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See below for what happened......... |
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A Tasting of Northern Italian Heirloom Grape Varietals The Ganfields (Rick and Julie) and the Lohwassers (Dolph and Diane) are pleased to host Christine Skandis founder of Skandis Fine Wines LLC. This is an opportunity to taste wines from rare, unique, indigenous Italian grape varietals that are relatively unknown and grown in limited quantities. She will present six of her family of fine wines from Northern Italy, several of which are based on the indigenous grape varietal Erbaluce. She founded Skandis Fine Wines for the purpose of saving rare, unique, indigenous grape varietals and she and her winery Le Guie are working with the University of Turin Italy to develop appreciation of the autochthonous species of the vine Erbaluce. Apéritif: Erbaluce di Caluso Sparkling: 100% Erbaluce grapes; Lively flavor, fresh with very good sweet-acid balance; long lasting aromatic persistence with delicate note of exotic fruits. Erbaluce di Caluso Elisa: 100% Erbaluce grapes; Made via traditional vinification process. Full, warm and vigorous, well balanced sweetness and acidity and intense hints of bread crust and honey; long ending with abundance of acacia flowers, pineapple and traces of citrus fruits. Erbaluce di Caluso Crio: 100% Erbaluce grapes; Made via Crio process invented in Turin Italy; Full warm and vigorous, well balanced sweetness and acidity with intense hints of vanilla and sage; long finish with abundance of watermelon and grapefruit. Canavese Rosato: Blend of 50% Nebbiolo, 35% Barbera, 15% Freisa and Neretto; Fresh, vivacious, light vanilla note reminiscent of blackberry and currant, slight acid sensation with excellent slight herbaceous finish. Canavese Rosso: Blend of 50% Nebbiolo, 35% Barbera, 15% Freisa and Neretto; Warm, dry slight vanilla note, slight tannin sensation, traces of soft wood and long finish of raspberry jam. Erbaluce di Passito: 100% Erbaluce grapes, desert wine; Full, intense with strong texture and austerity; sweet but not overly so with deep acid core pleasantly blending with hints of fresh fruits, apricots and dried figs. Each wine will be paired with an Italian or French cheese and bread. Coffee and Dessert will follow the tasting. No smoking or strong fragrances--please. Attendance will be limited to the first 36. Attendees recognize they will consume alcohol and assume responsibility of having done so. Reservation deadline is Monday, November 9, 2009. Members $25.00 Guests $29.00
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What Happened......... |
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This tasting was organized by Dolph and Diane Lohwasser and Rick and Julie Ganfield. Thirty four members and guests were in attendance. Dolph introduced Christine Skandis, who is the owner and operator of Skandis Fine Wines, LLC., which she founded in 2001. Prior to that time she had become aware of a winemaking region around a number of comunes in the province of Turin, in extreme northwest Italy in the Piedmont. There was a winery there called Cantina Sociale del Canovese, a cooperative for approximately 200 family growers in that region. She is the exclusive importer of the cooperative’s wines into the United States. The region has a rich history of winemaking. Christine provided many details of her experiences in that region, her building of relationships with the growers, winery and the University of Turin and in becoming an importer. She presented the wines with information on the grapes and processes, some of which were developed by the University. Erbaluce is a very old white wine grape that was in danger of being replaced with more popular and familiar ones. But it was identified as a grape of value and the government of Italy has subsidized its propagation. Four of the wines presented were from this grape, one sparkling, two still, and one dessert. The Erbaluce di Caluso name refers to Caluso, one of the comunes in that region. Perhaps of most interest was the Crio, which is madeplacing by hand a layer of grapes followed by a layer of dry ice. The process is repeated layer by layer. After about 48 hours the dry ice has evaporated and the grapes are then crushed to provide a more concentrated wine with well balanced sweetness and acidity. Two red still wines were presented. One was a rosato, (light red), the other a rosso ( full red). Three of their grape constituents, Nebbiolo, Barbera and Freisa, are common with wines of the Piedmont. However, the fourth, Neretto, is an old indigenous grape that was once dominant, but came close to disappearing, and is now being brought back into use. Accompanying the wines were some rare cheeses found by Dolph, Gorgonzola Dolce, Boschetto al Tartufo, (with truffle flavor), and Robiola due Latte. All of these are northern Italian. There was also Tomme de Savoie Fermier, from the mountains of France near the Piedmont. The tasting ended with coffee and cookies. This unique and very interesting tasting was well liked and appreciated. For more information regarding these wines and their availability, here is a link to the Skandis Fine Wines website through which Christine Skandis can be contacted. |