Tuscan winemaker Count Ugo Contini Bonacossi dies at 90

Last week another Italian wine great died at 90. He’s Count Ugo Contini Bonacossi of the Capezzana estate in Carmignano just northwest of Florence. The count was instrumental in gaining DOC status for this red wine viticultural zone, recognized for its quality by Grand Duke Cosimo III de Medici in 1716, and even earlier. In 1990, Carmignano achieved the highter DOCG status.

Ugo’s grandfather acquired the beautiful old Capezzana estate in the 1920s. After the war, Ugo got his viticultural degree, and began transforming the property from mixed agriculture to concentrate on growing Sangiovese. The property also has a number of old olive trees. Capezzana’s olive oil is exceptional. 

During his lifetime the count worked hard to elevate the quality and reputation of Carmignano wines, which are still not all that well known. I wish I saw them on more wine lists: They’re usually wonderful buys. And Tenuta di Capezzana is certainly one of the top estates. Villa di Capezzana is a blend of Sangiovese with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, while Barco Reale is a younger version of the same wine. They also make a beguiling vin santo, blend of Trebbiano, Malvasia and San Colombano grapes and sometimes a touch of Chardonnay.

Years ago, I had lunch at the estate with much of the extended family seated around a long table. The entire day spent visiting the cellars, peering into the olive oil vats, and touring the estate remains a wonderful memory, but especially that time at the table savoring Lisa Bonacossi’s Tuscan cooking and new and old vintages of Capezzana's Carmignano. 

Today, his children and grandchildren run the winery. In September he would have celebrated his 65^th wedding anniversary with his wife, Lisa. 

At his memorial service last week, a letter from his granddaughter Annalù was read: “We have the strength of a great man, a man who was very wise, a man who taught us to listen, to enjoy life with irony and to have the courage to live life to the fullest.”

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-- S. Irene Virbila
Twitter.com/sirenevirbila

Photos: Ugo Contini Bonacossi opening the door to the original cellar. Courtesy of the Contini Bonacossi family. 

What are you drinking? Jeremy Parzen at Sotto

When the Italian restaurant and pizzeria Sotto first opened last year, wine director Jeremy Parzen came over to the table one night to talk wine. My guest that night not only read Parzen's wine blog, Do Bianchi, but recognized him as a bass player and songwriter for the bands Nous Non Plus (recently featured on the new HBO series "Girls") and Les Sans Coulottes” 

Parzen has a fabulously checkered resumé. He used to teach Italian and cinema at UCLA, has a Ph.D. from UCLA in Italian, etcetera, etcetera, and now writes a wine column for Houston Press in Texas. Oh, I should mention that he lives in Austin.

In an email exchange, he explains, “although most in the industry know me as a wine trade marketing consultant, I consider myself first and foremost an Italian wine and food historian and philologist. The scope of my blog, DoBianchi.com, is to give readers a humanist perspective onto the world of Italian food, wine and culture. I believe that ampelography (literally, the writing of grapes) and vinography are exegetic tools that help us to interpret and understand the human condition and experience.”

While that may sound like heady stuff, Parzen is a witty and approachable writer — and enormously curious about wine. He travels all over Italy and has poked around in most wine regions there, even the most obscure. And he brings all that first-hand knowledge to bear on Sotto’s wine list, which he co-curates with wine captain Rory Harrington. Parzen shows up at the restaurant two days a month to taste new wines, lead seminars for the waitstaff and work the floor. His next visit will be Wednesday and Thursday, May 16 and 17.

So what’s a guy from Austin doing as wine director at Sotto? The story goes back to 1987, when Parzen and Sotto co-owner and chef Steve Samson met during their junior year abroad in Italy and became fast friends. "I’ve followed his career as chef since his first years with Piero Selvaggio, and I was thrilled when he and chef Zach Pollack asked me to curate the wine list at Sotto."

