Nestled in the sandy clay soils between the Taburno and Matese mountain ranges in Italy’s Campania region, at about 200 meters above sea level, sit a relatively small number thirty year old lost souls. Well, almost lost souls, anyway. Specifically, the “esoteric” grape varieties Pallagrello Bianco, Pallagrello Nero and Casavecchia, rescued in part as a…
Category: Italian Wine
Puzzle Pieces (Exploring The Quality Pyramid At MyNameIsBarbera.com)
One of the more endearingly maddening things about European wine classifications is that they try to lump location, in aspects that are increasingly specific, and “quality,” in ways that are often nebulous. Over at MyNameIsBarbera.com, I take this dichotomy head-on, in my dime-store-philosphical way (not yet trademarked, but it might as well be at this…
The Terror Of Writing About Terroir (February Monferrato Moves)
As a wine-scribe-type-guy, I absolutely despise writing about terroir. If there is another term (aside from “optimal ripeness“) that is more flippantly overused in the wine business than terroir, I am unaware of it. In fact, its overuse – and the fear that it engenders – is so ingrained in me that I am incapable…
“Confusion Will Be My Epitaph” (Vino 2017 NYC Highlights)
Today’s theme is… confusion. Where to start… Ok, firstly, earlier this year I attended VINO2017 in NYC, the annual exposition of Italian wine, during which dozens of producers pour there wares. And so naturally, I am only going to talk about three of those dozens of producers. Secondly, my highlights reel includes a sparkling… Gavi….