Wine, Wit, and Wisdom

Photo via: http://www.masi.it/eng/home

Conference Preview: Today we have a conference preview from Raffaele Boscaini, Coordinator of the Masi Technical Group. Raffaele tells us about his upcoming session, to be presented as part of SWE’s upcoming 41^st Annual Conference. This session looks to include some amazing opportunities to learn about (and taste) the intricacies of Amarone and other wines of Veneto. Read on!

Masi has always been an ambassador for the values of the Venetian Regions. Its story began in 1772, when the Boscaini family, now in its seventh generation, bought several prestigious vineyards in the “Vaio dei Masi”, in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica zone.

With its Masi Historic Venetian Estates, the Boscaini family sanctions its work in promoting the cultural traditions of “territories of excellence” through single vineyard wines (crus) and historic noble estates. In Valpolicella, Masi collaborates with the Conti Serego Alighieri family, descendants of the poet Dante and owners of the estate since 1353.

Considered world leaders in the production of Amarone Classico, Masi has developed recognized expertise in the appassimento technique through the efforts and research of its technical group. The appassimento technique dates back to the Ancient Romans and involves leaving grapes to dry on bamboo racks for the winter months in order to concentrate the aromas and flavors in the resulting wine.

Photo via: http://www.masi.it/eng/home

While retaining the utmost respect to the ancient traditions, Masi has applied modern winemaking innovation to the appassimento technique and as a result is producing one of the widest and most expertly made range of Amaroni, Recioti and Double Fermentation wines – which together form Masi’s calling card in the world.

During the upcoming SWE Conference in Portland, Raffaele Boscaini, Coordinator of the Masi Technical Group, will lead you in the discovery of the secrets of making Amarone and other similar wines made with semi-dried grapes. This session will include a comparative tasting of wines made from the same grape varieties each separately vinified in both the “fresh” and “semi-dried” stages.

In addition, microvinified varietal wines will be compared with iconic wines from the Masi portfolio, including Bonacosta Valpolicella Classico, the double-fermented Campofiorin (Rosso del Veronese IGT) and the prized Costasera Amarone Classico.  The contribution of each single variety to these exclusive Valpolicella blends will be revealed in a tasting designed to give close up appreciation of the transformation of aromas, perfumes and tastes by the appassimento process. In addition, Raffaele will discuss the current regulations of the DOCG for Amarone and why Masi uses only the indigenous Venetian varietals when producing Amarone, including the recently rediscovered Oseleta.

Raffaele Boscaini’s session will be held on Saturday, August 11 at 1:15 pm as part of SWE’s 41^st Annual Conference, to be held in Portland, Oregon.

Photo via http://www.sogevinus.com/caves

Today we have a conference preview from Tania Oliveira and Paul Wagner. Tania and Paul will be presenting a session, complete with a side-by-side tasting of Portugal’s two greatest wines: Vintage Port and Colheita Port. This looks to be a fabulous wine tasting opportunity!   

When it comes to teaching Port, we don’t always do a great job.  Sure, we teach people about Vintage Port in all its glory, but somehow we fall short when it comes to the other styles, like Colheita Port.  And at this year’s conference, Tania Oliveira plans to set the record straight.

There are two fundamental styles of Port – Ruby and Tawny – and both styles are produced from a blend of classic Portuguese grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (known as Tempranillo in Spain), Tinta Cão, Tinta Barroca and Tinta Amarela, among others. (My personal favorite is Bastardo. I’ve never understood why someone hasn’t produce a dessert wine from this grape and called it “Sweet Bastardo”).

The grapes for all Port production are grown in the mountainous Douro Valley, arguably the world’s first demarcated wine appellation (1756).  Running from north central Spain to its outlet in Oporto, the Douro River and its tributaries carve deep valleys through the Marão and Montemuro Mountains where vineyards are planted on steep, terraced slopes in schistous soils.

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The process for growing grapes for Ruby and Tawny Port is entirely same. But, the change becomes clear in the production process.

Ruby Ports are bottle-aged and fruit focused. As young wines, they spend only two years in barrel before bottling to capture lively fruit and spice tones.  The very best Ruby Ports are deeply concentrated wines that can age for decades. Made only in declared vintages – a few times in each decade – Vintage Ports are identified early in their lives and represent the best (and most expensive) style of Ruby Port.

Tawny Ports, on the other hand, are driven by complexity from extended aging in oak. Unlike Ruby Ports, Tawny Ports develop complex, mature aromas and flavors of toffee, dried fruits and toasted nuts. Simpler Tawny Ports are blended and released after three years in barrel. More complex styles are Tawny Ports with “an indication of age,” labelled as ten, twenty, thirty and even forty years old.

