Can’t stop thinking about this Oristano wine that we drank Saturday night with a U.S. importer of Italian wine in Houston.
It’s from a PDO that I’d never heard of: Malvasia di Bosa, from the west coast of Sardinia in Oristano province, a DOC with three producers according to the excellent Italian appellation wiki Quattro Calici.
Gorgeous gold and amber in color, the 2010 Columbu Malvasia di Bosa was lithe and salty with just the right touch of dried stone and dried white fruit to make it pair beautifully against aged white domestic cheddar and dark chocolate tabs.
Enjoying it immensely at the end of the evening, it occurred to me how wines like this and its sister appellation Vernaccia di Oristano were overlooked in the wave of oxidative-style wines (Sherry, Jura, etc.) that swept the überhip sommelier crowd some years ago.
What a great, truly original, and utterly delicious wine…
And how cool that Florence-based Ernest Ifkovitz, owner of Portovino, was in Texas working the market with his distributor for a week between Houston and Austin?
More and more, we see independent importers like the affable Ernest coming to our markets in Texas as smaller distributors continue to flourish, even where big wine once eclipsed the little guys. I loved that wine and I also really liked the Zero di Babo white by Marco Merli (Umbria) that Ernest poured for us that night. Super groovy stuff and cool packaging, too…
Today, I’m on my way to Franciacorta where I’ll be leading a group of wine writers and bloggers for the next few days.
It’s one of the last events in my Franciacorta Real Story campaign for 2016. Everyone in the group is super nice, fun, and talented and it should be a fun visit (one of them is the son of a one of my favorite wine bloggers and one that you probably love and follow like I do if you’re here).
I’m looking forward to it and some other fun eating and drinking I’ve got lined up for this Italian sojourn — my seventh for the year? I’ve lost count!
But today I’m just feeling super blue about saying goodbye to the girls (below) and Tracie P. It’s been such a lovely summer, with just a little bit of light travel for work. Now begins the season of some heavy lifting. And it just never gets easy to say arrivederci…
Wish me luck, wish me speed. See you on the other side…
Do Bianchi 
I’m sitting here crying in the shuttle on the way to the airport right now. So excited to participate with you in Franciacorta but it’s tough leaving my baby for the first time (for such a big trip anyway).
Good thing there will be wine flowing this week :)
See you shortly!
Let me know when you are back in Houston—we need to get together! I am off to Provence on Friday, but most of October looks good on my end…. Safe travels!
I understand the being away part, been there and it never really gets easier. That said, I am so bloody excited that my baby is taking his first trip to Europe with You! Give each other a hug from me. xoxoxox
Hello Jeremy, have you tried any of the other wines by Marco? All brimming with character and emotion, my personal favorites are Tristo (which he always makes), a macerated trebbiano with a bit of Grechetto which manages to be both brash and subtly elegant, and Mosco, 100% macerated moscato secco, which he made with the 2015 vintage as an experiment and is just earth-shakingly good. When I visited a few weeks ago I tried a wildl orange rind-ey and wild boarish (cinghialesco?) Malvasia di Candia fermented and elevated in demijohns.
Drunken Cyclist, we will connect in October for sure. You should come to the Maremma dinner at Ciao Bello on October 5 if you are free. But either way, I’ll be in touch for sure and am looking forward to it.
Samantha, man, I thought it would get easier but it just keeps getting tougher and tougher… “if I could keep time in a bottle…” Jeremy D. and I are having a lot of fun though. :) I should only wish to have a rapport like that with my girls when they grow up. He’s an awesome dude and a fine man.
Giovanni, I really liked that wine and am psyched to taste/learn more for sure! Thanks for being here.