A Note from Sergio
While much of the English-speaking world is celebrating St. Patrick's Day today, Italy is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its unification. Today, March 17, 2011 is a national holiday in Italy, but only because this anniversary is a nice, big, round number. Last year, Unification Day came and went without a ripple. Next year, it'll likely be the same. And this vacillating over what should seem to be a no-brainer national holiday is a point that says a lot about Italy.
The Unification, "il Risorgimento" or The Resurgence in Italian, is the political coalescing of a multitude of warring city-states and larger principalities into the nation of Italy. However, in many ways, Italy remains a country that prides regional alliances over nationalistic ones. Americans, a people who are devoutly nationalistic, might see that provincial pride as a problem. Italians tend to see it as a strength. Retaining a sense of regional identity allows people to hold onto the traditions, the food, the holidays and the rhythms of their ancestors and their ancestors' ancestors. It means that you get this fantastic bread called farinata in Chiavari, and nowhere but Chiavari. It means that you can't find fricco outside of Friuli-and if you do, you don't really want to eat it. It means that you want to get your Primativo wines from Puglia, your Ribolla from Friuli, your Fiano from Campania. It's likely not too strong a statement to say that regionalism, as much as anything else, helped to give birth to the Slow Food Movement. "Eat local" is just another way of supporting regional traditions and pride.
This week, I'm happy to be celebrating Italian Unification with the recent releases from the COS winery in Sicilia. Invaded by Greeks, Goths, Gauls, Neapolitans, Byzantines, Arabs, Bourbons and more, Sicilia is a much-contested property. In 1946, it became Regione Autonoma Siciliana, the Autnomous Region of Sicilia, and so it remains, both a part of unified Italy and separate from it. Based in Sicilia, COS, a winery named for the first letters in the last names of the three friends who own and operate it, has always been devoted to the biodynamic cultivation and traditional crafting of indigenous grapes--until recently, when it added the international grapes Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for their amazing blend Maldafrica.
COS very much embodies the best of Italy. It's an amicable cooperation between different entities that embraces Italian tradition even as it innovates. That these wines are amazing--pure, nuanced, vibrant and complex--only intensifies my feelings that they're the ones to celebrate today, tomorrow, and on down the road. Salute!
My Best,
P.S. You can now follow me on Twitter: @Italian_Wine_SE.
Featured Wines
COS Pithos Rosso 2009, 750ml, $49.80
This traditional Sicilian blend of Nero d'Avola and Frappato brings a gutsy tannic structure and a tarry profile from the Nero, while the Frappato delivers acidity and bright red, almost strawberry-like, fruit. Aging the wine in amphora, COS fashions a delightfully primeval, indelibly funky interpretation of the blend. The '09 places the strawberry in concert with blueberry and chocolate, a wave of silky tannins and a burst of minerality. A wild ride of a wine, it's drinking now to 2015.
COS Frappato 2009, 750ml, $32.55
In Italy, one of the great joys of early spring is fragolini, tiny wild strawberries from Sicilia. These berries are about the size of the tip of a pinky finger, yet each one bursts with pure, fresh, untamed strawberry flavor. The unabashedly ruby COS '09 Frappato proffers a palate of fragolini drizzled with fine balsamic vinegar: a breath of sweetness, a blast of freshness, a touch of chocolate and a hint of earth. Complex, nuanced, delicious and drinking now to 2015.
COS Maldafrica 2007, 750ml, $39.85
IWM is pretty excited about Maldafrica, a new release from the estate and a real departure from what we've seen from them previously. With a deep, inky red-purple hue, the full-bodied Maldafrica shows lots of black cherry, a dusting of sweet spice and silky tannins. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, this wine strikes a balance between acidity and minerality that keeps the wine grounded in its Sicilian terroir. A handsome dark stranger that gives you pleasurable déjà vu, this wine is drinking now to 2014.
COS Ramì 2009, 750ml, $27.22
Crisp, zesty, fresh and interesting, COS Ramì is like the hot girl at the party who turns out to be an astrophysicist: in short, there's more here than initially meets the eye. The palate starts out with a breezy blast of Sicilian lemon touched with white flowers, honey and vanilla, but underneath is a tempting note of salted nuts and piquant minerality. This wine is way smarter than you first give it credit for, and that only makes it even more beautiful. Drinking now to 2012.
Everyday Rossos Under $25
Cantine Colosi Sicilia Rosso 2008, 750ml, $11.88
A food-loving everyday wine with intense value for its price, the Cantine Colosi Rosso is a Nero d'Avola jammy with dark, brooding cherries and blackberries, a fresh nose of spice and grilled herbs, and a really nice minerality. There's nothing but good here-and it only gets better if you pair this '08 with steak. Drinking now, and why wait?