Right now Parzen and Harrington are just beginning to add wines to the list for the summer season. One bottle that has Parzen jazzed is the 1997 Cirò Riserva “Ripe del Falco” by Ippolito made from 100% Gaglioppo grapes grown in Cirò, Calabria. That’s way down south. 

Says Parzen, “Cirò and its Gaglioppo are one of the most vibrant categories in southern Italian wine today and I love the fact that we can offer our guests a 15-year-old expression of this noble wine (at $90 a bottle).” 

He’s also a big fan of the Basilicata Bianco by Re Manfredi “made from German-speaking (yes, German-speaking!) grapes grown at high altitude in the foothills of Mt. Vulture (an extinct volcano in Basilicata). It's a blend of Müller-Thurgau and Traminer, grapes traditionally associated with South Tyrol (Alto Adige) but ideal for the high-elevation vineyards in this southern region. It's bright, with great acidity (a must for me), and it has white fruit and white stone fruit on the nose and in the mouth. A clean crisp refreshing, however unusual, wine. It's $14 a glass.”

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-- S. Irene Virbila
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Photos: Jeremy Parzen. Credit: Tracie Parzen.

What are you drinking? Aldo Vacca, Produttori del Barbaresco

I caught up with Aldo Vacca, director of Produttori del Barbaresco as he made a quick trip to Los Angeles on the way to San Francisco and Portland. It had been raining for the past few days in northern Italy and he was happy to see some sunshine. 

Of course, Vacca drinks Piedmontese wines when he’s at home, and traveling for the Produttori, he pours their Barbaresco, both the straight Barbaresco and the single vineyards. But here in L.A., he seeks out California wine. 

This trip, he was impressed with Kalin Cellars 1997 "Potter Valley" Sauvignon Blanc. Yes, you read that date right: it's Kalin's latest release.

“The wine is aging beautifully,” Vacca says. “It has a nice honeyed character, but at the same time it’s very minerally. I like, too, that it’s not overly sweet or overly oaked, and then very dry on the finish. Very elegant. Very balanced.”  

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Photos: Aldo Vacca. Credit: S. Irene Virbila/Los Angeles Times

Produttori del Barbaresco tasting with director Aldo Vacca

For fans of Piedmontese wines and especially those of Produttori del Barbaresco, the tasting with Produttori’s director Aldo Vacca April 17 at the Wine House should be quite the event. Vacca doesn’t come to California all that often and you’ll find he is a delightful advocate for Barbaresco and all things Piedmontese. 

The Italian winery is right next to the church in Barbaresco and during the harvest, the farmers unload the grapes right in front. A cooperative of 56 grapegrowers originally founded in 1894, the Produttori is that rare thing: a cooperative that values quality over quantity. The members also happen to own some of the top vineyards in Barbaresco, and the wines can stand with the best in the region.

This is the chance to taste nine Produttori del Barbaresco crus from the 2005 and 2007 vintages, including Pora, Rio Sordo, Asili, Paje, Ovello and Montefico. Appetizers are included in the $45 price.

 To reserve a place for the 7:30 p.m. tasting, contact the Wine House, 2311 Cotner Ave., Los Angeles; (310) 479-3731; (800) 626-9464; www.winehouse.com.

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Photos: Harvest at the Produttori in Barbaresco. Credit: John Anthony Rizzo or Produttori del Barbaresco.

Your guide to Italy's osterie, an app from Slow Food Editore

Slow Food Editore publishes an annual guide "Osterie d'Italia" that's indispensable for travelers in Italy. The English version comes out sporadically, though: Right now, they're still pushing "Osterie e Locande d'Italia: a Guide to Places to Eat and Stay in Italy," which came out in 2007, while the 2012 guide in Italian has already been published.

The guide collects small, out-of-the-way taverns where you can find authentic regional food, cheeses and wines. But at $29, I'm not going to buy a copy every time a new one comes out. Also, it's bulky to carry around.

Enter the new iPhone app: "Osterie d’Italia 2012," a bargain at $9.99, compared with the book.

