This fall, author and wine expert Dick Rosano and Chef Stephen Sands will lead a small group of food and wine adventurerers on a tour through the Piemonte region of Italy.  Want to join them?  Here are the highlights of the 10-day boondoggle:

• Numerous degustazioni wine sampler lunches and cantina visits with local hosts under Dick’s stewardship.
• Cooking demonstrations, and exhibitions of local traditions and techniques under the wing of Stephen
• Daily hotel breakfasts ‐plus gourmet lunches & dinners as per the itinerary
• Participation in the Alba Truffle Festival with interesting medieval crafts
• Multilingual travel escort
• 3– and 4– star hotels, carefully selected for authenticity and charm
• See this brochure for full details and itinerary

About The Hosts:

Dick Rosano has been writing about wine, food, and travel for many years. His columns have appeared in The Washington Post, Wine News, Wine Enthusiast, Country Inns Magazine, Chile Pepper, and many other nationally distributed publications. His weekly wine-food pairing column first ran in The Washington Post and Wine Enthusiast online and now appears in The Tasting Panel magazine. Dick’s book, Wine Heritage, traces the influence of Italians in the American wine industry over the last century. A new novel, A Death in Tuscany, is due out this summer. Having traveled Italy, US, and South American wine growing regions extensively, Dick has lectured on the subject at the Smithsonian Institution, Johns Hopkins University, and at many conferences throughout the United States. In addition, Dick currently teaches wine and wine-food pairing classes at L’Academie de Cuisine, and at Culinaria.

Culinaria Cooking School Founder & CEO Stephen Sands learned to love the art of cooking from his Italian nonna (grandmother), and began his culinary career in 1989 with Francois Dionot, the founder of L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda. Stephen was instrumental in developing curricula and original recipes for participatory classes and for guest chefs. In 2004, Stephen formed Capital Food Partners, LLC, a cooking school and catering company, along with his business partner Pete Snaith. Retired from a notable engineering career, Stephen now directs Culinaria.
 

Andrea Sartori leads one of Verona’s great wine estates, a generations-old family business that serves up some of the region’s best bottles. Since Veneto is renowned for its Amarone, the delicious full-bodied red wine, it would be sacrilegious not to follow suit – which Sartori does eminently well – with production decisions left to the masterful judgment of enology consultant Franco Bernabei. And it would be equally sacrilegious to not broaden the portfolio to include other wines.

At a recent lunch at Café Milano (Prospect Street, NW), we began with a 2009 Ferdi ($15), a sumptuous and richly textured white wine made from Garganega. Unlike many lighter styled white wines, the grapes for Ferdi are first dried to concentrate the sugars and intensify the flavors, then vinified into a bolder wine fit for creamy dishes and even red meat. I tested it against Café Milano’s Asparagus Soup, an impossible combination for a thinner wine, and the pairing worked perfectly.

On to the Tagliatelle Ragu with Mushrooms and the three red wines from the estate, all made from varying combinations of the region’s hallmark grapes, Corvina and Rondinella. First, we sampled the 2007 Regolo ($20), a medium-bodied wine serving well with its relative young age. This would have been perfect for pre-prandial sipping and struggled only a bit against the savory ragu.

The 2008 Amarone ($45), a medium- to full-bodied wine – softer on the approach than many blockbuster Amarones – was the match of the day with the dish. It was stylish and forward, and the deep red fruit flavors and earth tones worked nicely with the ragu. The 2006 Corte Bra ($55) was undoubtedly the standout wine for the afternoon. As good as it was with the dish, the flavors were so distinctive and rich that they deserved attention without food, and the wine seemed even better after the lunch was concluded.

Sartori has been making some of the most remarkable wines from Verona for decades, and its name is familiar enough that most Americans have sampled its wines over the years. My only regret in recent times is that these extraordinary wines have slipped out of notice of the American wine-buying public.

It’s time to fix that error and return Sartori to the wine cellar and the dinner table.

Or it could refer to non-indigenous grapes like Cabernet and Merlot that Italian vintners have incorporated into their ever-growing portfolio of fine wines. “Rare” not because some bespectacled judge intoned on the subject, but because they present a new version of Italian wines, a new style that is still working its magic and creating its market.

These two grapes – Cabernet and Merlot – migrated only a short distance from France, after helping that country establish its centuries-old reputation for elegant wines. In Italy, the oft-labeled “French varietals” such as Cab and Merlot offer a chance to spin the local wines in a new direction, or create something totally different.

