Wine News - February 2007
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Welcome to
VOLUME V,
NUMBER 2 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).
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WineCountry.IT has partnered with one of the top online hotel booking organization in Europe to help our readers and web site users find affordable and luxury hotels anywhere, even at the last minute.
Since Vinitaly is coming up, we are setting the search to Verona for you. Give it a spin.
Going elsewhere in the world?
Not a problem, just type in your destination and check out what's in store for you.
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Another month is gone and at WineCountry.IT we have a lot of new things going on.
First of all, we are proud to announce that we have partnered with one of the top international online hotel booking systems. We are now able to provide our network users the possibility of booking hotels virtually worldwide, at amazingly competitive prices, even with last minute reservations. Check out photographs and detailed descriptions of each establishment, but most important from the guest's perspective, there is a numeric score based upon other guests' evaluations.
On a different note, we have temporarily suspended the column 'Company of the Month', pending a final decision about continuing, or dropping it. If any of you has suggestions about it, please let us know via e-mail.
On the other hand, we have decided to resuscitate the 'Third Circle' column, starting next month. Tireless Rosa D'Ancona will provide us recipes and real life tips about how to organize Italian regional meals, or banquets, for different occasions. Needless to say that Rosa will provide the list of wines to pair with each entree.
Finally, we have a wealth of interesting articles about the wonderful world of Italian wine and food in store for you. Enjoy the reading and please, drink well, but responsily.
Cheers,
Loris Scagliarini, WineCountry.IT President |
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Articles
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Zucchero Goes to Wine |
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 Zucchero (AKA Sugar Fornaciari, real name Adelmo Fornaciari) is the Emilian singer-songwriter who has made a name for himself abroad for his personal style. In 2005 Zucchero highlighted the international aspect of his music with the CD "Zucchero & Co.", sung in Italian, English and Spanish, in duets with Sheryl Crow, Paul Young, Macy Gray, Miles Davis B.B. King, Manà, Sting and Eric Clapton, among others.
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The 'Herbs of Passion' are the Focus of 'Il Piatto Verde' Food Fair |
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 In the bucolic town of Riolo Terme, perched on the hills of the tourist district of Terre di Faenza (The Lands of Faenza), are the headquarters of the IPSSAR "Pellegrino Artusi" (IPSSAR = Istituto Professionale di Stato per i Servizi Alberghieri e della Ristorazione, or Professional State Institute for Hotel and Restaurant Services). The Pellegrino Artusi is a gastronomy and hotel management school which pays particular attention to local traditions and products. It is located in the heart of a zone where the cultivation and the culture specific to erbe officinali, or herbs that confer healthful benefits, have deep roots. Every street, square, garden and backyard is reminiscent of this aspect of the local lifestyle, and it is not unusual to find delicacies based on such produce in the local restaurants.
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Carnival 2007: A 'Bellini Bar' in Venice's Piazza San Marco |
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 The Bellini Canella drinkmaker partnered with the organization of the Carnevale di Venezia, the famous carnival that animates the calli (street), porticos and canals of Venice every year. As part of the agreement, for the 11 days of carnival, from January 9 to 20, 2007, a new, elegant 'Bellini Bar' will be set up at the base of the bell tower of the San Marco Cathedral, on the world-famous Piazza of the same name.
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The Caffè Pedrocchi Interprets De Chirico |
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 The De Chirico art exhibition will be the most important art appointment of the year for the city. Chef Lorenzo Chillon of Caffè Pedrocchi, well known for having returned the ancient eatery to the major national and international food guides, has been experimenting for months on new recipes dedicated to the famous painter.
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ONAV Tasters to Study the Sagrantino di Montefalco Wine |
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 After last year's experience, which provided the perception that a group of 500 sommeliers had of this wine, a new tasting tour to in February was organized by the Consorzio di Tutela Vini Montefalco (Consortium for the Protection of the Montefalco Wines) in collaboration with the Organizzazione Nazionale Assaggiatori di Vino (ONAV, or National Organization of Wine Tasters). The latter organization was founded in Asti in 1951 and currently counts chapters in 18 Italian regions.
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VitignoItalia 2007 |
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 The third annual VitignoItalia, the trade show dedicated to wines made with Italian native and traditional vines, will be held in Naples, at the Mostra d'Oltremare trade center, from May 20 to 22, 2007. The three days will be dedicated to promoting and marketing Italian quality wines and food, with the participation of great international chefs and new emerging talents from the south of Italy. In addition, this year there will be two new areas dedicated to organic and biodynamic wines, and the wines from the southern Mediterranean, respectively.
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Record Sale of Italian Sparkling Wines |
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 In 2006 the Italian sparkling wines took back the place of honor at home, but even more importantly they are carving a place for themselves on foreign markets within the European Union as well as outside Europe, where rivers of Italian bubbly are being drunk. The positive year calls for a toast to the Italian spumante industry which, according to current projections, appears to be reaching 300 million bottles per year, an unthinkable result just a few years ago.
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The Mediterranean Diet Export is Booming |
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 Coldiretti reports that there has been a 6% increase in the exports of typical Italian products pertaining to the Mediterranean diet, including wine, oil and pasta, which are being bought in record amounts for over €20 billion of value.
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Only DOP and IGP Products in the Montecitorio Restaurants |
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 The restaurants of the Camera dei Deputati (Italian equivalent of the House of Representatives) will become a special exhibiting venue to promote and show Italian typical products, which are the pride and treasure of the peninsula small towns and villages. Only Italian products, strictly DOP and IGP, which represent the traditional excellence of the Italian gastronomy: pasta, bread, cold cuts and cheeses that identify particular areas and support local economies will be used.
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Chair for Wine and Culture Created by UNESCO |
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 The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has approved the creation of a Chair for Wine and Culture, based on a proposal by the Université de Bourgogne (University of Burgundy), supported by CCOVI-Brock University (The Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute). The former president of the University of Burgundy, Jocelyne Pérard, will be the professor.
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WineCountry.IT
Columns
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Italian Native Vines
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"Difficult and heroic", thus could be defined viticulture in the Aosta Valley.
History diverges on how viticulture was introduced into the region. On one hand there are some who believe that the Romans were responsible for the introduction of the first vines. On the other hand, there are those who believe that the plant was already present in the region long before the Romans showed up, and that it was known to the natives.
- Read More...
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Here we continue our introduction of Italy's 155 Protected Designations of Origin (PDO, or, in Italian, DOP, Denominazione di Origine Protetta) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGI, or IGP in Italian, Indicazione Geografica Protetta) products.
This month we present the excellent Miele della Lunigiana (Honey from the Lunigiana Area) DOP from Tuscany.
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The column 'Company of the Month' is temporarily suspended.
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The Spanish Sanidad (Health) ministry proposes limitations on the use of wine. The Italian organization 
It's called Korked the 
I received flowers last weekend, but there was no name on the attached card. The flowers were beautiful and their fragrance was just exquisite. The card stated that last week's prosciutto recipe was wonderful, but that the sender was hoping I would write about risotto made with dry red wine in the future. I went to my Italian cookbook, 
, again and looked up risotto with wine. 
The prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (AKA parmesan) are the subject of a three-year major promotional campaign in the United States, which will be in part financed by the EU. The total promotional investment will reach €4 million.
The objective of the Confagricoltura analysis, sector by sector, is to determine the status of Italian agriculture in 2007 and forecast the main issues which will possibly come forward. 
