing this book. But once you decide to take on such a venture, there is a professional responsibility that must emerge. You cannot write mistruths as he has about Italian white wines and represent yourself as a leading wine educator. If he doesn’t care for Italian white wines or doesn’t keep up with these wines, then admit it. There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s being honest. But don’t write something that is a slap in the face to hundreds of excellent white wine producers in Italy.

If Italian wines – white, red and sparkling (there is barely any mention of Prosecco or Franciacorta in this book) are to be taken seriously in America, then individuals who write and teach about wine need to treat them with the proper respect. Like other wines more if you will, but give Italian wines their proper due.

By the way, Kevin, I invite you to pay a visit to Melissa Sutherland Amado, white wine buyer at 67 Wine and Spirits in New York City. She adores Italian white wines and can give you a great education on this topic. She will introduce you to several great wines that are proof of the excellent work being done by white wine makers in Italy today.

Italian Wine and Thai Food - a class/dinner

Italian wines are meant for food and given the array of varieties used throughout the country, it's easy to see that there are all sorts of Italian wines that pair well with a wide array of cuisines. I've paired hundreds of Italian wines with all types of foods, both by myself at home as well as with friends at local restaurants in Chicago.

Some of my favorite pairings are with Thai food, so I thought I'd put together an impromptu wine class/dinner to show how certain Italian wines mesh with this type of cuisine. This will be this Thursday, April 12 at 7:00. We'll taste white, red and sparkling this evening. (P.S. This is in Chicago, by the way.)

Email me for details and I'll let you know the location and other information (this will be at a north side Thai restaurant). We'll keep this small (6 or 7 people) and the estimated cost will be about $30 per person. This will be an informative, fun and above all, delicious, evening of wine and food!


Send me an email and I'll let you know more.

Tre Bicchieri Tour Thoughts

It's that time of year again - lucky Italian wine lovers in three cities across America will be able to attend the annual Tre Bicchieri event organized by Gambero Rosso. The publication, considered Italy's wine bible, judges tens of thousands of Italian wines each year and honors a few hundred with their top rating of Tre Bicchieri (three glasses). These wines, emerging from all over the country, represent every style of Italian wines, from the beautiful sparkling wines of Francicorta to the shimmering whites of Alto Adige and Friuli to the most famous reds from Toscana, Piemonte, Veneto, Campania and many other regions.


This really is one of the finest and most comprehensive Italian wine tastings you could ever hope to attend (I know as I've been to three of them in the US), so for the trade, this is something you cannot miss. Here are the dates:

SAN FRANCISCO: February 16th
Press/Media: 2-3 PM PST
Public: 3 - 7 PM PST
Fort Mason Center - Herbst Pavillion | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94123 – 1382

NEW YORK: February 18th, 2011

Friday February 18, 2011 from 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM EST
Metropolitan Pavilion | 125 West 18th Street (between 6th and 7th avenue) | NEW YORK, NY 10011

CHICAGO: February 22th, 2011
2:00 PM to 7:00 PM CST

Union Station - 210 South Canal Street | CHICAGO, IL 60606


More information can be found at this link:


To RSVP for any of these tastings, contact Christine Volkmer at: gambero@volkmerpr.com

Marco Sabellico, Gambero Rosso (Image - Porzioni Cremona)

Recently I spoke with Marco Sabellico, senior editor, Italian wines for the guide (look for him at the tastings), about several things about the tour, including what it means to the producers.


Tom Hyland:

What is the major benefit with this tour? How do the producers benefit - do some producers benefit more than others (perhaps a small producer from Lazio or Marche as compared to one from Toscana or Piemonte)? What is the primary benefit for Gambero Rosso?

Marco Sabellico: 

The main benefit of the tour is for the people who attend the events: They have a lot of top-quality wines and producers altogether. As for wineries small ones enjoy the benefit of being close to the well known names, the big ones get some audience from those who come only for small and unknown new names. Gambero is proud to be the brand who makes this possible, and a fantastic ambassador of high profile italian wineries in the world... so everybody is happy...

