Abruzzo Mistaken Wine Identity, Case #1: Pecorino

As I mentioned in my first post about wines from the Abruzzo region, some of them have a bit of an identity problem. Some of the grapes used are masquerading as wines--or even cheese--from other parts of Italy. In the Abruzzo, no doubt they will tell you that it's the Tuscans and Romans who are stealing from the Abruzzese. Take today's wine from Abruzzo: Pecorino. Type it into The Oracle (i.e. Wikipedia) and all you will get is the Roman cheese. You have to specify "Pecorino Grape" to get it to cough up some viticultural information. And if you are looking for information on the grape, I'd skip the 1-line Wikipedia entry entirely and head to this article at Wine Library Terroir.

If you head to that article, you will discover that the variety was thought to be extinct until it was found growing wild in Le Marche, that sheep liked to snack on it which may be why it's named Pecorino, and that it's now grown mostly in Le Marche and Abruzzo.

This was my first Pecorino, but I can assure you right now that it won't be my last. It was made by Cantina Tolla, an Italian wine cooperative founded more than 40 years ago that now has 1200 partner growers and makers involved in producing a wide range of wines.

The 2007 Cantina Tollo Pecorino was clear straw yellow in color with a slightly greenish tinge that made it very summery in appearance. ($18, Bion Divino; unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it online elsewhere) Fresh aromas of Crenshaw melons and white nectarines continued the summer appearance of the wine into the aromas, and these elements were echoed in the juicy flavors of melon, peach, and nectarine. The wine picked up a briney, saline note in the aftertaste that really carried the wine over from very good into excellent QPR territory. The wine had all the medium-body and fresh citrus flavors that I was led to expect given the varietal characteristics, but that little saline kick at the end made it the latest example of a charming yet surprising Italian whites.

We had our Pecorino with a cheesy pasta dish made not with Pecorino but with goat's cheese dreamed up by Mario Batali: orecchiette with hazelnuts and goat cheese. It combines those little ear-shaped pasta with olive oil, goat cheese, parsley, a pinch of red pepper flakes, some toasted hazelnuts, and some toasted breadcrumbs in a dish that is so fast, so comforting, and so easy that it should be in everyone's repertoire for "what's for dinner" emergencies. Basically, it's like the best mac and cheese you've ever had, and for 20 minutes I considered becoming vegetarian and eating this every day. The salty goat cheese and that saline note in the wine were divine together, and the hazelnuts and breadcrumbs picked up a little bit of a nutty note in the wine that I hadn't noticed before. The fresh melon and summer fruit flavors cut through the richness of the cheese and the wine's medium body kept it from being overwhelmed by the pasta or tasting too sharp in the mouth.

I'm sounding like a broken record, I know, but in January I was not prepared for the delicious diversity of Italian white wines that I've encountered so far this year. I've just had my 7th Italian white and I know that they are in my wine cellar to stay--even if I have to get rid of some Italian reds to make room for them.

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Through the Looking Glass: Seeing Online Wine Culture from the Other Side

When I'm with people in the wine business, I'm usually the one on the outside looking in. I try to get a glimpse of the people, places, and hard work that it takes to make a great bottle of wine, then I get online and share that information with you.

On Friday, I had the privilege of participating in Inertia's annual Direct Symposium for their clients in the wine business. The theme was "Innovations for Today's Wine Marketplace" and it fits into Inertia's REthink Initiative to help people imagine new ways to sell and market their wine to you and me. For the conference, Inertia gathered together some of us who are active in the wine web scene to talk about how social media (Twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc.) can be a useful tool for wineries who want to forge closer relationships with their customers. Gary Vaynerchuk was one of the speakers, as was Joel Vincent of the Open Wine Consortium. In the audience were several other blogging and wine friends, like El Jefe of Twisted Oak, Patrick from Iridesse Wines, and Kaz from Wine Biz Radio. I spoke on a panel on wine blogging chaired by Tom Wark of Fermentation which featured Mike Duffy of the Winery Website Report and publicity and marketing specialist Julie Ann Kodmur.

I found myself on the other side of the looking glass this time, listening to questions from smart people in the wine world who are trying to figure out what to do about and how to understand this flourishing online wine culture in which you (by virtue of reading this blog) are participating. Here are a few impressions of what happened, and how I think it might effect how you learn about and buy wine in the future.

People in the wine business know that online wine culture is important. This can't be said enough, because I think there is still a pretty widespread belief that people in the wine business ignore, don't care about, and diminish the importance of online wine culture. I saw no evidence of this on Friday. On the contrary, wine bloggers were included in the category of journalists, people wanted to know how to spread information to customers without spamming people, and there was a great deal of curiosity about how to deal with online comments and criticism with sensitivity and respect.

