Cheers.
Michael

Ciao
Michael

Ryan

Kate

Here are a couple of additional options:

2004 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino:
Wines Anywhere (NJ): $80
Heights Chateau (NY): $90

A presto.
Michael

Another one that’s a great value for the quality is the Paitin “Sori’ Paitin” Barbaresco 2006 (the link shows stats for the 2005 vintage, also good). It’s a bit more expensive than Produttori (about $30-40), but a fantastic wine.

While Paitin makes about 20,000 bottles of their “Sori’ Paitin” Barbaresco, it’s tougher to find than the ubiquitous Produttori wines, but worth a little hunting. For the Barbaresco hunter, I’d recommend using wine-searcher.com.

I have been able to find some bottles at Sec Wines in Portland for $30, and at Mad Wines in Seattle for $37.

Cin cin!
Michael

2004 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino:
Vins Rare: $75
Bottle Shop: $80

2005 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino:
Englewood Wine Merchants: $80
K&L Wines: $53

2007 Siro Pacenti Rosso di Montalcino:
Shoppers Wines: $28
Englewood Wine Merchants: $31

Cin Cin!
Michael

About the top 4 producers that can’t be missed — well, that’s going to be subjective, but if you’re looking for interesting producers to visit and explore, I can offer a few. The issue you’re going to run into this time of year is that the harvest and wine making (the vendemmia) is in full swing — which may be a good thing for you. Here are some producers that you can visit while in Tuscany:

1) Due East of Siena in Castelnuovo Berardenga, check out Felsina, they make some fabulous Chianti Classico, as well as a couple of SuperTuscans that people rave about.

2) In the heart of Chianti north of Siena near Panzano, Gerhard Hirmer manages the cantina at Molino di Grace and may have time to show you around if he’s not too busy with the vendemmia — Let me know and I can do an intro if you like. It would be good for you to compare Felsina and Grace Chianti Classico wines so you can learn about differences in winemaker styles. I have a Wine Journal post where you can find out more info about Molino di Grace here.

3) Just outside the hill town of Montepulciano is Canneto, a small producer of Vino Nobile that I really enjoy. Their wines will give you an idea of what the local Sangiovese clone of prugnolo gentile can do. Contact Marco Paoloni, a Sommelier working in the Cantina there — he’s also on twitter @Marco_Canneto. Let me know if you’d like me to do an intro.

4) To learn about regional wines and styles from my Sommelier buddy and good friend Arnaldo Rossi, I suggest you visit Pane e Vino in Cortona, a wonderful enoteca with small plates. Be sure to go during dinner, after 8PM. Arnaldo has a rotating list of Italian wines by the glass, and over 800 wines on his list. Let me know if you’d like to visit Pane e Vino and I’ll introduce you to Arnaldo.

In Piemonte, it’s a wide-open field with many small producers. One idea I suggest is that you visit the folks at Produttori del Barbaresco, the consortium of small producers that make fantastic local wines. Contact the main office in Barbaresco and see if they can hook you up with one of their consortium producers during the vendemmia.

On question #2 & 3 to keep food expenses low and find quality enoteche, I suggest that you:

1) Stay in places that include breakfast — most places do, and while an Italian breakfast is pretty basic, it’s a cheap way to fuel up for the morning.

2) Use the Slow Food guidebook “Osterie d’Italia” for selecting the best options for lunch and dinner. It’s full of ultra-local Osterie, Trattorie and Enoteche that usually offer wonderful “home-cooked” dishes showing off the local specialties, and wines that are quite affordable. You may need to buy it in Italy at a bookstore, as it’s hard to find in the States. I have a handful of 2011 copies left if you’d like to buy one from Dall’Uva — just let me know.

I wish you the best of luck, I’m sure you will have great fun.

Buon viaggio!
Michael

I’m planning a self-guided wine and food pilgrimage of sorts to Italy. I’m leaving in a few weeks, flying into Florence and dividing up the two weeks that I will be there between Tuscany and Piedmont. I’ve recently begun studying wine so my goal is to learn as much as I can about Italian wine, terroir, food, and cultural traditions surrounding those three aspects of life.

Being a well seasoned travel amongst both these regions, I’m hoping I can pick your brain about a couple things:

1. What are the top 4 wineries that can’t be missed in Tuscany and Piedmont? I would prioritize small, family owned wineries and wineries that have employees that would be open to spend time teaching me about their wines.

