Sorry for the silence

It's not because I'm lazy or I'm drinking less, but lately I am having a hard time finding a subject. Is this whats called writers block? Most likely yes!!! So what should I talk about during a bad case of writer block??? What about a nice dinner...
Last week it was my sister's birthday and I decided to get some Joe's Stone Crab shipped from Miami, I've already talked about those fabulous claws in the past, but I like to reiterate the fact that I love the next day delivery of fresh crab to my door.
Along with those succulent claws we had 3 different kinds of oysters that my sister picked at Citarella. So far, the best venue I found, along with Dean and Deluca for fresh oysters. But, I'm open to suggestions as well if you have any? We also enjoyed some Scottish smoked salmon from Russ and Daughters. It wasn't a real party, Piers and his girlfriend were part of it and Danilo joined us a little later, but it was more an excuse, to enjoy some great seafood, wine and company. One way to think less about your personal problems become inebriated with life. I was in charge of cracking the claws and shucking the oysters. Piers tried a couple with mixed results. So I put him in charge of opening the wines...yes right the wines. Ok! Let me just say that we might have gone overboard a little with the quantity. But sometimes it is better to have more then to run out, right? Going back to the God's nectar, I brought home a Magnum of Quintarelli Bianco Secco Ca del Merlo 2005 and a bottle of Villa Rinaldi Dolce di Creme` 1998, we loved it so much at the last dinner that I proposed an encore.
Piers participate with a bottle each of Percarlo 1998 and 1999 and we had to open a great bottle of Billecart Salmon Rose Non Vintage. Needless to say there is nothing better to put you in a great mood then some pink bubbles. The Billecart always surprises me for the elegance and intensity of the acidity, as soon as we popped the cork there were flavors that indicated a little age, so we looked and that bottle was disgorged in 2001, amazing!!! While sipping Champagne, shucking oyster and cracking stone crab claws I thought that life does not get much better than this! Maybe it could, but this is pretty damn good...after getting everything ready on the table we decided not to follow a particular order so I set 2 glasses one for the Quintarelli and the other for the Percarlo, it was interesting to see how going back and forth from red to white will work with the food. The Quintarelli had an evolution that surprises all of us; it started with elegance and a balanced acidity with flowers and a little citrus flavor. After a few hours it almost tasted like a Burgundy Grand Cru filled with tropical fruit, citrus and minerality. The wine was so impressive that Piers, a fervid believer that Italians can't make white wines, changed his opinion. It was an experience to be replayed having a small vertical of Percarlo, 1998 was rated by critics as slightly worse then 1999. Well we didn't have that impression; both Piers and I agreed on the fact the 1998 was drinking much better, it tasted much more traditional than the '99, it had more length and more depth, the '99 oak still hadn't integrated with the wine and was still a bit predominant. In favor of the 1999 I must say that the wine opened up with more time and knowing how much time the Percarlo needs to come around I'm curious to try it again in a year from now. After honoring the food and the wine it was time for dessert, I don't really have a sweet tooth, but I love the Lady M's mille crepes, a highly addictive and dangerous cake, a truly decadent sweet treat that I paired with the Villa Rinaldi Dolce di Creme, a sparkling desert wine made of Garganega grape, that was the perfect match with the dessert. Another great evening was about to end, and the empty "corpses" left on the table was a clear sign of it. We had finished everything on the table and went to sleep happy, satisfied and fairly inebriated by the events...

Buona Bevuta a Tutti

In Vino...