Online wine culture is really no harder to figure out or more time consuming than email. There was a lot of justifiable concern about how much time it might take to get your bearings in the online wine world and participate in it. I had an a-ha moment when I realized that's exactly how I once felt about email. Now, I can't really imagine not having email, but at first I couldn't figure out how time spent on email was ever going to be productive. Sure, you have to manage your online time carefully so that it doesn't suck all your energy but this is no different from managing the other tasks in your day--and it might free up time you are spending on similar activities elsewhere. In general, I find I waste as much time in a day as I did before--I just waste it in more places, i.e. walking the halls, talking on the phone, hanging out at the copy machine, and on Twitter. And if Twitter saves you from the donuts in the breakroom, it is a good thing!

We are in a major shift from points to personality in the wine world. Foodies made this shift long, long ago as individual chefs and critics emerged as leading personalities in the food world--helped along by magazines and television. In my opinion, that is happening in wine, too, and this time it's being fueled by social media. The shift from points to personalities is gradual, but I do believe that it is real. I think the clearest example of the shift can be found in the popularity of Gary Vaynerchuk's Wine Library TV and the many people who follow him throughout his day on Twitter and other social media sites. But, we should all beware of imitation: there is only one authentic Gary. The message that I heard loud and clear from Gary and from Joel Vincent on Friday was this: be yourself and be honest. Don't try to be like Gary, don't try to be like Robert Parker, don't try to make your wine something it isn't. Do you make a simple quaffer? Say so. Don't market it as a complex monster. Do you absolutely adore Italian white wines? Shout it from the rooftops and make no bones about being biased, biased, biased. Social media is uniquely and precisely suited to letting you be you, so whether you are a consumer or producer you should let your personal preferences and quirks show--rough edges and all--whether you're commenting on a blog, writing a blog, or letting people know about you and your wine.

All of these developments are going to make the world of wine more interesting for consumers and producers. If you are a winery owner or maker and you're reading this and wondering how to get started in social media, you can always contact the folks at Inertia or take a look at Mike Duffy's great tips shared on his blog. And if you're a consumer, let your favorite wineries know that you care about personality more than points and you want to know more about them and how they make the wine you love. Whether you are a producer or a consumer, stepping through to the other side of the looking glass is always fun, and we all need a change of perspective every know and again. Twitter, blogs, Facebook, the Open Wine Consortium--all of these social media sites can help you to get that fresh perspective, every single day.

Telling the Truth About Sherry

Is it hot and humid where you are? Temperatures in northern California have been over 100 degrees in many places, and all across the country folks are complaining about the heat. (photograph "hot hot sun" by masaaidh)

If this sounds like you, you need to go out and get yourself a bottle of Fino Sherry. This may sound wrong, wrong, wrong if "sherry" conjures up great aunt Alice's stuffy front room, crocheted doilies, and tiny glasses of amber liquid served at room temperature that were cringingly sweet. But I'm telling you the truth: Sherry is the best wine you aren't drinking in a heat wave.

There are a few rules if you are interested in putting my veracity to the test. First, you need to go to a store that carries and sells a lot of Sherry. If it has dust on the bottle, you don't want it. You also need to buy a bottle from Spain. Sherry comes from Spain, in much the same way that Champagne comes from France. Other places make make wine with Palomino grapes, but it's just not Sherry. Finally, it needs to be dry and it needs to be pale--this means looking for labels that say Fino, Pale Dry, or go for Manzanilla. (the glass to the far left in this picture has Fino sherry in it, fyi) I've had a few bottles of Sherry here in the US, and the one I go back to over and over again because it's indecently affordable and widely available is Osborne Pale Dry Fino. It also is bottled with a screwcap in a process that keeps it tasting fresh as long as possible. This will cost you somewhere between $7 and $17 a bottle depending on where you are, and where you buy it. I bought my bottles for $11.99 at Weimax just outside San Francisco.

When you get your bottle home, put it in the coldest part of your fridge. Wait until it's very, very cold. Then put two small wine glasses in the freezer. Not thimbles--proper small wine glasses like the ones in the pictures above. My first glass of Fino was served to me in frosted glasses in Bilbao, Spain, so you want to trust me on this detail: frosted glasses keep the sherry cold and that's a good thing.

While you're waiting 5-10 minutes for the glasses to frost up, scrounge the cabinets and fridge for some cured meat (chorizo? salami? pepperoni?), some cheese (Manchego? Parmigiano? goat cheese?) some olives, and some nuts. Good potato chips are also an option. Put whatever you find on a plate--congratulations, you have just made tapas--take your frosty glasses out of the freezer, and pour some of your Fino into the glass.

It should be very, very pale. If it isn't, your bottle wasn't that fresh and you can either drink it anyway or take it back to the store and ask for something that's arrived in the store sometime this year. As you drink it, your body temperature will feel like it went down 10 degrees and you will swear that you have filled your lungs with ocean air. You will be struck by the slight brininess of the Fino (especially if eating olives), or its nuttiness (especially if eating a handful of nuts or some cheese). And you will be amazed at the way the spicy meat of your choice is perfect with the cold, cold wine.

This is the truth nobody tells you about sherry. And when people do tell you these truths, you probably weren't listening. This may sound like a "me, too" post and that I'm jumping on a moving bandwagon since Eric Asimov posted about the attractions of Sherry on Wednesday in the New York Times, but I'm going to post it anyway. There can't be too many people talking this stuff up.