Buceci Nero d'Avola-Merlot, 750ml, $21.99
Organically grown, hand-harvested, and carefully vinified, this Nero d'Avola-Merlot blend makes for a charming dinner companion at a terribly attractive price. Crushed roses and earth meet the nose, as the garnet wine's palate of wild red strawberries and raspberries greet the mouth. Warm and genial, this wine makes every meal feel homemade. Drinking now.
**Indicates pre-arrival.
Upcoming Tasting Events
Two Legendary Winemaker Dinners, Two IWM Firsts
Burgundy's Louis Jadot and Barolo's Guiseppe Rinaldi
The Passion of Burgundy: A Winemaker Dinner with Jacques Lardiere of Louis Jadot
Featuring the Premier and Grand Cru Burgundy of Louis Jadot
Date: Monday, March 21
Time: 7:00PM
Place: The Studio del Gusto at Italian Wine Merchants
Price: $175.00
Attention, Burgundy lovers, we're pleased to announce a first for Italian Wine Merchants: a winemaker dinner with a producer of fine Burgundy. On Monday, March 21, we're delighted to host Jacques Lardiere of Louis Jadot for a special evening of sparkling conversation, delicious food and, of course, fine wines--including Premier and Grand Crus of Burgundy. During this five-course dinner prepared by our own Chef Kevin Sippel, Lardiere, accompanied by his apprentice Frederic Barnier, will discuss winemaking in Burgundy, give his insights into Burgundian terroir and, most of all, embody the passion, artistry and elegance of France's most esteemed region. Louis Jadot crafts as many as ninety different labels each season, yet each maintains its own singularity; thus, Lardiere has an especially comprehensive knowledge of Burgundy, including its most historic regions from Corton Charlemagne to Gevrey Chambertin Clos-Saint-Jacques.
Forthright, fervent and charismatic, Lardiere is not a man who minces words. "Look at all the boring wines," he has said, "many of them are technically impeccable, but they have no soul, no personality in them. They could have been manufactured by robots." A winemaker with this kind of passion for his craft makes for a riveting dinner guest. This evening will be an unmistakable treat that wine-lovers--whether avid burghounds or those who are merely Burg-curious--do not want to miss.
Featured wines will include:
Louis Jadot 2007 Chassagne Montrachet Morgeot Duc de Magenta, Premier Cru
Louis Jadot 2006 Corton Charlemagne, Grand Cru
Louis Jadot 2006 Beaune Clos des Ursules, Premier Cru
Louis Jadot 2006 Vosne Romanée Les Suchots, Premier Cru
Louis Jadot 2008 Gevrey Chambertin Clos-Saint-Jacques, Premier Cru
Louis Jadot 2004 Grands Echezeux, Grand Cru
*Wines will be paired with a five-course Burgundy menu
Barolo's Rarest Gem: A Winemaker Dinner with Marta Rinaldi of Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo
Featuring the Legendary Vintages of Piemonte
Date: Tuesday, March 29th
Time: 7:00PM
Place: The Studio del Gusto at Italian Wine Merchants
Price: $195.00
Rinaldi makes their Barolo in tantalizingly small numbers. 500 cases of one, 300 cases of another, just 20 of third: so rare is Rinaldi that even Barolo's most ardent aficionados may not have had it as often as they would like. Therefore, it is with extraordinary delight that we announce that we will be hosting a winemaker dinner with Marta Rinaldi of Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo where we will feature Rinaldi Barolo from these legendary vintages: 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2006.
This evening will be of legendary proportions. Rinaldi has never before agreed to appear at a winemaker dinner in the United States, and rarely has anyone had the opportunity to taste a range of the estate's Barolo from such spectacular vintages, including those from magnum that are almost impossible to obtain. While enjoying a five-course menu of Piemontese dishes prepared by IWM Chef Kevin Sippel, you'll enjoy the company and conversation of Marta Rinaldi, a Barolo producer of unwavering tradition, meticulous standards and blazing passion. If you've never tasted a Rinaldi Barolo, you don't know what you're missing, and if you have, you do. Join us for an evening so exceptional that "rare" doesn't begin to do it justice.
Featured wines will include:
Rinaldi 2006 Cannubi (San Lorenzo)/Ravera
Rinaldi 2004 Cannubi (San Lorenzo)/Ravera
Rinaldi 2001 Cannubi (San Lorenzo)/Ravera
Rinaldi 2000 Cannubi (San Lorenzo)/Ravera
Rinaldi 2006 Brunate/LeCoste
Rinaldi 1999 Brunate/LeCoste
Rinaldi 1997 Brunate/LeCoste (from Magnum)
Rinaldi 1996 Brunate/LeCoste
*Wines subject to change
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