Author Archives: larapansera

Way too hot these days! It’s that humidity that gets deep into your bones and you can’t stop sweating any single movement you do.

But I can’t give up on my habits and on pleasure in life. This is why last night I indulged myself in this unique Vermentino from Liguria – Italy.

Liguria is one of Italy’s best kept secrets. Overall the region has very low production volumes, due to the extremely steep and impossible terrain. Everything is done by hand. Everything is super precious. Limited amounts are produced every year.

The family run winery of BIO VIO is located in the town of Albenga and produce wine here through biological organic agriculture.

This Vermentino is super fresh with classic aromatic herb component, as basil,  that makes Liguria famous in the wine world.  Medium-bodied and lushly textured, it is tangy and bright, finishing with a beautiful floral flourish. Absolutely stunning with seafood!

Rainy days call for red wine.

Said, done. Tonight I decided to head to Eataly to have a juicy steak paired with an amazing wine.

This Brunello di Montalcino is one of the jewels of The Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi, one of Italy’s oldest wineries, with a history dating to the 1300s. No other Italian winery can boast the history, prestige and vision of Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi. The family has included medieval knights, bankers, lawyers and patrons of the arts. The Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi is one of the most significant wine producers in Italy, with nine estates—and roughly 2,500 acres—in Tuscany. I simply love this producer, I can’t deny it. But eventually, who doesn’t?

The village of Castelgiocondo overlooks the historical estate of Frescobaldi in Moltalcino, an ancient fortress built in 1100, in defence of the road from the sea to Siena. The Estate is in an ideal terroir for Sangiovese and for the great wines that are made here.

Castelgiocondo is Brunello di Montalcino which is the result of the strictest selection of Sangiovese grapes in the vineyard. It is born like this, after ageing slowly in barriques and large barrels, a wine with great structure, elegant and balanced, with intense perfumes and great finesse.

Ruby red, with warm, mineral notes in the nose, with scents of black fruit followed by walnuts. Full-bodied on the palate, with smooth tannins and a flavoursome finish

This neverending winter calls for red wines. Last night I enjoyed one of the bottles I bought during my last visit in Italy. I fell in love with this wine maker during a getaway in Tuscany some years ago. Lisini is a small reality based in Montalcino ,a classic Tuscan hilltop village 20 miles (30km) south of Siena, but what they produce is huge.

Brunello di Montalcino is one Italy’s most famous and prestigious wines. In Tuscany, its homeland, it shares the top spot with only the highly-prized Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and of course the ubiquitous Chianti

This Brunello has outstanding characterics due to a continuos care of the new plants grown with traditional methods, a careful selection and thinning of the bunches and a careful selection of grapes during the grape harvest.

Quoting the great wine critic Mr Galloni in his 95 points review, Lisini’s 2010 Brunello di Montalcino fleshes out in all directions with gorgeous, expansive richness. The flavors are dark, bold and incisive.

In fact this wine has a slightly ethereal bouquet fragrance with hints of extraordinary elegance, spices, violets and berries, dry taste, but at the same time soft and full harmonied balance

Wonderful to drink or to hold.

Valentine’s day just passed by. It is just an other great excuse I had to open a good bottle of wine and enjoy it with a nice dinner.

I recently discoverd a small wine shop here in Hoboken, where we live, where I lost myself searching for some good and less “famous” producers.

The other day I bought this lovely red wine from the heart of South Tyrol, Alto Adige, north of Italy that won 2 cups Gambero Rosso and many other awards.

Born from a splendid example of cooperative winery, Caldaro, which today boasts nearly 450 members who cultivate  around 300 hectares of vineyards and is owned by the Church, is located in the heartland of wine Caldaro. The mild lake climate and soils rich in limestone chippings – and therefore highly permeable – provide ideal conditions for the production of wines and soft structured.

This 95% Schiava comes from selected vineyards with old vines and south exposition at 230 – 500 meters above sea level. Schiava is a light, fresh wine, but the small addition of Lagrein which Kaltern has decided to do in his “Pfarrhof” brings elegance, texture, softness and a higher fruit ranging from cherry notes to notes of raspberry and strawberry.

This wine is ideal as a full meal or perfect as an aperitif, an accompaniment to appetizers,  lighter meats, charcuterie and mild cheeses.

After spending the last weeks in Italy drinking some amazing italian wine I really wanted to have something different.