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Curious about the small print? I'm trying out a new way of linking to a social networking site for wine called Adegga. It automatically picks up this AVIN number and links it to a data entry for the wine, and to the contents of individual cellars and tasting notes. I'll be writing a story about it soon, but until then expect to see tiny alpha-numeric lines at the bottom of wine review posts.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #47: This Wine Brought to You By the Letter "S"

This month's Wine Blogging Wednesday, Lenn Thompson's online tasting event, is inspired by Sesame Street, Sammy the Snake, and all other good things that start with the letter "S." Our hosts, Erin and Michelle from Grape Juice, wanted to see what we would come up with if left to our own devices with only a consonant to guide us.

My choice was the 200-

Six
Scenic Root Growers
Spicerack Vineyards "Punchdown"
Syrah from the
Sonoma Coast.

How's that for sticking to the theme!

First, a little bit about Scenic Root Growers. You may not link all their wines together, but Scenic Root are the people who bring you Pey-Marin and Pey-Lucia Pinot Noirs, Texbook Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Tamalpais Merlot, and Pey-Marin Riesling. The folks behind these labels are Susan and Jonathan Pey, who are proponents of natural and sustainable growing practices. They are also helping to keep alive the tradition of wine-making and grape-growing in Marin County (you may know Marin County as the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge), which began back in the early 19th century.

For this bottling, Susan and Jonathan did things a little differently from what you might expect to see in a California Syrah. First, they obtained cool climate, Sonoma Coast fruit. Then, they used neutral French oak barrels for fermentation and to age the wines which means there is little to no oak influence on the wine. Finally, a little bit (4%) Grenache was added to the juice to compliment the existing fruit flavors and textures.

The result was an excellent QPR discovery. ($20.89 in our local coastal grocery store; expect to find it for $19-$40 at a retailer near you) The 2006 Scenic Root Growers Spicerack Vineyards "Punchdown" Syrah reminded me of the northern Rhone's red wines, especially those from the area around Cornas, with its blue-black fruit profile and spicy touches of pepper. It was inky purple color, which hinted at the aromas of plums, blueberries, and smoke that were to come. The flavors opened up into blueberries, plum, huckleberries and finished with a touch of bacon fat.

Because of its cool blue fruit, this Syrah will be very easy to pair with a wide range of dishes from mac and cheese to chili and hamburgers. We had it one night with leftover chicken chili and it was excellent, but it really shone with some barbecued ribs. The meatiness of the pork picked up that bacon fat taste in the finish, and the pepper was very nice with the spices that were used.

Thanks to Erin and Michelle for such a fun theme. It led me to a wine that I may not have bought otherwise--and am I glad I did. I don't have lots of room in my cellar for multiple bottles of the same wine, since I'm always hunting for something new to taste and write about here on the blog. This is one of the few bottles I've had in the past few years that I knew I wanted to have again--and again. Somehow, somewhere, I need to find some room for a few more bottles!

Exploring the Wines of Abruzzo

Between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic coastline, on the calf of Italy's boot, lies the region known as the Abruzzo. Like many regions in Italy, Abruzzo is a study in contrasts between oceanside resorts and high mountain passes, abandoned medieval villages and modern hydroelectric plants. The local wildlife includes Swiss ski bunnies and much more formidable bears, wolves, and other vanishing species that find refuge in the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo. (photo of the village of Colleedimezzo by kruder396)

Abruzzo is a place where the mass- production of wine is giving way to a more careful, smaller approach to grape farming that is more reflective of the region's agricultural past, and part of a general swing in the south of Italy towards wines that can be more competitive on the international market. One of the Abruzzo's problems is that their great red grape, Montepulciano, shares a name with a place in Italy that makes pretty good wine, too. But consumer awareness is gradually catching up with the region. After decades of being associated mostly with Trebbiano d'Abruzzo (you may know is at Ugni Blanc), it is now possible to find rich roses made from Montepulciano d'Abruzzo that are labeled "Cerasuolo"and full-bodied reds made from the same grape that are suitable for some time in the cellar. (picture of the Torre Medicea near S. Stefano di Sessanio by kruder396)

This month I'll be exploring the red, white, and rose wines of Abruzzo to learn more about the region and how it is changing. I'm looking forward to tasting a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, of course, made by a well-known maker that retails for slightly more than $20--but everybody tells me it's well worth the splurge. I've also purchased a "Cerasuolo," and a white wine that isn't made from Trebbiano grapes, but from another grape with an identity crisis: Pecorino. (picture "Vigna" by Antonio Dell'Elce)

Along the way I'll be pairing the wine with some Italian foods that will bring a smile to your face this summer. The Abruzzo is known for its liberal use of chili peppers, and for its grilled pork and lamb. It's also home to DeCecco pasta, so there will be at least one pasta dish made with the native noodles. (Red Camp, by Giuseppe Andrea)

I'm eager to hear about your experiences with the wines of Abruzzo. Have you only had a cheap Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with your pizza on a Friday night? What about your luck with Trebbiano? And for those of you who know the wines better than I, which producers do you look out for in the stores?