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Posted: 2021-12-02 06:00
Umbria, in central Italy, is a region of lush rolling hills, hilltop villages and iconic, historic towns. The latter are exemplified by Orvieto and Assisi. At the very heart of the Italian Peninsula, it is surrounded by Tuscany, Marche and Lazio. It is in fact the only Italian region without a coastline or international border. -- wine-searcher.com
The Assisi DOC is a sub-region within the larger Umbria wine region that was officially granted in 1997. The vineyards must be planted at a minimum elevation of 180 m (590 ft) up to a maximum of 750 m (2,460 ft). The soils are primarily medium-textured calcareous soils, poor in organic matter, but rich in skeleton and mineral salts derived from the dissolving calcareous rock from Mount Subasio. This provides particular saline components to Assisi wine - even to red wines which are slightly more numerous than white wines. Assisi Rosato must comprise 50–70% Sangiovese; 10–30% Merlot; and a maximum of 40% other authorized red grapes. These OARGs include Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Nero (Pinot Noir), which along with Merlot, can be labeled as varietal wines (at least 85% of the grape variety). White wines are dominated by Trebbiano and Grechetto with the former the dominant grape in Bianco wines and the latter able to be labeled as a varietal wine. Grechetto on its own is either a synonym for Grechetto di Orvieto or Grechetto di Todi - each genetically unique and each autochthonous grapes from their respective territories. In Assisi, Grechetto normally refers to Grechetto di Orvieto but there are some situations where both grape varieties are planted close together and vinified together. According to wine-searcher.com, "wines from Grechetto di Orvieto alone tend to be light-bodied and high in acidity. The Grechetto di Todi variety is generally considered superior." The Tili Vini Family Organic Winery is located on the slopes of Mount Subasio and the family has been growing grapes and olives on the same land since the 13th century. They were also the leading force in petitioning for the creation of the Assisi DOC in the mid-1990s. They produce many different Assisi DOC wines but one of our favorites is the Assisi DOC Grechetto. This wine is delicious, full-bodied, stone fruit and pineapple with traces of saline and plenty of vibrant acidity.
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Posted: 2021-11-29 11:25
Earlier this month the BevFluence team was invited to participate as judges in the Whisky Magazine Awards America 2022. The awards ceremony, in association with American Whiskey Magazine, will be held on February 8th, 2022 at The Flatiron Room in New York City. The judging occurred on November 11th, 2021 at the whiskey haven Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington DC. During this tasting, 32 judges sampled through 250 American whiskeys divided into 17 categories. The judges reflected a large cross-section of the spirits industry including distillers and distillery owners, writers and educators, as well as other industry professionals. The categories were very specific and consisted of Blended, Blended Limited Release, Small Batch Single Malt, Bourbon, Blended Malt, Rye, Tennessee, Corn, Flavoured Whisky, New Make & Young Spirit, Pot Still, Wheat, Single Malt, Single Barrel Bourbon, Small Batch Bourbon, Single Cask Single Malt, and Grain. We will post the winners two months from now. Cheers.
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Posted: 2021-11-22 17:15
While attending a recent Wines of Portugal tasting, I was intrigued by The Rare Wine Company's display of Historic Series Madeira - representing styles favored in several American cities. From a historical perspective, Madeira was quite popular from the Colonial era up until the early 20th century. And I learned at this tasting and through these wines, that cities preferred Madeira based on the dominant grape or, in the case of Baltimore, a particular style: Rainwater. This style is paler and more delicate than other Madeira styles. In his book, Madeira, The Island Vineyard by Noel Cossart & Mannie Berk, Noel Cossart asserts that a barrel of Madeira was left on a beach waiting for shipment to the American colonies. The barrel somehow lost its stopper and was watered down by overnight rain and thus, inadvertently creating a slightly more refreshing style. This style became a favorite in Colonial America. Cossart, by the way, was the fourth, and final, member of his family to manage Cossart Gordon & Co, before economic conditions forced him to sell the firm's assets to the Madeira Wine Association. According to The Rare Wine Company, "In 1902, that city’s greatest Madeira connoisseur, Douglas H. Thomas, called Rainwater the highest standard. And the absence of Rainwaters in a 1900 New York auction prompted one merchant to speculate that Baltimore connoisseurs thought so highly of them that they bought them all up and none reached New York." Unfortunately, in the early 20th century, very sweet and cheap Madeiras entered the market labeled as "Rainwater" which ruined the reputation of the traditional style. In 1998, The Rare Wine Company began a project to recreate a series