Such is the case with Castello di Gabbiano Alleanza, a Tuscan beauty that uses Merlot as its base (83%) and adds 12% of Sangiovese – the grape of Chianti – and rounds it out with 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. I tasted the 2008 last night, planning a pork roast for dinner, and was pleasantly surprised to find that the wine scored high points both in my first tasting (without food) and then with the black olive tapenade that I used to quiet the insistent grumblings of a stomach too long ignored. And I hadn’t even gotten to the pork roast yet, the featured entrée and what I thought was the goal of opening this bottle in the first place.

Allenza offers a mouthful of black cherries and plums, with rich textures and full body. It’s light only in the way a Merlot can be light, but otherwise is plush and full of flavor. At $35, it’s not an everyday wine but if you want to impress your friends with a pork roast – or perhaps anything else, from what I found – store a half dozen of these bottles for future feasts.

Although Alleanza is Castello di Gabbiano’s flagship wine, the estate also has other wines that deserve more study, all at lower prices, like the Chianti Classico at $12 and the Chianti Classico Riserva at just $22. In fact, Gabbiano is primary evidence of the adage: Buy the estate, not the vintage. Vintage variation still exists and is an important part of wine buying. But if you find an estate whose wine style you like, keep buying their wines and you’ll not be disappointed.

  To accomplish this, Spencer started with his by-the-glass program.  “It’s a bit easier to convince a guest to try something new if they don’t have to invest in an entire bottle.  The key to using “off” varietals was to get the servers behind the change.  If they are familiar and excited about the new offering, it is fun and easier to sell.  For example, I found a Timorasso made by a small producer in Piemonte named Walter Massa.  It’s a full-bodied white that offers honey-suckle, citrus, nuttiness and tannins.  A great alternative to Chardonnay.”

Spencer has a level 2 certification from the Court of  Master Sommeliers, and the abundance of Spencer’s wine education was gained while travelling through wine regions around the world.  He has explored the vineyards of 70 countries, including Macedonia, Maldova and Montenegro.  “They had wines that blew my mind,” he said.  His quest continues at end of this month with a 3-week trip to Sicily to work the vineyards.  Chef Celestino Drago is from Sicily and the trip might help Spencer better understand his perspective.  “I’m heading to a real back-woodsy winery called Christo di Campobello.  The volcanic soils of Mt. Etna create some incredible and unique wines that should not be ignored.  I found a Nerello Mascalese from Sicily’s Antichi Vinai for our list which has a flavor profile and body similar to that of Pinot Noir.  It’s delicious.”  Spencer noted.

I asked Spencer about how he likes living in in LA and his favorite hang-outs, “It’s great here; the people are really friendly.  People always complain about the traffic but I find it really easy to get where I want to go.”  “Bar Covell is a great spot, especially for wine.  They have 120 wines by the glass there.  Perch on South Hill Street is a really great spot.  And after tasting wine all day the last thing I want is another glass, so I’ll stop by Rivera; they have great cocktails and beer selection.”

The cellar at Canonica

Recently, we reviewed a bevy of outstanding white wines from Italy that Empson imports to the American market. That was a statement about the quality in whites coming from a country known for its red wines. As good as the whites are – and Empson leads the U.S. import market in proving how good Italian wines can be – the country will always be known for their red wines.

From tip to tail, from the northern climes of Piedmont to the toe of Calabria, red wines are made to quaff with friends or pair with food. At the top of the tower are Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello di Montalcino, and Chianti Classico, but Italy’s spectacular display of internationally famous wines offers a slew of other picks, including Barbera and Amarone, not to mention the Super Tuscans that blend French-origin grapes with Italy’s indigenous varietals.

To prove the point, I selected a blind sample of red wines from the Empson portfolio. Didn’t bother to cherry-pick; didn’t have to. Here are the results.

Bortoluzzi 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon (Venezia Giulia, $19). Rich, robust, black fruit flavors with a silky touch of spice. Score: 86

Canonica a Cerreto 2007 Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany, $39). Highly aromatic with hazelnuts and violets up front, light flavors but silky smooth, highlights of soft fleshy red fruit. Score: 89

Castello di Querceto 2006 Cignale Colli della Toscana Centrale (Tuscany, 90% Cab, 10% Mer., $85). Rich and sumptuously textured, dark red fruit flavors, chocolate and tobacco accents. Score: 90

Santadi Rocca Rubia 2008 Carignano del Sulcis Riserva ($27). Black pepper up front, dense dark fruit on nose and palate, accented by crushed walnut and dark chocolate, sumptuous textures, dark chewy fruit. Score: 90

