Simply Italian US Tour 2011

I feel like I am becoming "somebody".

Through the fortunes of having friends in the business, living near a key winemaking area, and close to a cosmopolitan and internationally famous city (San Francisco) and probably specifically by volunteering at every wine event that I can, my name is starting to get "out there" and I am actually starting to get invitations to attend events instead of having to volunteer at them to get in the door.

This time I got an invitation through the Society of Wine Educators (SWE) (http://www.societyofwineeducators.org)
an organization in which I am a member and through which I got my Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) certification and where I intend to attempt the Certified Wine Educator next August 2012. However, I also have to thank Balzac Communications who organized the event and Paul Wagner, its president who is a board member of SWE and probably opened up the tasting to their members.

There are 20 wine regions in Italy, many more DOC and DOCG appellations, and hundreds if not thousands of grapes that have been growing there for thousands of years. Learning Italian wines is intimidating and a scary but extraordinarily rewarding experience. There are so many grapes, regions, and styles that you can always find something that you will like. And then you will be surprised by yet another wine after that.

The Simply Italian Tour had about 15 regions and 60 producers represented. It was busy but not overly crowded which is a real pleasure at a wine tasting. The room was divided a couple of different ways. On one wall were the sparkling wines, Franciacorta and Prosessco. One one wall, the Friuli producers were pouring.
In the center of the room were the Premium Brands from the Institute of Fine Italian Wines. Another wall focused on wines from the Veneto. Finally scattered throughout were single wineries representing many of the other regions.

Unlike some other events, there was not a huge crowd just around the premium brands. These attendees were spread throughout the room and were seriously interested in considering all the wines presented. My kind of crowd.

It is always hard to take notes in a walk around tasting like this. Pen in one hand, tasting notes in the other and glass in your third hand, so I don't have a lot of great notes, (I do have to find a system) but here is what I pulled from the notes that I did take.

First of all my primary goal is to taste grapes that I know nothing about. (And of course, an Italian Wine Tasting is a remarkable place to do this.) I am likely to pass up the world's most popular and most expensive Super-Tuscan to learn about Sagratino, the native grape of Umbria. I am probably not going to be found in front of a table of Barolos (The wine of kings and the king of wines) looking for the best one, but will be off in the corner trying a Lagrein so that I can learn that grape and trying to lock it in my memory.

So, having said that, here are some wines I liked:

• I tried several of the Franciacortas. To me, these sparkling wines don't have the same acidity as those of Champagne. A couple were off dry and the vintage ones didn't have as much of a over-ripe apple to them as you sometimes get in France. They seemed slightly fresher. Of note was the Rose Millesimato (2007) from Le Marchesine. This winery also won Gambero Rosso's "Sparkling Wine of the Year" for one of their other sparkling wines.
  
• Masi Agricola : 2008 Campofiorin (flower fields) : Rosso del Veronese. Very smooth blend 70% Corvino. Just an overall nice wine.
• Pio Cesare: 2006 Barolo Ornato. This wine had a lot of barrel spice. Clove was up front followed by cinnamon. This wine was still strongly tannic but the aromas were complex and inviting. Probably awesome in another couple years.
  
• Fraccaroli "Deinque" ND ( non vintage) Sparkling Malvasia. This was a full body rich spumannte style sparkler. I have not had many Malvasias before (except as Madeira Malmsey) and this one was a real treat.
  
• Benedetti 2005 "Croce del Gal" Amarone della Valpolicella. Very rich, very full. Intense cherry aromas, Some tannin. Maybe my favorite of the day for red wines.
  
• Beato Bartolomeo de Breganze: 2010 Prosecco extra dry. Very fruity, very ripe, but not overripe apples. Minimal mouse (is that prosecco style?). I marked several stars next to this one.
  

So my conclusion: Any time you can go to an Italian Wine tasting, Do It.
There are so many examples of both classic, rare, and innovative wine-making that you will always find something interesting.

john