TH: How does the tour differ in the United States than in Italy or other countries?

MS: 

I must say that I notice a more sophisticated and expert audience... and a lot of professionals compared to the venues of other countries...

TH: 

What are the reactions you've seen from Americans that attend these tastings? How do they enjoy this event?

MS: 

Excellent reactions. Most of them, especially in NY and San Francisco are regulars who have been attending for more than 5 years... They keep on coming... (Editor's note: this is only the second Tre Bicchieri tasting to be held in Chicago.)

TH: Finally, what do you personally enjoy most about these events?

MS: 

We all enjoy our trips to the USA... we meet a lot of dedicated wine lovers, passionate collectors, and we have a chance to visit fantastic restaurants... It's important for us to see what's new in the USA...

How nice that Gambero Rosso makes the effort each year to conduct these tastings and offer so many great Italian producers the opportunity to showcase their wines. Marco, thank you for the excellent insight and thank you to those at Gambero Rosso for making these tastings possible.

I hope to see many of you in Chicago on February 22!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Backwards

Regarding my constant look at the coverage of Italian wine by The Wine Spectator, it seems there is some good news and some not-so-good news. Let's start with the good.

Bruce Sanderson took over the job of writing about Italian wines for the magazine recently and from what I've seen so far (admittedly a small sample), I have to congratulate him on his views. In the November 30 edition, Sanderson rewarded the small estate of Cascina Roccalini in the town of Barbaresco with some very high scores, with the highest rating being a 93 for the winery's 2008 Barbera d'Alba.

I tasted this offering at the winery this past May, thanks to the US importer Terence Hughes, who set up my appointment after I expressed interest in trying these wines, which I had read about on his blog. I loved all the wines from Cascina Roccalini, especially this Barbera, which is an amazing wine (see the post from my other blog). The wines have great varietal purity, impeccable balance and beautiful structure. This is certainly a combination of several factors, including the viticulture of owner Paolo Veglio as well as the superb winemaking of Dante Scaglione, best known to Italian wine lovers as the former winemaker for Bruno Giacosa.

Dante Scaglione, Winemaker, Cascina Roccalini (Photo ©Tom Hyland)

As you might imagine from his previous work, Scaglione makes wines in a traditional style; that is to say, wines aged in grandi botti, large casks as opposed to the small French oak barriques. Many wine writers have joined me in my preference for traditionally aged wines from Piemonte, as they best express a sense of place instead of emphasizing a dark color or a the obvious sweet and spicy notes of small oak.

Readers of this blog know of my disdain for the previous individual who covered Italian wines at the Spectator. Suffice it to say that he clearly preferred modern wines made in an international style. Like what you want, but do your job and give credit to those vintners that continue to make wines that represent their heritage. There are just too many internationally-styled wines out there today. We all expect a different style of cuisine when we go to Italy - we don't go there to have a hamburger (or foie gras, for that matter), so is it too much to ask that producers in Italy continue to be honored for their traditional views? That they should be rewarded for making wines that are singular and not aimed at following a trend?

So thanks to Sanderson for his glowing reviews of the Cascina Roccalini wines. Maybe we will see a shift in the publication's Italian wine coverage, but I'll wait a while before I'm fully satisfied. (By the way, here is a link to Terence Hughes' blog with a mention of Sanderson's reviews. Thanks again to Terence for letting me know about these wines. Production is rather small, so the wines are only in a few markets.)



That's the good news. Now for the bad and I'll keep it brief. The Spectator has recently announced its Top 100 wines for the year, what the publication labels as the "year's most exciting wines." There are exactly nine wines from Italy that made the list.