Santadi Terre Brune 2006 Carignano del Sulcis ($?). Soft earthy scents of mushrooms, dried fruit and soft textures, Old World style, dried fruit featuring cranberry and black cherry. Score: 87

Shardana 2007 Valli di Porto Pino (Sardinia, $32). Cranberry and black cherry aromas, coffee accents with dark fruit flavors, lasting and smooth with a bit of spice on finish. Score: 87

Speri 2009 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso (Veneto, $28). Rich and smooth, dark red fruit with black pepper accent. Score: 86

Tenuta Cocci Grifoni 2010 Tellus (Marche, $15). Earthy, medium bodied, great with pasta and red sauce. Score: 86

  At last year’s Heart’s Delight Wine Auction, friend and fellow wine enthusiast @IanInVirginia won a dinner for 4 at DC’s Tabard Inn.  He graciously invited me and my wife to join them but it took almost a year for two sets of busy parents to coordinate schedules.  Ian is a heck of a guy.  He has thrown some killer parties; always opening as many of his best bottles as we could “responsibly” consume.   Given he was picking up the check for this dinner, I looked forward to bringing some vino. 

Even with a good idea of what Ian likes to drink the choice was tough.  Would one bottle be enough for four people?  What if it’s corked?  Would two bottles be too much?  Is Ian’s wife as big a fan of old-world wine as he is?  Lots to consider, and none of these questions get answered until showtime.  I made a decision, then I changed my mind, and then I changed my mind again, and then one more time less than 2 minutes before leaving the house for the Tabard Inn.

I decided on two bottles.  At a dinner a few years back, Ian brought a ’95 Ch. Clerc-Milon that was totally awesome.  I had a magnum of the ’05 and thought it might be fun to try the next generation.  Since the sample menu on the Tabard Inn website showed a good amount of Italian fare, my other choice was a ’97 Tignanello that had been burning a hole in my wine rack.  Immediately I was nervous the Tig would be past its prime.

We met at the restaurant and all was good.  Ian was feeling conservative because he would have infant duty that night, so we decided to put the magnum under the table and started the meal with a bottle of rosé Champgne instead.  The somm brought a decanter for the Tig, opened her up and poured four glasses.  At the same time I noticed it was getting really hot in the room so I took my jacket off.  The moment of truth, I took a whiff and a sip of the Tig.  According to Wine Spectator, this wine offers focused aromas of blackberries, wood and very ripe fruit.  It is full-bodied, with loads of velvety tannins and a long, long finish, best after 2003.  These notes were not what I was getting.  I felt my stomach drop as I inhaled aromas of wet-dog and brine.  In the mouth was a wine that was all tangled up and confused.  “WTF?” I thought to myself.

I dejectedly swirled my glass at warp speed before sampling it again.  “Please open up.  Please open up. Please open up,” I prayed as Ian reached for his glass to take a look.  “How is it?” He asked before lifting the glass to his nose.  “Might need a few minutes…I’m getting something a little off.”  It was all I could say as I contemplated exhuming the Bordeaux from its resting place beneath the table.  Would my fears play out or would this Tuscan make a super comeback before our steaks came out?  The apps had yet to arrive and while we were munching bread, joking and sipping bubbly, I was enduring a wine anxiety attack. 

As soon as our server placed my first course of tempura-fried sweetbreads in front of me I took another sample.  The nose had changed.  I moved the liquid around to different parts of my mouth.  Front to back, side to side.  I detected notes of…Progress?  It gave me a slight feeling of relief.  The Tig had about another 20 minutes until entrees came to figure itself out.  Maybe it was the Champagne, but fear started to give way to hope.  Ian finally took a sip and expressed satisfaction.

I felt like Bacchus was toying with me.  He knew I was nervous and took advantage just to see me sweat.  By the time the rib-eyes arrived the wine was revving its engines.  The steaks were tender and succulent, and a wonderful pair to this wine that continued to build layers and layers of muscular structure as we ate.  I am normally a gulper, but a little bit of this wine  went a long way and tiny sips offered bursts of spice, tobacco, chocolate and berry.  Aromas of vanilla and mint were prevalent and ushered in loads of soft tannins.  It was on.

Few people are immune to wine anxiety.  I’ve been a student of the game for over a decade now; why do I still get incredibly worked up over something that is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable?  Just as I felt I was in the clear as we polished off the wine with the last few bites of steak, Ian laughed as he asked me, “Didn’t you promise to save a taste for the sommelier?”

