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Wine News - September 16, 2005
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WineCountry.IT
Columns
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Italian Native Vines
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The journey of Rosa D'Ancona in search of the Italian native and ancient vines continues.
In this installment we find all the white and red grapes native to Calabria or brought over by the ancient Greeks in times long past. Often those imported vines found their ideal environment, producing such good wines that, as we now know, the Greek colonizers renamed this region first, then the whole part of Italy that they took over, Enotria, or 'Land of Wine'.
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September is the month that brings Italians back to their daily routine after the welcome relief and excitement of the summer vacations. It's a month dedicated to memories and harvest, when our favorite fruit, the grape, begins its gradual transformation that will make it into wine.
This month however, we have chosen to honor the Caffè del Principe s.r.l. from Genoa, a company dedicated to marketing extremely high quality coffee, toasting the carefully selected beans exclusively by request, so as to provide a product that is always fresh and of top quality.
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August is over, and so is summer vacation for a large number of Italians. Ss the kids are getting ready to go back to school, several weeks later than their US counterparts, ho by the end of August were already back in the classroom, let's see what five-course menu Chef Davide Dalloco, of the Scuola Alberghiera di Serramazzoni, has come up with for this season.
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WineCountry.IT Network |
- WineCountry.IT
Our main portal, bilingual English/Italian online magazine dedicated to Italian quality wine and food professionals and lovers.
- Italian Flavor Consortium
Bilingual English/Italian web site dedicated to inform about and give easy access to Italian quality wine and food to foreign importers, distributors and resellers.
- Italian Wine Hub
English web site dedicated to Italian wine producers, importers, exporters, distributors, collectors and consumers.
- Italian Wine Labels
English web site dedicated to Italian wine labels.
- Club del Vino Italiano
Italian equivalent of the Italian Wine Hub web site.
- ABC Vino
Italian equivalent of the Italian Wine Labels web site.
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Welcome to
VOLUME III,
NUMBER 14 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).
Dear readers, we are frantically busy getting ready for the next Italian Flavor Forum II, the second educational / wholesale market event organized in the San Francisco Bay Area.
We have selected 11 new producers for our portfolio, adding wines from other interesting Italian regions, such as Friuli and Sardinia; extra virgin olive oil from Sardinia and Apulia; gourmet coffee roasted to perfection according to the best Italian tradition to gratify both the discriminating palate of espresso coffee drinkers, as well as the taste of the knowledgeable American-style coffee lovers. We are currently updating our online catalog, adding all the new products and producers.
We have also published a new article about the grape of the moment, the Pinot Noir, article by sommelier/writer Paride Leali, as well as the second part of Rosa D'Ancona article about the Italian native vines from the Calabria region.
In addition, stimulated by two recent US articles dedicated to Lambrusco, I wrote a piece in favor of this ancient grape whose wine is mostly so wrongly perceived in the US, based on the ubiquitous Riunite drink that became famous in the 1960s. To say it with Matt Kramer, "(Riunite's drink) was modeled on traditional Lambrusco in the way that, say, some of Picasso's portraits were based on life models. You couldn't tell from the result."
Enjoy the reading.
Loris Scagliarini,
President
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Articles
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Lambrusco - It's Better Than You Think
(and it's time to notice it!)
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 As a Modena, Italy native, I glow reading headlines that do justice to this easygoing, delightful and, you better believe it, quality wine. As many other grapes in Italy, Lambrusco is a regional staple, actually grown exclusively in the northwestern part of Emilia-Romagna, of which Modena is the heart.
Continue...
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A Look at the European Union – Part 1 of 3
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 "Is This the Next Tuscany?"
The New York Times travel section rhetorically asked this question recently, referring to what the journalist defined "the calf of Italy’s boot", or the Marche region of Italy, located about halfway down the Adriatic coast. The area is known mainly for its agriculture, especially vineyards and wheat fields, but offers secluded beaches and historic medieval hill towns as well.
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The Pinot Noir
The Difficult and Noble Red Grape from Burgundy
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 Red vine symbol of the French Côte d’Or, or Golden Coast in the heart of Burgundy, the Pinot Noir is a grape able to produce uniquely classy, elegant wines, but is also difficult and "whimsical" to deal with. Vintners and agronomists know this only too well. In fact, because of the grape's early ripening they must protect them from the springtime frost, as well as from the frequent attacks by Peronospora and Oidio, fungi that are particularly damaging to this grape. Other problems are the wrapping and folding of the leaves and grapes that rot easily.