Usually that phrase ends with veritas and is Latin for 'in wine there is the truth.' The Romans who coined those words, used to use the god's nectar like a truth serum.
As human beings, even after a couple thousand years, we still rely on a glass of wine for several healing reasons. Scientifically proven to be good for your health, in moderation, wine has also an effect on the soul. If you believe in the existence of it. The Romans already realized that one of the effects of the fermented must was to lower the inhibitions of an individual and put them in a state of relaxation. Thus, leading to being comfortable and speaking truthfully. So to connect to my previous post, I will say that probably in a period like this people will naturally seek some comfort in a bottle of wine more frequently. Recently I had quite a few bottles of really good wine, my friends and I are opening good vintages, Champagne is flowing in glasses and some of those special bottles hidden in the back of the cellar were popped. Other than the physical pleasure of tasting the flavors, I had emotions!!! I felt joy, love, excitement and shared moments. I traveled trough time and space and I lived the moment. Being inebriated, which I believe is different than being drunk, has lead to inspiration for many writers and artist for thousand years. Virgil loved his wine, sipped under the tree, while asking his muse for an idea, and the same emotions is what I long for in a bottle of wine. Now I don't think all wine is capable of that, I believe good wine is capable to inspire an emotions, that is actually one of the parameters that need to be satisfied when I judge a wine. For example, I opened up a bottle of Colin Delenger Santennay Ville Vignes 2002 with Edoardo, an old friend that is getting the wine collector virus, it was perfect, great spice, in the nose the ethereal notes of violet and roses where dancing in the nostril, filling the brain with magnificent images, the red liquid almost massaged the spine while descending the esophagus like a small electric charge passing through the discs. Not many wines give that kind of emotion and definitely not always the same one, it depends on the situation, the state of mind, the weather and every external factor that interacts with our life. In a way that's the beauty of wine, every bottle, even from the same wine same year from the same case has a different story to tell you and you are a different listener as well. You have to admit that is a level of complexity that not many recreational drinks have. Emotion, inspiration, soul soothing that's what wine should be about; as it has been in our history as human being.
Buona Bevuta a Tutti

The State of NY feels I can close the business for a few days

That is the answer I got from the Juror office this morning when I called to see what option a sole proprietor and single worker of a business has!!!
When I said to the gentleman on the other side of the phone that closing for few days will actually put the business in jeopardy considering the economic slump. I couldn't believe his answer when his suggestion was; "well if you feel that the state of the economy is so bad why don't you just quit now?"

I felt like I had been slapped in the face! I am left speechless with declining sales and increasing expenses. My property taxes raised by more then 50% from last year like every other expense related to the business. So, I would like to know why exactly the State of New York feels that I can close my shop for few days!

Buona Bevuta a Tutti!!!

Do People Drink More During a Recession?

I have heard it many time in the past few months and to tell the truth I don't know if it is an urban myth or there is some truth to it. In my experience people in general have been spending less for wine. However, I have been selling more or less the same amount of bottles as prior years. The big spenders are more rare and my private clientèle is a bit shyer. The axiom bad financial times and more drinking does not convince me completely. The only benefit for the wine retailers is that probably now the trend is to save money; so the first thing people cut is eating out in restaurants. Thus, the retailer's of wine and food, sales should go up. I did see that happening to a certain extend but that benefit has been leveled by the drop of the average bottle price. The so called 'big spenders' probably are not acquiring as many bottles as in past years, also because their cellars are most likely filled. So in such a time they are drinking what they have put away. This is what I find myself doing as well, drinking wines from my cellar, the weird part is that I am opening more great bottles than in the past. It's almost like Nero fiddling while Rome was burning down. I'm drinking Grand Crus while the world financially melts down. Maybe this is because in times like this, the trust in the future is kind of low, so that quote 'life is to short' is more valuable. Or is it just a reaction of a very bad economic slump, drinking good bottles is somewhat a reassurance that life is not that bad? Among my friends I see that happening, Piers is taking out of the cellar the good stuff, Michael is drinking vintage Brunello like there is no tomorrow and I'm sharing more great bottles like I never have before with my love. Are we just reacting in a foolish way to a critical period? Who knows but I would like to hear your opinions on this, so for now and now more then ever...
Buona Bevuta a Tutti!!!!

