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Recently returned from tasting the recent vintages of all the wines of Burgundy — more later. I also have to say that the food creativity in the region is incredible: layered flavor nuances, varied presentations in various shaped vessels. But most of my time was tasting, tasting, tasting wines

I now require soft, fresh white mozzarella cheese every morning. And sometimes as a first course in the evening , too. Strewn with red, juicy cherry tomato halves, a drizzle of this season’s gold-green olive oil, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. This the cucina povere (cuisine of the poor) from Puglia, the Italian province in “the heel of the boot.”
The food is abundantly fresh in this warm Mediterranean climate, though traditionally without much variety: pasta made without eggs, fresh cow’s milk cheese, native greens and wild onions, chick peas or fava beans, and bright, ripe cherry tomatoes, both fresh and dried. They decorate their few pastas and creamy new mozzarellas with knobs and twists and curls. They create a golden tan sauce with fava beans for their wild chicory, and augmented it with a chick pea condiment. They eat petal-shaped pasta with simple, fresh tomato sauce. For a side dish, they caramelize wild onions then scramble in some egg. Today, these are prized elements of native Puglian cuisine. Along with wines made from grapes that have been used for wine for 2500 years

What do they drink now? This is not a simple answer, as Puglia is made up of several different provinces, 25 DOCs, each with their own rules about which grapes to grow and blend. Many Puglian indigenous grapes are unheard of in much of the rest of the world: Bombino Bianco, Bianco d’Alessano, Greco Bianco, Nero di Troia (also known as Uva di Troia), Negroamaro, Sussumaniello. Some of the grapes we know, but not well: Aleatico, Aglianico, Fiano, Malvasia, Moscato and Primitivo.
Tourism is expanding in tandem with the wine industry’s revitalization. Puglians are reaching out to industry professionals from other countries. Though there are, of course, more hotels and rental properties being built, I was fascinated with the country houses and masserias – ancient, fortified farmsteads – converted into hotels with often with restaurants, spas, pools and beach shuttles. Their welcoming rooms offer privacy as well as sanctuary, opening off central living spaces, courtyards and lanes. Like those I visited: country house hotel Cefalicchio with its restaurant, spa and biodynamic vineyards; and village-like Masseria Torre Coccaro which has spa, restaurant, pool and even its own cooking school, if you want to learn how to make the Puglian dishes you’ve been tasting – along with all those newly-discovered wines.

Wonderful concept by Cadaretta Winery: show its cabernet sauvignon in a line-up of half a dozen similarly priced ($40) cabs. It showed OK, but thinking about it later, none of the wines really stood out. Is Washington wine getting blah? Maybe. Or maybe not: when I got home, I looked in my new book of biodynamic wine tasting times, and found that yesterday was not a good day to taste wine. Hmm…

A young kid in a winery? Never thought I’d see it on the Hallmark Channel.
Though UNCORKED is a generic romance movie, the background is wine. The male lead (Scott Elrod) is a chef and his parents (Jo Beth Williams and Elliott Gould) run a small Northern California winery.
His very young son also helps out there, even explaining how wine is made. Part of the solution in the romance has the female lead (Julie Benz from “Dexter”) figuring out how to keep the family winery going. Family values and wine – love it!
UNCORKED, The Hallmark Channel, March 6, 2010

With Italy producing 30% of all the wine in the European Union, four of their top regions want to educate US consumers and buyers in a 3-year program beginning this spring. Could be fun.
Four wine regions have banded together to educate us. One is the effervescent Prosecco which is skyrocketing in worldwide popularity as an every-day sparkling wine. The other three are the great red wines from Tuscany: Brunello di Montalcino, Chianti Classico and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.
Famously enchanting Tuscany traditionally produces the well-known red wines of Chianti, Brunello and Montalcino. They are all made with the same grape, Sangiovese. Brunello, headquartered in the southern hilltop town of Montalcino, must be 100% Sangiovese. Wines from the two other regions can be 100% Sangiovese: Vino Nobile di Montalcino surrounding another hilltop town to the east, and Chianti Classico, further north, around Florence. In these two areas, depending on the vintage, a winemaker may decide that blending would enhance the wines and add as much as to 20% of certain other proscribed red grapes.
Charming, small-town-studded Prosecco is the fourth region in this promotional alliance, producing high-quality sparkling wines from the prosecco grape in an area between the alluring city of Venice and the friendly slopes of the Dolomite Mountains.
Why now? Several reasons. First, as of this year, Prosecco has achieved an upgrade, adding the designation in Italian winemaking, DOCG. This means they adhere to the highest standards of quality in the vineyards, winemaking and ageing. Brunello di Montalcino was awared DOCG status in 1980, and is a wonderful wine when made with stringent guidelines. Last year there was a public question of some Brunellos being made some “illegal” (non-Sangiovese) red wines blended in. Wines were confiscated, tests were made, and apparently the scandal has abated. Wine producers seem to have come through reasonably unscathed and re-devoted to authenticity.
In Vino Nobile di Montepulciano there is also a new spirit, not for any reasons of scandal, but rather because this region has been overshadowed by the two other red wines of Tuscany, and it’s now up to Montepulciano to begin pulling its weight again, with consumers.
Chianti Classico may be one the most familiar Italian red wines in America; it is also the oldest wine demarcated area in Tuscany. Recently, producers united under the easily-recognizable “Black Rooster” symbol to make it easier for consumers to identify these quality wines.
At VINO2010, the recent Italian wine conference in New York City, FEDERDOC president Ricardo Ricci Curbastro announced the educational initiative targeting the United States and Japan, to increase awareness of the European Union’s new wine quality designation that go into effect April 1, 2010. The funding comes half from the EU and half from the wine regions.
Curbastro described the DOP and IGP as “Protected Designation of Origen” and “Protected Geographical Indication” labels for the wines that were known as DOCG and DOC in Italy. These regions would like to convey the concept that, across the board there can be “different wines with the same philosophy” of quality, according to Silvia Baratta who handles communications and marketing for the Prosecco consortium.

