Wine and Spirits

I have not written about wine in past blogs because I usually save this subject for the wine reports that I send out. Most of you know that I am a passionate wine drinker and also a collector of wines. Anna too has quite an appetite for “Grape Juice” as we sometimes call it! Many of you would likely be surprised by the amount of wine we consume on a daily to weekly basis (I would estimate we drink right at nine bottles a week as rarely does a day go by without us consuming at least one bottle over dinner or lunch). The interesting thing about Italians is that they rarely drink any other alcoholic beverages other than wine. Its nearly impossible to find vodka, tequila, rum or gin in these parts. Additionally, I would say that contrary to popular opinion, most Italians don’t consume as much wine as Anna and I (Not sure at this point that any do!) Italians view wine as an essential beverage to their meal, but drink it very slowly and generally don’t drink more than two glasses at a meal. Wine has such a long history in Italy, dating back to Roman times and perhaps even before. Children drink wine at a very young age and there is no age limit on the consumption of wine in Italy. One might think that this would create a lot of alcohol dependence in Italy, but rarely do we see people that are drunk outside of young adults who are out at clubs and bars late at night. Our thought is that wine and other forms of Italian alcohol (Like Grappa as after dinner digestive wine that tastes like gasoline and is produced using the skins and stems of grapes) is no mystery to young adults. I liken this to the catholic school syndrome that I witnessed while in high school. It seems to me that when you prohibit participation and or consumption of certain things that it makes people want it more (For sure my classmates and I were more rowdy in school than those at the local public high school in San Pedro, because we were told NOT to do certain things in fear of offending the almighty!) This makes for an interesting thought…What if there were no age limit on consumption of alcohol in the US? Would less kids crave to nip at the bottle when reaching their teens? This of course has been an argument for some time regarding recreational drugs in the US as well. Speaking of drugs, there doesn’t appear to be as much use of pot, cocaine or hallucinogens here either.

One Italian friend of mine said to me “Americans drink wine to get drunk, but Italians drink wine because they like how it tastes and compliments food.” Not only have I found this to be true, but also find myself thinking of wine in a different way as well. A bottle of wine between Anna and I does not get either of us drunk at this point (Even though the alcohol content is higher here at between 13.5 and 15%) and a meal without wine simply doesn’t quite work anymore. In fact neither do most other alcoholic beverages. I cant remember the last time we had a beer, nor have we had a cocktail since we have been back from America over the holidays. Interestingly enough, Italians also don’t drink a lot of other beverages either. In the stores, you see small sections of coca cola (Never pepsi), Fanta (Which the kids love and I cant stand!) and juice. That’s pretty much it! Water is huge here (Both with and without gas) as well as of course three to four coffees a day!

Now, back to vino…Unlike most California red wines (Which are either Cabernet, Merlot or Pinot Noir, Italians predominantly drink red wine produced from one grape called Sangiovesse. Wines made from Sangiovesse are produced in Chianti, Bolgheri and Montalchino County (Where the world famous Brunello Di Montalchino is produced). The Sangiovesse grape produces a dry and often big red that pairs well with just about anything that can stand up to it (Red sauce, meat etc…)

Another area that Anna and I have become big fans of is Alto Adige, which is in Northern Italy in the Dolomite Mountains (Where we visited in October). I would not dare to say that Italy can compare to California on white wine (Especially Chardonnay) but we have found several terrific white wines from this region that we have come to enjoy on a daily basis.

The North also produces several other well known red wines that we are not as big on. The Piedmont region produces Barolo and Barbaresco wines which are made from the Nebiollo grape. Another famous Italian red is Amarone, which is made from partially dried Corvina grapes along with other lesser varieties. This wine takes on almost a “Port” flavor to it and is certainly for a particular palate.

Recently, Anna, Mark and I were invited to the Brunello Festival in Montalcino where we were able to taste some of the new 2003 release. Brunello is very unique in that there are certain criteria for a wine to be named a Brunello. The grapes must be grown in Montalcino county, the wine must be 100% Sangiovesse and the wine must age in barrels for five years before being released (Hence the reason for the 2003’s just being released) If you see a Montalcino Rosso on a menu, this means that the wine was released before the five year mark.

If you want more tips on wine and which ones that we are buying these days, e-mail me to begin receiving the wine report each month.