2. I read the article you wrote about the local enoteche. Are there any others (other than the ones highlighted in the article) that you recommend visiting?

3. I’m on a pretty tight budget so do you have any suggestions for experiencing the fine wine and food of Italy without spending a lot of money?

I really appreciate your help. Your blog has already been very helpful in my trip planning. If you’d prefer, please feel free to email me your response. thanks!

Thanks for following us, and we hope you enjoy reading this entertaining and enlightening book!

And our Winner #4 is Facebook and Wine Journal follower Bonnie Biciunas from Durham, NC. Thanks for following, Bonnie!

Winner #1 is Frank Morgan in Chesapeake, VA, a new Twitter follower, you can check him out at twitter.com/DrinkWhatULike. He has a pretty cool wine blog, too.

Winner #2 is Judy Holeva of Portland, a new Facebook follower and long-time fan of one of our unique dessert wines, Sollucchero.

Congrats, and thanks for following us!

At 83 years old, Giuseppe Quintarelli is the grandfather of Amarone and my benchmark producer for judging all others.

What’s your all time favorite Italian wine?

I see the 2005 available through K&L Wines, but it’s a bit stiff at $50. For those interested, here’s the K&L link: http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1065633

Looks like the 2007, when available, will be a blockbuster. Antonio Galloni likes it at 93 points:

“The 2007 Aglianico del Vulture Titolo is a ripe, seamless wine endowed with layers of espresso, dark fruit, sage, rosemary, spices, crushed rocks and French oak, all of which come together on a textured, sumptuous frame. This dense, full-bodied Aglianico impresses for its richness, impeccable overall balance and fabulous length. It should be even better in a few years’ time. Once again, Elena Fucci has made a reference-point wine for Basilicata. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. ”

Thanks for the pointer, Scott.
Ciao.
Michael

Scott

Thanks for posting!

Ciao
Michael

Scott
Lancaster, PA

Chris Carpenter from Lokoya, Ross Cobb from Hirsch, Matt Stamp MS and Geoff Kruth MS, from the Guild of Sommeliers discuss the challenges of producing in these areas, and how it reflects in the wines produced. Worth a listen, you can check it out here: http://su.pr/2BUTmp

Ciao.
Michael

Buon appetito!
Michael

The recipe is simple: 2 oz Aperol (or Campari), 4 oz Prosecco (or any sparkling, dry white wine), and an ounce or 2 of soda water. It’s served on the rocks and usually comes with half an orange slice (half moon) on the bottom.

Spritz is remarkably refreshing and a great aperativo before dinner.

If you want to know more about Aperol, check out their website here.

Cin cin!
Michael

Ciao.
Michael

We met you at a Slow Food chanterelle outing several years ago and a cheese and wine tasting at Provvista. I loved this newsletter and am looking forward to buying your products directly from your new store.

Best regards,
Susan Hebert and Roger Collins

It’s just a few days until Vinitaly, and I plan to take a detour before the event and meet-up with my buddy Arnaldo Rossi (Sommelier and proprietor of Pane e Vino in Cortona, Italy) at the Vino Vino Vino wine event in Cerea (south of Verona). We’ll be exploring and tasting some of the most interesting Natural Wines (better tasting than most organic wines, and not as crazy as biodynamic wines) that Italy has to offer.

Natural wines are the latest rage in the Italian wine world, and I hope to find a few interesting vini to bring home to Dall’Uva.

Find out more about Vino Vino Vino here.

Ciao for now!
Michael

Ciao!
Michael

Thank you!

Sandy Larsen

Ciao.
Michael

Ciao!
Michael

Ciao!
Michael

Do you have a picture of this wine bottle? Was it jug shaped? Perhaps it was a large wine storage jug that’s used repeatedly. The closest thing I can think of would be a small demijohn, or “demigiana,” but it could have had a local name (possibly caraffone).

I’d suggest doing some googling to see if you can find something similar. Check out ebay.it as well, there may be some antique wine bottles that look like what your father had. Most ebay-ers in Italy will ship it to you, though it may cost you a bit.

Best of luck.
Michael

If you can’t find these at your local retail shop, just order them online. For most of the retail shops I list below, shipping will run you only $2-4/bottle, a small percentage of the price of the wine.