Still trying to get my head around the wines of Puglia, where I spent several days last week. All sorts of great native grapes — negroamaro, primitivo, uva di troia, bombino bianco, malvasia, fiano — and some chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon.
As with many emerging wine regions, Puglian winemakers are caught in a dilemma: should they be promoting their indigenous grapes or concentrating on wines made with internationally-known grapes? They have an added handicap because Puglia has been producing bulk wines for decades.
What do you think they should do?

PALATE PRESS: The Online Wine Magazine and Brother, Can You Spare a Bottle? announce a joint program to help the relief effort in Haiti following the devastating earthquake that rocked the country earlier this week. Wine for Haiti is an opportunity for wine collectors to make a contribution not through their pocketbooks, but from their wine cellars.
The idea is simple: wine lovers contribute a special bottle that is then included with other donations into a mixed case. Those interested helping out the cause, and getting some great wine as a bonus, can then bid on the cases in an online auction. These generous contributions of wine lovers will all be turned directly into money for disaster relief.
In the spirit of giving, donations have already started rolling in with some very desirable bottles, including a 1976 Dr. Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Beerenauslese and an etched 6.0 liter bottle of 2003 Cornerstone Cellars Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon. PALATE PRESS: The Online Wine Magazine will pay all administrative and overhead costs of receiving the wines and running the auction.

Bottles should be sent to:
Wine for Haiti
Palate Press: The online wine magazine
9425 Meridian #201
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Please direct all inquires to WineForHaiti@palatepress.com .

We’ve been buying good, moderately priced Sauvignon Blancs from Chile for the past few years, so I was happy to try half a dozen more from all over the country, when I got the chance. All six are vintage 2008, which means they’ve been on the market for several months. They’ve lost that ultra-new quality and are ready to drink. The first three wines are lighter, while the last three are more complex, better with food.

Bio Bio Valley is not only a great name but a region with a lot of buzz, and its Gracia de Chile Reserva 2008 Sauvignon Blanc “Luminoso” opened gracefully into a medium light wine with gooseberry notes, minerality and plenty of acid in its finish.

Francois Lurton’s Hacienda Araucano 2008 Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Valle Central, and its emphasis is on fruit, with a touch of minerality and underlying notes of what some call “cat’s pee” – not necessarily a negative in this wine.

Also from the Central Valley is Xplorador 2008 Sauvignon Blanc produced by Concha Y Toro. This wine is crisp, crisp, crisp, with citric accents.

Santa Carolina 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from the Valle del Rapel is nicely balanced, and very pleasant to drink with a medium-light tropical fruit quality enduring through aromas, body and finish.

Casas del Bosque 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Gran Reserva comes from the Casablanca Valley. It’s very nicely balanced, with light touches of lemony acidity and plenty of the meadow-herb qualities I particularly enjoy.

The Leyda Valley’s Luise Felipe Edwards “Family Selection” 2008 Sauvignon Blanc appealed to everyone, and went on to be enjoyed with dinner, balancing tropical fruit and herbs very satisfyingly as it opened up. At the end of the evening, this bottle had the least left in it.

Sipping Wemyss 8-year-old blended malts seemed appropriate while watching a chick-flick on cable. “Made of Honor,” which I had fallen asleep watching on a plane so I wanted to see the end. You know Patrick Dempsey gets the girl in the end, but I thought there would be some clever plot twist that brought it about. Unfortunately not. Frankly, the Scottish guy with the castles and Scotch whisky empire looked much better to me.
Anyhow, Wemyss’ “The Smooth Gentleman” started off the film in a light, pleasant NYC mood and “The Spice King” got peatier and more complex as the scene shifted to Scotland.
It’s too bad so many people have no idea about blended Scotch whiskies and think they must drink only single malts because that’s the fashion. Sort of like trendy single-vineyard wines. Not every wine or every scotch should be “single.”

For the past month or two I’ve been deep in my own version of the sparkling wine world, finishing a draft of a new book on the global history of champagne and sparkling wine.
More later…