Now while I think there should me more than nine, I won't criticize them for this; let's face it, there are impressive wines being produced in many countries these days, so they need to let their readers know about them. But it's the choice of wines that irks me. Of the nine wines, seven are from Tuscany. Seven of nine! You'd think this was the only region in Italy that produced notable wines (the other wines - one each - are from the Friuli and Veneto regions). Nothing from Piedmont? Nothing, especially given the new releases of 2006 Barolo and 2007 Barbaresco? Nothing from Sicily, Campania, Alto Adige, Lombardia or Umbria? This proves to me the lack of balanced coverage of Italian wines by the magazine.

Of the nine wines, eight are red. While I expected a significantly larger proportion of Italian reds to whites on this list, this balance is highly questionable. But even if you only have one white wine to represent Italy on your Top 100 list, you select a Pinot Grigio? This is one of the year's most "exciting" wines? Have the writer (or writers) not tried any white wines from Alto Adige or Campania recently? Or other producers from Friuli? There are dozens of impressive wines from these regions, especially from the outstanding 2009 vintage. Just to name a few producers who have made gorgeous Italian whites over the past year, I'd go with Cantina Tramin, Cantina Terlano, Elena Walch, J. Hofstatter (Alto Adige); Edi Keber, Zuani, Livio Felluga, Marco Felluga, Livon (Friuli) and finally Feudi di San Gregorio, Mastroberardino, Vadiaperti and Luigi Maffini from Campania. (One final note on this: the Pinot Grigio is from Attems, a nicely made wine, but one that is hardly exciting, especially when compared to the whites listed above. To make matters worse, the 2008 bottling is the one that made the list, even though the 2009 has been on American retail shelves for several months now, which means that the 2008 is probably gone.)

It seems as though the old administration at the magazine may have had a lot to do with this list, as a few of the wines that made the Top 100 from Italy have been represented before. Yes, there are some new entries here, but again, the list is just a dull one. Let's hope this year is the last time the publication selects such a poor representation of Italian wines. I hope that's the case, but I'm not betting on it.

A Great Tour of some Grand Wines

Reading through Joseph Bastianich's latest book, Grandi Vini: A Opinionated Tour of Italy's Finest 89 Wines (Clarkson Potter, New York, $24.99), is almost as rewarding as sitting down with a winemaker at his cellar or home in Italy and tasting one of his finest releases. You're not in Italy, but you might as well be, given the author's insights combined with his mixture of history, personality and elegantly simple wine descriptions.

Bastianich is one of America's foremost authorities on Italian wines and only someone who has studied this subject for so long could write a book as valuable as this. He currently owns more than a dozen Italian restaurants in New York City and also owns wine estates in Friuli and Toscana in Italy. He grew up working for his parents (everyone knows his mother Lidia) at their Buonavia Resaturant in Queens and then moved on to embrace Italian wines with the help of a nearby wine retailer.

Bastianich was able to travel to Italy, at first with his parents and then on his own and it's clear from this book how enamored he became with the country, its wines and foods. Grandi Vini is more than just a listing of dozens of great wines (though it's an impressive list), it also serves as a travelogue across the Italian peninsula, giving the reader a look into the complex and fascinating world of Italian viticulture.

The famous wines and producers, such as Ornellaia, Sassicaia, Biondi-Santi and Gaja are listed as you would imagine. But what I'm most impressed with are the lesser-known wines the author has included, wines that deserve much more attention than they currently receive. These include such outstanding wines as the Giuseppe Rinaldi "Brunate -Le Coste" Barolo, the Fontanafredda "Lazzarito -La Delizia" Barolo, the "Monte Fiorentine" Soave Classico from Ca' Rugate and the "Vorberg Riserva" Pinot Bianco from Cantina Terlano in Alto Adige (I must admit that I'm thrilled to see these wines in the book, as the are all personal favorites of mine as well).

