Melgab International CC

Mathias Wildt (uk.reuters.com) writes:

PROSECCO, Italy (Reuters) - Gianluca Bisol has great expectations for the white sparkling wine^? his family has been making since 1542 in the Valdobbiadene and Conegliano regions north of Venice.
 
A 22nd-generation prosecco producer, he is hoping prosecco's growing international renown will help his fizz gain ground over pricier champagne^?. Prosecco production has grown to 150 million bottles from 5 million a year in 40 years, mainly driven by demand for exports to Germany and the United States.
 
Now its makers aim to increase production to 250 million bottles, moving it closer to the world's leading bubbly. France last year produced a record 339 million bottles of champagne.
 
"Prosecco is softer, easier to drink than champagne," Bisol said. "Add the good price/quality ratio, and prosecco could become the leading world bubbly over the next 30 years."

» Full Story (via luxist.com)

Tags: melgab, wine, italian, prosecco, bisol, italian, south-africa, South Africa

Worthwhile read. Bill Daley (chicagotribune.com) writes:

Chicagoans are thirsty. Whether it's an $8 glass of 2006 Brooks Riesling from Oregon raised in a toast at Webster's Wine Bar in Lincoln Park, a $15 bottle of French rosé^? named the "Pink Criquet" and tossed back on an Oak^? Park porch, or a $2,125 bottle of Gaja's 1978 Italian Barbaresco, sipped respectfully at one of Charlie Trotter's prime tables, folks are reaching for wine.
 
More than a common love for fermented grape juice^? ties these wine drinkers together, yet few recognize it.
 
It's the 45th parallel, an imaginary line encircling the world halfway between the North Pole and the Equator.
 
The 45th parallel is more than an exercise in geography. It symbolizes and connects the increasing globalization of flavors^?, changing climate concerns and the eternal search for good wines at bargain prices.
 
In the world of wine, the 45th parallel is the global equivalent of the Magnificent Mile in terms of quality and cachet. It threads its way through the Bordeaux and Cotes du Rhone regions of France, Italy's Piedmont, the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
 
For Steven Alexander, sommelier^? at Chicago's Spiaggia restaurant, the 45th parallel is a global pathway the savvy wine buyer can exploit. For consumers, he said, they will be able to "look east" along the parallel and find regions producing wines of comparable quality but charging a lot less. Think of such regions as Russia's Black Sea coast, the Balkan country of Croatia, China's isolated Xinjiang province and even the Leelanau peninsula in Michigan.

Goes on to discuss the following sub topics:

• Wine matters here
• New competitors
• Where magic begins
• Nature will solve crisis

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, climate, wine, 45th parallel, vinography, south-africa, South Africa

This comes as little surprise. I mean when two things are matched so well, how can they not improve each other's inherent benefits? Miranda Hitti (medicinenet.com) writes:

Healthy Compounds in Red Wine May Offset Potentially Unhealthy Compounds in Meat^?, Study Shows
 
June 27, 2008 — Having a meaty meal? Drinking a little red wine may make it healthier, thanks to compounds in red wine, an Israeli study shows.
 
The researchers cooked turkey^? thighs and then ground them up for the study. They fed the ground turkey to rats, with or without red wine that had been stripped of its alcohol^?.
 
When the rats finished eating, the researchers analyzed the rats' stomach and blood chemistry.
 
The rats that had eaten the turkey meat without the wine had high levels of chemicals that promote oxidation^?, which has been linked to cancer, atherosclerosis, and other serious^? diseases, the study states.
 
But the rats that got the turkey meat and the red wine had less of those oxidation chemicals in their stomach and blood after their meal.

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, meat, wine, health, antioxidants, cancer, south-africa, South Africa

Following the documented drama of a few months back, it seems like the reputation of the prestigious Italian winery^? is in the clear. Jo Cooke (winespectator.com) writes:

Tuscan magistrates have released Marchesi Antinori's Brunello di Montalcino from impoundment, allowing the wine to be sold and making Antinori the first Montalcino producer under investigation to be cleared of suspicion. Laboratory tests concluded that the wine contains only Sangiovese, as required by the Brunello DOCG^? (Denominazione di Origine Controllata^? e Garantita^?) regulations.
 
