WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Hello lucky recipient of the Carpe Vinum Ultimate Newsletter of Impending Joyousness and Tasting Announcement To Which It Refers! This week we’re heading to Italy to enjoy a smattering of Italian white wines. It’s a plethora of whites from that boot-shaped country. Italy is a country that appears to be one giant vineyard cut into a million tiny pieces, however, I realized that the white wines of Italy often go overlooked when lying in the shadow of the famous reds like Chianti and Barolo and Amarone. These wines can certainly not go ignored, as they are among the best in the world.

So one thing I’ve always liked about Italian wines is the sound of the language. There’s a certain thing about the Italian language that makes the pronunciation of the wine names so satisfying to say it with flourish. Orvieto! Vernaccia! Verdiccio! At least those three are some of my favorites, for the names, at least. Unfortunately I’m not so fond of the wines made in those places. Oh, yes. I’ll give them the same fair shot everything else deserves. Just not this week. I didn’t grab any of those for this round. But the ones I did get are some of my favorites, even if not as pretty in name.

So how does one go about setting up a tasting of just Italian white wines, when there is a seemingly endless roster to choose from? A random selection works! Okay, so it’s not totally random. It’s not the dartboard approach. Besides, I don’t think anyone has a dartboard big enough for all the regions of Italy to fit (although now that I think about it, everyone loves a challenge). To sum up all of Italian white wine into 7 or 8 different bottles, if not impossible, is still very difficult. I’d say a representative from each subregion within Italy is a good place to start.

Firstly we’re starting with one of my favorite summer wines: the eloquent, elegant, and effervescent Prosecco hailing from the Veneto. Sure, there are quite a few different bubblies around Italy, but Prosecco is what it’s really about. Also from the Veneto we’ve got a couple wines from Soave Classico. This is always a crowd pleaser and one of my favorite still white wines from Italy. From there we have a selection of whites from Tuscany, Piedmont and Friuli. But not to neglect another favorite of mine, I’m bringing back, once again, the Super-Duper Tasty Dessert-ish Pour with Elio Perrone’s Moscato d’Asti! It’s sweet, slightly bubbly, relatively low in alcohol, and vaguely addictive. Oh, and don’t forget the delicious part.

So it’s a good place to start. 8 Wines out of a few million. Well, hey, at least it narrows it down a little bit, eh?

“Wait . . . Where’s Sicily?”, you may ask. “Floating in the Mediterranean,” I may respond. There are quite a few Sicilian whites, and some very good ones as well, although I would wager that most Sicilians would appreciate keeping their wines separate from the rest of Italy. No man is an island . . . but Sicily sure is!

So Friday, August 18th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Italian Whites!!!
Trevisiol NV Extra-Dry Prosecco, Veneto
La Parria 2005 Ansonica, Costa dell Argentario, Tuscany
Inama 2004 Soave Classico, Veneto
Marziano Abbona 2005 Roero Arneis, Piedmont
Girolamo Dorigo 2005 Ribola Gialla, Friuli

More Italian Whites!!!
Zuani 2004 Vigne, Collio, Friuli
Pieropan 2003 Calvarino, Soave Classico, Veneto

Super Duper Tasty Dessert-ish Pour!!!
Elio Perrone 2005 Sourgal, Moscato d’Asti, Piedmont

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours, $4 for the Dessert Pour.
Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Summery Whites!

M