In case you're one of those wine lovers that only thinks of Italy for its big reds, such as Barolo, Brunello and Amarone, you'll love learning about its notable whites from Friuli, Marche and Campania among others as well as gorgeous reds such as Taurasi, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Gattinara, to name only a few. Of course, there have been many fine books that have documented the story of Italian wines, so this is not groundbreaking material, but perhaps only someone as familiar with Italian wines and as passionate as Bastianich could have told this tale so eloquently.

The book is titled as "an opinionated tour" and there are many valuable observations on specific wines and producers. Basianich notes how Edi Keber changed the history of Collio with the introduction of his Collio Bianco, a blend of several local varieties. He writes, "Edi and 80 out of 120 producers in Collio believe that a wine named Collio, crafted from historic and native varietals (sic), is the only future for this tiny border wine region making the best white wines in Italy and perhaps in the world."

An even stronger opinion is revealed in the author's text on Bruno Giacosa, the famed producer of Barbaresco and Barolo. "Bruno Giacosa," the author writes, "has remained almost the only winemaker in Piemonte who is still able to make great wines with other people's grapes." Where else would you read a comment such as that?

As for the chosen wines themselves, Bastianich has opted for a balancing act, as is the proper course for a book on the best Italian wines. Of course, Barolo, Amarone and Brunello are well represented, but there are also several examples of Taurasi, Soave and Chianti Classico as well as classical made sparkling wines from Lombardia and Trentino along with notable reds such as Nero d'Avola and Aglianico del Vulture. The style of the wines vary as well, from traditional to the more modern; writing about Barolo, the author confesses his love for traditional wines, yet also praises the ultra-modern approach taken by Roberto Voerzio.

Finally, I love the writing style Bastianich uses for the descriptions of his wines. This is not a book filled with words such as "opulent", "austere" or "dramatic", but rather words that make these wines easy to understand. For example, discussing the Ca' Rugate "Monte Fiorentine" Soave, he writes, "In the mouth, the wine is round, juicy and elegant. Despite never having seen wood, this wine has body, well-balanced acidity and structure." This is a summary everyone can understand and given the enormous range of Italian wines in general, the author's decision to simplify things and not talk down to the reader is a welcome one.

The combination of history, opinions and insights into particular producers Bastianich has met over the years makes this book a valuable entry in the Italian wine world. Highly Recommended.

Understanding Italian Wine

Vineyards in Campania

(Photo ©Tom Hyland)

An open letter to Matt Kramer at The Wine Spectator:

Dear Matt:

I just read your online post "Are You Afraid of Italian Wines?" at winespectator.com and frankly, I'm disappointed you would write such a column. You are one of the most engaging and intelligent wine writers in the country, so I don't quite understand why you wrote what you did. Was it a slow news week for you?

You mention that at a a restaurant you ordered a Pecorino Colline Pescaresi from Tiberio, while admitting that you hadn't heard of the Pecorino grape, the Colline Pescaresi zone or the producer Tiberio. Let's look at your claims. I can appreciate the fact that you weren't familiar with the Pecorino grape, as it's planted in small numbers primarily in Abruzzo and Marche. Ok, Chardonnay it's not. But you admit to enjoying the wine, calling it "dazzling stuff." Pretty nice compliment, so I'm thinking you're glad you tried this bottling. It's a nice thing when you discover something new, isn't it?

As for not being familiar with the Colline Pescaresi district, alright, join the club. It's a small district in Abruzzo, named for the Pescara province. You apparently have a problem with this designation simply because it's not a household name. Yet how many wine drinkers know where the Ben Lomond or High Valley AVAs are located in California? Should wineries in these areas not use these terms simply because they're not as famous as Napa or Sonoma?

As for not knowing Tiberio, so what? You must realize that there are thousands of artisan producers from Italy whose wines are imported into the United States. You said that you loved the wine, so now you know Tiberio and now you know about the Pecorino grape. And the next time you see a Pecorino from Colline Pescaresi, I'll bet you'll think about ordering it.