The Italian Finance Police, the Guardia di Finanza, seized Antinori's Pian delle Vigne Brunello di Montalcino 2003 in April, along with the 2003 Brunellos of Castelgiocondo (owned by Marchesi de'Frescobaldi), Castello Banfi and Argiano, as part of an investigation launched by Siena public prosecutor Nino Calabrese. The producers were suspected of blending in varieties other than Sangiovese.
 
Piero Antinori, who heads the Tuscan family winery, said that the Pian delle Vigne^? Brunello was subjected to analysis several times before being cleared. "We always knew there was no problem with the wines," said Antinori. "And we are really happy now, after three months of confusion."

» Full Story

In related news, due to the pending closure of one of our competitors, Antinori have approached us with the offer of their agency here in South Africa. Watch this space for details.

Tags: melgab, wine, controversy, brunello, antinori, italian, south-africa, South Africa

Adam Lechmere (decanter.com) writes:

It's official: screwcap^? is the best closure for the vast majority of wines, both red and white.
 
This is the opinion of Decanter magazine's most senior contributors, from Steven Spurrier to Linda Murphy in California and Huon Hooke in Australia, tastings director Christelle Guibert and restaurant critic Brian St Pierre.
 
In an article entitled '50 Reasons to Love Screwcaps^?' in the August issue of the magazine, our wine experts are unequivocal.
 
'Given the choice of the same wine with screwcap or cork^?, I'd choose the screwcap every time,' Sunday Times wine writer Joanna Simon writes.
 
And her sentiments are echoed by Spurrier – 'the Stelvin is one of the best things to have happened to wine in my lifetime'; Hooke – 'for delicate young white wines…the screwcap is the best closure we have'; Charles Metcalfe – 'in short, they deliver your wine from the bottle in the state that the producer intended.'
 
Each critic lists their top five wines under screwcap – and they are by no means all white.

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, cork, closure, screwcap, south-africa, South Africa

Geez, there's no letting up with these stories. At least it's comforting to know that officials are taking no quarter when it comes to maintaining quality standards in production. Kerin O'Keefe (decanter.com) writes:

Italian officials have confiscated 12,000l of Vino^? Nobile di Montepulciano.
 
This comes two months after news broke of alleged grape blending in Brunello di Montalcino, which continues to convulse the denomination.
 
Investigators have reportedly confiscated Vino Nobile from the Vecchia Cantina^? co-operative^? cellar^?, and they are also investigating the Gattavecchi firm^?, whose proprietor Luca Gattavecchi is also the President of the Vino Nobile Consorzio^?.
 
The total amount involved is 120 hectolitres (hl).
 
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere Fiorentino investigators suspect the wines in question have been blended with grapes from other Italian regions, from 2004 to the present.
 
This is strictly forbidden under the laws governing Vino Nobile's production code.
 
Luca Gattavecchi, confirmed his firm is under investigation and said that he is fully cooperating.
 
'We all know that Tuscan wine has recently been put under the microscope. The ongoing investigation is to assure consumers and producers that our products all adhere to the production code.'
 
Vino Nobile di Montelpulciano by law must^? be minimum 70% Sangiovese, with the possible addition of up to 10% of native grape Canaiolo, while the remaining 20% can be any number of varieties cultivated within the Montepulciano growing area including international grapes.
 
'Whenever there are any suspicions at all, it is best to look into the matter to clear it up. Now we have to wait in good faith for the results of the investigation,' Gattavecchi said.

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, controversy, vino nobile, italian, south-africa, South Africa

Just in case^? you were wondering; Matt Kramer (winespectator.com) writes:

You've probably been in this situation yourself. You're the one choosing the wines for a dinner with friends. You look at the menu and perform the usual mental matchups about what goes with what. But then, much more subtly—even furtively—you also do a mental matchup about which wines go with, ahem, the guests.
 
If you're a lover of Italian wines, especially traditional-style^? versions, you might find yourself in this situation more often than most.
 
This subject is not much discussed because it makes you feel like, sound like, or realize that you actually are, a snob. Nevertheless, most people who know their way around wine pay as much attention to the "who's drinking" as to the "which dish."
 
