Consigli DiVini -

It’s been claimed that drinking red wine, apparently, has its health benefits. Now, this sweet revelation is by no way an excuse for us to go out there and drink as many bottles of Italian red wine as we can get our hands on!; but it’s good to know that, when taken in moderation, it can actually be good for our health.

Doesn’t that just fill your heart with joy? You knew there was a reason why red wine was your favourite wine of choice. And now you’re about to find out exactly why!

It’s been suggested that a glass of red wine a day (for women) and 2 glasses of red wine a day (for men) may help reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancers; particularly in men aged over 40 and post-menopausal women. And not only that, it may also help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.

God, don’t you just want to dance round the room with your favourite bottle of red wine and pour yourself a glass knowing you’re doing your body a whole lot of good!

Red wine apparently also reduces the chances of kidney stones forming, as well as reducing the hardening of the arteries. It’s also claimed to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

So what is it about red wine that makes it so good for us? Well, red grapes (and other deeply coloured fruits and vegetables) are high in substances called flavanoids and resveratrol (also jointly known as ‘antioxidants’). These substances are responsible for the health benefits mentioned above.

White wine on the other hand, though containing antioxidants, contains nowhere near as much as its red counterpart and is therefore less beneficial health-wise (though it tastes just as good!).

(img by: robsmith-qld)

Montefalco Sagrantino Docg or Sagrantino di Montefalco Docg takes its name from the grape from which it is produced. Harvested for centuries on the slopes of the hills of Umbria, Sagrantino is considered autochthonous, despite several assumptions about its origin. Some consider it of Spanish origin, others believe it was imported from the first Franciscan friars, others think it was introduced in Italy by the Saracens. This Docg contributes largely to the merits acquired by the Umbrian region as a producer of fine wines; it was already known and consumed by the popes during the Renaissance and the governors. The production area includes the entire territory of the municipalities of Montefalco, Bevagna, Gualdo Cattaneo, Castel Ritaldi and Giano dell’Umbria, in the province of Perugia. The vinification and aging must be made within the territory of the municipalities included in the area of production. The wine Montefalco Sagrantino dry and passito can be released for consumption only after they have undergone some degree of aging, at least thirty months, at least twelve of them in wooden barrels for the dry version, while for the passito there is no mandatory aging in wood. The periods of ageing start from 1st December after the harvesting of grapes. Sagrantino passito is ideal if accompanied by sweets, especially pastry bakery, jam tarts with blackberries or other soft fruits. It should be drunk as a meditation wine or with pecorino cheese, very spicy when aged. Sagrantino dry instead goes combined with roasts, game, wild hair and a pasta dura cheese.

I love mythology – I love where they can take the mind, how magical they are, the lessons wrapped in them. One of my favourite mythical gods is Baubo, the Belly Goddess, the Goddess of Laughter. I shall say no more about her, but if you want to know more, Google her name.

That wine has a god is of no surprise. Something that tastes that good should have a god, more than one actually, several! There should be a god for every grape picked, for each barrel closed, for every bottle of wine poured! That’s not too much to ask, is it?

There are different versions of the legend of Bacchus.

Bacchus was the son of the god, Zeus, and a mortal woman, Semele. One of Zeus’s wives, Hera, was extremely jealous that Semele was expecting Zeus’s child and so she disguised herself as an old woman and befriended Semele.

Even though Semele knew Zeus was an all-powerful god, Hera placed doubts in her mind. Semele therefore confronted Zeus and asked him to prove he was indeed a god. He didn’t want to do this as revealing himself would turn a mortal to ashes; however, Semele insisted. He revealed himself and she perished.

Zeus rescued his infant son, Bacchus, and gave him to rain-nymphs to raise.

It was as a young man that Bacchus learnt all about vineries and how to make wine. He then travelled far and wide teaching people how to cultivate and harvest grape vines.

In Ancient Rome, a festival called Bacchanalia was celebrated every year on the 16^th and 17^th of March in honour of the wine god, but was banned after 100 years for being too wild.

There’s a phrase, ‘bacchanal’, often used when describing Caribbean calypso/soca (or a Caribbean carnival). It’s rather interesting to see how far the God of Wine has indeed travelled!

(p.s: In Greek mythology, Bacchus is known as Dionysus. He’s also called the God of Intoxication or the God of Festivity, amongst other definitions.)

(img by: Raelene G)

There are two scandals that are, unfortunately, currently rocking the Italian-wine industry.

1) Contaminated cheap wine…

70 million litres of cheap Italian wines (sold for under 2 euros per litre) were discovered to be contaminated with traces of horse manure, acid, fertiliser, hydrochloric acid and lots of water. The bootleg production has been placed firmly on the shoulders of the Italian Mafia.

(In a similar case back in the 80s, it was alleged that at least 22 people had died from drinking tainted wine and 90 people had been hospitalised).