Two major things here. Yes, there are hundreds of varieties used in Italy that are seen nowhere else in the world. Thank goodness for that! Do you really want a world where we drink wines made from the same 10 or 12 varieties? I would hope not! If you don't know the variety, you can always ask your server, sommelier or manager at the restaurant. If they have decided to carry particular wines - obscure or not - you would hope they would have learned about these offerings and would have trained their staff. If that's a problem, write about that, but don't write about the fact that you never heard of the Pecorino or Biancolella grape (as you did with another wine).

Are Italian wines confusing? To some degree, yes. For some people, the names are too long and as they don't want to stumble over the pronunciation or order something they're not familiar with, they stick to the tried and true such as Pinot Grigio and Chianti. How unexciting is that? Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry will always be the best-selling flavors of ice cream, but isn't it great that you can also order pistachio almond or nutty coconut at Baskin-Robbins? Thank goodness that A-16 in San Francisco as well as hundreds of Italian restaurants in New York City, Chicago, Houston, Miami and other cities offer such a wide variety of Italian wines.

Back to my question about Italian wines being confusing. There are hundreds of tiny DOC areas that few people know about; frankly people want to know how a wine will taste and what grapes are used. Education of Italian wines in this country has not been given the same emphasis that wines from France and California have enjoyed. But does that mean the Italians have to dumb things down? How did you want Tiberio to label its Pecorino Colline Pescaresi? As Bianco d'Abruzzo? That might have been easier for you and others to understand, but what would that have told you, except for the fact that it's a white wine from Abruzzo? The best wines the world over come from specific varieties and places. I think we all learn a great deal more when we are given more information to process. You may label it as confusing, but I prefer to think of it as valuable data.

So Matt, please help your readers understand more about Italian wines. I realize that in an off-handed way, you did just that with this column, as you sang the praises of an excellent Pecorino and Biancolella. But as a respected wine writer, you should do more than complain. Write about the glories of these singular wines from the Italian peninsula. Your readers will thank you for it, believe me! If you'd like, please also pay a visit to my blog Learn Italian Wines. I think you'll enjoy it - and you might even learn a few things!

By the way, I think I'll enjoy a La Sibilla Falanghina Campi Flegrei tonight. It's a gorgeous white wine made from the Falanghina variety in the Campi Flegrei district, located a little ways out of Napoli; La Sibilla is one of the area's finest producers. But I'm guessing you already knew that!


Sincerely,
Tom Hyland

Tre Bicchieri in Chicago

Text and photos ©Tom Hyland


Gambero Rosso wrapped up their annual Tre Bicchieri tastings last week with a glorious event in Chicago, the first such occurrence of its kind for my hometown. The organizers wisely selected the historic Union Station, just west of the Loop, and the old train station never looked so beautiful. Most vintners I spoke with that had participated in the two previous tastings in New York and San Francisco earlier in the week, offered their opinions that this was the best venue of the three.

This is an exciting tasting for the obvious reason that many of the best wines in Italy are available for tasting; Sassicaia, Bruno Giacosa Barolo and Barbaresco and Planeta Cometa are only a few examples of this. But going beyond the most famous offerings, this is an opportunity to sample wines that the magazine’s staff rated on an equal level (Tre Bicchieri) with those famous bottlings. These included wines made from Vermentino, Sylvaner and Grechetto for white and Corvina, Garganega and Pugnitello for red. Being able to taste a selection such as this is quite special and it gives one a sense of the variety of the Italian wine scene. The vintners of Italy have always prided themselves on the singularity of their products, so while a tasting of only Brunello, Barolo and Amarone would be thrilling, it wouldn’t give one a proper overview of contemporary Italian viticulture. Gambero Rosso is to be congratulated not only for organizing these tastings in the United States (and other countries), but also for including wines made from dozens of different varieties from every corner of the Italian peninsula.