The greatest and most complex of all Tawny Ports are Colheita Ports: single harvest Tawny Ports aged for a minimum of seven years in cask – though many spend much longer in barrel. Despite the minimum seven year aging period, top producers that specialize in Colheita Ports choose not to bottle their wines until they receive an order, as indicated by the bottling date on the back label.  This means wines spend decades, or even longer in barrel before being bottled.

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There’s something inexplicably seductive about roaming a cask-lined cellar of Colheita Ports and stumbling upon one marked with your birth year in chalk – you just want to reach out and hug it.

While Ruby and Vintage Ports should be consumed within a few days of opening, Tawny and Colheita Ports can live for weeks after popping the cork. This makes them much more successful as wines in a restaurant setting, and at home. It’s a rare couple that can finish a bottle of Vintage Port over two or three days, but a bottle of Colheita Port from the year they were married can be enjoyed over many memorable dinners in the course of a few weeks.

Unlike many other styles of Port, which are bottled in modern bottling lines, Colheita Ports are usually hand bottled in the Port houses of Vila Nova de Gaia – each bottle hand-filled, hand-corked, and hand-labelled.

At this year’s conference, Tania Oliveira of Sogevinus will offer a selection of Vintage and Tawny Ports as her seminar explores the relationship between Portugal’s two greatest wines. This session will be held on Friday, August 11 at 4:45 pm as part of SWE’s Annual Conference.

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Today we have a conference preview from Sharron McCarty, CSW. Sharron has been a top-rated presenter at many of our past conferences, so you don’t want to miss this session! Sharron tells us about the exploding popularity of rosé wines, and gives us a preview of her upcoming conference session!  

I hope you can join us in Portland for Rosé, Brosé, Frosé!!!  Rosé is a hot topic! Aaccording to a recent Nielsen poll (03/25/17), rosé is THE fastest growing wine segment, leading in both dollar volume growth (+47.3%) and case volume growth (+21.8%)!

Did you know that more men are ordering rosé at lunch than ever before?  Lighter styled rosés are becoming the brosé of the wine world as more and more of our bro’s are enjoying them at lunch…suggesting you can drink a couple of glasses and still go back and finish the work day rather than falling asleep at your desk!  Adding rosé to frozen (frosé’) cocktails has become quite popular too.

Rosés offer a wide spectrum of colors and styles from a variety of different grapes and regions, and range from bone dry to sweet.  During our session, we will explore the many ways of producing rosé, including direct press and saignée, and look at the impact of the production method on the finished wine. Along the way, we’ll look at some of the most intriguing grapes in the world, and the wines they produce ranging in color from pale “onion skin” or “eye of the partridge” to almost purple.

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While winemaker Nicolas Quille’ will not be able to participate in person, here are his comments on three of the sensuous rosé he produces at Pacific Rim—Unparalleled Provence Rosé, Rainstorm Oregon Pinot Noir Rosé, and  Eufloria Washington Aromatic Rosé.   They are quite different and reflect what Nicolas sees as the 3 main styles that knowledgeable consumers should have in mind when buying:

• Unparalleled Provence Rosé is a classic direct press rosé which means it is made from red grapes primarily that are pressed with minimal skin contact. The result is a lightly colored wine (onion skin to pale pink) that is fermented dry. This is the gold standard of high quality rosés in the world. Quille says he makes this wine with a family estate in the South of France because they know how to make a luxurious rosé and because it fits his Unparalleled line perfectly (marquee region, classic style & family estate relationship). As is common in the region, this is a blend of Grenache and Syrah (95% red grapes) with a touch of Rolle (aka Vermentino).
• Rainstorm Pinot Noir Rosé from Oregon is also a direct press wine with a touch (10% or so) of saignée juice. Saignée (bleeding) is a technique where the juice is put in contact with the skin for a short period of time (24 hours is common) in a tank and the colored juice is withdrawn out of the tank. Many view the saignée technique as less qualitative especially when it is a byproduct of red winemaking and when the winemaker attempts to lower the juice to skin ratio of his red fermenters (more skin and less juice resulting in concentrating the red wine). Rainstorm is a little deeper in color than Unparalleled from the saignée and more fruity (red fruit). This type of rosé is common in Burgundy and in Sancerre.
• Eufloria by Pacific Rim Rosé is a blend of aromatic white grapes (the four nobles of Alsace: Riesling, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Gewurztraminer) that is “pinked” with a little red wine. The wine has a slight bit of residual sugar. The “pinking” method is common in the new world and in Champagne. This is a nice way to produce an aromatic rosé with a bright pink color.

The rosé craze is on, expanding beyond its seasonality—rose has become a mainstay…join us on the rose bandwagon to taste a broad selection of intriguing rosés from around the world (12 wines)!