2) Less-than-authentic Brunello di Montalcino…

Some wine producers (some of them quite big on the market) are apparently adding more than the legally required 100% Sangiovese grapes to their Brunello di Montalcino.

Brunello cannot be sold until about 4 years from the time its grapes have been harvested. Out of that, a minimum of 2 years (in oak) and 4 months (in a bottle) must be spent aging it. However, some of these winemakers have apparently been adding one or two other grape varieties in order to speed up the aging process and therefore send it to market quicker.

People pay good money for the authenticity of Brunello, and this scandal, whether proven to be true or not, is bound to cause the Italian-wine industry some harm. I really don’t think they’ll come out of this completely unscathed. Doubts will have been planted regardless of innocence or guilt. To some extent, it will be down to what people believe and some people will inevitably believe it to be true.

Meanwhile, you might get some Italian-wine producers who’ll be rather reluctant to defend the Brunello producers in question – preferring to distance themselves as far as possible from the scandal for fear of tainting their own reputation (and therefore sales).

It’s yet to be seen how the industry will recover from this. I hope it will. It has to.

(img by: Greencolander)

How many bottles of Italian wine do you go through in a month? What do you tend to do with them once they’re empty? Ahh, all those bottles that had the privilege of carrying such beautiful wine, it seems like such a shame that they should be thrown away, don’t you think?

Here are some things you could do with your empty bottles:

GET ARTSY
Grab some paint, permanent colour markers, glue, glitter, etc, and decorate the surface of the bottle. If you have children, make an artist’s day of it.

Finished? Doesn’t it look beautiful! Actually, what’s more important is that you had fun. Did you have fun?

Once you’ve transformed the bottle, one of the things you could do is fill it with sand and use it as a doorstop, or you could fill it with water and put some flowers in.

Decorating empty wine bottles is something you can choose to do every month with family or friends – maybe decorate bottles during the day and have a wine-tasting party in the evening (so you’ll have more empty bottles to decorate next month!)

STORAGE
Think of what you could store in the empty wine bottle. You could use it to make and store your own homemade wine. All you’d need to do is buy some fresh wine-corks and, hey presto, you have a bottle you can reuse. I have a friend who does this – she makes very delicious homemade elderflower wine using empty (used) wine bottles.

You can also use the empty bottles to store very small seeds, nuts, pulses or even bubble bath.

The above are just a few ideas – there are several others (for e.g., maybe you could take up mosaic-making as a new hobby - a decorative art which often involves using small broken pieces of coloured glass).

Whatever you choose to do with your empty Italian-wine bottle/s once you’ve savoured the very last drop, maybe throwing it away should be your last option.

(img by: darin hercules)

There are two wine festivals in Chianti that take place around the same time (a week apart) and are in very close proximity to each other geographically. So if you’re planning a wine holiday in Italy this year, it might be an idea to earmark your diary for that time. The two wine festivals in question are as follows:

1) The ‘Greve in Chianti’ wine festival:

Greve in Chianti is situated south of Florence, just 10 minutes away from the 2nd wine festival below.

The Greve-in-Chianti festival takes place in the 2nd week in September and most of the wines showcased there are Chianti Classico.

To sample the different wines being offered, you first have to buy a glass (which you get to keep), and then you’re free to sample any of the wines (or as many of them as you think you can possibly handle!).

It’s been said by some that that particular wine festival is known to run out of glasses each year. Though I certainly don’t believe this to be true, it is a beneficial untruth that I’m sure can only add to the festival’s popularity!

2) The Vino al Vino wine festival

The smaller and more intimate Vino al Vino wine festival is held a week later (the 3rd week of September) in Panzano in Chianti, a charming hilltop town situated between Florence and Siena from where you can see the beautiful Tuscan vineyards.

Vino al Vino means ‘wine to wine’ and is quite aptly titled as there are many wines displayed by the local wine makers for your sampling delight.

The event, held in the town’s main square, is also always accompanied by lots of music, entertainment, food and generally a really great festive atmosphere.

September is waiting! Have you earmarked your diary yet?!

Sassicaia wine…

Sassicaia wine is one of the darlings of Tuscany. Located in Bolgheri, the word ‘Sassicaia’ means ‘a place full of stones’ in reference to how hilly this part of Italy is.

This red wine is made from a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (85%) and a small amount of Cabernet Franc grapes (15%). It tastes strong, warm, dry and smooth on the palate and has a heady, elegant smell.

Sassicaia is another Italian wine with a very interesting (but more recent) history. The brainchild of Marquis Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, it didn’t occur to many that French variety grapes could be grown on Italian soil. But grow they did, and quite successfully too.

Mario’s love and interest in wine was probably influenced by two things: his grandfather, Leopoldo Incisa, was an insatiable collector of a wide range of vines from local as well as foreign places. Also, Mario had formerly studied in Pisa in the 1920s. Combine the two, and it’s no surprise he had the vision (and courage) to apply such radical ideas to the art of winemaking. He dreamt of producing a ‘noble’ wine akin to Bordeaux wine, and that he did.

