Don't Adjust your Dial...It's Just Me

In case you've noticed... the blog design here on Come for the Wine has been going a bit schizoid. It's not you...it's me. I accidentally deleted my original template and have been experimenting to get things back together again. Although I now realize all those experiments were going out LIVE!!

Sorry about that!

Come for the Wine is undergoing some design changes off-line, and the new site will be launched soon. In the meantime, I'll be using this template design, with a few tweaks here and there...but no radical changes as before.

Cheers--

Zagreb Bound....Almost

My bags were packed. My dollars changed to Kuna. The plane was at the gate. My seat belt was fastened and I was on my way to Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend. Then I heard the dreaded ''Um, This is your captain speaking... "

We were told we would have a one or two hour delay while they replaced a fuel pump on an engine. So I ate my lunch (NOTE: Never board a flight without your own food and water supply) and chatted with my German seatmates auf Deutsch--a skill I somehow dredged up from a long neglected language sector in my memory banks.

Then two hours turned to four, to six, to eight. (But at least they let us off the plane after the first two hours) Then we were told the flight would be canceled and we would be getting a replacement aircraft. In the meantime we all got in line to rebook our connections. Well things got complicated, connections were missed, fare classes were changed. I'll spare you all the details, but when the flight finally left over 9 hours later, I was not on it.

I boarded the same Airporter bus I'd taken that morning to the airport, and 16 hours after the whole ordeal began I was back home and it felt like I'd dreamt the entire episode

So instead of giving my presentation at the panel event along with Cliff Rames of @WinesofCroatia, Lada Radin and Nenad Trifunović, I participated by twitter and tasted the wines for breakfast along with the other bloggers tasting live via twitter. Here is a sampling of the tweets, but you can also search twitter for the hashtag #WoCroatia and #ZWGW to view more.

The event turned out pretty great and the power of twitter in wine culture confirmed --heck a sale was made due to the all the tweeting! I'd say that's one very compelling reason right there to join the conversation on twitter if you are in the wine business or just interested in discovering new wines.

Over the weekend I followed all the #ZWGW tweets and sank into a funk as I saw the wines and fun tweet by before my eyes. Tweets about the Piquentum party and human pyramids and the late night Bibich party. My recommendation if anything like this happens to you --Stay off Twitter--it will only make it worse as you read the tweets of all your friends and colleagues having a blast. Oh the agony.

Luckily I had a stash of Croatian wine, Chiavalon olive oil and some Ajvar (albeit store bought) to soften the blow and help me ease my pain.

So, I'm sorry I have no pictures or stories to report here, but next time. Next time for sure.

Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend April 13-15

Next weekend I'll be attending the Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend where I'll be on a Twitter Tasting Panel moderated by Cliff Rames. We'll be discussing the power of twitter and the influence of new technologies and social networks on the wine culture and conduct a live twitter tasting with U.S. bloggers and members of the live audience too.

It's not too late to jump on a plane and head to Zagreb and join us. But barring that, you can tune in to twitter on Saturday April 14th at 8am PST / 11am EST and follow the hashtag #WoCroatia and #ZWGW12.

We will be tasting Milos Plavac, Krajancic Posip, and Terzolo Teran.  If you'd like to join in live with your own tasting notes you may be able to find the wines at your local wine shop, or you can order them via Blue Danbue Wine. 

In addition to all the wine and food exhibitors on the show floor, there will be Master Class tastings including presentations by David Gates of Ridge Vineyards and by Ivo Jeramaz of Grgich Hills. Seminars topics include a session with George Taber on The Judgement of Paris. A full slate of films will be screened including the Life on the Douro. You can view the full schedule here.

ISTRIA

After the Wine Gourmet Weekend I'll be exploring the wilds of Istria (and wifi permitting) tweeting all my finds as we hike the trails, forage for asparagus with wolves and bears, sample traditional rakija recipes, and taste and drink our way around the tiny towns of the region.

A Taste of Croatia in Umbria-- Preview of the Next IWINETC Location

One of the highlights of the 2012 International Wine Tourism Conference was the Wines of Croatia tasting held to introduce attendees to next year's conference location in Zagreb. Of course this event was one I'd been looking forward to ever since the announcement was made in the conference program. I've become a huge fan of Croatian wines in the last year, and I was excited to hear what others at the conference thought about the wines as they tried them for the first time.

Over 15 wines from the regions of Danbue, Slavonia, Istria and Dalmatia were poured.

