Cru Artisan Banfi Wines

Cru Artisan, who oversees the luxury selections of the Banfi portfolio, was in Houston last week sharing their wines and knowledge with local wine professionals. The experience started with a walk around tasting and an opportunity to talk with some of the winemakers. The selected wines for the tasting were produced by Castello Banfi, Sartori di Verona, Banfi Piemonte, Cerulli Spinozzi, Fontana Candida and Bolla.

I took my 21 year old daughter to work on this day. She was in on a short break during her summer internship and, although she is more of a cider aficionado, she was delighted to expand her knowledge of Italian wine. Within her own circle of college friends, she is already the leading wine expert.

Having just walked out of the already oppressive Houston heat and due to my own agenda of searching for wine recommendations for upcoming summer stories, we started with some sparkling pink wine, the 2010 Cuvée Aurora Rosé from the Alta Langa DOCG. This classic method 100% Pinot Noir was dry with subtle notes of rose and apricot, a silky mousse, refreshing acidity with a smooth finish. Ideal anytime with anything. Priced at approximately $30.

I was then pleased to meet Enrico Cerulli and learn about his family's history in Abruzzo and hear about his choice to farm organically. We tasted his Cerulli Spinozzi "Cortalto" Pecorino which was "like spa water", per my daughter. It had fresh aromas and flavors of citrus and peach with almond, a medium body, dry and smooth with a light mineral finish. Priced at approximately $14.

2013 Banfi Principessa Gavia Gavi from 100% Cortese grapes was light, fresh and citrusy with a clean finish. This is easy to find in our area and affordable at approximately $14, I have served this with simply grilled fish on many occasions and a previous vintage was a Galveston Monthly top pick back in August 2012, it is consistently good.

Maur Merz, chief winemaker for Fontana Candida, poured us a taste of his 2011 Luna Mater Frascati Superiore, a dry Malvasia-based white blend with aromas and flavors of citrus, melon and almond. Approximately $22, try it with light seafood pasta dishes.

We tasted the Albinea Canali FB Lambrusco Metodo Ancestrale from Emiliana. This was unlike any Lambrusco that I have ever had before, I really enjoyed it as did my daughter. It was dry, fresh and fruity. She proclaimed that she could just stop there until I was done and enjoy that wine with the charcuterie as recommended. We were disappointed to learn that we won't be seeing this in our market.

After our quick snack, I wanted to welcome Rudy Buratti of Castello Banfi and Andrea Sartori back to Houston and taste some red wine. We made the rounds and tasted too many good wines to name here. I was interested to taste the La Lus Albarossa from Monferrato which is a variety that I have not tasted very much- very smooth and easy drinking.

The wine makers stayed in town and conducted classes at Camarata on the following day teaching locals about the different wines and the places from which they come.

Thank you to Cru Artisan and Banfi for bringing both their wine and wisdom to Houston!

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

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