Here is a brief list of a few of my favorites I tasted last Friday:

WHITES

Sergio Mottura
2008 Poggio della Costa
I get few opportunites to taste wines from Lazio – honestly, how many of us do – so when I finally had the opportunity to meet Sergio Mottura and samples his latest releases, I was delighted. Mottura specializes in Grechetto; this particular wine is aged only in stainless steel and offers lovely fragrances of melon and dried pear and has a distinct juiciness to it. Mottura also poured the 2007 Latour a Civitella, another pure Grechetto, which was aged in oak. This had mango and white spice notes with very good acidity. I actually preferred this wine, as has Gambero Rosso in previous vintages.

Sergio Mottura

Abbazzia di Novacella
2008 Sylvaner Praepositus
This historic estate in Alto Adige never disappoints and often surprises – how often do we classify a Sylvaner as a first-rate wine? Yet this 2008 offering is just that, given its peach, pear and apricot aromas, excellent persistence and lively acidity.

Cantina Lunae Bosoni
2008 Vermentino Colli di Luni “Etichetta Nera”
Vermentino is one of those wines that few consumers know, yet everyone seems to love once they try it. This is a splendid rendition with acacia and yellow apple aromas bursting out of the glass. This is a serious Vermentino I think will be enjoyable for another five years – or perhaps even longer.

Collavini
2008 Broy
This is one of the more famous “Super Whites” from Friuli and ir’s easy to see why, as this blend of Chardonnay, Friulano and Sauvignon is a seamless bottling that offers plenty of fruit (pear, apple) as well as spice (saffron, ginger). Rich with a lengthy finish, yet quite elegant and never overpowering – truly one of the more subtle botlings of its type.

Livon
2007 Braide Alte
While the Collvini Broy is low-key, this wine is more outgoing. A blend primarily of Chardonnay and Sauvignon (Blanc), this oak-aged white has great depth of fruit to back up the lovely aromas of spiced pear, chamomile and hyacinth. The well-structured finish is quite lengthy and the wine overall is quite sensual. This should age for at least a decade.

Elena Walch
2008 Gewurztraminer “Kastelaz”
No surprise here, as each year this wine captures the exotic fragrances of this variety as well as any other example in Italy. One whiff of the piercing lychee aromas and you’re captivated by this wine! Dry, full-bodied and quite complex, this is just a baby – check back on this in about five years.


REDS


Olim Bauda
2006 Barbera d’Asti Nizza
A producer that is hardly known in this country, although that might change with this wine. Deep ruby red with black plum and mocha aromas, this is rich, ripe and delicious! There are so many excellent offerings of Barbera from the strict Nizza appellation; this is prime evidence of how ideal this zone is for this variety.

Cecchi
2006 Coevo
For anyone who knows Cecchi merely for their humble Chianti Classico, I offer this wine as evidence of how good the wines are at this large estate in Castellina. A blend of Sangiovese from the Chianti Classico zone and Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot from the Maremma (an intriguing concept), this has notes of red raspberry and black cherry fruit along with a touch of dill, elegant tannins and excellent persistence. A nicely balanced and stylish Super Tuscan.

Tenuta di Valgiano
2006 Tenuta di Valgiano
This Tuscan estate, located near Lucca, has been improving its reds for some time now and this 2006 bottling, a blend of Sangiovese, Syrah and Merlot is a beautifully textured wine with ideal ripness, elegantly styled tannins and ideal acidity. I am enjoying the 2006 reds from Tuscany immensely; this is one of my favorites to date.

Antonelli
2004 Sagrantino di Montefalco Chiusa di Pannone
This is the first bottling of this cru and Filippo Antonelli is off to a brilliant start with this wine. Always one of the area's most traditional producers, Antonelli has delivered a deeply concentrated effort with lovely perfumes and beautiful acidity; he has also managed to tame the aggressive tannins of Sagrantino. This Umbrian red is one of Italy's most underrated wines; perhaps this will bring the area's offerings greater attention.

