Noble rot in a pocket of Umbria at Barberani Winery

Noble Rot, or botrytis cinerea as it is scientifically called, can be cause for great joy among winemakers. Because while other types of mold are harmful to grapes, this one actually can shrivel the grapes in such a way that they are perfect for dessert wines.
There are some places in the world that are well known for producing sweet wines from botryitzed grapes. Sauternes is the most famous region, as well as parts of Germany, Austria, and Hungary.
However, it is a rare thing indeed for any Italian winery to produce such wines.
On a recent visit to Barberani winery in Umbria when I traveled with bloggers from the International Wine Tourism Conference, I had the chance to taste one such wine.
Bernardo Bernardini led our group on a tour of the vineyards and winery, ending in their charming tasting room. We were fed thin, sweet slivers of local ham and salami on crusty bread, and led through a tasting of their high quality Orvietto Classico as well as delicious red wines.
However, it was their dessert wine that intrigued me. Apparently, the region used to produce sweet wines but this style of wine fell out of favor, and for decades everyone vinified their wines dry. But a funny thing happened in the early 1970s. Barberani forgot to harvest a parcel of land, and when it was discovered, some of the grapes had been affected by botrytis. The forgotten vineyard was harvested and a small amount of sweet wine, known as Muffa Nobile, was produced. Robert Mondavi was dining with a distributor in California, who brought a bottle of the sweet wine to dinner. Robert telephoned the senior Barberani in the middle of the night Italian time and congratulated him on his noble rot wine - and with that, it was decided that producing sweet wine in Umbria again was a very good thing indeed.
On my visit, I tasted the Calcaia 2006, a Muffa Nobile Dolce. Amber colored, with notes of apricots and honey, it was a lovely dessert wine that was bright and not cloying. I bought two bottles and will toast the innovators at Barberani when I drink their sweet sipper.

Transit, Wine and Valentines

I spent Valentine's night in a rather unusual location: The New York Transit Museum. Valentine's Day is not a holiday I put a lot of stock in, but a free party was too good to pass up.
Right away I noticed this was not your average museum: you descend into the museum through a genuine (albeit no longer in use) Subway entrance.
When I asked, "How much?" I was told the party was free and handed two drink tickets. Is there anywhere else in New York that will give you a couple of free drinks as well as entertainment? I was already a NY Transit Museum fan.
My drink tickets were put to good use with Le Jaja de Jau, a Sauvignon Blanc from the Cotes de Gascogne. While Gascogny is more known for producing France's beloved aged spirit, Armagnac, it can apparently take Sauvignon Blanc grapes and create an almost New Zealand-style pour: grassy, big nose, clean and refreshing in its acidity. Nicely done, Gascogny.
The party included live music from You Bred Raptors, an unusual trio from Astoria who wear Carnival masks and create nicely rendered experimental/folk/jazz songs.
But the grandest entertainment of the night was Alan Feuer. who trolls Craigs List Missed Connections for unusual and unintentionally hilarious postings. According to Alan, all he does is add line breaks and these postings become poetry. Yet it was Alan's masterful delivery of these missives, replete with varying voices, animated gestures, and the rare accent that made these heartful soul-bearings of the Internet poignant indeed.
I highly recommend a visit to The New York Transit Museum. Especially for an unusual and fun Valentine's celebration.

International Wine Tourism Conference in Perugia

I'm thrilled to be speaking next week at the International Wine Tourism Conference in Perugia, Italy, Jan 30 – Feb 2, 2012. The subject of my talk will be "The Innocents Abroad," a comparison of European and American wine tourism. Perugia is in the region of Umbria, known for world-class wines such as the powerful red, Sagrantino di Montefalco and the famous white, Orvieto. The conference will include three days with over 40 talks, presentations, panel discussions and workshops combined with opportunities to taste world class wines. Registration is still open. Look forward to lots more blog posts next week from Italy!

Italian Gladiators at Table: Sagrantino di Montefalco and Seafood Fra Diavolo

"I'm making Seafood Fra Diavolo" was the text I received while cranking up My Chemical Romance as I worked up a sweat on the elliptical at my Jersey City gym. My first thought was, "Yay!" My friend Jordan is an accomplished seafood cook, and I was looking forward to his rendition of this spicy treat. "Fra Diavolo" is from the Italian "brother devil," and the dish is believed to have come from Italian immigrants in New York City in the early 20th century. The concoction of seafood - which can include a chef's choice of shrimp, calamari, lobster, and other fish - tomato sauce, and of course the element of heat, in this case from a few chopped dried Serrano chiles, is a powerful mouthful of flavor. So, my second thought was, "What wine will stand up to all that heat and flavor?"
Luckily I had a bottle of Sagrantino di Montefalco on hand, a 2005 Tabarrini. It's made from the Sagrantino grape, indigenous to Umbria, that is grown in Montefalco and several surrounding villages. I'm fascinated by small-production, unique wines, and this is one that is completely specific to its native land.
The dinner was great - our Fra Diavolo was a fun mix of interesting flavors, shapes, and textures: shrimp; small, sweet scallops; and cod. The Sagrantino did not shy away from the rich spicy flavors. It was like two Roman gladiators well-matched in the Coliseum. But these big boys weren't fighting each other. Unlike in Ancient Rome, the powers of Sagrantino & Seafood Fra Diavolo blended harmoniously, albeit with brashness.

