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Welcome to
VOLUME VII,
NUMBER 5 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).
Italian Flavor Forum XI
featuring the first
Create-A-Grappa-Cocktail Challenge
June 22, 2009
2 – 6 PM
Museo Italo Americano
Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA |
- Over 90 Italian quality wines
- 11 Italian Spirits
- Organic extra virgin olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
- Mineral water
- Centellino wine aerator
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We have been in a flurry of events lately, and will continue this month with the 11th Italian Flavor Forum XI, featuring over 90 quality Italian wines and 11 types of liquors and liqueurs by Cantina & Distilleria Mangilli, which will be the base for the first ever Create-A-Grappa-Cocktail Challenge, among other products.
On May 16 we participated in That's ItaliAmore, an open house and fundraiser organized to help the ItaliAmore Preschool of San Rafael, California to continue the Parliamo Italiano (Let's Speak Italian) language courses for preschoolers.
On May 29th we were among the exhibitors at Taste of Wine Country, a Societé Mondiale du Vin (World Society of Wine) and Chaine the Rotisseurs event, at the Wine Country Hilton of Santa Rosa, California.
Among the many wine events of the season which take place in Italy, should you happen to be in the Modena area, do not miss the event Lambrusco: Ancient Vine, Modern Passion, organized by the Modena chapter of the Associazione Italiana Sommeliers, (AIS, or Italian Association of Sommeliers), in collaboration with the Municipality of Carpi and the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Italian Cuisine Academy). It's about time that this historic frothy wine, typical of one area of Italy, be accorded its deserved recognition.
Other Italian celebrations around the world include the Italian Week in Brisbane, Australia, while the annual Sacramento Italian Wine and Food Festival was cancelled: another sign of the deep economic crisis which has hit California more heavily than the rest of the US. To raise your spirit, however, there are a lot more articles for your enjoyment, so let me stop here and wish you happy reading.
Loris Scagliarini, WineCountry.IT President |
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Articles |
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Lambrusco: Ancient Vine, Modern Passion |
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 The Modena chapter of the Associazione Italiana Sommeliers, (AIS, or Italian Association of Sommeliers), in collaboration with the Municipality of Carpi and the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Italian Cuisine Academy), is organizing a two-day event dedicated exclusively to Lambrusco, the native vine most representative of the history, terroir, and culture of the Emilian part of the Padana valley, especially in the provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
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Italian Week in Brisbane, Australia |
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 "Ask the boss of Italian Week, Alessandro Sobello, where to get a slice of authentic pizza in Brisbane, and he doesn't want to talk about it," writes Katherine Feeney in the Brisbane Times online, because rather than focus on age-old images of red-and-white checked tablecloths and steaming bowls of spaghetti bolognese, Sobello prefers to talk about modern Italy.
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Crisis: High-End Wine Sales Drop in Russia |
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 The British wine magazine Decanter reports that sales of high-end wine in Russia have dropped from 15% to 50% from January 2008 to January 2009, as stated by Yana Jelvanova, import manager for Russian Keider since 1998, and Anatoly Korneyev, cofounder and vice president of Simple Wine Co., one of the largest Russian wine importers. The finger points to the current economic crisis and the shrinking value of the ruble for the heavy drop in sales of fine wines.
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VitignoItalia 2009 |
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 The fifth VitignoItalia trade show took place from May 17 to 19, 2009, at the historic Castel dell'Ovo (Castle of the Egg), located on Naples' seafront, in the heart of the city. The Grand Hotel Excelsior hosted the institutional booths of the Agripromos agency, Enoteca Provinciale di Salerno (Salerno's Provincial Wine Bar), and Piccole Vigne (Little Vineyards), which this year featured the passito and other dessert wine types produced in the Campania region.
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Nizza Monferrato: Preview of the Barbera d'Asti Superiore Nizza |
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 The blind tasting of 30 wines –including some barrel tasting– was presented by as many producers of the Associazione Produttori del Nizza (Association of the Nizza Wine Producer). Though not all the wines resulted perfectly balanced, the tasting introduced an excellent vintage, which express the terroir fully, rich in perfume, structure and elegant tannins. The alcoholic content suggests wines with great potential, which will improve and mature with some more years spent in the bottles.
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That's ItaliAmore – Open House and Fundraiser |
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 On Saturday, May 16, 2009, WineCountry.IT, L.L.C. offered 24 assorted bottles of its imported quality Italian wines to a fundraiser extravaganza at the ItaliAmore Preschool, in San Rafael, CA. The name of the preschool is a play-on-words which merges the Italian words for Italy and Love, and, as the tag line Parliamo Italiano (Let's Speak Italian) states teaches Italian to preschoolers.
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Pignoletto: A Terroir Wine? |
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 A quintessential vine native to the hills surrounding Bologna, the Pignoletto raises many questions. How come? Is its authenticity in question? Are there new technical/scientific arguments against its being a typical product?
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Hong Kong and Italy Sign Wine Cooperation Agreement |
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 Hong Kong and Italy have signed a memorandum of understanding about co-operation in the wine industry.
Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development, Rita Lau, and Italian Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia, signed the document on May 14 in Rome.
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A tavola con le Stelle: Seconda Edizione |
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 On June 4 and 5, 2009, at the historic Grand Hotel di Rimini –which was made immortal by unforgettable maestro Federico Fellini in his film, 'Amarcord' (Romagna dialect for 'I Remember')– four Italian and French Michelin-star awarded chefs, will get together at a great event entitled 'A tavola con le stelle', or 'Eating with the Stars'. The program includes a gastronomic atelier and tasting open to the public. After the first annual held in the Beaujolais area, not far from Lyons, the great 'A tavola con le stelle' wine and food extravaganza goes to Rimini, on the Adriatic coast of the Mediterranean sea in Romagna. The event finishes up with a 'flavor trail' featuring the best of the Romagna and Beaujolais regions' wines and food.
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Court Rules that Germany Can Produce 'Italian' Prosecco IGT |
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 On Monday, May 4, 2009, a German court ruled that sparkling wine produced in Germany from Italian prosecco grapes can be labeled as 'Italian', as long as the basic wine imported in bulk from Italy bears the IGT denomination, which certifies the place of origin. The city of Trier's administrative court ruled that the denomination still applies even after the wine has been processed into the well known sparkler in Germany, arguing that what matters is where the wine originated, rather than where the sparkling wine was actually processed.
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WineCountry.IT
Columns |
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WineCountry.IT Producers |
It was Francesco Perissinotto who expanded the estate production to include wine. These products reached the upper market tier right from the beginning, thanks to their quality. By April of 1991, Perissinotto had become the true soul of the estate and acquired total ownership, opening a new chapter in renovation.
Carlo Perissinotto was born in 1966 and is the oldest son of Francesco. He inherited the passion for wine from his dad and is currently the commercial head of the estate.
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We continue the presentation of Italy's 155 products of 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).
This month we are presenting two DOP cheeses produced with cow's milk which present substantial differences. One, the Caciocavallo Silano DOP, is produced in the southern Italian regions of Calabria, Basilicata, Campania, Molise and Apulia, while the other one, called Casatella Trevigiana DOP, is produced in an Alpine area at the extreme northern tip of the peninsula, in the province of Treviso.
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Back on October 13 and 14, 2008, nearly 900 wines faced off and were judged by America's top wine buyers at 