Initially, any Sassicaia wine produced was enjoyed privately within the confines of the estate. However, in 1968, it made a commercial venture out of the estate and into the wine market. It went on to be the first Italian wine to gain a successful foothold abroad as well as, in 1994, being the first wine estate to gain a DOC.

On average, the wine has a longevity of 30 years, a feat attributed to Mario’s handiwork as he moved his wine cellars to a temperature-controlled area, used stainless steel vats instead of wooden ones for fermentation, and also used French oak barrels for aging.

Mario may have passed away in 1983, but through his son, Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, the legacy of this world-renowned and respected wine continues.

…actually, ‘any’ wine lover, for that matter.

I imagine that you probably love your wine so much that you could actually write a book of your very own!

But, in the meantime, before you write your bestselling wine book, here are 3 books to adorn your bookshelf with.

(p.s: wouldn’t it be great if wine books smelt like wine? Hmm, what about wine perfume? Remember where you heard these ideas first!)

Ok. Books. Three of them.

1) A gorgeous Antique Brown Genuine Italian Leather Wine Journal: Ok, so I’m cheating a bit. It’s not a wine book. But you can jot down ideas for your wine book in it! - your synopsis, chapter ideas, who’s going to write your foreword, who will be your wine photographer, how many pages you’re going to write, book agents you plan on approaching, etc.

Ok, I’m way ahead of myself but if you really love your wine, who’s to say you can’t write a wine book if you put your mind (and palate!) to it?

2) This book has an interesting title. It’s called:

‘He Said Beer, She Said Wine: Impassioned Food Pairings to Debate and Enjoy – From Burgers to Brie and Beyond’.

Yes, that’s the whole title. Very long, isn’t it?! But a very appropriate title as friends have been known to almost fall out over highly-spirited debates over what cheese goes better with what wine. I’m sure more than a few people will be able to relate to this book!

3) And how about this book, ‘The Wine Lover Cooks With Wine’? Of course the wine lover cooks with wine! The wine lover brushes her teeth with wine! (Only joking – I’m not here to promote alcoholism, dear reader). It’s an aptly titled book with plenty of recipes that should keep you (and your guests) busy for a while with little time between mouthfuls to argue about wine and cheese pairings!

PS: have a look at The Wine Lover Cooks Italian: Pairing Great Recipes with the Perfect Glass of WIne

Sagrantino Day 2008 will present the Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG, made in Montefalco, a small city in Umbria, the green heart of Italy. It will be held April the 21st in many cities in Italy and also abroad: Luxembourg, Berlin, Munich, Tokyo, London, Bruxelles, Frankfurt. Here is the program of the Sagrantino Day 2008all over the world

Luxembourg Hotel Sofitel, Quariter Européen Nord/Kirchberg 6:15 PM.

The tasting will be held by Carmela Gragnani Zompi

Berlin. Sagrantino Wine Bar, Behrenstrasse, 47. 6.30 PM

Munich. Rocco Forte The Charles Hotel, Sophien Strasse, 28. 3.00 PM.

The tasting will be held by Vincenzo D’Orta;

Tokyo. Shiodomeitalia, Tokyo Sio-Site n.5, 2-14-1 Higashi-Shimbashi - Minato-ku 105-0021.

The tasting will be held by Francesco Bartoletti;

London. Jolly Hotel St. Ermin’s, 2, Caxton Street. 4.00 PM

The tasting will be held by Andrea Rinaldi and Gabriele Rappo;

Bruxelles. Jolly Hotel du Grand Sablon, Rue Bodenbroeck 2-4. 5.30 PM

The tasting will be held by Paolo Basili

Frankfurt TBD

The aroma variables that help to make this Franciacorta are an important element, but not the only one, in determining the nose-palate type that clearly marks out this Gran Cuvée from traditional Bruts.
Indeed, over 30% of the wines that make up this Gran Cuvée are fermented and aged for over 7 months in small oak casks; they, in addition to the remaining selections, help to produce a perfect overall balance. The grapes used are: 72% Chardonnay and 28% Pinot Nero.

MOUSSE- PERLAGE:

White mousse, lively, particularly small, compact and long-lasting perlage.

COLOUR:

light, bright green gold.

AROMA:

well pronounced, particularly fine and complex, with dominant floral notes of hawthorn, absinthe and dry bay leaf.

FLAVOUR:

dry, exceptionally elegant and pleasant, with a very long aristocratic finish of jam and incense. It has a persistent backbone with a silky texture and excellent breed.

SERVING TEMPERATURE: 6 °C

I tried this with an hors d’œuvre made of crudités with artichoke, foie gras, and Gorgonzola mousse… wonderful
Website: http://www.bellavistasrl.it