Wine News - February 01, 2008 |
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Welcome to VOLUME VI,
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).
So the first month of 2008 is gone, with its lingering colds, flu, and power outages that lasted as long as five days for some of us. Let's hope for a better February.
I'm getting ready to fly to the Principality of Monaco, on the northern tip of the Cote D'Azur, for the Monte-Carlo Wine Festival and, as usual, to take advantage for a working European Sideways Tour. But enough about us, let's see what we have in store for you in this issue.
In addition to the report on the recent Vinitaly India, we also have a brief note about the Sula Vineyards joint venture with the Piedmontese estate Bosca.
In addition to the Monte-Carlo Wine Festival (February 23-25, 2008) there are several other events coming up this month, including Note di Piacere: Tasting of Abruzzo DOC Wines and Oro Giallo: A Trade Show Dedicated to Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Also, the film 'Bottle Shock' about celebrated 1976 Paris Judgement was presented at Sundance 2008.
If you are in Italy, you may want to take some Recreational Cooking Courses at the Scuola di Cucina Intelligente (Intelligent Cooking School), check out Italy and Spain getting together in Venice, at Gusto in Scena, or visit the Euro&Med Food 2008 in Apulia.
Additionally, please check out my short piece about two producers and Maremma, the little known Tuscan area where they grow their vines. I believe that their wines, and other produced in the area, deserve serious attention.
Loris Scagliarini, WineCountry.IT President |
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Articles |
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Italian Barman Valentino Bolognese Wins the European Competition 'Angostura Cocktail' |
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 Bolognese stood out among some of the best European barman who participated in the competition preparing two cocktails: one using the classic Angostura Aromatic Bitters as a base, and the second with the new Angostura Orange Bitters, a variation of the classic variety flavored with orange. The Paris jury consisted of a pool of qualified experts which included Felicity Murray (editor for the magazine 'Drinks International'), Mickael Perron (of 'BarNowOn.com'), Guy Musart (President of the French Association of Bars), and France Bouis (editor of the magazine 'Shaker').
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Note di Piacere: Tasting of Abruzzo DOC Wines |
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 Note di Piacere (Pleasure Notes), is the name of the communication campaign dedicated to the DOC wines from Abruzzo and organized by the Agriculture Council of the Abruzzo Region, and the ARSSA (Regional Agency for Agricultural Services and Development). The first appointment is in Rome, then the itinerant wine tasting will pass through Milan, Turin, Verona, Florence and Bologna.
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Robus – Amarissimum Italicum |
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 The Robus formula includes 18 herbs and aromatic plants, and is rooted in the ancient Italian herbalist tradition, which dates back to the Middle Ages. The tag line of the bitter liquor is in Latin, which in the Middle Ages was the language used for international communication among cultured people. The Robus tag line includes the word italicum, which means 'Italian' in Latin, to highlight the fact that the herbs used in making it comes from all over the peninsula.
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Satisfying Results at Vinitaly India in Mumbay and New Delhi |
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 Less whiskey and more wine in the future of India. "We will set up a wine board to solve the problem of duties," said Minister for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai.
In Mumbay and New Delhi, Vinitaly India saw an increase of 50% in buyers' participation compared to the previous year, or 1200 professional Indian buyers ready to replace traditionally beloved spirits with Italian wine. The new trend is also more healthful for Indian drinkers, as stated by the Minister for Food Processing, Subodh Kant Sahai, during the New Delhi Press Conference on the opening of Vinitaly India in that city.
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Maremma: Little Known Tuscan Wine Zone |
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 Celebrated Super Tuscan, noble Brunello di Montalcino, or traditional Chianti Classico are the wines that mostly come to mind to the wine buff when the Italian region of Tuscany is mentioned. This is especially true overseas, in the New World, where the knowledge of Italian wines still sketchy, despite the fact that Italy is the number one wine importer to the US, where it accounts for around 30% of all imported wine (data by Italian Foreign Trade Institute).
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Oro Giallo: A Trade Show Dedicated to Extra Virgin Olive Oil |
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 In just three years the trade show entitled Oro Giallo (Yellow Gold), organized at Mia Fiera (My Trade Fair) in Rimini, Italy, has become one of the most authoritative fairs dedicated to the international production of extra virgin olive oil. In addition to hosting the best olive oil producers in the world and walking visitors through guided tastings and product analyses, Oro Giallo presents the current state of industry and new advances in technology to professional buyers and merchants.