There were many raves for the whites including the Kozlović Malvazia from Istria and the Iločki Podrumi Graševina Vrhunska.  The clear favorite among the reds was the "Donkey" Dingač Placvac Mali from Vinarija Dingač. People were quite intrigued by the Dingač and it's distinct briny notes. Also the Festigia Merlot was favored for it's balance and rich flavor.

I particularly enjoyed the Gracin Babić, the Korlat Syrah, and the Matošević Malvasija Alba. I was surprised there was no Teran to taste, but that will just give everyone something to look forward to when they arrive in Croatia next year.

Next year's conference will be held March 15-17th. March !?! I guess that means my annual Wine Pleasures birthday celebration has ended. But you kids born in March...get it together and apply for the blogger trip.

See you in Croatia. Zivili! (Oh and if you can't wait a year, you may want to visit this week --April 13-15 2012 --at the Zagreb Wine Gourmet Weekend--details here)

Links to all Posts in this Series:

Part 1 --International Wine Tourism Conference 2012 –PREVIEW

Part 2--Wine Tourism Does Not Exist-- IWINETC 2012

Part 3--Wines of Italy: Birthday on the Wine Trail

Part 4--Wines of Italy: The Great Indoors of Benevento

Part 5--Wines of Italy: Goretti –Wine & Winetherapy 

Part 6- Wines of Italy: Terre Margaritelli - Torgiano  

Terre Margaritelli -- Food, Wine & Friends Video Slideshow

Here's a short slideshow detailing the wine and food from our memorable night at Terre Margaritelli which I wrote about here.

Links to all Posts in this Series:

Part 1 --International Wine Tourism Conference 2012 –PREVIEW

Part 2--Wine Tourism Does Not Exist-- IWINETC 2012

Part 3--Wines of Italy: Birthday on the Wine Trail

Part 4--Wines of Italy: The Great Indoors of Benevento

Part 5--Wines of Italy: Goretti –Wine & Winetherapy

Part 6- Wines of Italy: Terre Margaritelli - Torgiano   

Wines of Italy Series: Terre Margaritelli - Torgiano

Before I even visited Terre Margaritelli I’d become acquainted with their wine just by checking into my room at the Hotel Gio where I was assigned one of the signature wine rooms, a room that is designed and decorated by one of the local winemakers, and mine was, you guessed it… the Terre Margaritelli room. 

There I was surrounded by the Terre Margaritelli vineyard in the form of a huge wall mural, as well as a desk and table made of wine barrel staves. On the table was a bottle of Mirantico, two glasses and a Terre Margaritelli corkscrew. It was just too enticing to ignore and low and behold, the bottle practically opened itself! I mean that’s the point of these wine theme rooms…you are immersed in an environment designed by the winery, so sampling the wine is almost required…at least that’s my excuse. The Mirantico--a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Merlot, and Cabernet had a lovely aroma of violets and roses with great structure and lovely long finish. I’m glad I tried it and even happier that I got to meet the man who designed the room at the Terre Margaritelli winery the following night. 

Federico Bibi, Sales and Marketing Director of Terre Margaritelli Winery and his wife Jennifer McIlvain turned a cold and blustery night into a warm and welcoming evening of food, friendship and most of all fabulous wines. While half of our group was in the kitchen with Jennifer learning how to make gnocchi, the rest of us chatted with Federico about everything from the design theory behind the labels, to the history of the Margaritelli family land, and the organic winemaking process. You can watch a video slideshow of how the evening unfolded here, or at the bottom of this post.

I really enjoyed these wines and especially appreciated the opportunity to compare the differences in the Mirantico red blend poured from the 750 ml bottle and from the magnum. I normally don’t buy magnums but this was surely an object lesson as to why I should. The wine showed characteristics many levels beyond that in the standard size bottle, a fuller, richer palate refined and complex at the same time.

That night, back in my Terre Margaritelli room, I reached up to turn off my lamp made from bottle of Greco di Renabianca Grechetto, and I felt even more connected to a special winery that may very well have been my favorite in all of Umbria. Before checking out the next day I bought a bottle of the Mirantico from the Hotel Gio wine shop to ensure a taste of Umbria upon my return home. 

When your travels bring you to Umbria (and they should!) make plans to visit Terre Margaritelli just outside Perugia in Torgiano. And for a complete “eno-gastronmical” experience contact Jennifer at Life…Italian Style for cooking classes and an insider peek into the savory flavors and unhurried nature of the Umbrian lifestyle.