This lesson is often first (painfully) learned at the family Thanksgiving table. You trot out some of the treasures you've been hoarding for that special moment. Big^? mistake. Emergency wards are filled with wine lovers traumatized by watching guests guzzle their prized bottles like elephants at a watering hole.
 
I thought about this when deciding recently which wines to bring to a high-end Italian restaurant. A good host, by definition, wants his or her guests to feel comfortable. Our guests were, thankfully, wine lovers. However, that's not the same as wine savvy. No crime there, of course. But when the time came to reach for Barolo or even Barbera, my hand hovered over those bottles and then, Ouija board-like, moved to red Burgundy and California Pinot Noir.
 
Now, maybe it was timidity on my part. Perhaps I've lost my belief in the redemptive, even transformative, power of fine wine—never mind the grape variety^? or region^?. Surely a traditional Barolo can move not merely the uninitiated but even the unreceptive, especially when served with the right food.
 
I used to think so. Ask any of my long-suffering friends who have been subjected to my evangelical enthusiasm for, say, Gattinara. Or Recioto^? della Valpolicella. Or more bizarrely yet, the caramel-colored, sediment^?-rich delights of Italy's new-wave/old-way whites, fermented with skin contact^?, from Radikon, Massa Vecchia, Castello^? di Lispida or Josko Gravner, among others.
 
But now I find myself hesitating. I've come to the conclusion that really characterful wines—none more so than traditionally made Italian wines—often require a certain receptivity, maybe even a little study. That you can't just spring upon an unsuspecting, not-especially-interested-in-Italian-wines guest the magnificently traditional likes of, say, Giuseppe Rinaldi Barolo or even the easier to understand but still true-to-its-old-school Brunello di Montalcino from Tenuta^? Il Poggione.
 
This flies in the face of today's wine democratization—a belief that anybody should be able to understand, without any fuss, any wine put in front of them. And if they don't, well then, it's the wine's fault, not theirs.
 
This, of course, is why so many Italian reds today are so modernistic, slathered with the creamy^? vanilla^? toastiness of new French oak^??, miscegenated with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and practically hot-waxed to a tannin^?-free smoothness. Do they sell? They sure do. They're easy to understand, familiar-tasting, and—here it comes—you can serve them to anybody.
 
Do these wines represent the best of Italy? For me, they do not. But they are ambassadors of Italian wines, and for that reason alone they're worthwhile. Italian wines at their best—the reds especially—are different from all others. And this difference, which lies at the very root of Italian wine greatness, is not an instantly seductive one.
 
The taste^? of France is rich and smooth^? in the mouth (think foie gras) while that of Italy—classically anyway—is about a slight, mouthwatering bitterness (think Campari). It's easy to see why France's seductive model has become universal, including in Italy. The rigors of traditional Barolo, Brunello, Barbera and Aglianico, among others, are formidable and not immediately come-hither.
 
So that's why I stayed my hand in choosing the traditional Italian reds I've come to love when deciding what to serve my guests. They're not instantly likable (the wines, not the guests). Of course, I could have chosen modern-style Italian reds, wines that I know are made for just this very easygoingness. You can use instant polenta^? these days, too.
 
Maybe I didn't give my guests enough credit. Or maybe—just maybe—it's fair to say that some people just aren't ready for some wines. Is that snobbish? Or is it a fair reality?

» Full Story

... brilliantly written article, which is why I had to reproduce it in its entirety. You understand.

Tags: melgab, wine, choice, taste, italian, south-africa, South Africa

The magistrate of Siena, an appointed judicial authority, has questioned the controls exercised by the consortium of Brunello di Montalcino, which governs the stipulations of how the wine is made in both the vineyard^? and the cellar^?.
 
Authorities are scanning thousands of documents, including winemaker^? notes, harvest and bottling records, Consorzio^? registrations and DOCG^? stamps.
 
If the slightest discrepancy is found, even if subject to interpretation and explanation, the existing stocks of the 2003 vintage^? Brunello, the year in question, will be sequestered from distribution, the company said in a statement.
 
Stocks already on store shelves and restaurant cellars will not be affected.
 