Sharron’s session, “Rosé, Brosé, Frosé!” will be presented on Saturday 12, 2017, at 10:30 am as part of SWE’s 41^st Annual Conference, to be held in Portland, Oregon.

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Today we have a conference preview from Valerie Caruso, DWS, CWE, FWS. Valerie will be presenting a session along with Suzanne Hoffman, the author of “Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piedmont.” Read on as Valerie tells use the story behind the book, the wine, and her upcoming conference session!  

As wine professionals we can get pretty excited about tasting wines made from obscure grapes. If there’s a story behind the grape, the wine, or the winemaker, that’s even better. So when the prospect of tasting an Albarossa is presented, chances are we’re going to jump on the opportunity. Is there a story? Again, even better!

The Albarossa grape isn’t new, but was created nearly 80 years ago from another obscure grape, Chatus (once confused with Nebbiolo), crossed with Barbera. The first time Italy decided to make wine with it legally, however, was nearly 40 years later. Fast forward another 40 years and we are finding Albarossa making a valiant effort to escape obscurity through producers like not only the well-known Michele Chiarlo, but also the Marenco family of Piemonte.

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Another valiant effort has also been made to bring the stories behind great Piemonte wines into the light. I once wrote, “I always had this feeling that when I opened a bottle of Italian wine what came out was so much more – tradition, passion – and I had to know what the allure was.” When I read Suzanne Hoffman’s book, “Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piemonte”, I got more than a taste of that allure. It was a full-on drink of centuries of rich, thoughtfully extracted wine history that gave me exactly what I want in a great glass of wine. And you’d better believe I want the full experience.

A virtual exploration of wines from some of the world’s most legendary producers will be paired with the author’s stories during the 41st Annual SWE Conference in Portland, OR. We’ll sip through a portion of the table of contents and recount survival stories, courage during wars, and meet heroic wine families – the grandmothers, wives, daughters, sisters, and men – behind the legendary labels. We’ll learn about their historical significance to the Piemonte zeitgeist of grape growing and wine making over centuries, poured into the present day but still transcending generations.

“People do not only want great wine, they want a story and the story must be authentic,” (Andrea Marenco, page 261). From the Deltetto metodo classico sparkling wine through the Barbera, Barbaresco, Barolo, and Moscato – even Marenco’s Albarossa – we look forward to sharing the family stories of brazen sacrifices, romances, and victories, and revere the legacy of the “Comet of Roero.” All of this is celebrated in the bottle today, and I believe it to be the full, authentic experience.

Val, along with the author, Suzanne, will present A Taste of History: Piemonte Wines, Families and the Historic Women Behind Them at the Society of Wine Educators’ 41st Annual Conference, 10 – 12 August, 2017, in Portland, Oregon. This session is scheduled for Thursday at 11:45 a.m.

Advanced, discounted copies are available at a special price for SWE conference attendees. Contact Suzanne Hoffman at www.winefamilies.com.

Valerie Caruso, DWS, CWE, FWS retired from the Air Force after 25 years of service, packed two suitcases, and moved to Italy for a year to study wine and Italian language. She’s a graduate of the advanced wine studies programs at international hospitality schools and culinary academies in France and Italy, a French Wine Scholar, a Certified Wine Educator, and currently serving on SWE’s Board of Directors. Val also holds the Champagne Master-Level Certificate from the Wine Scholar Guild, and WSET’s Level 4 Diploma in Wines and Spirits. Every Thursday you can find her serving up some weekly wine “edutainment” in her podcast, Wine Two Five, along with co-host and fellow CWE Stephanie Davis, on iTunes and iHeart Radio. 

Suzanne Hoffman has a diverse international background as an engineer, attorney, entrepreneur, and writer. Born and raised in south Louisiana, she was a long-time permanent resident of Switzerland before moving to Eagle County, Colorado where she works as journalist and author. She’s a wine family expert who has captured behind-the- label stories, captivating photographs and genealogies to give the first-of- its-kind look into the world of Piemonte’s familial wine industry in her first book, Labor of Love: Wine Family Women of Piemonte. When not immersed in her labor of love of writing, Suzanne delights in alpine skiing, snowshoeing, biking, hiking, and exploring the enchanted world of wine with her husband, Dani.

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Today we have a conference preview about a session about the rise of Prosecco—and so much more. Read on to hear a bit of the story of the fascinating “Father of Prosecco” – and don’t miss the part about that time when he named his children after the elements. Now, that’s a good story!

It was a dream in 1868 that gave rise to Carpenè Malvolti—a dream that became Prosecco.

Antonio Carpenè is the father of Prosecco.  He fought to unify Italy under Garibaldi at the battle of Bezzecca, and then went on to study chemistry at the University of Pavia.

