Tre Bicchieri 2015

 

 Tre Bicchieri is Gambero Rosso's annual Wine Tasting, where they show wine that got the "Tre Bicchieri" that year. Tre Bicchieri is the highest award. 
I went last year, but this year it was much better. Probably because I knew more about wine and I knew more people. And of course, Luca Currado was here this time!

Luca Currado, the winemaker of Vietti, won the Wine of the Year from Gambero Rosso, and so he was there this year. As you may know, I have worked for Vietti two summers in a row, and so it felt natural to help out. I spent the majority of the event behind the table, helping to pour the wine while telling the people about it. Luca brought with him the 2011 Barolo Castiglione, 2011 Barolo Brunate and of course the 2007 Villero, which was the Wine of the Year. You can read more about the Villero on the Vietti Website.

Although I spent most of my time behind the Vietti table, I also got to taste some wine. Among the wines I tasted was the Oddero Barolo. I was sad that Isobel was not there, but maybe I'll get to meet her next time!

Conterno at La Pizza Fresca

La Pizza Fresca is hosting yet another winemaker from the Barolo region. This time Roberto Conterno with Giacomo Conterno will be joining them, hosting a tasting of his Barolo's. 
The wines include his Barbera Ceretta and a Barolo Cascina Francia 1993. 

As last time, there will be a choice of 4 course or 5 course dinner. The 4 course dinner features 6 wines, and the 5 course features 10 wines.
If you're in New York, you should check it out.  

The 4 course dinner is $225.

The 5 course dinner is $485 

Barolo and Friends Oslo

February 23rd, there is a wine event for Wine Enthusiasts in Oslo. This event took place last year as well, and was so successful it's happening again this year! 
If you are not in the wine trade, don't worry! There are events open to the public, so anyone can go!
There are tastings, seminars and dinners, so there is a lot to choose from! 
If you are interested, check out the event here!

Me and Elio Altare

Some of the producers that are attending include Elio Altare (http://www.elioaltare.com/) and Cordero di Montezemolo (http://www.corderodimontezemolo.it)

Elio Altare Dinner

Fantastic. Just fantastic. 
The Elio Altare Winemaker Dinner overcame all expectations. First of all, it was great to see Elio again. Second of all, the restaurant La Pizza Fresca in  New York, was quite nice. I have never been before, but I was quite impressed and their wine list is quite impressive.

We sat at our own table, was served a four course meal and had 7 glasses of wine.
Dolcetto
Barbera
Barolo (La Morra) 2004 and 2010
Barolo Arborina 2004, 2007 and 2010.

Elio looked great as always, was modest as always and still believes he can't speak English. He still made a speech, in Italian, and one of his Skurnik representatives translated. 

If you want to know more about La Pizza Fresca, check it out here.

New York Wine Experience

I have never been to the New York Wine Experience, but it's on my Barrel List. 

This year, my "boss" Elena Penna with Vietti will be there, and I am sad to miss her.

You can read more about the event here. 

The Wine Spectator hosts the Wine Experience, and the event consist of seminars and tasting. There is a program with sit down tastings, lunches with wine parings and a Grand Award Banquet. 

Nino Negri

Nino Negri is a winery located near Lago di Como. I first discovered the wine when I was in Bellagio a few years ago, in a little wine bar. I had the Ca' Brione, which is my favorite wine of theirs.
Their reds are fairly good, however very different from what I usually enjoy.

At the MS Walker tasting in Boston, I found the Ca' Brione and two reds. Hopefully I'll be able to find it in a store nearby. 

You can read more about Nino Negri here.

Louis-Michel Liger-Belair

My first visit to Beaune included a visit to Louis-Michel Liger-Belair. It was a fantastic visit, unlike any other I have experienced before. Louis-Michel spent the first half speaking about the history of the winery, his family and their traditions. It was fascinating listening to how his wines have evolved over the different generations.