You can look up restaurants by region or by specialty (meat, fish, vegetables, first courses). You can search by name, or by viewing an area on the map. You can also filter the results according to symbols that represent locally brewed beer, great wines, wines by the glass, parking, rooms to sleep, baby menu, disabled access -- even gluten-free. 

Much of the text is in Italian, with English headings -- for example, "Slow Food- recommended dishes" with no translations of the menu items. Put an Italian-English dictionary on your iPhone, though, and you're covered for anything you don't recognize.

You can star your favorites while searching through the regional listings. And for stay-at-homes, the app also includes 100 simple recipes organized by region. No pictures though.

I'm a big fan of restaurant and travel guide apps. They're more up-to-date than that big book. (Why are some of them printed on such heavy paper?) And the map function is a big plus. 

Hit the information button for any restaurant and you get all the relevant info, including when an establishment take its holidays and when it is closed. This is cool: Hit the phone number and a box comes up asking if you want to dial the number by phone or by Skype. There's also a place to add your own photos and notes.

Easily portable, easy to update, the app is going to be the future of guidebooks.

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-- S. Irene Virbila
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Photos: Screenshots from the "Osterie d’Italia 2012" app. 

 

iPhone app: Vini d'Italia 2012 from Gambero Rosso

The respected Italian gastronomy review and publisher Gambero Rosso has a new iPhone app: Vini d’Italia 2012 del Gambero Rosso. 

OK, it is in Italian, but it’s free and even if you use just one element, it can be useful. After all, the names of the wines are the same in Italian and English. Go first to the button at the bottom labeled “I migliori” — the best. That’s where you’ll find a listing of this year’s wines that have won the review’s highest honor — Tre Bicchieri (three wineglasses). Consider it a crib sheet to the best wines in Italy at the moment. Note too prices are in euros, and will be different than U.S. wine shop prices.

You can also view a map of Italy and find wines by region and producers, very useful on a road trip through Tuscany or Piedmont. But if you want to know more about any particular region, you’ll have to buy the $1.99 package for that region.

I tried out the one for Campania, the region known for Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino and Taurasi, among other wines. After purchasing that package, when I press the name of the producer, I get the address, email address, phone and website. It also tells me if you can buy directly from the winery — si or no — and gives me a listing of all the wines made at the estate. If you want to read further about the producer, though, you’ll need to get out your Italian dictionary.

Oh yes, you can also add your own tasting notes to the listing for each wine as well as make a list of favorites so you don’t have to go scrolling through the entire lineup in order to find a wine.

All in all, I would say the app is pretty handy at the wine shop or on a trip to Italian wine regions.

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Photos: A screenshot of Vini d'Italia del Gambero Rosso. Credit: Gambero Rosso

 

For the deep-pocketed wine buff: Divino Tuscany 2012

 

Do the words “ultimate,” “luxurious,” “exclusive” set your heart a-pitter-patter? Do you have very deep pockets and are you a card-carrying member of the 1%? You love wine, but never drink a bottle under 95 points? (Why bother?)

Then the second annual “Divino Tuscany” may just be your cup of tea, or glass of wine, so to speak. The four-day Divino Tuscany 2012 has quite the ring to it. And quite the price: 1900 euros per person (about $2,486), not including airfare or hotel accommodations, for four glorious days in Tuscany, May 17 to May 20. “Drink 90- to 100-point wines in some of Florence’s most historic buildings, with some of Italy’s most famous vintners.” Just to do the math; that's about $621 per day. And the first day consists of a welcome dinner.

Those who are really keen can sign up for the Ultimate Divino Tuscany Pre Package, May 13 to May 17, for an additional $3,429 per person ($3,759 single occupancy), in which a sommelier takes a small group on a winetasting tour of Tuscany, “complete with charming hotels, deluxe transportation and all meals including three gala winery meals and a 1-star Michelin meal!” Plane fare is not included.

Former Wine Spectator European bureau chief James Suckling, who has long been based in Italy,  hosts the Divino Tuscany event, which includes tastings, seminars, special dinners and entertainment, and ends with a picnic at Sting and wife Trudie Styler's Chianti estate Il Palagio. “People last year enjoyed getting to hang with Sting,” the email I received states. I bet they did. 

