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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2010
Welcome to Italy!
After arriving at Pisa Airport we loaded our belongings into our leased Peugeot diesel wagon and set off for the home we have rented for the next eight months. My wife, Erica and our son had already been here two months before they returned for three weeks for family business matters. Twenty minutes south east of Florence we pull off the A1 and head for our little hill top town of Bisticci. The steep rugged road tests the wagon and we finally reach our destination, unload the burden of our bulky luggage and started a fire in the wood stove. After a brief attempt to instruct my son on the proper fire building method our fire was lit and warmth began to emanate the room. A quick tour of the place, a deep sigh of relief, an inventory of our gear and we were ready to relax.
The ‘gear’ I speak of consists of several pieces of rolling luggage, a few well traveled backpacks and a case of thumbprint cellars wine. We were again successful bringing a properly packed shipping box of wine along this time. With three of us and a four bottle allotment each we had little trouble strolling out of the terminal. No quiz “what’s-a-in-a-the-box?” no lecture “next time-a you bring a little”, no worries!
I opened our first of many wines to be enjoyed during this adventure abroad. All the way from Healdsburg, CA thumbprint cellars 2008 zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Ramazzotti Vineyard. Believe me after two days of travel and only about 6 hours of sleep we deserve this! Dark purple hue, briary fruit aromas and finally bold blackberry flavors escaped the glass and warmed my soul. This is the exact moment I imagined why I would bother bringing my own wine to Italy. The small family store probably sells inexpensive vini rossi but this was a reward!
Sleep came fast but not as abundant as the powerful fruit in the ’08 zin. We woke the next day – my first full day in Bisticci and readied ourselves for adventure. The sky was swollen with rain and after a brief trip into town we nestled in front of the fire just before the hail storm hit. A cozy retreat, a little more sleep during siesta and we were ready to explore a bit more. We found a small wine shop in Filini and purchased two bottles of Italian vino; una bianci, una rossi. The rossi intrigued me because it was a reasonably priced primitive, or zinfandel from 2007 vintage. We approached the counter to pay and I ask, “parle Englese?” As she waves her hand to mean, “not much you crazy American” I ask her anyway, “vini bianci, viognier?” and she refers me to her partner who brings me to the whites. He shows me two and explains, “this one centro percentro viognier.” Although it reads only ‘bianco’ on the bottle we take it anyway. It has no foil around the top only a small paper cork top, a clear plastic label with a gold ring of a bottle bottom stain and a fair price. 2007 acquadoro bianco, maremma toscana, i.g.t. – all lower cased just like thumbprint cellars. Hmmmm!? The sweet nose Erica discovered immediately gave way to an off dry mouthfeel. We didn’t serve this very cold so we could experience the complexity much more. Unfortunately, it was not very complex – at any temperature. This vini bianci lacks viognier veriatal character. A pale hint of pear was the only effect. The sweet mouthfeel rolled into a sweet finish. No honeysuckle, apricot nose; not a hint of nectarine or peach; no layering of spice for added complexity. My guess is this would rate about 80 points out of 100. Fortunately, I brought a bottle of each of my own 2009 viogniers that I’ll open at ‘the right time’. So I’ll talk about them then. Tomorrow, maybe the primitive?! Ciao!
Scott