Tasting Italian Wines: Abruzzo, Italy

Date:  lundi 28 septembre 2009
Location:  Abruzzo, Italy


Today I joined my friend (a fellow food and wine aficionado) at an Italian food and wine tasting event in the small town of Abruzzo, Italy. I am visiting Italy and passing through Abruzzo for a short respite. Outside of Californian and French terroir, I have very little tasting experience of other wine regions due to geographical disadvantage. A recent New Zealand wine tasting event in SF (tasted 34 wines!) familiarized me with delicious NZ Sauvignon Blancs which I now know pairs beautifully with tangy, melony salads, light seafoods, ceviches, and white meats. I was expecting this Italian tasting event to provide a similar learning experience for me.

We showed up at the event about 1.5 hour late, normal for running on Italian Time. Entering the wine distribution warehouse, immediately I was elated to see floor to ceiling pallets of wine racks. I could also feel the warm, aroma of slow roasted pork on a spit wafting in my direction. It was a very casual setting (distribution warehouse, fold up tables and chairs, paper plates, plastic cutlery, etc.). The local Italian hosts and other visitors alike were comfortably dressed and in a jovial mood. The zing of curled "rrrrrr's" in Italian speech, much like that in Russian, pervaded throughout the warehouse space and also my mind. "ar-RIV-e-DER-ci!" , "t-AN-ti BA-ci!" , "GRA-zie!" , "PRE-go!" ... Italian seems to place accent on its words at the 2nd to last syllable; French places accent on the very last syllable.

I tasted over 30+ wines today ranging on average from retail 10-50USD. Forgive me for not remarking on all of them. Below are just a few of the many notable wines I tasted.

To summarize, I would characterize most Italian wines to be more prominent in plum tones.

MY WINE NOTES:
1. LA MASCHERA PROSECCO; Retail 10USD/bottle.
I helped myself to one of the many wine glasses at the table at the entrance. I'm a tasting Pro now! I started at the Prosecco table. Mmmm. Yummy, slightly bubbly, a hint of fruit, very dry. I personally think it is a steal and would recommend it as an aperitif to any friend's home cooking. I also adored the Italian face mask motif on the wine label. La Maschera means "the mask" in Italian. I tasted 3 other aperitif-type wines at the table... but was eager to embark on the rest of my Italian wine tasting journey. And to get myself some of that slow roasted pork and crispy pork skin!

2. 2005 SCARPONE MONTEPULCIANO D'ABRUZZO DOC; Retail $180 per case of 6 bottles.
Grapes: Montepulciano D'Abruzzo
Vinification: Aged for 14mo in small French oak barrels
Chars: Dark garnet color, deep ripe plum favors, firm tannins have been mellowed, but not overwhelmed by the oak. Drinking beautifully already but will continue to gain complexity in 5-10 years of bottle aging.

3.  BAROLO MONVIGLIERO 2004;  Retail 51 USD/bottle.
Fragrant and aromatic.  Honestly by this point I could not taste too much differentiation;  yet was just glad to have tasted a wine from the Barolo region.  
92points - Wine Advocate
90points- Wine Spectator

4. MONCHIERO CARBONE BIRBET NV; Retail 13USD.
Delightful dessert wine made from Brachetto grapes. Only 5.5% alcohol and slightly frizzante, redolent of fresh strawberries. At this point, the wine tastings pretty much became self serve pourings. I helped myself to 3 tastings here!

After 3.5 hours, I was satiated, slightly sleepy, and feeling completely GREAT and HAPPY! Tasting over 30+ wines from 13+ regions in Italy under one casual warehouse roof was efficient, economical, and friendly. It was only 430pm and the sun was still shining yellow and warm!

To end the afternoon, we indulged in a little bit of espresso at a local French Bistro. We sat at the bar, where Chef Philippe asked why we were not having dinner with them tonight. I explained our satiating tasting tour through Italy... at which he then sent us 2 complimentary home made fresh strawberry panna cotta desserts!! I am so lucky!!! And my tummy completely content with a smile. Oh... but the espresso is keeping me up. Obviously...

Arrivederci!