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Wine News - May 2005 |
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For May 2005 we have chosen the Azienda Agricola Malibrán as Company of the Month. This is a family-run commercial farm located in the Valdobbiadene zone, the homeland of the much appreciated Prosecco sparkling wine. In that area, the love for vines has centuries-old roots, and the geometric textures that weave up and down the hilly landscape are there to prove it. For over three generations, the Favrel family has taken loving care of the Prosecco vineyards. The Prosecco grape is the historic grape native of this pre-Alpine corner of Italy, whose ripe golden grapes show through the lusciuous green of the leaves when they ripen.
From Vinitaly to Vino in Villa, from the National Show of Spumante Wines to the Prosecco Great Prize, from the Italian Flavor Forum to the L. A. County Fair, Malibrán wines can be found and tasted in all the major Italian and international wine trade shows and competitions.
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It's May, the good weather has arrived in Italy and Chef Davide Dalloco of the Scuola Alberghiera di Serramazzoni, proposes the following five-course menu, featuring seasonal local fresh produce such as watercress, beets and asparagus.
- Crescioni con bietola e asparagi (Watercress with beet and asparagus)
- Pasticcio di maccheroni alla Ferrarese (Macaroni pasta pie Ferrara-style - see recipe)
- Filetto di vitellone bianco dell’Appennino in crosta (White Apennine veal filet in crust - see recipe)
- Torta di riso (Rice cake)
- Casatella con confettura di scalogno (Casatella with jam and green onion)
Buon Appetito!
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YOU ARE HERE >>
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Welcome to Volume III, Number 05 of Wine News, the e-Letter from the WineCountry.IT network. (Would you rather see the e-Letter on your favorite browser? Use this link. Usa il link seguente se vuoi leggere le News in italiano).
At WineCountry.IT we are very excited about the upcoming Italian Flavor Forum®, the first ever to be held in the San Francisco Bay Area. The event, by invitation only, is an educational wholesale market organized by the Italian Flavor Consortium, and is dedicated to importers, distributors, retailers, restaurant chains, specialized press and wine collectors. At the event, introduces 24 top quality, mostly boutique Italian wines, rarely or never before imported to the US, will be introduced.
In addition, the participants will have the opportunity to taste for the first time ever, and be among the first to distribute the Gelatina di Brunello, a ruby red condiment delicacy obtained from the most noble Tuscan wine, the Brunello di Montalcino, voted wine of the year in 2004 by the Wine Enthusiast magazine.
As if this weren't enough, one-, four-, eight, 12-, and 35-plus-year-old balsamic vinegar from Modena will be available for the guests to evaluate and compare. As far as we know, this is the first time ever that such a product has been introduced in such a vertical presentation, thus allowing for direct appreciation of the changes that this unique product undergoes while maturing. It will also be the occasion on which to discover how balsamic vinegar should be used according to the age.
Finally, six great Italian red wines will face off a selection of great American reds in a blind contest, judged by a mixed Italian/American panel. A few seats in the panel are still available for US wine professionals and journalists. Should you be interested, please contact management@winecounrty.it.
Italian Flavor Forum® notwithstanding, life goes on as usual, so enjoy the full version of the articles introduced below by following the links to the English versions published on WineCountry.IT, Italian Wine Hub and Italian Wine Labels. The Italian versions of the articles are published on Vino Italiano Club and ABC Vino and in a different section of WineCountry.IT.
Happy reading and, if you are a wine professional or writer, don't hesitate to apply for your invitation. No walk-ins will be accepted.
Loris Scagliarini,
President |
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Articles |
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The Side Effects of 'Sideways' |
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 Unexpectedly and unpredictably, 'Sideways', the brilliant movie by Alexander Payne, featuring Paul Giammatti and Thomas Haden Church as two wine-loving buddies with very different personalities on a week-long wine-tasting trip through the South California wine country, pushed up Pinot Noir sales and jettisoned those of Merlot, up to a few months ago one of America's most popular varietals of red wine.
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Third Competition 'The Best Label Collage' |
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 A.I.C.E.V. the Italian Association of Lable Collectors, launches the third competition of 'The Best Label Collage', to promote the new members' association. All current members are invited to participate, but the competition is open to anybody who either collects labels or is interested in labels as a cultural tool or visual history of wine.
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Third Annual Sapori diVini |
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 The third Annual 'Sapori diVini' (play on words that means 'Divine Flavors", as well as 'Wine Flavors', takes off with the opening of two exhibitions, one of photographs entitled 'La donna è il vino' (The Woman is Wine), and one of paintings entitled 'Vinarelli di Torgiano, quadri che bevono vino' (Little Wines of Torgiano, Paintings That Drink Wine). The Piedmontese event, organized by the Pro Pinerolo organization lasts from April 30, to May 8, 2005.
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Finding An Excuse for Amarone |
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 Winemakers go to a lot of trouble making amarone, leaving the grapes on the vines as long as they dare. After four months of drying, the grapes have lost a third of their water but none of their sugar or acid. After four years of aging in oak casks and another year in the bottle, the wine develops its classic flavors of black cherries, coffee, vanilla and caramel. Aged further, it takes on the tones of raisins, jam and sherry.
