Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome back for another edition and addition to the mission of wine writing, uh . . . emissions? Fission? Kitten? Whatever. At any rate it’s time for the weekly exercise in Superfluous Verbosity of the Carpe Vinum Newsletter of the Week and Tasting Announcement Also of the Week! This week we’re heading back to Italy’s Piedmont for a variety of the fine wines the region produces. It’s a region I find myself continually drawn to in these wine explorations, as it remains a source of wonder and admiration. Alright, that sounds too high-falootin’ doesn’t it? High praise and adulation just ends up costing us more in the end. Right? So let’s just get to the meat of the matter.

Mmm. Meat. And that’s one word that can describe the noble Nebbiolo grape, the superstar of Piedmont and the grape in the wines of Barbaresco, Barolo, and quite obviously, the Langhe Nebbiolo. But how did this superstar rise to fame? Was it an against-all-odds kind of rockstar story? Kinda. The name “Piedmont” literally means “at the foot of the mountain” which is where the region is, really – at the base of the Alps. Although the region is along the same latitude as Bordeaux, where the heavy-hitting grapes of Cab and Merlot are king, the climate is more like Burgundy, and it would seem to be better suited to white wine grapes. Looking at the importance of the Nebbiolo grape in the region, I imagine over the years it was the local peoples demanding a red wine grown there, and through perseverance made it work.

That’s just a bit of speculation, though. Many of the places in the world where people say it should be impossible to grow certain grapes often produces some of the best. So whereas the climate in Piedmont might suggest the heavy-hitting Nebbiolo would do better elsewhere, still here we are with a few of the heartiest wines in the world. Go figure. At any rate, Barolo and Barbaresco are both some pretty burly wines best suited for long aging and meals with meat. Mmmm. There’s that meat again. But to be quite honest, there are so many sides to the Nebbiolo grape that I haven’t completely figured it out yet. Some are the meaty and robust long-aging wines, and others are more delicate and perfumed, like several Langhe Nebbiolos I’ve had. I guess I’ll just have to keep researching these things. Dang.

Let’s not neglect the other wines of Piedmont, now. Sure, Barolo and Barbaresco may be reigning heavyweights of the region, but they also weigh in at a higher cost than the others. For that reason, as well as the fact that you can’t have a huge full bodied wine with every meal, there are a great number of other wines of the region to sustain your table. I mentioned that the region is well-suited to white wine growing and although white wines only account for 30% or so of the production, it’s a wonderful 30%. At the top of the list in that category, and lately a very popular wine is that made from the Arneis grape, especially from Roero. I have a hard time saying that name, though. Roero. I mean, it sounds like a cat. Roero. That just doesn’t sit right with me. Anyway, initially the Arneis was planted to blend with the red wines to soften them up a bit, but apparently more often was planted as a distraction for the birds to keep them away from the red grapes. That fact doesn’t really sell it that well, now does it? Suffice it to say that it has been one of my favorite white wines lately.

Okay, it appears I might be going on a bit too long again, so it’s time for a quick list of the last-but-not-least entries into the tasting. We’ve got a dry, crisp and refreshing white from Gavi, a rich and fruity Barbera, an excellent blended red that includes Nebbiolo, Barbera, Cabernet and Merlot, the lighter and fruitier Dolcetto, and the aforementioned Nebbiolo wines of Barbaresco, Barolo and Langhe Nebbiolo. There. Whew. There is so much quality and variety in Piedmont, one could live there for years and still probably not reach the entire scope of the region. But here’s a little sampling. Enjoy!

Oh, yeah . . . the Charity Pour is a Barolo this time around. This is the last of the charity pours before the Great Strides and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation walk in Seattle on Sunday. Thanks for all the support, and I hope you all enjoyed these extra pours as much as I did. This also means that the shop will actually be closed on Saturday as we head up to Seattle so please pardon any inconvenience there. Thanks again!

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

Piedmont!!!
Pio Cesare 2006 Cortese di Gavi
Deltetto 2006 Roero Arneis “Daivej”
Castello di Verduno 2005 Langhe Nebbiolo
Conterno Fantino 2005 Dolcetto d’Alba
Boroli 2004 Anna Rosso Langhe

More Piedmont!!!
Contratto 2001 Panta Rei Barbera d’Asti
Ca del Baio 2003 Barbaresco Valgrande

Super-Special Barolo!!! Last Call for the Charity Pour!
Marziano Abbona 2001 Barolo “Terlo Ravera”

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours, and $5 for the Charity Pour.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is The French Loire!

M