Time and Timing

Like everything else in life time and timing are two key factors to succeed in every field, meaning that all the qualities and skills in the world might be not enough to reach a goal if the timing is off. With the nectar of the gods time and timing is even more critical factor. Let's start with time; slow pace is what vines requires, from the moment you plant a vine it will take at least 4 years for the plant to be able to produce enough complex grapes to have a good wine, but it will take several decades in order to have grapes complex enough to produce a great wine, with time in fact the vine's roots will crawl down in to the earth and as exponentially the deeper they go the more complex the grape will get. Making a wine takes time, from the fermentation to being release to the market, some wineries will age their wines in their cellars for a decade, like Kalin cellars or Giuseppe Quintarelli (his Amarone Riserva is aged for 13 years). After being release to the market some wines are still not ready and will need several more decades of aging in the consumer hands (a clear example are the 2005 Burgundy). Timing is also essential in life as well as for wine, like in life there is not a magical formula that will teach you about timing and like in life good timing comes with intuition supported by experience. Famous is the "dumb" period in Burgundies a window where the wine will close without any apparent reason and can last for few years, also Chateaunef du Pape has timing issues, either you drink it young or you'll have to wait for a decade. Wrong timing is also when you'll open a bottle in the wrong conditions; an Amarone is best enjoyed when outside temperature is low, opening a 16% plus wine in the middle of August it might not be a good idea. Probably the only wines that are timing free are the sparklers, good with virtually any food, any weather, any occasions and reasons or any celebration!!!
Talking about that I guess this is going to be the right time to wish you a great 2009...
Buona Bevuta a Tutti!!!

Happy Holidays!!!

It has been very hectic here at De Vino and that's why I haven't post lately, I promise you I'll be back on schedule as soon the holidays will be over.
Meanwhile I like to extend the best wishes for a great Holidays Season and a wonderful New Year to all of you.
Buona Bevuta a Tutti

Segni

Back in what seems like another life, I briefly touched the winemaking world when I got involved in starting a winery in Sicily, the biggest island in the Mediterranean sea. That experience was fairly brief, but it did have a few added bonuses, one of which was a pact between Roberto Cipresso and I to make a wine together. Now, after 5 years, that pact will be honored - Segni is about to be bottled.
Let's go back to almost a year ago when Roberto came to New York with 12 small plastic bottles (much easier to transport) filled with different red wines from different vineyards around the boot. That day, we decided what the wine would be composed of. Roberto told me that he knew already what is going to be but he wanted to see what I thought before telling me. After going back and forth tasting through, two bottles stood out; a Syrah from Umbria and an Aglianico from Basilicata. We started then to blend out of the plastic bottles, higher percentage of Syrah, then more Aglianico or in equal parts and with some Montepulciano. In the past, I have done many barrel tastings in various wineries, and one in particular gave the sense of the importance of blending, even if the wine is produced from a single varietal. A clear example is the Fattoria Il Carnasciale, which I visited a couple of times. They grow just one grape - the "Caberlot" - and they have different parcels of land at various altitudes and exposures. In the cellar, all the parcels are vinified separately in barriques and every cask is like an instrument, with the wine maker as the director that needs to assemble the orchestra in order to create a sublime concert. And of course, that's exactly what happened we opened a bottle of Il Caberlot after tasting through the barrels. This time was a little different, therefore exciting, since my role changed from passive taster and appreciator of the final music, to active participant, all the way down to the choice of the instruments. So after trying in the store and then again last September in Montalcino at Roberto's cellars, the final blend was decided and the wine is about to be bottled... and soon we will be able to hear the sound of it. The final blend will be Aglianico and Syrah vinified separately:
the Aglianico comes from 44 year old vines situated in Barile (Basilicata), trained on a guyot system with a density of 10,500 plants per Hectare, at 480 meters above sea level. The vines produced 700 gr each and the grapes were harvested in the second week of October 2007. The fermentation lasted 10 days and it was carried out in stainless steel tank. The wine was then aged for 12 months in French oak barrels.
The Syrah came from 7 year old vines, situated in Orvieto (Umbria), and trained in "Cordone Speronato" system with a density of 7800 plants per hectare at 300 meters above sea level. The vines produced 500 gr each and the grapes were harvested at the end of September 2007. The fermentation lasted 10 days and it was carried out in stainless steel tanks. The wine was then aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. There will be 400 bottles and 100 magnums of total production. These two vineyards produce wines possessing big character that could be bottled as single grape, and it was almost a revelation to see how these two vineyards could compliment each other, enhancing the terroir-driven connotations. From the last barrel tasting, the wine was layered with fruits, minerality and salinity, with sweet, firm tannins and a lingering note of dark berries and hints of violet. In January, I will probably open a sample bottle and see how much more time the wine will need to sit in bottle.
Buona Bevuta a Tutti!!!