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VOLUME V,
NUMBER 7 of Wine News, the e-Letter from the WineCountry.IT network. (Would you
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this link. Usa il link seguente se vuoi leggere
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Emporio Italia,
Quality Italian wines
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are on sale in the US for your pleasure!
August, the magic month when the Italian cities are suddenly quiet. The traffic subdued, the smog recedes, and there are more tourists than residents sweating under the summer sun across the beautiful piazzas, or taking a restorative break inside the cool, majestic cathedrals.
August is the crazy month when the Mediterranean tourist destinations, from the Cinque Terre in Liguria to the beautiful Sardinian beaches, are inundated by the millions of Italians who have abandoned their cities to the foreign tourists.
August is the quintessential summer month for the vast majority of Italians. So, in a spirit influenced by this Italian tradition, I offer you the following articles. Enjoy your vacations and stay cool with a glass of chilled Prosecco DOC from Valdobbiadene, or a fruity, frothy Lambrusco.
The data provided by ISTAT, the Italian Institute of Statistics, show that during the first four months of the year the value of the export of Italian wines worldwide is over one million Euros, for a total of 5.94 million hectoliters (over 627 million gallons) of wine.
Among the top buyers of Italian wines is the US, which, from January first to the end of April, imported around 780,000 hectoliters (over 82.4 million gallons), or an increase of 16.5% over the same period a year ago, for a value of 260 million Euros (8.5% increase). With such numbers, the United States has secured its position as top buyer of Italian wines worldwide. Continue...
July 25, 2007
Since 1937, each August 15, at Porto Santo Stefano, in the province of Grosseto, the historic Palio Marinaro dell'Argentario, or Argentario Regatta, take place. The event consists of four rowboats, representing the four town neighborhoods of Croce, Fortezza, Pilarella and Valle, facing each other off in a grueling 4000 meter competition. Continue...
Dave Del Dotto, owner of Napa's Del Dotto Vineyards, has quietly been fermenting some of his wines in clay amphorae. This technique, which was used back in Roman times, has so far been adopted by only Josko Gravner (pronounced GROW-ner), an eccentric winemaker from the northeastern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, in Italy, who had his amphorae brought over by trucks all the way from the formers Soviet republic of Georgia. Continue...
Thanks to several events like the Eighth Wine Salon, or VIII Salón del Vino en Chile, South America is creating a new wine business platform that is reaching over 65,000 wine contacts in the trade, press and gatekeepers of twelve countries. The event is confirmed for September 7 and 8, 2007, in Espacio Cero (Space Zero), in the City of Concepción, in the Bio Bio Region. Continue...
Calici di Stelle (Goblets of Stars), is the most important summer event dedicated to regional wine tasting in some of the best Friuli Venezia Giulia locations. The event will take place Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, 2007, from 7:30PM to midnight, in the cities and towns of Aquileia, Bertiolo, Buttrio, Casarsa della Delizia, Corno di Rosazzo, Duino, Gorizia, Grado, Latisana, Lignano, Palmanova, and Povoletto. Continue...
Tomatoes are ubiquitous in the Italian cuisine, so much so that there is a popular saying for someone who shows up in any sitution: "sei come il pomodoro, salti fuori dappertutto" ("you are like the tomato, which shows up in any recipe"). In fact, Italians enjoy this produce in simple salads, slicing them up when they are not completely ripe, still partly green, yet so flavorful, and of course, in sauces of any kind. But there's another simple, summery preparation that's an everybody's favorite: bruschetta. Continue...
In 2007 the Müller Thurgau celebrates its 125th birthday. This vine is the result of a crossbreeding by Professor Hermann Müller from Thurgau, on the German side of Switzerland – thus the name Müller Thurgau. The anniversary was celebrated on Friday, July 2007, on the occasion of the Twentieth International Exhibition of the Müller Thurgau from Cembra, during a convention entitled: "1882 – 2007: 125 anni di vino, 20 di Rassegna Internazionale. Müller Thurgau: origini e virtů di un vino sempre in prospettiva?" (1882–2007: 125 years of wine, 20 of International Exhibition. Müller Thurgau: Origins and Virtues of a Wines Always in Perspective?) Continue...
"Grapperie Aperte is the best way to widespread the culture of grappa tasting," said Cesare Mazzetti, president of the Istituto Nazionale Grappa. "In the end, we distillers are artisans, thus it gives us a lot of pleasure to welcome visitors to our estates and spend a few hours with them, talking about our work. We strongly believe that in order to understand grappa one must have an understanding of its people and the terroir." Continue...