Art on Tap at Montclair Art Museum

What do you get when you combine contemporary art, artisan beers and ciders, and a heaping helping of indie music? You get Art on Tap from the Montclair Art Museum. The museum is a beacon of culture in the burbs, a beautiful neoclassical building that sits serenely on a bucolic corner in Montclair, NJ. It houses an impressive permanent collection of native American art, as well as fascinating temporary exhibits, right now Marina Zurkow: Friends, Enemies, and Others, and The Spectacular of Vernacular.
Art on Tap is a one of a series of innovative special events that brings the community together in fun ways. Previous events have included wine tastings on the beautifully landscaped front lawn. This event was presented in partnership with Amanti Vino, a local wine and spirits shop that is an oasis of cool pours in this upscale suburban community.
Driving the beat of the event were two terrific deejays from WFUV, Rita Houston and Russ Borris. They took turns spinning the radio station's unique blend of funky, indie, folky music.
And as for the beverages of the evening? A fun mix of local and international pours, many notable for being poured from cans, a phenomenon we can thank the trendy PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon) revival for, among other cultural influences. The locally brewed Brooklyn Pennant Ale, which celebrates the memory of the1955 World Champion Dodgers (when they were in Brooklyn) was one of my favorites of the night - a traditional English-style pale ale.

So, what am I doing in Georgia, anyway?

When I told my friends I was headed on a wine trip to Georgia, they were shocked, or, alternatively confused if they thought I meant the deep south. A fellow blogger wondered how I had been selected for this trip, where I would travel in the rarefied company of four Masters of Wine (only 300 have achieved this designation). As I looked over the illustrious participants, I began to wonder the same.
The trip was sponsored by the USAID Economic Prosperity Initiative. USAID supports economic development in struggling countries as a practical way to encourage peace and stability around the world. Georgia, which has suffered greatly at the hands of our former enemy, the Soviet Union, seemed like a good place to prop up, bordered as it is by the middle east to the south and Russia to the north.
The trip is being run by Jim Krigbaum, a cheerful, whip smart entrepreneur, who runs 2020 Development Company. Whether he's checking out mangoes in Pakistan or wine in Georgia, Jim knows all the ins and outs of getting the right products to the right markets.
So, I signed on and on Sunday, September 18th, boarded the minibus that would be our chariot to Georgian wine country (a far cry from Napa in every way). In addition to the MWs, there were two other well-known wine personages, Mr. Wine Hub, Luiz Alberto, and two polite and well-spoken Georgian men, our USAID guide George and our guide to all the wineries, and a wine marketer himself, Levan. We were the Opinion Shapers of Georgian Wine, a lofty title, and one I was determined to live up to.
On the first day, as we rode out to the bucolic countryside there was always activity on the side of the road: sturdy old men walking, dogs milling about, chickens pecking, and women selling tomatoes, garlic, and onions.
At the wineries, we discovered the unique qualities of Qvevri wines. The qvevri is a container that dates back 8000 years in Georgian wine making. It's essentially a clay container buried in the ground that receives the juice and crushed grapes and stems. Natural yeast begins fermentation, and then the solids are removed and the whole thing is sealed until spring. The qvevri wines - the running joke was the numerous mispronunciations, essentially one says "Quev-ri" - were spicy and exotic and reminiscent of fino sherry. Then we tasted the fresh modern-style wines made from varieties we would grow to know so well: Rkatsitelli, Mtsvane, and Kisi for the whites and the dark and juicy Saperavi for the reds.
As we tasted the winemakers and owners awaited our judgment, and one thing I learned is that MWs are the least shy people in the world when it comes to expressing an opinion - an excellent quality for an Opinion Shaper. If the world of wine is snobby as some say, then the MWs deserve to be more snobby than any. But, they were so welcoming to me-- a mere blogger, online writer, social media type - that soon I, too felt comfortable giving opinions. So we tasted and debated which wines we liked and which wines we felt would fare well on the American market. I was immensely gratified to find that some of my ideas about the wines - too tannic/a green note/very juicy/etc. - were sometimes shared by my esteemed co-participants. And as the week wore on, I understood why I had been selected. That my voice - of a blogger and tweeter, of a person that had traveled to the wine regions not as someone who works in the trade, but as an independent traveler - provided a different, valuable perspective.
This week I have made new friends. I have experienced the legendary hospitality of the Georgians. I have drunk wine from a polished horn (and finished the whole thing). Tomorrow, I will regret leaving this fascinating country, but I will be charged with writing much more about its charms.
So, that's what I'm doing in Georgia. In case you wondered.

Georgia (Wine) on my Mind

The country of Georgia is nestled in the southeastern corner of Europe, or is it the far western side of Asia? No matter, this country, about the size of Austria, has a rugged landscape defined by the dramatic Caucasus mountains, which boast the highest peak in Europe, Mount Elbrus (ah, so that’s a vote for Europe).
Formerly enclosed behind the iron curtain, this post-communist country is not well-known nor well traveled by Americans. Which is a shame, because this land offers its own magnificent brand of hospitality, so well expressed in the lines of their famous poet Rustaveli: Spending on feasting and wine is better than hoarding our substance; That which we give makes us richer, that which is hoarded is lost. In addition, the country has a fascinating, ancient tradition of making wine.
In fact, Georgia is considered by many to be the birthplace of wine. While some may consider the Romans or Greeks to be the first to ferment grapes, it’s simply not true. There is evidence of winemaking in Georgia dating back 5000-7000 years.
Now the country is determined to bring this ancient tradition into the modern world, looking to send its wines to export markets far beyond its borders.
I am pleased to announce that I am joining a select group of wine experts organized by 2020DC on a journey of a lifetime: seven days criss-crossing Georgia, visiting wineries, feasting at the rowdy and extravagant Supras, and learning about and documenting the state of Georgian wine. While internet may be scarce in the most rural pockets of the country, I will be tweeting and blogging as I can. When I return, my notes and photos will be made into articles distributed to a number of outlets – and I’ll make sure to include links of these in future blog posts.
For now, my mind and heart are turning eastward -- farther east in Europe than I have ever gone before. To the ancient land of mountains and wine. To Georgia.