My Wine Education

Guest Post: An Italian Wine Primer, Part 2

While Kevin & I are in Alaska, we've asked some friends and colleagues to post on their wine loves, wine experiences and more. For this post we welcome back Kevin Keith, continuing his post from last week.
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Welcome back, it’s Kevin Keith, your friendly neighborhood wino from Liquor Direct, back with more Italian primer – this time we take a brisk walk through the Italian wine landscape, starting at the top of the boot, with the tiny region of the Valle d’Aosta.

Image Credit

Valle d’Aosta is the smallest of the Italian wine regions, bordering Switzerland to the north, France to the west, and Piedmont to the south and east.  An ancient growing region, grapes have been cultivated since the Roman days, with around 22 varieties authorized for growing, including Picotener (the local name for Nebbiolo), Neyret, Vien de Nus, Fumin, Mayolet, Prie Route, Petit Rouge, Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), Gamay, Dolcetto and Syrah for the reds, and Moscato Bianco (also called Moscat de Chambave), Pinot Grigio (also known as Malvoisie), Blanc de Morgex, Prie Blanc, Muller-Thurgau, Chardonnay and Petit Arvine.  There are no DOCG wines from this area.

Piedmont means “at the foot of the mountains.”  This region is by far one of the most recognized regions in Italy.  It is the second largest region and has the most DOC wines (over 40) and DOCG wines (7).  Most of the production of wine originates in the heart of Piedmont, the Po River Valley.  Here you will find Barolo, Barbaresco, Gattinara and Moscato d’Asti.  The first three I mentioned are all made with the Nebbiolo grape, and the last mentioned is from the ancient Muscat grape.  Dolcetto and Barbera are also widely planted red varieties, as well as Freisa, Grignolino and Brachetto.  The most popular white grape is the Cortese, used for the DOCG wine, Gavi.  Arneis (nicknamed the “white Barolo”) and Erbaluce di Caluso are also grown.  Another important wine product produced here is Vermouth, made with at least 70% wine, and fortified and flavored with various roots, spices, herbs and wood – this is what is known as an “Aromatic” wine.

Lombardy sits in the semi-circle created by the Alps that enclose Italy to the north.  The mountainous north and the flat Po River Valley in the south define the topography of the growing regions, which are divided into three:  the Valtellina in the North, the Oltrepo Pavese in the southwest, and the Franciacorta in the east.  Nebbiolo, known locally as Chiavennasca, is the primary red grape grown in the Valtellina.  The Oltrepo Pavese is known primarily for Pinot Nero.  And the greatest sparkling wines from Italy come from the Franciacorta, and is derived from Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and/or Pinot Nero.

Guest Post: An Italian Wine Primer, Part 1

While Kevin & I are in Alaska, we've asked some friends and colleagues to post on their wine loves, wine experiences and more. For this post we welcome Kevin Keith, who does an excellent job of introducing himself. Thanks Kevin!
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Hi y’all!  My name is Kevin Keith, and I am currently the wine buyer for Liquor Direct Wine & Spirits, with two locations in Northern Kentucky, as well as local wine blogger for Under The Grape Tree.  Michelle asked me to help keep her blog going with a little post, so I tried to come up with something that would fit with her readers, as well as not repeat anything she or Kevin (her husband) has touched on in the past.

What I came up with is a little something that I am very passionate about, and have had many questions on in my stores over the years, and that is Italian wine.  I tell people who ask about Italian wine, that this subject is the hardest to teach people on due to the overwhelming amount of information there is about the subject.  You see, while other countries in the world dedicated specific areas of their lands to viticulture (growing grapes), in Italy, there are vineyards everywhere, in each of the 20 regions (provinces actually), with each region as diverse as the others.

Vineyards Near Barola, Image Credit

Italy has long been in the top three in wine production, becoming #1 in 2005 with a total of over 8.5 million metric tons that year (over 2 million metric tons more than France!).  Italy can be divided up into 4 main sections:

1.     1. Northwestern Italy

2.     2. Northeastern Italy

3.     3. Central Italy

4.     4. Southern Italy

The Northwestern portion of Italy consists of 6 regions spanning from the greater portion of the arc of the Alps and Apennines, which slope toward the Po River:  Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany.  Topography, soil, climate and grape varieties vary from one region to the next, and much of this area is considered very prosperous, with the cities of Florence, Milan, Turin and Genoa all inhabiting this area.  A total of 27% of Italy’s wines are produced here.

The Northeastern portion of Italy is also called the Tre Venezie, or “Three Venices”.  The three regions are Veneto – the largest producer of DOC wines, Trentino-Alto Adige – which has the highest percentage of DOC wines comparatively to total output, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.  Together, these 3 regions producer a total of 17% of Italy’s wines.