The tasting itself took place in the cellar, and with a glass in hand, we walked around the barrels and tasted directly out of them. He took time to explain about each wine, explaining with passion and excitement. He also allowed us to taste from his personal barrel, where he stores wine that will not make it onto the market. Although he keeps some for himself, he offers the bottles of this particular wine to charity auctions, helping them raise more money. He also said that since this wine is not on the regular market, it allows him to experiment with it.

Burlotto

This was my first visit to Burlotto, and it was a great one. The wines were of excellent quality, the wine maker was wonderful and the visit was fun.
Burlotto has been making wine for about 6 generations, and to this day, they still stomp their grapes by feet. As seen in the movies. 
Tradition is a huge part of the wine making, as you can also see in the labels. 
I will definitely be going back here. 

Ettore 'Sergio' Germano

Ettore 'Sergio' Germano produces wine in Serralunga D'Alba in Piemonte, Italy. At a tasting this summer, I had the pleasure of tasting both his reds and his whites. My personal favorite was the Herzu riesling, a refreshing white wine that is a recurring one in Cantina Granveien, also know as my home. I don't have much experience with his reds, but from what I can remember, they were quite good. I met Sergio for the first time this summer, and will be sure to return again soon.

Sergio Germano, current producer of Ettore Germano

#tbt: Dalla Terra Wine Tasting

May 9th I experienced my first official wine tasting. The event was closed to the public, but since my Dad has some connections, I was able to attend. I brought a friend, and the two of us had no idea what we were doing. So, we dove in head first. Glass in hand, with our booklets, we started tasting under the pretense of working for a restaurant. The first two stations were Adami and Cleto Chiarli. My friend and I made the mistakes of drinking a little too much at the firsttwo tables, so by the time we reached the third, Aia Vecchia, I had to respectfully declinetasting the red wines. 

We ended up staying at Aia Vecchia for a while. We learned the representative. Elia Pelligrini, used to be a professional soccer player, for Livorno. He was taken out of the game due to an injury to his leg, and he is now in the wine business with his family. Elia was a wonderful person, so passionate about the wine, and excited to tell us about his family and their wines.

The next visit was with Casanova di Neri and the representative Luigi Bonari. There is a funny story attached to this particular wine, a story I did not know until after I had met with Luigi and tasted the wines, which were phenomenal by the way. I learned the story once my Dad arrived. Many years earlier, on a wine trip in Italy, my Dad had been 4 meters away from visiting and tasting Casanova di Neri wines, but due to the large number of people, my Dad decided to get back in the car and go. It was not until later my Dad realized he had made a huge mistake, because the wines, as you may know, are superb. So at this wine tasting in Boston, my Dad told the story to Luigi, and added that he would never again make the same mistake: never judge a vineyard by the number of tourists. You never know what you may be missing.

The second to last wine we tasted was Marchesi di Gresy. It’s maker, Alberto di Gresy, is commonly known as the count. This visit can best be described as hilarious. The count and his younger family member were wonderful. The younger representative, whom we dubbed Count Jr. was engaging, passionate and full of energy. My friend accompanying me told him he was graduating, and it turned out so was Count Jr. A special connection was formed as we talked about wine, about Italy and about family, and at the end we were invited to visit this summer. And I think we just might.

Last, but not least, we have Vietti. Previously I have met Elena, or should I say Mrs. Vietti. She was not there at the tasting, but her husband, Luca or Mr. Vietti was. And let me tell you, they are both incredible. Luca showed deep passion whilst «promoting» his wine. I use quotation marks because he was not really promoting. He was simply talking about his wine. However, interestingly enough, Mr. Vietti spent more time discussing his children and his love of beer and burgundy wine. We talked about his daughter’s success with skiing, how he makes his own beer, and how be prefers putting that beer in glass bottles (so he can open them with a knife like you would a bottle of champagne). It was truly amazing. His passion for what he does was inspiring to watch.

To sum it up: wine tasting rocks.

Rejoice.