Filippo Antonelli

Vajra
2005 Barolo “Bricco delle Viole”
The 2005 Barolos are beautifully balanced wines and now that the wines have been in the bottle for some time, their fruit is emerging quite gracefully. Aldo Vajra always crafts his wines in an elegant style and this bottling is as graceful as you could hope for with Barolo. It also has pinpoint acidity, subtle spice and refined tannins – in short, a superb Barolo.

Fontanafredda
2004 Barolo Lazzarito La Delizia
This particular cru Barolo is always released later than the other crus from this estate, due to its higher level of tannins. 2004 was a great year in Barolo and this bottling has the power of that vintage combined with plenty of spice and fruit. Look for this to be at its best in 20 years or so.

Bruno Giacosa
2005 Barolo Le Rocche del Falletto
One of Piemonte’s giants, Bruno Giacosa seems incapable of producing anything less than a superb wine when it comes to Barolo and Barbaresco. Full-bodied, with aromas of currants and truffles, this grabs hold of you and never lets go. A rich mid-palate and a lengthy finish with outstanding concentration, this is a memorable 2005 Barolo.

Elvio Cogno
2004 Barolo Vigna Elena
This is a special Barolo from Cogno produced solely from the rosé clone that few producers bother with anymore. As the clone’s name might suggest, this is a perfumed offering with sensual notes of red roses and red cherrieS with a long, graceful finish, excellent concentration and lively acidity. If a wine is to age for decades, it must be in equilibrium when it is released; this is a textbook example of perfect balance.


DESSERT

Ca’ Rugate
2006 Recioto di Soave La Perlara
Let’s end with a sweet wine – e che un vino dolce! Made exclusively from Garganega grapes that were naturally dried for several months, this is lightly sweet with notes of honey, apricot and pear and finishes with cleansing acidity. Michele Tessari has always managed to make a rich Recioto di Soave that is always elegant without being too fat or lush. I am glad to see that Gambero Rosso finally decided to give their highest award to a Recioto di Soave.


All in all, this was a wonderful event that was well-attended. I do hope the organizers will return to Chicago as this event will only grow in popularity.

I want to thank everyone from Gambero Rosso who worked on this event for their efforts, especially Tiina Eriksson and Marco Sabellico, who were especially gracious.

Gems from Sicily

Vineyards at Avide Estate, Vittoria

This week I conducted a seminar on the wines of Sicily for the VinItalyUSA tour in Chicago. I’ve had the pleasure of conducting a seminar for the past five years for this event and several times it’s been about Sicily.

This is a region that has exploded in terms of quality over the past few decades. Long known as a producer of bulk wines as well as being the largest wine-producing region in the country – these two factors are tied in – the image of Sicilian wines has changed to one of a greater number of small and mid-size estates being established in growing zones around the island. Particularly important is the emphasis of vintners working with red grapes on the eastern part of the island – in fact, more than 90% of the red grapes in Sicily are planted in the four eastern provinces of Catania, Messina, Siracusa and Ragusa. Arguably the most important plantings are of Nero d’Avola in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria zone and in the far southeastern reaches of the island, near the towns of Avola (where the grape’s name originates), Gela and Noto.

We sampled eight wines during the seminar as well as dozens more in the walk around tasting held later in the day. I’d like to focus on a few of my favorites. Avide, a producer in the Cerasuolo di Vittoria district in the province of Ragusa, offered a well made bottling of Frappato under its Herea label. Frappato is one of the two varieties used in Cerasuolo di Vittoria and is not seen as a monovarietal that often. This 2008 bottling has tasty red cherry fruit, soft tannins and tart acidity. It’s a charming red meant for consumption over the next 2-3 years and would pair beautifully with chicken with a red wine sauce or arancini (rice balls); this would even be enjoyable with a slight chill.

