![]() My favorite of these wines was probably the Pietracava di Comenico Ortoleva “Maanar” Nero d’Avola Terre Siciliane IGT 2013. It was a study in contrasts, especially between the Portelli Riesco Cerasuolo di Vittorio DOCG 2012, made of equal parts of Nero D’Avola and Frappato, and the Quignone Petit Verdot IGT 2011. Some of the wines were links with history and others distinctive variations on an international style. ![]() What exactly is Sicilian wine? Nesto deftly showed us that it is many things not just one, in terms of grapes, styles and winemaking approaches. ![]() Bravo Bill!īut Batali’s Law appeared again in a difference context because if Italian wine is the wine of its regions, then Sicilian wine presents the same multi-local diversity. ![]() His quick survey captured key elements of the geography, geology, history, economics, vineyards, wines and wine people. The focus was clear: drilling down into one region rather than highlighting the diversity among regions of a particular style and Nesto was the perfect guide for Sicily. Bill Nesto MW (author with Frances Di Savio of The World of Sicilian Wine - see m y review here) led the discussion of “Sicily from Myth to Reality - A Unique World of Wine Tradition, Variety, Terroir.” The second seminar could not have been more different from the first and yet it served to further reinforce the Batali’s Law theme. So many more wines and styles, so much more diversity.ĭrilling Down into the World of Sicilian Wine It was quite a tour of sparkling styles and regions and since there were just six wines I think we really didn’t scratch the surface. And we finished up on a sweet note with the Rosa Regale Brachetto d’Aqui. Then we moved from white to pink (the Belcanto Cuvee Rosé Brut from Bellussi) to deep dark red (the remarkable sparkling Vernaccia Nera by Alberto Quacquarini, made with 60 percent dried grapes according to my notes).įranciacorta was next (Bellavista 2008 Brut) and an unexpected wine from Alba in the Piedmont, a 100% Chardonnary Rocche dei Manzoni di Valentino Brut Riserva 2001. We only tasted one Prosecco, the Tre Venti 2013 vintage from Zardetto, but we could have drilled much deeper - I have written about the huge variety of distinctive wines that exist under the Prosecco umbrella. We began, as you might expect, with Prosecco, which is so very popular these days. And thus a room full of wine industry and media professionals were led by Zraly to make their own examination of Batali’s Law applied to Italian sparkling wines. He “flipped” the seminar, as we say in academics, making the audience the panel. I think they wanted Kevin Zraly to work his magic unfettered, which he did magnificently. The only problem (according to Kevin) was that the organizers never bothered to invite anyone else to speak at the session! I don’t think it was an oversight, either. (You can read my enthusiastic review of the book here.) Zraly was invited to moderate a panel discussion on the topic of “Italy Outsparkles the Competition - from Prosecco to Franciacorta and Beyond!” One of the highlights (for me) of Vino 2015 was the opportunity to see Kevin Zraly, author of Windows on the World Complete Wine Course 30th Anniversary Edition. in action. The seminars at Vino 2015 explored this theme very effectively. There is no such think as Italian wine, only the diverse regional wines of Italy. No, Italy is too big and diverse from a wine (or food) standpoint to be summed up so simply. We talk about “Italian wine” all the time, but what is it? Show me a bottle of wine that defines Italy. The application of Batali’s Law to wine is straightforward. Complicated things are best understood in complicated ways. Batali’s Law, for those of you who had too much Opus One and were napping along with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, holds that there is no such thing as “Italian food,” there are only the diverse regional cuisines of Italy. Last week I wrote about Batali’s Law and how it applies to Italian wine in general and to Vino 2015, the recent Italian wine event in New York, in particular.
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