As of this post, here are some buying options:

2004 Siro Pacenti Brunello di Montalcino:
Empire Wine: $74
Bottle Shop: $80

2007 Siro Pacenti Rosso di Montalcino:
Linwood Wine: $26
Shoppers Wines: $28 (cheap shipping)

Enjoy!
Michael

Domenic

The book describes these delicious cookies as follows:

“Bussolai used to be given to a child by its godparents on confirmation day. Like zaete or zalete, a cornmeal biscuit and another Burano specialty, bussolai are served with fruit and coffee and dipped into the last of the wine.”

I suggest you buy the book because it has lots of great Veneziana recipes, but here’s a brief summary of the recipe:

Ingredients:
18 oz plain flour
18 oz sugar
9 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 tbsp butter
a pinch of salt

Directions
“Beat everything together to form a dough. Roll out on a floured surface and cut into strips about the size of your finger. Form these into “S” sahpes or rings and place on a greased baking sheet. Cook in a medium oven at 350 degrees F, until nicely browned, then allow to cool.”

—-
Best of luck Elliot!
Ciao.
Michael

Elliot

Thank you!
5039222126

I have heard my friend dream about it for some time now, and neither of us are sure it exists.

Grazie!
John Picone

As of this writing, you’ll find some of the Grace wines listed in my post at Mad Wine in Seattle. Prices are fair, coming in around $22/bottle for the 2005 Chianti Classico normale and $36/bottle for the 2004 Chianti Classico Riserva. They have a few older Grace wines including the 2001 Chianti Classico Il Margone at $48/bottle. Ground shipping is very reasonable, about $3/bottle to the West Coast, and $4/bottle to the East Coast.

If you’re looking for vintages older than those listed in my posting, you can often find great deals online by searching on wine-searcher.com and comparing prices. As of this writing, for example, All Star Wine and Spirits out of New York is offering the 2003 Gratius for $35/bottle – an excellent price for this pure Sangiovese gem. Ground shipping will run you another $4/bottle or less to most places in the US.

Out of New York the online wine merchant Saratoga Wine Exchange has a nice selection of older vintage Molino di Grace wines, particularly Il Margone and Gratius, at fair prices.

If you find you like Frank Grace’s wines, you can ask your favorite wine shop to bring the wines in; many can arrange it, but you’ll need to give them some lead time. You may find that buying online is the easiest and most reliable method, and often with the best prices even with shipping costs included.

Cheers!

Michael

How much to pack: Pack for ~4 or 5 days worth of clothes. If you’re traveling for 10 days, don’t pack 10 days worth of clothes. You can do a little dry cleaning or laundry along the way, even the smallest of towns in Italy has a lavandaria you can use for ~10 euros per load. I know, it sounds crazy, but you’ll thank me if you limit the amount of clothes you bring.

What kind of bag: Skip the rolley luggage. European cities are filled with cobblestone streets and many steps. The super-smooth streets and big elevators you’ve come to rely on in the US just aren’t there in the locations and hotels you’re likely to stay in. I recommend a backpack (yes, you’ve heard me, a backpack), and the best are available from Rick Steves’ travel store. I often go on 2 week wine hunting trips with just an expandable backpack and do fine. If you pick up wine and other items along the way, pick up an extra bag while you’re in Italy for about 20-30 euro.

Electronics: Keep the electronics simple; bring a small laptop if you must, but know that you can tap into many Internet Points along the way and access your gmail or yahoo account. Skip the cell phone unless you are willing to pay $1/minute, plus about $20/megabyte of data access. Remember that for iphones and blackberries, you’ll incur data access charges simply by having your cell phone on, and sizable charges at that. Don’t believe anyone that says you have unlimited data access in Europe for one monthly fee — it doesn’t exist with any carrier, and you’ll have a multi-thousand dollar phone bill to deal with when you get home. Good alternative: You can buy a cell phone in Europe for ~30-50 and pay local charges of about 40 cents/minute (pre-paid) if you feel you must have a cell phone with you.

I’m a big fan of Rick Steves’ travel style, and I highly recommend you read his “Pack Light and Right” page for great hints on how to pack efficiently and save yourself the unending pain of dragging big, heavy bags all over Italy and Europe. His page is here:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlight.htm

Ciao!
Michael
(Typing from the boisterous Blue Marlin bar in Vernazza while tasting the Lunae Auxo Rosso (Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo and Canailo) from the nearby Colli di Luni hills — http://www.cantinelunae.it/ )

Ciao.
Michael

Ciao.
Michael