WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Welcome to the Newsletter and Tasting Notes for the Carpe Vinum December and Fourth-to-Final Tasting of the Year that is 2007! It’s the beginning of that time of year where magazines, news shows, weblogs, and people everywhere start referring to things as “The Year In Review” or “The Best of . . . ” or “The Stuff this Year that Made Our Spidey Senses Tingle”. This week, to kick off the “The Best of the Year in Review that Made our Spidey Senses Tingle” we’ve got SangioFest 2007! It’s all Sangiovese, all night long! Well, okay . . . it’s not really a yearly retrospective on Sangiovese. All but one of the wines in this tasting are new to the shop, and none have been featured in a tasting yet. But I just wanted to kick off December with some kind of “2007 Spectacular” so as to not be left behind on dropping the number “2007″ as many times as possible. So here it is! SangioFest 2007!

What is a Sangiovese? It’s a grape! It’s an Italian grape! Can we still consider it an Italian grape if it’s grown outside Italy? Well, no. Okay, so it’s grape of Italian heritage! How about that? At any rate it’s the grape that made Italian wine famous. It accounts for about 10% of all grapes grown in Italy. That sounds like a low percentage, but when you consider just how much grape crop they grow there, and all the variety, that 10% is still makes Sangiovese the most widely grown grape in Italy.

As far as scientists can tell, Sangiovese is most likely native to Tuscany, and not coincidentally is also from where we find most of the Sangiovese-based reds; Tuscany and its neighbors Umbria and Emilia Romagna. Within Tuscany we’ve got some of the most famous of Italian wines that are all based in Sangiovese. For one, just a simple name you may have heard before: Chianti? Of course the Chianti! Now, don’t fret! I happen to know there is a lot of Chianti out there, and I might risk the wrath of Chianti-lovers in saying that I think a good majority of Chianti is garbage. With that in mind, when you see me talking up Chianti as a region, I’m talking only about the good ones. In the neighbors of Chianti we find some of the other famous Sangiovese-based wines of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. (Not to be confused with Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, which is made with the Montepulciano grape.) Also, and the most famous of Tuscany, is the Brunello di Montalcino and its less-expensive sibling the Rosso di Montalcino.

Now, this is not an Italian-only wine tasting. When tasting the single-varietal wines in a setting such as this, I always like comparing the Old World wines to the New World. As it is in the New World regarding wine, we have a rich history of immigrants from Italy bringing with them clippings of their beloved Sangiovese to plant in their new home. So many years ago, vines of Sangiovese made their way to California and to South America (mainly Argentina). It has only been in the more recent years that we’ve seen the grape make its way into our own neighbors in Washington. There the grape is making wines that differ greatly from its relatives in Europe.

For now that’s really the scope and range of the Sangiovese. It’s enough for a full Sangiovese primer of sorts without delving into Italy too much. With Italy still being the world’s wine superpower in gross exports, we could probably put together a tasting like this every day of the year filled with Sangiovese wines from Italy, and never repeat one. New World Sangios are fewer, and so easier to choose. So for this tasting, we’ve got three spectacular Sangiovese wines from Italy, two from California, and then three more from Washington.

Wait . . . isn’t that eight? That’s right! I made an exception to add another On-The-Side pour to bring in one of my favorites from Washington: K Vintner’s 2005 Guido. This stuff is very limited, and I only get 6 bottles this year. And of these 6, I’m opening one for us all to taste, leaving just 5 to sell. So it is definitely not to be missed and it is best to get here early if anyone wants a bottle of this Super Supremo Sangiovese Stuff.

So Friday, December 7th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

SangioFest 2007!!!
Ca’ Del Solo 2005 Sangiovese, San Benito County, California
Jaccuzzi Family Vineyards 2004 Sangiovese, Sonoma County, California
Corte alla Flora 2004 Giuggiolo, Tuscany IGT, Italy
Castellare 2004 Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy
Carpazo 2004 Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy

Sangiovese Sangiovese from Walla Walla!!!
Maninna 2005 Sangiovese, Walla Walla Valley, Washington
Five Star 2004 Sangiovese, Walla Walla Valley, Washington

Super Supremo Sangiovese!!!
K Vintners 2005 Guido, Morrison Lane, Walla Walla Valley, Washington

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours, $4 for the Super Supremo Pour.

Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Sparlkefest 2007!

M