Our Own Sin City

Before there was Las Vegas, there was Newport, Ky. No kidding. From spending WAY too much time at York Street Cafe in my life, I knew a lot of the history of that building (speakeasy, hidden safes, etc), but I hadn't realized how real it all was, and how rampant, throughout Newport.

Gangsters everywhere, post-prohibition. Gambling, prostitution, alcohol, casino robberies, murder and tommy guns ... it was all in Newport. 

We got to take the Newport Gangsters tour last night. I loved it!  I knew the history of Prohibition and beer in this area from an article I once wrote. It was nice to see what happened in Newport after Prohibition was repealed and the bootleggers, um, expanded.

I had fun with my new camera. Newport has some great buildings. You can visit the Flickr set or watch the slideshow below.

The tour costs $15 and the proceeds benefit a great local charity where our kids are sent to teach for a week at schools in the Caribbean. It's another great cause. The guys that are running the tour are obviously having a great time - and they're sort of overflowing with facts from their research. In fact, I think their research sort of scares them a little. They talked to a lot of people - a lot of the still living (and still local) gangsters and club owners/partygoers from the era. 

It's worth a few hours of your time. Right now, this weekend is your only chance to experience the fun tour, although they're debating on continuing through the summer, as well as looking into a Haunted Newport Ghost Tour. Go show your support - it's a short walk to and from Newport from Taste of Cincinnat and the tour lasts 90 minutes.

You'll never look at Newport the same way.

Ohio Wineries: Even Closer to Home

Ohio wineries are coming to you.

March 21st at Krohn Conservatory in Eden Park you can try any number of our local goodies, including

• Henke
• Harmony Hill
• Kinkead Ridge
• Vinoklet
• Burnett Ridge
• Valley
• Meranda-Nixon
• Meier's
• Woodstone Creek

Nicholas Longworth (think Longworth Hall in Mt Adams) was the first to grow grapes in the area, inadvertently creating the Ohio River Valley appellation. The session at Krohn conservatory provides a historical context for our thriving wine area and includes tastings from 9 different local wineries. Your admission price of $35 also includes a Tiffany's wine glass and a tour of Krohn Conservatory. RSVP by March 17th to 513.421.5707.

While we're on the subject of local wineries, congratulations to Henke! The fun winery over on the west side was recently mentioned in a USA Today article on urban wineries. Cincinnati has a lot of urban wineries. In addition to Henke, Woodstone Creek, Burnett Ridge,and Vinoklet would all fall into the Urban Wine category as well. Back in June, I had a great time tasting at Henke, although I can't seem to find the relevant blog post at the moment. I'm glad they're getting a little extra publicity.

Barrel Stamp: Ohio Bonded Winery #2

One of my favorite local wineries, Harmony Hill, has issued a strange request. I'll let Bill tell you this great little story, followed by the request at the end.

During the summer of 2007, a local gentleman visitor brought to the winery a brass barrel stamp that he had kept as a family heirloom (a barrel stamp was used in the early days as a method of identifying the winery that had filled the barrel with wine, was placed over the head of the barrel and set over a flame to burn the stamp into the oak).

We only remember marveling at this piece of history and realizing that it was from Ohio Bonded Winery #2. Neither Patti nor I can recall the winery name, nor the name of the gentleman. It was one of those crazy days at the winery when visitors are lined up at the tasting bar, so by the time we had a chance to speak with this gentleman at length, he had disappeared.

I have searched for months through the Ohio Division of Liquor Control and Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms licensing divisions to try to find this gentleman, to no avail. Unfortunately, all winery records prior to prohibition were destroyed.

The significance of that piece at this time is related to an upcoming March event, during which (for the first time ever) the City of Cincinnati Park Board is sponsoring a wine event at Krohn Conservatory with a presentation about the History of the Ohio River Valley wine appellation. That piece is significant, since as Ohio Bonded Winery #2, that would have been only the second winery to be established after The Longworth wineries in the mid 1800s. As many of you already know, Nicholas Longworth started this nations wine history when he planted 3000 acres of Catawba along the shores of the Ohio River, east of Cincinnati, and is still to this day considered "The Father of the American Wine Industry."

The request: If any winery visitor has any recollection of this gentleman's visit to Harmony Hill, or knows anything about this piece, please contact us as soon as possible.

I will keep everyone posted as I find out more about the Krohn Conservatory Event. It sounds quite fun, and I do love the conservatory. If anyone knows anything about this barrel stamp from Ohio Winery #2, please get in touch.