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Four Indigenous Italian Wines You Should Get to Know
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 2004 Aramonte Catarratto, Giuseppe Pellegrino (£4.99, Marks & Spencer)- 2001 Terranto Primitivo, Puglia (£4.99, Morrison's, Safeway)
- 2003 Brindisi Rosso, Cantine due Palme (£5.99, Sainsbury's)
- 2003 Vesevo Benevantano Aglianico (£7.99, Liberty Wines, 020 7720 5350; Valvona & Crolla, 0131 556 6066)
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The Collazzi District Wins Third Annual 'A Tavola con il Nobile'
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 The Collazzi District is confirmed as having the best local cuisine in the part of town known as the 'Bravìo delle Botti', winning for the second year in a row the appreciated e 'A Tavola con il Nobile' ('At the Dinner Table with the Noble [Wine]) gastronomic award. Created by Italian TV journalists, Bruno Gambacorta, the contest is organized by the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (Nobel Wine from Montepulciano, not to be confused with the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo wine) Consortium in collaboration with the Magistrate for the Montepulciano districts.
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'Project Wine' to Promote Italian Products in the World |
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 The answer of 73 Italian wine producers to the rise of Australian and South American export on international markets is the founding of the 'Project Wine' association. Ambrogio Folonari, of well known Folonari winemaking family, was elected chairman of the association, while Giacomo Rallo and Manlio Collavini, were elected deputy presidents.
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Alba: Seventy-fifth White Truffle Festival |
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 Truffle: 'Delicious and perfumed' are the adjectives that come to mind thinking about the precious Tuber Magnatum Pico (botanical Latin name of this kind of truffle), a true rarity found exclusively in Alba, Langhe and Roero. During the fall, it is a tradition to celebrate the abundant products provided by this generous countryside.
Continue...
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ISMEA/UIV: Uncertain the Effect of September Climate on Harvest
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 According to ISMEA and the 'Italian Wine Union' (UN.VINI) 2005 grape-harvest will be slightly lighter than the previous year, with a projected production of 51.8 million hectoliters (over 1,368million gallons) of wine, down 3% from last year's 53.3 million hectoliters (over 1,408 million gallons). This is due to a limited weather downturn that has left many uncertainties: weather conditions in September will be crucial.
Continue...
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Italian
Flavor Consortium: Associate Producers
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- Acetaia La Tradizione – Emilia Romagna NEW!
Balsamic Vinegar from Modena and Nocino Riserva
- Acetaia Malagoli Daniele - Emilia-Romagna
Traditional Balsamic Vinegar from Modena
- Acetaia La Tradizione - Emilia-Romagna NEW!
Balsamic Vinegar and Nocino liqueur from Modena
- Azienda Agricola Betti - Tuscany
DOC Wines
- Azienda Agricola Buccelletti Vivai - Tuscany
Wine, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil IGP Toscana
- Azienda Agricola Dessole – Sardegna NEW!
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Azienda Agricola Málibran - Veneto
DOC Wines
- Azienda Agricola Masseriola - Puglia NEW!
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil Dop Dauno Appennino
- Azienda Agricola T,E,S,S,A,R,I - Veneto
DOC Wines
- Caffé del Principe s.r.l. – Liguria NEW!
Gourmet coffee
- Cantina di Pitigliano – Tuscany NEW!
DOC Wines
- Cantina Vitivinicola Romangia – Sardinia NEW!
DOC Wines
- Fattorie Coliberto - Tuscany
DOC Wines, Extra Virgin Olive Oil IGP Toscana
- Fattorla La Striscia - Tuscany NEW!
DOC Wines
- "La Pescaia" di Di Donato A.R.V.E. - Tuscany
DOCG Wines, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Gelatina di Brunello (Jelly Condiment), Grappa Liquor from Brunello di Montalcino
- Poderi Rosso Giovanni - Piedmont
DOC Wines
- Ridolfi - Azienda Agricola Mercatale NEW!
DOC Wines
- Scolaris Vini S.R.L. – Friuli - Venezia Giulia NEW!
DOC Wines
- Tenuta Carlina S.a.s. - La Togata - Tuscany
DOCG Wines
- Villa Calcinaia – Toscana NEW!
DOC Wines
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Dates to
Remember - September / October
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Note: To find out more about
the places and activities for each event, please visit the News page.
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| Bread Festival |
September 15 to 18, 2005
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| Welcome Grape Harvest! |
September 18, 2005
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| 'Vini Nel Mondo' (Wines in the World) |
September 16 to 18, 2005
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| Montefalco Wine Week |
September 22 - 25, 2005
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| Twenty Seventh Caraglio and Grana Valley Fall Festival |
September 24 and 25, 2005
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| Interdrink 2005 |
October 3 to 5, 2005
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| ITALIAN FLAVOR FORUM II |
Wednesday October 19, 2005
from 2 to 6 PM
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| Vino & Dintorni (Wine & Surrounding) |
October 29 and 30, 2005 from 9:00AM to 7:00PM
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The 2005 vintage in the northwestern part of Italy will be aimed at quality, while the forecasted harvest will bring in a little over 132,000 tons fewer grapes compared to 2004.