Just how many privileged souls get to attend? Five hundred or so. Suffice it to say the group is “exclusive.”

For more information, visit www.foodandwinetrails.com/ultimate_tuscany or call (800) 367-5348.

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-- S. Irene Virbila
Twitter.com/sirenevirbila

Photo: Vineyards in Tuscany. Credit: Peter Gridley

'Godfather' cooking class at Ombra Ristorante

On Sunday, Feb. 12, Ombra Ristorante is hosting a "Godfather"-inspired cooking class taught by executive chef Michael Young. This class is designed with couples in mind (possible Valentine's Day gift, because what says love like mob warfare?). Participants will prepare a four-course meal including braciole (a filled slice of meat braised in a tomato sauce), meatballs and Sunday sauce, mostaccioli (a baked pasta dish) and Sicilian cannoli. In addition, students will receive a recipe packet, wooden spoon and 1 pound of dried pasta to help them re-create these dishes at home.

The class is $99 per person, or $169 per couple. Space is limited and reservations can be made by calling (818) 985-7337. Hopeless romantics and 1970s mobster movie fans welcome. 3737 Cahuenga Blvd., Studio City, (818) 985-7337, www.ombrala.com.

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Photo: Chef Michael Young of Ombra Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Very last-minute gift for kitchen gardeners: Seeds from Italy

One of my favorite seed sources is Seeds from Italy, which brings in Italian heirloom vegetable seeds from Franchi Sementi, a company that's been family-owned for more than 200 years.

Right up until the last minute you can get a gift certificate in any amount from $10 to $300, good for anything on its website, www.growitalian.com. That means purple Roman artichokes, eccentric chicories and radicchio, cima di rapa, ciliegia piccante (spicy cherry peppers), big yellow peppers from Piedmont and red marbled cippollini onions, to name a few. If you want to collect your own fennel pollen, it's got seeds for wild pollen, too.

You can speed things up by ordering an email gift certificate. To send your giftee a catalog via snail mail to help in spending that gift, fill out a catalog request with your recipient's name and address. The new edition comes out just after New Year's.

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-- S. Irene Virbila

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Image: Cover of Seeds from Italy catalog. Credit: Seeds from Italy

Eat Florence, an app

A friend heading to Florence next week just asked me for some suggestions re where to eat. I could give him a couple of the usual suspects. But for more up-to-date info, I checked in with two blogs from food writers living in Italy:  Faith Willinger and Elizabeth Minchilli in Rome.  Emiko Davies in Tuscany is a good source of information, too.

It turns out Minchilli, who writes for Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Travel & Leisure, etc., has a new mobile app called Eat Florence, joining her Eat Rome app. Though Minchilli now divides her time between Rome and Umbria, she’s lived in Florence in the past and frequently visits. 

The new app is certainly not slick, but may be just the ticket for anybody visiting Florence: a selection of beloved places to eat and drink from someone who’s plugged into the food scene there. Basically, it's the same list of favorite places Minchilli's been passing out to friends forever — turned into an app. 

What makes it genius is that you can search by category (coffee, enoteche, food stores, gelato, markets, restaurants, street food), name, neighborhood, cost and distance. Hmm, everything seems to be about 9,951 kilometers from me at the moment. Each entry is marked on a Google map for easy reference. The comments about each establishment are personal and pointed.

This is just the first version of Eat Florence. Minchilli plans to add more places and categories -- and hopefully better photos. 

Since buying the app yesterday, I've been finding myself in spare moments reading through the entries, looking for the places I already know and what's new and interesting, already planning my next trip to Florence. It’s $2.99 well spent, if only to daydream.

Eat Florence, $2.99, in the iTunes store.

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-- S. Irene Virbila

twitter.com/sirenevirbila

Photos: Screen shots from the Eat Florence app. Credit: Elizabeth Minchilli