Do Bianchi

Above: Winemaker Armando Castagnedi (right) of Tenuta Sant’Antonio, one of my favorite Valpolicella producers, was in Austin, Texas yesterday. That’s him tasting with top Austin sommelier Mark Sayre.

I always try to make myself available when Italian winemakers come to town and I was happy to carve out an hour of my day yesterday to taste and chat with Armando Castagnedi of Tenuta Sant’Antonio, who was in town “working the market” as they say in the wine trade.

When we met, he gave me a wonderful little book on how Ripasso is made and I wanted to share it here on the blog. So I called up the winery this morning and asked the export director Elena Verzini to send it to me in electronic format. She also sent me their Amarone book.

Click here for the Ripasso book and here for the Amarone book.

Both have great illustrations and solid English translations explaining the process behind these wines — unique in the panorama of European winemaking and among my favorites.

Click here for my Vinitaly tasting notes from my Tenuta Sant’Antonio visit.

Yesterday, I caught up with one of my favorite wine writers, Ray Isle, in Houston for lunch.

Ray and I know each other from my NYC days and it was super fun to connect in Houston, his hometown.

Here’s my post today for the Houston Press.

Above: Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino president Fabrizio Bindocci.

Back in September 2012, I reported on Brunello consortium president Fabrizio Bindocci’s quest to ease restrictions on emergency irrigation in Montalcino.

When we met and tasted in the days leading up to harvest, he told me that he had sent a request to the Italian agriculture ministry asking them to clarify a technical point. If no restriction on emergency irrigation is mentioned in appellation regulations, he inquired, can it be allowed in extreme situations (even though it’s not prescribed in the appellation regulations)?

Click here for the background.

Today, Laura Gray, author of Il Palazzone blog in Montalcino, reports that “We just received word via the Brunello Consortium that the Ministry for Agriculture published a circular (number 6858 – 19 April 2013) clarifying that irrigazione di soccorso (emergency irrigation) is permitted for DOCG, DOC and IGT wines when this is not mentioned in their disciplinaries.”

Click here for her post “An end to obligatory dry farming for Brunello.”

As Laura points out, “we have all noticed the rise in temperatures and so this new possibility of intervention is welcome news in Montalcino.”

The sky was partly cloudy yesterday, the temperature in the mid 70s, and there was gentle rain as I rolled into Houston from Austin on a early spring evening around 6 p.m.

It was a perfect storm: between the mild heat, the intense humidity, and the heavy Texas pollen, there was no way that I was going to avoid a major allergy attack.

By the time I managed to find a seat at one of my favorite Houston by-the-glass wine programs (which will remain nameless in order to protect the innocent), tears were literally rolling down both sides of my face and I had already retired one of the cloth handkerchiefs that I carry with me (these days, I make sure to have two on hand at any given moment).

It was nothing that a crisp, cool glass of Roter Veltliner, with a wonderful spearmint note, and a steaming bowl of Nova Scotia mussels couldn’t clear up in a matter of minutes.

Until…

An attractive, middle-aged woman joined a party sitting to my left, taking the seat in between me and her friends at the crowded bar.

The fragrance she was wearing was SO aggressive that it dominated even the marine aromas of the mollusks. And my lovely Roter Veltliner, with its gentle herbaceous nose, was sent adrift in a sea of chemically induced “honeysuckle.”

It was as if her fragrance were shouting SHOUTING at me.

I later discovered, feigning that my wife “might enjoy her perfume,” that the lady in question had just applied — and very generously, I may add — a lotion from Bath and Body Works, not an item “you can find on the shelves,” I was informed, but a special order item for which you must “be in the know.”

I’ve never been one to curb personal freedoms but is intense perfume or fragrance really necessary when you visit a fine dining venue?

The city of Houston still allows outdoor smoking areas in restaurants.

My thought would be to abolish the cigarette ghettos and banish the heavily perfumed to their own section outside.

As the French lover once exclaimed, after being trapped in the perfume cabinet for a week hiding from a jealous husband, de la merde s’il vous plaît!

Above: Tench pâté, pike crudo, and marinated sardines by my current favorite chef in Italy, Vittorio Fusari of Dispensa Pani e Vini (located in the heart of Franciacorta).

Let’s face it: Vinitaly — Italy’s annual wine trade fair in Verona — isn’t exactly known for the seamlessness with which it executes. Last year, the cellphone and wireless network were offline the entire duration of the fair (leading to utter chaos among fairgoers attempting to confirm appointments via text and email).

This year, a two-hour lunch event for Italian wine bloggers was delayed for an hour and fifteen minutes (supposedly because Daniele Cernili went overtime for his event in the same space). I was invited to the event and spent an hour chatting with my Italian blogger colleagues outside before I had to move on to my next appointment.

Above: Chef Fusari and Franciacorta consortium president and legendary bon vivant Maurizio Zanella.

But, man, when it comes to putting on a Vinitaly event, the folks from the Franciacorta Consortium sure know how to get it right.

Not only did the event “Franciacorta in Cucina: l’arte dell’abbinamento” (Franciacorta in the Kitchen: the art of pairing [food and Franciacorta]) start right on time, its entire execution was flawless, with superb food (by Vittorio Fusari), world-class waitstaff (from his restaurant), and an excellent speaker, Nicola Bonera, the consortium’s in-house sommelier (winner of Best Sommelier in Italy 2010).

Above: The menu included five courses and five wines. My stand out was the Arici rosé, made by my good friend Giovanni Arcari who had invited me to the event.

I get invited to SO many events like this and I reluctantly accept, knowing that they’ll probably start late, go over time, and bore the guests with a speaker who talks down to the crowd like preschoolers.

Nicola’s spiel was impressive and engaging and I was thrilled by the insights he shared regarding disgorgement and varietal composition of the wines. Did you know, for example, that Franciacorta producers must include disgorgement information on their labels? This new regulation went into place three years ago. (Does anyone remember a high profile U.S.-based Italian wine writer calling for more transparency in disgorgement info last year?)

The event was nearly seamless… except for the fact that I had to request a dump bucket, which appeared a few minutes after my petition.

I still haven’t posted my photos and notes from the two visits that Tracie P and I made to Fusari’s AMAZING restaurant in Erbusco (and I will soon).

In the meantime, the moral of the story: when invited to a Franciacorta Consortium event, ACCEPT the invitation!