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At Sundance 2008 the Film 'Bottle Shock' Toasts to Napa's 1976 Win Over the French |
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 The 2008 Sundance Film Festival presents 'Bottle Shock', a movie based on the true story of a Napa Valley winery and its surprise victory over established French Chateaus and Maisons, in what became widely known as 'the judgment of Paris', at the prestigious 1976 wine tasting in Paris, France.
The movie tells the story of Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) who, in 1976, risked everything he owned to create the perfect Chardonnay at Chateau Montelena, his vineyard in the not-then-so-famous Napa Valley, north of San Francisco, California.
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| Korea's Taste for Expensive Wines On the Rise |
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 In 2007 wine became the year's best selling alcoholic beverages on the in the South Korean market.
The Asian country imported $143 million (see up-to-date value in other currencies) of wine in 2007, marking a solid increase of 61.9% in value from the previous year, announced the Korea International Trade Association, which also highlighted the fact that this is the highest percentage growth registered in the past five years for this product.
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Italian Winemakers:
Nude Paris Hilton Not a Good Poster Girl for Prosecco |
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 According to Italian winemakers, Paris Hilton, appearing nude and painted gold in the advertising campaign for 'Rich Prosecco' reminiscent of James Bond's 'Goldfinger', is not a worthy poster girl for the Italian Prosecco sparkling wine. Though the visual of it is actually somewhat appealing, Italian winemakers feel that the image of Miss Hilton au natural is ill fitting for their beloved Prosecco sparkling wine.
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Agriturismo: Launched the Canonica di Vicchiomaggio |
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 At Greve, in the heart of the Chianti Classico wine production zone, the outstanding Castello Vicchiomaggio (Vicchiomaggio Castle) has been standing for a few centuries. Currently owned by John and Paola Matta, a few weeks ago the estate launched a new, evocative, Country Inn: the Canonica di Vicchiomaggio, or Vicchiomaggio Rectory.
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Gusto in Scena |
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 Italy and Spain will get together for the first convention dedicated to the upscale restoration at the Molino Stucky Hilton Venice Hotel, from March 3, to 5, 2008.
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Euro&Med Food 2008 |
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 The fourth annual agricultural and food fair, Euro&Med Food 2008, will take place in Foggia, in the southern Italian region of Apulia, from March the 27th to the 30th, 2008.
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The Italian Tocai Soap Opera Continues |
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 Will the wine "formerly-known-as-Tocai-Fiulano" ever have a name again
?Here is the latest chapter in the long story which started in 2005, when the EU decided to legally abolish the name Tocai Friulano, which defines a fresh white wine produced with the native grape of the same name, in the Italian region of Friuli. The reason is to avoid confusion for the consumer who may mistake such wine with the celebrated Tokaji dessert wine produced in Hungary, one of the newer European States which joined the European Union.
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WineCountry.IT
Columns |
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WineCountry.IT Selection |
At long last, after almost a year, I would like to write about another San Francisco North Bay restaurant which we like a lot: San Rafael's Maria Manso World Cuisine, located at 1613 Fourth Street, just a little outside of San Rafael downtown proper.
This is a friendly, neighborhood restaurant, with big-city quality, but accessible prices.
- Read More ...
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This month we return to Emilia, one of the Italian regions with a large quantity of typical food products, to present two types of cold cuts: the Coppa Piacentina DOP, produced in the province of Piacenza,
and the Culatello di Zibello DOP, produced in the province of Parma
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"A cuisine whose roots go back as far as the Middle Ages and, in certain cases, to the Romans. A poor cuisine, but rich in flavor, which has preserved many traditional recipes, as well as cooking techniques, especially meat based, almost unchanged."
With this introduction Rosa D'Ancona introduces us to the cuisine from Umbria.
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On February 23, 24, and 25, 2008, at the prestigious Hotel Méridien Beach Plaza of Monte-Carlo, in the elegant environment of the Principality of Monaco, the first 
In joint venture with Italian estate Bosca, Indian wine producer Sula Vineyards is about to launch a wine targeting women.
On February 5, 6 and 12, 2008, the Consorzio Aliment presents Caffè, Caffè, Caffè e Cappuccini, as part of the courses of the Scuola di Cucina Intelligente (Intelligent Cooking School), which was founded upon the 10-year-old experience specializing in the training of restaurant professionals.