"The situation has quickly become political and threatens the commerce of innumerable small businesses and the pleasure of millions of consumers around the world," Marc^? Goodrich, chief operating officer of Banfi Vintners, a US importer of the wines, said.
 
"The promise of Brunello to the consumer remains valid and unquestioned, but has been caught in crossfire between warring factions in what amounts to a political disgrace."
 
Goodrich claims the majority of Brunello producers are likely to come under scrutiny. This could lead to the sale^? of the 2003 vintage suspended, potentially for several months if not longer.
 
"We will not know what really happened until all the political dust settles and the authorities retreat," he said. "But in the meantime, they have put at risk the commercial, social and governmental reputation of all Italy."

» Full Story (via wine.co.za)

... good thing we've already received our '03 shipment. *phew* Let's hope they sort this out by the time we need to reorder.

Tags: melgab, wine, controversy, brunello, italian, south-africa, South Africa

The strength of Italian wine lies in the large number of its producers rather than in the big^? numbers of just a few large multinational companies. It is these producers – most of whom are very small in size – who represent the force and vitality of the nation’s varied but extremely high-quality viticultural terroirs. The major changes that have taken place in international wine production and trading – for example, the acquisition of brands by large financial/commercial corporations and the setting-up of huge vineyards run according to "industrial" principles in Asia, Latin America and Australia – will not ultimately destroy Italy’s special viti-vinicultural heritage.
 
This is the – highly optimistic - opinion of Angelo Gaja, one of the main producers responsible for saving and re-launching Italian wine in the 1980s.
 
"The Italian wine system consists of 33,000 businessmen and women running wineries that vary in size from large to tiny".
 
Is this extremely high number of producers an important resource or is it a stone round^? the nation’s neck^??
 
"This fragmentation - Gaja underlines – is the result of a historical and socio-economic process that is part and parcel not only of Italy but of Europe as a whole: it’s part of our D.N.A., it makes us what we are. Fragmentation, though, has not prevented Italy from becoming the world’s leading wine-exporting nation, leaving France a very distant second: the result isn’t really that bad at all".
 
"It is amongst the 4 thousand or so small and tiny companies that export regularly that one finds a great many of the wineries which, thanks to the ratings their wines have received from international guides and wine-writers, have had a positive influence on the image and prestige of Italian wine, leading to beneficial effects for the sector as a whole".
 
So what does the future hold for small wineries?
 
"The Italian wine system is extremely well-integrated^?. A capacity for working side by side links together companies of different sizes and with different production philosophies and marketing strategies. The smaller producers will help safeguard individual terroirs. They will welcome wine tourists. They will sell wines in bulk to the bottling firms, whilst maintaining the goal of higher quality. They will succeed in grasping consumers’ imaginations by explaining their wines and their history. They will learn English. They will think of the whole of Europe as their own country and as the market to conquer, and the number of them who have learned how to sell their wines outside of Europe will also continue to grow… The real great wealth of Italian wine lies in its entrepreneurs, whether large, medium-sized, small or tiny. Together with their wineries, they constitute the motor for building demand for Italian wines. The terroir^? and indigenous varieties count for less: these are factors that the producer has the opportunity to underline to a greater or lesser degree. It is logical to imagine, however, that there will be a process of aggregation involving both large and small producers, but if – taking an educated guess – there are still 28-30,000 wine producers in fifteen years’ time , Italy will continue to be the country with the most sizeable treasure house of people who really know the business of wine. And that is my main reason for looking towards the future of Italian wine with great optimism".

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, producers, Angelo Gaja, italian, south-africa, South Africa

Elena di Luigi (decanter.com) writes:

An order of Sardinian nuns is the first convent to practise organic^? viticulture^?? in Italy.
 
The Compagnia delle Figlie Evaristiane grows hardy indigenous varietals^? including Cannonau, Monica and Vermentino on an inhospitable stretch of the west coast of Sardinia.
 
The community focuses its efforts on supporting youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.
 
'We like to think that our vines are like the vegetables in the backyard of the convent,' said Mother Superior Margherita Piludu, 'we've never needed chemical fertilizers or fungicides to grow them. We pursue the same philosophy in viticulture.'

» Full Story

Tags: melgab, wine, sardinia, convent, italian, south-africa, South Africa