For Antonio Carpenè, chemistry held the secrets of the future and he dedicated his life to the pursuit of that future. He named his first son Rubidium and his second, Etile (Ethyl)—who went on to manage the wine company he founded (and was the first to put the term “Prosecco” on a wine label.  But when Antonio suggested that another child be named Oenocyanin, after the pigment in grape skins, his wife rebelled.  That daughter became Mary—who, out of respect for her father, later named her first son Iridium.

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It was his love of chemistry and the patria of Conegliano that brought him to the world of wine.  Antonio believed that wine, more than any other product, completely expressed the character and quality of a place and he dedicated himself to spreading this message throughout his native land.  Despite his position as a professor at the legendary University of Bologna, he preferred to give Chemistry lectures on a chair in the local piazze around the Veneto, so that every man in the street could benefit from his knowledge.

In addition to founding Carpenè Malvolti, the first modern winery in the Veneto—and the winery that created the style and character that is Prosecco today—he also founded the Instituto Conegliano, now the largest technical winemaking school in the world, and a leader in oenology and viticulture in Italy. The school celebrated its 140th anniversary last year.

Over succeeding generations, the Carpenè family has led the way for the wines of Italy: they founded the Italian Institute of Sparkling Wine, pushed for legislative protection for wine regions and production methods, played key roles in Federvini, the national wine association, and today chair the Technical High School Institute for New Technology to improve education and the use of High Tech in the world of Italian food and wine.

Rosanna Carpenè is now the fifth generation of her family to serve as president of the company, and she continues to drive it forward by marketing her wines in more than fifty countries, and producing a range of products from Prosecco Superiore to Brandy, Grappa, and Classic Method sparkling wines.

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And she has plans for the future…the winery is now completely renovating more than five acres of property in the heart of Conegliano, modernizing the production facility, and contributing to the community by constructing a new public piazza in the heart of the city.  The piazza will celebrate the story of Antonio Carpenè and his contributions to the world of Italian wine, culture, and science.

In this year’s conference, managing director Domenico Scimone will explore this history, culture, and wines of this region, with special attention to the leadership of Antonio Carpenè—the father of Prosecco. The session, entitled “Antonio Carpenè and the Birth of Prosecco” will be held on Friday, August 11, 2017 at 3:00 pm as part of the Society of Wine Educator’s 41st  Annual Conference, to be held in Portland, Oregon. See you there!

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Today we have a conference preview from Eric Hemer, CWE, MS, MW. Eric tells us about his upcoming session titled, “International Pinot Noir Styles – A Comparative Blind Tasting Seminar” to be presented as part of SWE’s upcoming 41^st Annual Conference:

International Pinot Noir Styles – A Comparative Blind Tasting Seminar

Conducted by: Eric Hemer, CWE, MS, MW – Senior VP, Corporate Director of Wine Education, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of America

This informal yet informative seminar will focus on Pinot Noir from around the world, including high quality, representative examples from regions such as Burgundy, Austria, California, Oregon, New Zealand and Australia, among others. In all, eight wines will be tasted in a blind format. We will start with an introduction to the variety, including historical background, viti/vini, and current, pertinent information. While tasting each wine, gentle audience participation will be encouraged. Each wine will be revealed after tasting and information on the producer, region of origin and viti/vini will be discussed. Handouts with details on each wine will be provided, and the PowerPoint presentation will be made available to all on the SWE website after the conference has concluded.

Eric’s session, “International Pinot Noir Styles – A Comparative Blind Tasting Seminar” will be held on Thursday,  August 10^th, 2017 at 2:45 pm as part of SWE’s 41^st Annual Conference, to be held August 10 through 12 in Portland, Oregon.

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Speaker Biography: Eric Hemer began his career at Southern Wine & Spirits (SWS) in 1988 as an On-Premise Wine Consultant in Palm Beach County, Florida. He went into management in 1990 and held various positions over the years, culminating in General Manager for American Wine and Spirits of Florida.

In 1998, as similar positions were created around the country at SWS, he was appointed Educational Director for SWS of Florida, a return to his original interest in fine wine. Hemer passed the Certified Wine Educator examination in 1999, the Master Sommelier examination in 2003 and the Master of Wine examination in 2013. In 2014, he was promoted to his current position of Senior Vice-President, Corporate Director of Wine Education for SWS of America and today oversees wine educational endeavors in 46 markets across the US and Canada with the new company, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of America.

Eric is actively involved in wine education with numerous affiliated organizations as well, teaching at The Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University in Miami, acting as consulting sommelier and speaker for Chef Jean-Pierre’s Culinary School in Ft. Lauderdale, and is deeply involved in courses, lectures and examinations around the country with the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Institute of Masters of Wine, the Society of Wine Educators, and the Wine and Spirits Education Trust.