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Wine News - May 15, 2005 |
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It has been a while since I last wrote a piece for our infrequent column, not because I haven't found any interesting destinations in the Bay Area, but rather because life is very busy. The other night, however, my wife and I went to Benissimo Ristorante & Bar for dinner.
There I always order the Italian style thin crust pizza, and so inspired, I felt the need to find time to write about it.
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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 peep 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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Italian Wine Hub
The online meeting place for Italian wine producers, exporters, brokers, importers distributors, consumers and collectors. |
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YOU ARE HERE >>
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Welcome to Volume III, Number 06 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).
As the Premiere of the Italian Flavor Forum® in the San Francisco Bay Area draws closer, we have decided to try another experiment based, as usual, on requests and suggestions from our readers. This is a trial run to change the e-Letter from a monthly to a bi-monthly affair.
Some of you wrote us commenting about two things: that the monthly e-letter includes too many articles all at once, and that the articles published at the beginning of the month are somewhat stale by the time the e-Letter is delivered.
You spoke and we listened. So here is the first of a twice-monthly delivery. Let us hear if the majority of you like it this way or if we should go back to the old way.
In the meanwhile, May 25th is approaching fast and the first ever Italian Flavor Forum® is about to become a reality under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy. As we had the opportunity to say in our previous communication, the educational wholesale market event is organized by the Italian Flavor Consortium® and is by invitation only. Dedicated to importers, distributors, retailers, restaurant chains, large distribution, specialized press and wine collectors, the event, introduces 24 top quality, mostly boutique Italian wines, that are either hard to find or that have never before been imported to the US.
The vertical tasting of one-, four-, eight, 12-, and 35-plus-year-old balsamic vinegar from Modena will give all participant the opportunity to evaluate and compare this precious nectar at various stages of maturity. A teaspoon of the eight- to 12-year-old for example, back in Modena is used to cure mild stomach pain and bad digestion. Its color, smell and flavor are captivating and truly pleasant. The 35-year-old will be offered either with ripe strawberries, Parmesan cheese or sliced apples. It is truly delicious on gelato, but we decided not to offer it as it would have had problematic preserving the gelato for four hours.
The Gelatina di Brunello, the 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, is an absolute first in the US. In fact, it has been in distribution in Italy itself and Europe only since February 2005 and it's having a great success. The producer maintains a good quantity of Brunello on hand as the gelatina is prepared to order, and so is always fresh.
The other event within the event is the blind tasting in which a selection of great Italian red wines face off against a selection of great California reds. The judging panel include both Italian and American experts, so it will be interesting to learn the results.
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 request your invitation. No walk-ins will be admitted.
Loris Scagliarini,
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Wine & The Mind Symposium, Napa |
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 Saturday May 14 and Sunday May 15, 2005, the Wine & The Mind Symposium, organized by Copia and U. C. Davis' Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, in cooperation with Three Bee Group, Rome, Italy and supported by the Assessorato Agricoltura e Foreste (Agriculture and Forests Council) of the Sicily Region of Italy, took place at the Copia Center, at 500 First Street, Napa.
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Disagreement Between ICE and Vinexpo: The Vinexpo Version |
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 As we published on May 9, the Istituto per il Commercio Estero (ICE, or Italian Foreign Trade Institute), has pulled out of a deal worth €300,000 with the Vinexpo trade show organization, claiming that the spaces assigned were not the ones they had requested. Here is the Vinexpo version.
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AssoDistil: Necessary to Maintain Distilleries |
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 A document issued by AssoDistil, denounced a report prepared by consultancy companies for the European Commission that is critical of the distillation institute. "The report, addressed to to the Common Market Organization (CMO), seems to include almost all the negative aspects of winemaking," said AssoDistil Chairman Antonio Emaldi.
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Orvieto Hosts the Second Food Quality Forum |
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 Following the great success of last year's first European Food Quality Forum, the Foundation Qualivita organizes the second annual at Orvieto, on June 3 and 4, 2005, at the beautiful Palazzo del Capitano del Popolo (Palace of the People's Captain).
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Export of Italian Food Grows 3.5% |
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 As is well known, Italian food is appreciated worldwide and recent data confirms it. In fact, Italian food exports in 2004 totaled €14,566 million, marking a 3.5% increase over 2003. Tourism, cooking classes and the media, all contribute to the success of Italian quality food products abroad.
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Disagreement Between ICE and Vinexpo: Italy Cancels Its Presence |
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The Istituto per il Commercio Estero (ICE, or Italian Foreign Trade Institute) had originally reserved a large central space at the next Vinexpo, with the idea of presenting, organically and in a prestigious way, the cultural patrimony of the Italian wine world, a marriage of territory, traditions and technical innovations.
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The Wine Industry Attack On TCA |
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 Lately there has been great news from both Portugal and France, that will make wine buffs who love corks, and can't seem to let go of that traditional method in favor of different kind of stoppers, happy.
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Azienda Ciavolich Launches a Braille Wine Label |
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 Acting on a suggestion by Cristiano Di Sabatino, an architect who worked at a botanical garden for visually impaired people, the Azienda Ciavolich from Miglianico, in the province of Chieti, started a courageous and valuable project.
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Italian Wines: Scientific Committee Established |
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 The new committee, established by the Siena Ente Vini (Wine Authority), has 14 members and will have the task of addressing programs and actions of the historic institution, whose headquarters have been located in the historic Fortezza Medicea (Medici's Fort) since 1933.
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Native Grapes Are the Winning Hand of Italian Wine Export |
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 The best thing to do to further improve Italian wine export worldwide is to promote the 350 native vines unique to the country. This is the centerpiece agreement reached at the convention entitled 'Enologia e vitigni autoctoni: nuova frontiera o ritorno al passato?' (Enology and Native Grapes: New Frontier or Return To the Past?)
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'Cammina Cammina', Eno-Eco-Gastronomic Hike in Calosso, Piedmont |
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 While taking the eno-eco-gastronomic hike in Calosso, one encounters Moscato vines announcing the next harvest and paths between the vineyards, geography that speak of men and nature, large farms, wineries, shady backyards, and smiling faces. Chatting without urgency while continuing to walk, the appetite grows steadily.
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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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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 |
Second Food Quality Forum |
June 3 and 4, 2005 |
'Salone dei vini da vitigno autoctono' (Wines Made With Native Grapes Salon) |
June 3 to 5, 2005 |
Fourth annual contest "Wine in Literature, Art, Music and Movies" |
June 5, 2005 |
Vinexpo Bordeaux |
June 19 to 23, 2005 |
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In my opinion, the cities where restaurants are open around the clock, such as New York, Paris and Barcelona, are the best and most enjoyable. There we are free to follow our own biological clock. Get up whenever we awake, eat whenever are hungry, and sleep when we are tired.
California grape growers planted a lot more Pinot Grigio in 2004, while Chenin Blanc acreage showed a significant drop statewide, according to figures released March 30 by the California Agricultural Statistics Service. 
From May 26 to 29, Ferrara will host a large number of meetings, workshops and exhibitions as part of the annual event called '100 Heritage Cities'. 