One Perfect Evening and the Oakville Grocery

I recently read that the Oakville Grocery was verging on bankrupt, and was saved by the generosity of Leslie Rudd of Rudd Vineyards and Dean & DeLuca. I was so relieved. I feel like Oakville Grocery, especially the location on Highway 29 in Napa Valley, is a little piece of history  - a little piece of my own history.

Our last trip out to California's wine country was in 2005. We stayed in Santa Rosa, which proved to be the perfect vantage point to access both Sonoma and Napa, and then enjoy a brewpub or sushi in Santa Rosa come evening. Because Kevin attended an annual conference in San Francisco, our trips tended to lead up to, and occasionally cross July 4th. On this particular trip, the Mondavi Summer Concert series was hosting the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and celebrating July 4th. I'd ordered tickets months before and was incredibly excited. (See photos here.)

On the recommendation of the folks at Domaine Carneros, we stopped at the Oakville Grocery before the concert. Oakville Grocery is practically across the street from Mondavi and in the "front yard," so to speak, of Opus One. It's surrounded by vines. Inside, it was crowded with people and Kevin and I split up to pick up specialty sandwiches, yummy pastries, and cheeses, as well as a bottle or two of water. It all went into a box, and we wandered into Mondavi.

We spread our blanket out behind a young family. Turns out these folks lived there in Napa, which seems positively wonderful to me. What a great family! We all purchased our various wines in the Mondavi wine shop and we shared.We talked about the wine and enjoyed the wines with complete strangers as the uplifting strains of New Orleans jazz floated over the evening. In the back of the courtyard, tables were set up at the vineyard edge. Robert Mondavi and his wife, Margrit, were there. At times they were up and swing dancing, and looking very much in love. At the end of the evening, fireworks exploded in the sky, lighting up the vineyards and the mountains.

It was really one of the most perfect nights of my life. Vineyards, wine, beauty, music, history, and good company. The Oakville Grocery was just one part of that evening, but I will forever associate it with that night. I'm glad it'll be around so that we can do it all again.

Marilyn in My Life

Norma Jeane Mortenson (then Baker) was born on June 1, 1926. Had she lived, she would have been 80 years old today. As much as I hate that her light was extinguished so young, I also think that she couldn't have survived. That maybe we would have had to watch her slowly fade. Instead, she left us in a way, and at a time, that left her an icon.

America has a love affair with Marilyn Monroe, as do I. I've always been fascinated by both her life and her myth, and try to remain cognizant that those are two separate things. Separating the life from the myth is part of what killed her, I think. In college, I needed a few hours to complete my graduation requirements. My favorite professor, who had a doctorate in English but a Master's degree in American Pop Culture, created an independent study class for me - on Marilyn Monroe. The result of that class was one of the best research papers I ever wrote: Angel with a Crooked Halo: America's Love Affair with Marilyn Monroe. I probably enjoyed creating that paper more than any other, and it introduced me to Norman Mailer, who wrote honestly, harshly, and with heart, when it came to Marilyn. Writing that paper also opened up a love-hate relationship that I have with the late Arthur Miller. I can't decide, to this day, if I hate him for his emotional After the Fall or love him for The Crucible. He did pen The Misfits, which was one of Marilyn's great films, and one of the saddest when taken in the context of her life.

Today I'll be purchasing the 2004 Marilyn Merlot. I already have a 1999 Norma Jeane Merlot that is now valued at $105.00. Not a bad return on my $10 investment. I hope to purchase two of the Marilyn Merlots today - one to drink and one to save. I'm not cellaring my Marilyn wines. I'm collecting them. I've read, however, that the 2004 Marilyn is fruity and fun to drink, albeit the price tag also reflects the celebrity and not necessarily the quality. The 30 Second Wine Advisor has a rather nice write-up.

Happy Birthday Marilyn. While you left us too soon, you left us with memories that turned into legend and possibly a rather fun wine.

Technorati Tags: Marilyn Monroe, marilyn, Norma Jeane, Norma Jean, Marilyn Merlot, Marilyn Wines, wine, merlot

It's Paris all over again

I'm not going into detail on the results of yesterday's re-creation of the historic Paris tasting. I am going to link you to some of the folks who do provide details. (Why re-invent the wheel?)
The original tasting in 1976 helped put California on the winemaking map. This tasting proved California still deserves it's spot. This does not, however, put me off my current interest in learning more about French wine.
Here are some informative write-ups about the tasting:
Vinography
Wine Sediments

SF Gate
Napa Valley Register
Decanter.com

Technorati Tags: Paris tasting, wine