Links to all Posts in this Series:

Part 1 --International Wine Tourism Conference 2012 –PREVIEW

Part 2--Wine Tourism Does Not Exist-- IWINETC 2012

Part 3--Wines of Italy: Birthday on the Wine Trail

Part 4--Wines of Italy: The Great Indoors of Benevento

Part 5--Wines of Italy: Goretti –Wine & Winetherapy

Part 6- Wines of Italy: Terre Margaritelli - Torgiano   

Wines of Italy Series: Goretti-Wine & Winetherapy

Fill'er up with Sagrantino! 

The first thing I noticed when we arrived at the Goretti Winery were the wine pumps! Hard to miss the gas station style pumps that locals use to fill up wine jugs and take home. With the price of gas so high, maybe we should all convert our cars to run on premium grape juice. Although with this wine you will need a locking gas cap  to prevent people from siphoning it out for the dinner table.

The wine shop had all the Goretti wines on display including some super-super sized bottles of Sagrantino almost half my height, I’d never seen bottles this big before. I doubt I could lift one much less get it in my suitcase!  But they certainly looked like a major party waiting to happen.

Also on display were a line of wine-based cosmetics that Sara Goretti developed with her sister. I took a closer look at the label and realized it was the same as the products provided in my bathroom at the Hotel Gio. I’d been amazed at the quality of the sample size hand creams and loved the aroma that was evocative of harvest on a crush pad, yet softer, almost a honeyed-sandalwood scent but lively and fresh.

After Sara explained each of their wine offerings, we repaired to the tower where the Goretti family was on hand, including Nonna Marcella, to pour some of the wines for us to pair with a wonderful array of Umbrian style hors d'oeuvres, cheeses, salads, and some limited production olive oil served on crostini. I particularly loved the Torta al testo ( shown below top middle) and the Crostini di carne alla Perugina (shown middle row left and bottom right corner below) both based on Nonna Marcella's recipes.

I was already familiar with several of the Goretti reds including Sagrantino di Montefalco and Rosso di Montefalco which are well distributed and easy to find in the states.  I was less familiar with the whites, and I favored the “Il Moggio” Grechetto a very aromatic and flavorful wine that paired best with the honey drizzled cheese.

New to me was the L'Arringatore a hearty red made from Sangiovese, Merlot and Ciliegiolo grapes and named after the famous bronze statue Aulo Metello. One sip of wine this and your arm may fly right up into a salute to the intense flavors and tannins. It happened to Melba. ( see below)

The vaulted ceiling of the room added to the atmosphere and although the temperature was rather cold, it hardly mattered by the time the grappa was served.

And what great grappas they were! Grappa di Sagrantino, Grappa di Grecetto and dark yellow Grappa made from the marc of red grapes.

Afterwards we went back to the wine shop and I bought a jar of the SG winetherapy moisturizer. All I can say is if I’d know how much I was going to like it I’ve have bought tank load. I’m not a super girly-girl but I do appreciate a great skin care product. It’s been over a month now since I’ve been using the winetherapy moisturizer and I do believe Sara Goretti has come very close to packaging the fountain of youth in her skincare products. Maybe that’s why all the women winemakers we met in Italy looked so gorgeous, they are applying the secrets of the vine to their skincare regime as well as in the bottle.

I know this sounds like some crazy infomercial, but it’s true and no one paid me a dime to say this! I’ve been a fan of the French Caudalie line of Vinotherapie products for years and firmly believe in the magic of polyphenols in their grape derived products. The Goretti winetherapy products are made with the same substances found in grape leaves and grape seeds.

If you can’t find the SG skincare line (hint look here) you can always drink Goretti wine instead and become beautiful from the inside out. Or try some Goretti Grappa and after a few shots I guarantee you will see a more youthful version of yourself in the mirror. That is if you can still see.

Links to all Posts in this Series:

Part 1 --International Wine Tourism Conference 2012 –PREVIEW

Part 2--Wine Tourism Does Not Exist-- IWINETC 2012

Part 3--Wines of Italy: Birthday on the Wine Trail

Part 4--Wines of Italy: The Great Indoors of Benevento

Part 5--Wines of Italy: Goretti –Wine & Winetherapy  

Part 6 -Wines of Italy: Terre Magaritelli --Torgiano