Understanding how the different components of a diet biologically affect human health is one of the aspects which must be understood in order to make the right social choices in the field of prevention. The research by professor Sabina Passamonti of the University of Trieste moves in this direction and aims to discover if the phenolic components found in wine, fruits and vegetables have nutritional value, in addition to neutralizing the free radicals, as various studies have shown. Continue...
An Italian study published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that wine can act as an effective antimicrobial agent against the tested pathogenic oral streptococci, thus might be active in the the prevention of caries (cavities) and upper respiratory tract pathologies. Continue...
Mariann Fischer Boel, the European agriculture commissioner, kept her word and proposed an incisive reform affecting the wine market. The proposal includes important simplifications and, finally, pays attention to the current state of the market, introducing new promotional measures. Continue...
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The regional artisanal recipes are communicated orally from one generation to the other, and are based almost exclusively on local produce and cattle, sheep and pig breeding. Because of this, the Molise tradition of gastronomy has not been particularly affected by the re-elaboration frenzy brought about by modern chefs almost everywhere else.
- Read
More...
Read the article about the latest 2007 Spring edition of Italian Flavor Forum, the invitation only Italian wine and food tasting dedicated to professional wine buyers and the press.
The data provided by ISTAT, the Italian Institute of Statistics, show that during the first four months of the year the value of the export of Italian wines worldwide is over one million Euros, for a total of 5.94 million hectoliters (over 627 million gallons) of wine.
July 25, 2007
Dave Del Dotto, owner of Napa's Del Dotto Vineyards, has quietly been fermenting some of his wines in clay amphorae. This technique, which was used back in Roman times, has so far been adopted by only 
Thanks to several events like the Eighth Wine Salon, or VIII Salón del Vino en Chile, South America is creating a new wine business platform that is reaching over 65,000 wine contacts in the trade, press and gatekeepers of twelve countries. The event is confirmed for September 7 and 8, 2007, in Espacio Cero (Space Zero), in the City of Concepción, in the Bio Bio Region.
Calici di Stelle (Goblets of Stars), is the most important summer event dedicated to regional wine tasting in some of the best Friuli Venezia Giulia locations. The event will take place Friday and Saturday, August 10 and 11, 2007, from 7:30PM to midnight, in the cities and towns of Aquileia, Bertiolo, Buttrio, Casarsa della Delizia, Corno di Rosazzo, Duino, Gorizia, Grado, Latisana, Lignano, Palmanova, and Povoletto.
Tomatoes are ubiquitous in the Italian cuisine, so much so that there is a popular saying for someone who shows up in any sitution: "sei come il pomodoro, salti fuori dappertutto" ("you are like the tomato, which shows up in any recipe"). In fact, Italians enjoy this produce in simple salads, slicing them up when they are not completely ripe, still partly green, yet so flavorful, and of course, in sauces of any kind. But there's another simple, summery preparation that's an everybody's favorite: bruschetta.
In 2007 the Müller Thurgau celebrates its 125th birthday. This vine is the result of a crossbreeding by Professor Hermann Müller from Thurgau, on the German side of Switzerland – thus the name Müller Thurgau. The anniversary was celebrated on Friday, July 2007, on the occasion of the Twentieth International Exhibition of the Müller Thurgau from Cembra, during a convention entitled: "1882 – 2007: 125 anni di vino, 20 di Rassegna Internazionale. Müller Thurgau: origini e virtů di un vino sempre in prospettiva?" (1882–2007: 125 years of wine, 20 of International Exhibition. Müller Thurgau: Origins and Virtues of a Wines Always in Perspective?)
"Grapperie Aperte is the best way to widespread the culture of grappa tasting," said Cesare Mazzetti, president of the Istituto Nazionale Grappa. "In the end, we distillers are artisans, thus it gives us a lot of pleasure to welcome visitors to our estates and spend a few hours with them, talking about our work. We strongly believe that in order to understand grappa one must have an understanding of its people and the terroir."
Understanding how the different components of a diet biologically affect human health is one of the aspects which must be understood in order to make the right social choices in the field of prevention. The research by professor Sabina Passamonti of the University of Trieste moves in this direction and aims to discover if the phenolic components found in wine, fruits and vegetables have nutritional value, in addition to neutralizing the free radicals, as various studies have shown.
An Italian study published in the July 11 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that wine can act as an effective antimicrobial agent against the tested pathogenic oral streptococci, thus might be active in the the prevention of caries (cavities) and upper respiratory tract pathologies.