What is the first thing that comes to mind? Volcanoes? Mobsters? Square pizza?

 How about wine? Though often overshadowed by the big boys of Italy such as the Brunellos, Barolos and Super-Tuscans, the pedigree of wine from this Mediterranean island can be just as compelling. At a recent lunch with winemaker Alessio Planeta, I got a chance to pair a number of southern Italy’s best with dishes from one of DC’s finest northern Italian kitchens at Ristorante Tosca.

Alessio is as humble as they come, and a gracious host who went out of his way to help us understand what makes his wines and the wines of Sicily unique. He poured six specimens, three whites and three reds, which matched up with four delectable courses. The first was a spread of apps that included Prosciutto de Parma with pickled Pioppini mushrooms and a 12-year Balsamic, grilled baby octopus with braised Brussels sprouts and sea urchin sauce, and a salad of radicchio and Bartlett pears with a Goronzola terrine and toasted walnuts.

My first wine was the 2010 Planeta Carricante. It is a native varietal that comes from their vineyards near Mount Etna. According to Alessio, Carricante’s structure is similar to the wines of Alsace, and an ideal 5-7 year cellaring candidate. The 2010 was tart at first but softened nicely over the course of an hour, offering aromas of green apple, flowers and great acidity. Next was the 2009 Cometa Fiano, which was rich and fat with lots of potential. There was ample slate and chalk on the nose, which comes from the chalky soils near Planeta’s first winery, Ulmo. The wine’s name is derived from the family crest signifying the “surprise of the southwest comet.” No oak is used, resulting in an incredibly pure example of a full-bodied white.

The third white, the 2009 Chardonnay, had a very oaky nose but a fresh balance of oak and fruit in the mouth. It is aged for ten months in 225-liter French oak barrels prior to bottling, and was a great pair to the pasta course of Tortelli filled with Robiola cheese and black truffle with leeks in a Porcini mushroom sauce. Equally good with that dish was the first red wine of the day, a 2010 Cerasuolo di Vittoria. Vittoria is Sicily’s only D.O.C.G. and the wine is named for it’s cherry-red color. Made of Nero d’Avola and Frappato grapes grown in sandy soils near the shore, it was smokey with hints of chocolate and strawberry. The style reminded me of a Cru Beaujolais and did not overpower the texture of the pasta or the flavor of the black truffles.

The next two reds were big, worthy opponents to the pancetta-wrapped beef tenderloin drenched in Chef Massimo Fabbri’s succulent oxtail sauce. The 2009 Dorilli Cerasuolo de Vittoria Classico D.O.C.G. is blended from the same varietals as the privious red, but all from the single vineyard named after the nearby Dorilli river. Alessio referred to the wine as the “Pinot Noir” of Sicily. It had a complex fruity character similar to a high-end Russian River Pinot, but it was not as spicy. If I had to pick a favorite of the afternoon, this wine was it by just a slight margin over the final wine, the 2007 Santa Cecilia Nero d’Avola. Alessio described this as his “Cru” – his effort to make the best Nero possible. “The vineyard allows the ability to make a serious wine, one that is more complex with great potential to age,” said Alessio. The wine is made at one of Planeta’s newest wineries, Contrada Buonivini. The family thought the land was so delightfully pure they preserved it by building an “invisible winery” completely underground. The wine had an impressive structure and a flavor profile that touched all areas of the mouth. I think it is one of those bottles that will be thought -provoking after ten years of cellaring.

Planeta’s wines are impressive examples of a wine region that should not be overlooked. It is evident that Alessio has a strong appreciation for the unique terroir expressed in the wines of his island, and is intent on preserving the native varietals that grow in his soils.

The tasting was hosted by Palm Bay International, which imports the wines of Planeta.

White wine makers finally realized that they were being scoffed at and decided to ramp up the quality to retake their market share. And red wine drinkers who, for years, tut-tutted the shallow whites as useless suddenly discovered the joys of a lightly chilled and briskly acidic wine as a come-hither invitation to the delights of the table.

Chardonnay was good, but had already given birth to an anti- market. Dubbed ABC wine, it referred to wine drinkers looking for “anything but Chardonnay.” There was a dalliance with Viognier and Riesling, and perennial flirtations with exotic Old World wines like Torrontes, Marsanne, Aligoté, and Albariño, but as aperitif wines go, we were looking for brisk, lively wines that tantalized the palate and prepared us for the meal.