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Eighth Annual Vino in Villa 2005 Prosecco DOC Bubbles Meet Trendy Appetizers |
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 The beautiful Medieval Castello di S. Salvatore (Castle of St. Savior), where the Counts Collalto still live, will open its gates to host 70 producers of Prosecco DOC wine. As always, the focus of the event will be the sparkling wine symbol Conegliano Valdobbiadene. In fact, it is that time of the year when the local wineries introduce their latest production to the public. In addition to offering the opportunity to taste as many as 250 Prosecco DOC labels, the theme of the 2005 annual presents many surprises to the general public, journalists, professionals and gastronomy buffs alike that arrive from every part of Italy and abroad.
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Enoteca Il Tralcio – Champagne Winning Window |
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 The Enoteca Il Tralcio won international recognition in the world of quality beverages in the Apulia region, and the town of Monopoli in particular. In fact, Il Tralcio was one of the five winners among the over 100 competitors for the award Le più belle vetrine d’Italia tra le enoteche Vinarius (The Best Italian Wine Bar Shop Windows), sponsored by Maison Laurent – Perrier, the French beverage company founded in 1812.
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Frescobaldi Investigated for Fraud |
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 Half a million liters of red wine from two Frescobaldi properties have been confiscated and 12 members of the company, including Leonardo, Lamberto e Vittorio Frescobaldi, are under investigation for alleged breach of the article 515 of the Italian penal code.
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Wine Bottle Sizes |
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 Wine comes botlled in a variety of various standard formats and sizes.
Listed here are the ten most widely used sizes worldwide.
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Confagricoltori Reports Risk of Chinese Invasion by Autumn |
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 Italian wine markets are till holding their own, even in a general consumption crisis, however there is real concern about the massive wine imports from China expected for next autumn.
The CIA (Italian Farmers Confederation) reports this concern, pointing out that such imports have registered a 200% increase in this last year, much higher than the still more than respectable 141 percent increase of Italian wine import to China.
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Italian Wine Exports to US Up in January |
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 The boom in Italian wine in the United States is up 16.2 percent in January 2005 to $69.3 million, from $59.6 million in the corresponding month last year. This is encouraging and shows the importance of investment in quality, in order to relaunch Italian exports, after Istat recorded a trade deficit in February.
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Two Italian Whites |
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 It's Friday, it's spring, baseball season is back, and nobody wants to work this afternoon. Let's cut right to the chase today, with quick tasting reports on a couple of recently tasted Italian white wines.
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Worldwide Wine Surplus |
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 A wine surplus is plaguing the champion producing countries, both in the Old and the New World. As bad news seems to be never ending for its wine industry lately, France is definitely in the worst shape. French Agriculture Minister, Dominique Bussereau in fact, will ask the European government to open a crisis distillation center, in order to distill his country's huge wine surplus.
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TV Host Alessandro Greco Visits Soloperto |
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 The Primitivo di Manduria wine by Cantine Soloperto continues to conquer the stars. The latest to be 'bewitched' by the precious nectar from Apulia is Italian TV host Alessandro Greco. An attraction that brought him to Manduria where, few days ago he was hosted by the Soloperto family.
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U.S. Consumer Attitudes to Wine Consumption Changing Rapidly |
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 'morefocus LLC', a leading on-line publisher and research panel manager, on March 24, 2005 released a new set of results from its ongoing Lifestyle Attitudes survey. The preliminary results, drawn from the wine and health panel, show significant shifts in consumer attitudes to wine consumption.
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Dates to Remember - May / June |
Note: To find out more about the places and activities for each event, please visit the News page. |
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"È Verdiso" |
May 6 to 15, 2005 |
Mostra Vini e Grappe (Wine and Grappa Exhibition) |
May 7 to 15, 2005 |
Wine Sicily |
May 19 to 22, 2005 |
Eighth Annual Vino in Villa 2005 |
May 21 and 22 |
Italian Flavor Forum |
Wednesday May 25, 2005 from 2 to 6 PM |
Mostra dei Vini DOC (DOC Wine Exhibition) |
May 27 to June 5, 2005 |
Mostra dei Vini di Collina (Hillside Wine Exhibition) |
May 28 to June 5, 2005 |
Cantine Aperte 2005 |
May 29, 2005 |
Dionysus Wandering from Vineyards to Cellars |
May 29, to June 12, 2005 |
"Calici di...Vini": tasting the best wines of the "Primavera del Prosecco 2005 " |
June 2 to 5 , 2005 |
Fourth annual contest "Wine in Literature, Art, Music and Movies" |
June 5, 2005 |
Vinexpo Bordeaux |
June 2005 |
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The 39th annual Vinitaly highlighted the fact that the wine world is experiencing a transitional period, which suggests that the international markets will see structural and strategic changes over the next few years. The proposal of the 
According to Spanish scientists, who examined the effects of different types of wine on lung cancer, that is, the most common and deadly form of cancer, drinking red wine could protect against such a disease, while white wine may contribute to increasing the risk.
If you've never tried German Riesling, now is the perfect time because the 2003 vintage, currently reaching store shelves, is one of historic significance, offering opulent wines of uncommon richness, the ripest fruit in decades and amazing acid balance.
According to a report commissioned by Vinexpo wine trade show organizers, the US and Italy will overtake France as world's largest wine consumer markets by 2008.
Italian Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Gianni Alemanno said that wine and territory coupling is important in the wine growing sector, and is still worth investing in. 