Their 2007 Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG is a 50/50 blend of the two grapes necessary for this wine, Nero d’Avola and Frappato. When this was a DOC wine, the blend from virtually every producer was 60% Nero d’Avola and 40% Frappato, but when the wine was elevated to its DOCG status beginning with the 2005 vintage, more blending freedom was allowed. Today many producers who create a DOCG bottling (producers are allowed to produce a DOC, a DOCG or both) often go with a greater percentage of Nero d’Avola (as much as 70%) to give the wine a little more power, but I actually prefer this bottling, as it is more to the subdued, softer, less tannic style I prefer. This has aromas of fresh red cherry and red roses with an intriguing hint of china bark and there is plenty of perfectly ripe fruit along with an long, elegant finish. This is as well-crafted a Cerasuolo as I’ve had for some time. It’s absolutely delicious and I’d love to pair it with any number of dishes from couscous with vegetables, to swordfish to pasta with tuna.

Abraxas Winery, Pantelleria

From the island of Pantelleria, south of Sicily, Abraxas is a typical small estate that makes the world famous dessert wine Passito di Pantelleria. More on the later, as I want to focus on two reds this producer also bottles. The 2007 Kuddia di Moro is a 100% Nero d’Avola that has the signature marascino cherry flavors of this grape and is quite rich, yet there is a restrained quality about the wine. A few too many bottlings of Nero d’Avola focus merely on ripeness, so it is nice to see this subtle style with a distinct earthiness in the finish.

The second red, Kuddia di Ze from the 2006 vintage, was like finding a treasure map. A blend of Syrah, Grenache and Carignane, this is an old-fashioned Sicilian red with a wonderful rustic quality, very good acidity and a beautiful spiciness. I generally prefer traditional reds over the modern reds that show off oak and ripness, so this was a real treat for me and I heard so many positive comments on this wine from those who sampled it at the seminar or later at the tasting. This is a wine that screams out for food – pair it with dishes such as eggplant parmigiana, grilled sausage or pasta with fennel. How nice that a producer from Pantelleria has chosen to produce a red as wonderful and as singular as this. We need more producers who are willing to make wines that tells the story of their land instead of bottlings that are market driven.

As for the 2006 Passito di Pantelleria from Abraxas, well, the word outstanding may not do justice to this bottling! Displaying a light orange color and gorgeous aromas of dried apricot, orange peel and subtle notes of dried honey and graham crackers (!), this has terrific depth of fruit and an ultralong, lightly sweet finish with cleansing acidity and notes of orange peel. This is a classic and as rich as it is, it is quite restrained and beautifully balanced. What great complexity – this has everything you would look for in a dessert wine!

The Mille e una Notte from Donnafugata has become one of the most prestigious bottlings of Nero d’Avola from Sicily. Sporting a deep ruby red color with hints of purple, this is quite rich with sumptuous black cherry and blackberry fruit backed by very good acidity and elegant tannins. This has been one of the most consistent bottlings of this variety in Sicily and the 2005 continues that track record. The firm’s pleasant 2008 Anthilia, a dry white blended from Ansonica and Cataratto, has fresh pear fruit, good richness, a dry, tasty finish and is quite a fine value for around $16.

A few other Sicilian wines that caught my attention included three lovely bottlings of Grillo from the 2008 vintage; the Tonnino with a lovely copper color and aromas of pear and canteloupe, the Aquilae with pretty aromas of pear and creamed corn along with the Fina, which displayed interesting aromatics feauturing kiwi and lemon. These medium-bodied whites also had good texture (especially the Aquilae and Fina) and are evidence that Grillo is becoming one of Sicily’s best aromatic whites.

There’s never an end to discovering new Italian wines and producers and the vintners of Sicily are certainly doing their part to make this journey a fascinating and enjoyable one!


One last note: I would like to thank Marina Nedic and Ina Majcen of I.E.M., the management company that organizes this event as well as Paul Wagner of Balzac Communications of Napa for their help and for showing their faith in me for all these years. I couldn’t lead one of these seminars without their help, so thank you Marina, Ina and Paul and I look forward to doing this again next year!