Enter Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris. Not the PGs of years past, wines that lacked finish and were hard to distinguish from the water glass standing next to it. PGs of today boast a panoply of flavors, citrus overtones, balance, and – more so in the case of Pinot Gris – supple textures.

  I would still choose a Pinot Grigio for a pre-prandial drink. Its racy flavors and gulpability are perfect for the first drink of the evening. And I would pick Pinot Gris, with its fuller mouthfeel and longer impression as the wine to serve with food. But both have their place.

Banfi 2010 Le Rime Pinot Grigio (Tuscany, $9). Refreshing and bright, with lemony acidity.

Castello di Gabbiano 2010 Pinot Grigio (Tuscany, $8).  Scents of lemon zest and lime come first, followed by a zesty, bright fruity wine with highlights of citrus.

Erath 2009 Pinot Gris (Oregon, $14). Silky smooth, luscious white peach and pear flavors yet with a tingling threat of acidity to hold it all together.

Kumeu River 2009 Pinot Gris (Auckland, New Zealand, $21). Peach and vanilla on the nose, followed by the rich flavors of ripe peach and tropical fruit. The slightly oily hint to the texture bodes well and shows a full-bodied wine to pair well with cream-based dishes.

Ponzi 2010 Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley, $15). Zesty and refreshing, hint of lime and floral accents on nose, main theme of lime on palate, with citrus acidity bracing the entire impression.

Santa Cristina 2010 Pinot Grigio (Sicily, $16). Crisp bright fruit aromas with a floral hint, slight apple and citrus flavors with touch of orange on finish.

WillaKenzie 2010 Pinot Gris (Willamette Valley, $21).  Crisp, fresh, lively acidity, bright pear and crisp apple flavors, touch of pineapple on finish.

Italian wines have been great for centuries, and Americans have been buying and bringing home wine from the peninsula since Thomas Jefferson swooned over Brunello di Montalcino in the 1780s.

There are dozens of small importers, but few major players who bring us the best of what Italy has to offer. Neil and Maria Empson have been doing that for over 40 years.

It was during a trip to Milan in 1970 that the vacationing couple fell in love with Italian wines, while bemoaning the fact that most of Italy’s best never crossed its borders. An idea born of their own passion led the Empsons to found Neil Empson Selections and begin a decades-long tradition of introducing Americans to the great wines of the Old World.

  Empson USA now imports wine from Italy, New Zealand, and Chile. From Italy alone their portfolio boasts over 40 superb estates, including perennial favorites such as Einaudi, Bortoluzzi, Il Molino di Grace, Jermann, Cignale, Pieropan, Speri . . . in fact, it’s tough to pinpoint my favorites from such a large portfolio.

So I decided to use the “close your eyes and throw a dart” approach, knowing that essentially any Empson-chosen wine would be a rewarding experience. And I was right. Here are some examples.

Jermann 2010 Pinot Grigio (Venezia Giulia, $30). Scents of honeysuckle and tart green apple, followed by same impression on the palate, refreshing acidity, ripe and full, a great food wine. Score: 87

Pieropan 2010 Soave (Veneto, $17). Lightly sweet aromas, flavors of fresh fruit, with dominant pear notes, simple yet forward, best with cream of crab soup. Score: 85

Bucci 2007 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Riserva (Marches, $57). Subtle, approachable, requires lots of attention from the aroma to the finish, soft textures, voluptuous body. Score: 90

Bellavista 2005 Grand Cuvee Brut (Franciacorta, $69). Beautifully sparkling and clear, soft diffuse bubbles, slight fruitiness balances firm acidic backbone. Score: 89

Stay tuned. There are so many Empson wines they will have to be reviewed in future columns

Among the wines was a fantastic Sangiovese from Maremma Toscana named Le Focaie, made by Rocca di Montemassi.  On the nose were hints of cloves, nutmeg, and figs.  The palate offered mandarin orange up front, a glazed doughnut mouth feel, and chocolate-covered strawberries.  This paired exceptionally well with seared pork loin with mushrooms and a Marsala-rosemary demi-glace.

I also enjoyed Zonin’s Ripasso Superiore.  Ripassos might be my favorite style of wine.  If you are ever stumped by a wine list in an Italian restaurant, look for that word and you will not be disappointed.  This specimen offered ash, currant, allspice, and iron in the mouth and had a long finish.  On the nose:  Fruit Cake, chalk, and licorice.  It is a great home-made pizza wine.