of historic Madeiras with the Baltimore Rainwater based on examples of very rare Rainwater imported into New York City by Robert Benson in the 1820s. Winemaker Ricardo Freitas, of Vinhos Barbeito, "started with a base wine that was 80% Verdelho, made up of two lots ranging in age from 8 to 13 years. Young Verdelho was a perfect starting point, not only because of its delicacy and minimal sweetness but because Verdelho would have been the most common component in the early Rainwaters". And "for a greater sense of age and also a bit more body, but without increasing the wine’s sweetness, Ricardo added two different lots of old Tinta Negra Mole. Prior to entering the Baltimore Rainwater blend, each of the components was aged (like all of our wines) by the time-honored Canteiro method." The final Rare Wine Madeira Rainwater Historic Series Baltimore blend range consists of 60-70% Verdelho, 20-25% Sercial, and 10-15% Tinta Negra. For a supposedly lighter style, this wine is very complex with ripe peaches and pears, dried fruits, nuts, and a lively finish. Excellent. Wines of Portugal Madeira Series:
Part I: An Overview
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Posted: 2021-11-22 16:31
I purchased this bottle of Gazdinav Rakija Vilijamovka ($34) a while ago and just getting around to opening it. The Williams Pear is forefront with a creamy interior and an ethanol creeping burn. Serving chilled kills the burn with only a little effect on the aroma and flavor. The producer, Prijedorčanka AD, is the largest fruit processor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the largest producer of fruit distillate in Europe. Interestingly, they are located in the Republika Srpska -- one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fruit is grown in the Potkozarje region -- also known for its apple and plum orchards. The fermented fruit is then distilled using column stills and the warehouse can store over 1,700,000 liters. That's a large facility.
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Posted: 2021-11-15 09:23
In his honor, each November in the small historical town of Momjan, just north of Buje, the Feast of Saint Martin (“Martinje") is celebrated with the ceremonious ritual of baptizing wine. Merry wine-lovers gather in the local vineyards with actors dressed up in the roles of a judge, bishop, godmother and godfather of the wine and praise God with their witty prayers. The wine is then baptized and the first bottle is unlocked with the key to the wine kingdom - a corkscrew. The celebrations are accompanied by an abundance of delicious food and endless supply of wine, lasting until the early hours of the morning. The Aroma of Istria - Feast Day of St. Martin November 11th (12th in the Eastern Church) is the Feast day of St. Martin of Tours, and although he is the patron saint of France, St. Martin still receives devout reverence in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In Croatia, Saint Martin is known as the protector of vineyards and winemakers, and Martinje marks the "cheerful traditional folk custom of symbolically translating must into young wine ('baptism of wine')". This celebration is particularly vibrant in the Istrian Peninsula as described in the block text above. Thus it is an appropriate two days to discuss the northernmost of Croatia's wine regions: Istria. Istria is rapidly developing as one of Croatia's key wine regions. It is located on the Istrian Peninsula in northwest Croatia (the northern end of the peninsula is part of south-western Slovenia and that county's Istra wine region). The Peninsula is heart-shaped with the coasts stacked with limestone rock and soils. The interior is hilly with foggy valleys and abundant microclimates - usually iron-rich soils and excessive sunshine moderated by coastal influences. Olive and fig trees compete with the over 4,000 hectares of vines planted in the region. The most popular grape planted in Istria is the white Malvazija Istarska, however, Teran is a dominant indigenous red grape. It is a member of the diverse Refosco family: dark-skinned grape varieties native to the Venetian zone and neighboring areas. Wine from the Teran grape is generally earthy, full-bodied, and robust. And Croatians tend to pair Teran with Istrian smoked meat and game dishes.
Vina Fakin is an Istrian winery located in the medieval town of Motovun -- where once the Celts and later Illyrians built fortresses or "a town in the hills" the Celtic translation of Motovun. The winery grows primarily Malvazija Istarska, Teran, and Muškat on 30 hectares in the surrounding hills encompassing several micro-climates. Winemaker Marko Fakin founded the winery in 2010 using the family vineyards. With that very first vintage, the Teran wine won a Croatian national competition as well as recognizing Marko as Winemaker of Year ( Croatian Wine Dream Comes True Without Leaving One’s Homeland). I recently purchased that wine's successor, the Fakin Teran 2019 ($29) from Croatian Premium Wine Imports in anticipation of Martinje. The wine is delicious -- full-bodied and robust, specifically, fruit-forward dark cherries, then chocolate, and firm yet approachable tannins. Can't wait to visit one day. Cheers.
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