Phil Alper and Jim Pfeifer at the Milan Airport, ready to start our adventure.  Dave Hansen is in the background.

     This time it was Italy. Nine members, including our Vice President, Howard Maccabee and two Past Presidents, and twelve guests of the Society toured the finest wineries of the Piemonte, Tuscany and the Veneto.  We stayed at hilltop villas, enjoyed gourmet lunches and dinners, and also had time for visits to the leaning tower (which has been straightened 14 inches), Florence and Verona.  We visited the grappa museum at Bassano del Grappa and had a delightful evening watching the waning lights on the towers of San Gemignano.  

But the real focus was the wines.

In Piemonte, Bruno Rocca insisted that the white soil and cool climate imparted a delicacy and flavor to the Nebbiolo grape that is unique to Barbaresco. This was echoed at Produttori di Barbaresco. Aldo Conterno and Renato Ratti poured us their outstanding Barolos and also offered very drinkable and inexpensive blends with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Barbera and Nebbiolo in varying amounts. The "international varietals" of Cab, Merlot and Chardonnay are increasingly being planted and vinified throughout Italy.  Bruno Rocca's 1998 Langhe Chardonnay and Aldo Conterno's 1998 Chardonnay Bussia d'Or were outstandingt.  At Pio Cesare in the heart of Alba, we toured the cellars extending beneath the Tanaro River. After an extensive tasting of their finest wines, we walked back to our hotel through the picturesque streets and piazzas.

Our host at Il Vicoletto.

Chianti visits included Castello di Ama, Castello di Nipozzano (Frescobaldi) and Fontodi. Outstanding wines included 1995 Bellavista by Castello di Ama, a 100% single vineyard Sangiovese which may cost $100 a bottle here, 1997 Montesodi Chianti Rúfina (more reasonable) from Frescobaldi and the Super Tuscan, single vineyard 1997 Faccianello by Fontodi.  This last wine is 100% Sangiovese and could qualify under the new Chianti rules as a Chianti Classico. It was $30 there but who knows how much here?! This raises the question of cost.  We were astounded at the price/quality ratio of many of the wines. The producers were often willing to sell us their wines at very attractive prices, but when questioned about the price in the United States, they usually said it would be double the price or more. Another interesting fact is the evolution of Chianti rules.  Originally requiring the addition of 10 to 30% white grapes to the Sangiovese, this was lowered to 2% in 1984. 

In 1996 the rules changed again. Now it is not obligatory to include white grapes, although up to six percent is permitted. Sangiovese must make up at least 75% of the blend and 100% Sangiovese is permitted. Up to 10% of Canaiolo, a local red varietal, may be added, while Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Colorino, another local red grape, can constitute a combined maximum of 15%. The rules have also been tightened as regards yields.  In effect, must Super Tuscans qualify as Chianti Classicos, but some producers are not sure whether to revert to this or keep the hard-earned name they already have.

Italy Part II

Tuscany

Thanks to Past President Andres Anacker, who arranged the entire tour to Italy, and his wonderful wife, Susan MacCharles, we have additional notes on the tour.  Susan and Andy took careful notes and have sent me the edited version, which I am incorporating in this narrative. We hope they also will appear in the Bulletin. Andy and Susan's comments will be in italics.

In route to Tuscany we stopped in Barbera to visit Braida-Giacomo Bologna winery. Giacomo Bologna was important in elevating the wines of Barbera to a high quality. After his death at age 52, his wife and daughter Rafaenella, carry on the tradition of quality Barbera wine. An innovation in this area was the outstanding Chardonnay produced here:  Asso Di Fiori, 1998. The other wines tasted were: Bricco de Uccellone, Barbera d'Asti, 1997 DOC Superiore * (flagship),  a lovely moscato, Moscato D'Asti DOCG.

Our tour of Florence included the Duomo and the Piazza della Signoria. Lunch was at the celebrated Cibreo run by Fabio Picchi, a "wild man" chef with shaggy mustache, hair and beard. Andy Anacker wanted some Parmagiano on his seafood pasta.  He asked the waitress and she looked distressed and said it didn't go.  As it turns out, it apparently is a no-no in Italy to put cheese on a seafood pasta or risotto; Andy could not prevail on her to break this immutable rule. Nowhere in Tuscany (or in the Italy we visited), however, did they spare the salt!  We were curious as to the contents of the spring vegetables with tripe in aioli.  We could figure out the carrots and onion, but the other ingredient escaped us. The chef appeared from the kitchen, which was just over the partition and a spirited conversation ensued.  He told us it was celery root and showed us the finger he had used to "flavor" the dish. We were served a pleasant  white wine from Veneto, Cavalchina Bianco di Custoza 1999** DOC.. This wine is enjoying considerable success as an alternative to Soave.  The Super Tuscan, Tignanello ** by Antinori, was the impressive red served ( Sangiovese with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon).

