"New Wave White Wines"

My notes from the "New Wave White Wines" seminar and tasting at Taste of Italy Houston 2017 held on March 6, 2017. with David Lynch, Jeremy Parzen, Thomas Moësse and Jaime de Leon.

The Wines:

Colutta Prosecco - Produced in Friuli from Glera grapes, this fresh, light sparkling wine had ripe apricot and melon aromas and flavors.

Bellaria Greco di Tufo 2014 - From the limestone soils of Compania, David Lynch feels that these southern Italian wines are "the Chablis of Italy" due to their mouthwatering acidity and strong minerality. Jeremy Parzen shared that "these are the types of wines my wife and I go to Thomas' shop to buy to drink at home," referring to Vinology, a local wine bar and shop, of which Moësse is a founding partner. Moësse discussed the terroir of the area which he says "adds bounce" to the wine. Fresh pineapple and citrus aromas and flavors intertwined with crisp acidity and a lingering smoky minerality.

Talis Colli Orientali Ribolla Gialla 2015 - Also from Friuli, this wine saw no oak, only stainless steel. Lynch credits the combination of the Alpine and Adriatic influences for giving this wine its character. Fresh aromas of peach and green apple with a light floral component, zippy acidity and a saline mineral finish. Very pure and elegant, David Lynch called it, "Electrifying."

Colli di Poianis Colli Orientali Pinot Grigio 2015 - Another from Friuli, this wine also saw no oak but it had a weightier textural component than your "typical" Pinot Grigio. Ripe tangerine aromas and fresh citrus flavors with a slight bitterness in the persistent finish. Moësse's description of this wine was that he felt as if he bitten into a whole tangerine through its skin.

Kellerei Kurtatsh Alto Adige Pinot Grigio Penóner 2014 - From South Tyrol, though this wine was fermented and aged in oak, it is not an "oaky" white. Fuller bodied than than the previous, this wine had sweet orange cream aromas and flavors with a creamy texture and a touch of vanilla in the lengthy finish. Weightier and richer than the previous, Master Sommelier candidate, Jaime de Leon discussed the opportunities for heavier pairings.

Jaime de Leon also discussed the current wine buying trends he is seeing locally. He feels there has been a shift in wine buying attitudes, "People are wanting to experiment and explore more than ever before, they want to try something different." He credits tech savvy consumers who are educating themselves on new or unusual wines made from grapes they don't know or which come from places they haven't been and who are excited to investigate further. He is encouraged by this new openness and challenged the room to help consumers find all the opportunities that the world of wine offers.

My take away from this discussion and tasting is that this "new wave" of whites offers a fresh, crisp liveliness that I'm looking forward to enjoying this season and beyond. All of the wines from this tasting are highly recommended.

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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