Florence is often the hottest place in Italy, and after our lunch we were happy to return to our air-conditioned bus to return to our hotel.  Villa San Lucchese in Poggibonsi (Italian for Purple Martin), our hotel for 4 nights, shared a hilltop with a monastery church with four vigorous bells which reminded us when 7 A.M. arrived. It was situated amid vineyards and olives, and possessed a lovely garden out in front.  We dined there one night and found the food and service to be very fine. The breakfast buffet had an array of choices: breads, ham, prosciutto and  other cold cuts, cheese, cereals, yogurt (even low-fat, called "magro"); but to the consternation of many, they ran out of prunes by the third day.  They would fix you an omelet or boil you an egg, even make you a cappuccino.  We were well fortified for our forays to the wineries.

We were impressed by the great improvement of the Chianti Classico. The recent DOC regulations require Chianti Classico contain at least 75% Sangiovese and be aged in wood for a year. Most wineries have eliminated the addition of white grape varieties. The advent of "Super Tuscans", e.g. Antinori's Tignanello, containing a substantial amount of Cabernet and other international grape varieties, stimulated the change of the Chianti Classico DOC regulations, improving the quality greatly.

We tasted at Castello di Ama , one of the great Chianti Classico producers. The 1997 (most Italian wine makers rate 1997 as the "greatest vintage of the century") Castello di Ama Chianti Classico ** was superb.  Next we visited the Frescobaldi estate, Castello di Nipozzano, and were welcomed by Gabriella, a young American fluent in both Italian and English, who spent part of her youth in Orinda, California! We had an outstanding lunch al fresco, and tasted three wines: Pomino Bianco 1999 (Chardonnay 60% Pinot Blanc 40%)** Montesodi Chianti Ruffino 1997** and Lucente 1996 (Robert Mondavi collaboration) Sangiovese 85% Merlot 15%** - excellent! In Panzano we visited the Fontodi winery, run by the Manetti family, making fine DOCG Chianti Classico. We tasted their acclaimed Flaccianello della Pieve1997** (100% Sangiovese) from 30 year old vineyard.

In Montepulciano, near Siena, the outstanding vino nobile de Montepulciano by Poliziano , was our next visit.  The nobile entered the name centuries ago, apparently in homage to its status among the nobility.  Three wines tasted were:  Poliziano Asinone 1997,*** Poliziano Rosso 1999** (85% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot); Poliziano 1997*

     Their Vino Rosso, a nice everyday wine, is made up of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Merlot; at $7.00 a bottle there it was a bargain.  Better was their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano '97 with cherry-berry aroma and flavor and cinnamon-spice overtones. It possessed medium tannins which augers well for ageability.  Topping their wines is their Vino Nobile di Montepulciano '97 "Asinone", named for the shape of the single vineyard from which it is vinified, shaped like an ass's back .  It is nearly 100% Sangiovese with a tinge of Cannaiolo grape. Their '95 Asinone was awarded tre bicchiere (three glasses, their highest rating) by Gambero Rosso, editor of Italian Wines, and this wine showed good age potential. It was $24 there, but probably $50 here.  The importer is William Grant, N.Y.

In Montalcino we visited Villa Barbi to taste their Brunellos, rated by the Wine Spectator in the 95's.  Today more than 100 properties make about 1.5 million bottles of Brunello.  The Brunello clone of Sangiovese grown in Montalcino ranks as one of Italy's most prized and sometimes most expensive wines. We had a very nice Tuscan lunch in their estate restaurant , part of a large comercial winery enterprise. At lunch we tasted Rosso dei Barbi 1998 (100% Sangiovese) and Brunello Fattoria dei Barbi 1995.

When we got to Fattoria Barbi for lunch, the butchers were taking their lunch break outdoors and gave us the casual once-over.  This is a complete farm; they grow their own feed,

Vice President Howard Maccabee, Pat Perkins and David Hansen in the picturesque Piemonte town of Barolo, where we had lunch.

cows and pigs, make their own sausage, prosciutto and cheeses, not to mention growing grapes and making wine.  Lunch in their rustic dining room was traditional, generous and pleasantly served. Sienese crostini, ham and salami from the Barbi butchery, ravioli, mixed grill with roasted potatoes, green salad followed by Pecorino cheese from the Barbi dairy, served with a succession of wines was followed by dessert and coffee.  The '95 Brunello di Montalcino, tasting of dark cherries, leather and tobacco, was especially good with the main course .  Life can be good.

Roger Ecker

Photo Page Index

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