What a magnificent surprise I had the other night when I opened this great  champenoise method from New Mexico.

One of the least likely areas to expect wine, New Mexico’s wine potential was tapped when the Gruets, a French family, moved to the state with the intention of making sparkling wine.  The land was inexpensive and the opportunity golden. In 1984, Gilbert Gruet, whose Champagne house, Gruet et Fils had produced fine Champagne in Bethon, France, since 1952, made the decision to plant an experimental vineyard, exclusively planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. His children, winemaker Laurent and daughter Nathalie, then relocated to the great state of New Mexico to begin their American wine making adventure.

This 100% Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs is another example of the surprising complexity available from Gilbert Gruet & family in New Mexico. Lots of bubbles, aromas of intense notes of brioche, followed by green apples, lemon zest, honeysuckle, and tropical fruit. Fresh and soft on the front of the palate with nice lingering acidity on the finish, a strong candidate for the top Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine in America.

Autumn is coming. Days are still warm and long but you can feel it in the air…it’s so nice sitting outside with this fresh breeze in the evening enjoying some excellent red italian wine. And what a wine!

The 2006 Barolo Bussia is one of the finest Barolos I have tasted from Prunotto in a long time.

Prunotto is an ancient producer in Piedmonte with a great tradition of making outstanding Barolo. This is the Bussia, a higher classification than the normal Barolo, from one of the greatest vintages in Piedmonte. The property was purchased by Antinori in the late 1990s and has undergone an considerable upgrade and refurbishment, both vineyard and winery. The result is outstanding wines of great depth, full body, concentration and power which will literally age indefinitely.

An intense garnet red with ruby highlights. Aromas of ripe berry fruit well fused with floral and spicy notes. Intense in flavor with sweet and ample tannins and a long aftertaste. With its structured and full-bodied character, it is an excellent match with meat and game dishes and with cheese.

Last hot days of summer…I took a look into my wine cellar and discovered this wonderful and fresh white wine. I decided to have a cold dinner in the garden…prepare everything in advance and then enjoying the entire dinner sipping this great Vendages Tardives.

As you probably noticed I love Paul Blanck’s wines. I visited a couple of time his Domaine in the southern part of Alsace wine country and have appreciated the quality and prices of wines from this excellent wine producer.

The grapes are picked in an over-ripe state several weeks after the start of harvesting and
the development of “noble rot” (Botrytis Cinerea) dries them out on the vine. The resulting sweet wine is rich and complex, with great ageing potential.

This Pinot Gris Altenbourg VT 2007  has pear at the nose, discrete green notes and some tropical notes. At the palate opened up with orange rind and citrus freshness, pear, good acidity, and some spices.

Today somenthing different from the other posts…

Last evening this amazing bottle I bought some time ago during a trip to Portugal came to an end. This is probably not the best “summer wine” to write you about but it is definitely a masterpiece.

Port is a fortified wine. This means that there is an introduction of some type of distilled spirit to the wine during production

Produced exclusively in the Douro Valley of Northern Portugal, Port wine with its unique characteristics has become a favorite the world over.

Porto Cálem Colheita is from a single 1988 high quality crop and  reveals special characteristics which are developing whilst ageing in the wood casks for a period not less than 8 years. Colheita presents a tawny brown colour, smooth touch in the mouth and a bouquet of vanilla, honey and dried fruits

There are scores of different grape varieties used in the production of port. This wine is more about the production methods used and the fortification with spirit than the nuances that the fruit has to offer.

It’s ideal to go along with cakes and deserts or to be sipped and enjoyed on its own.

It is a common belief that the vast majority of Italian white wines should be ready to drink, young and fresh, even before the next harvest. I’m not only convinced of the contrary but in fact, I think that one or two years are necessary and fundamental to find wine in greater harmony, with deeper parfumes and detailed, fascinating aromas. That’s why today I’m going to introduce you a peculiar white Italian that in these last two or three years have reached a perfect maturity. Italian white wines are able to demonstrate the full value of their respective types.

Cortese is a white grape variety from the southeastern part of Piemonte that is most famous for its role in the crisp, lime-scented wines of Gavi. The variety is known for its high acidity and its ability to retain freshness, even when grown in hot environments.

These vineyards are organically farmed except for 10 hectares that are farmed biodynamically, an even more rigorous method than organic.

Since the vineyard is located in the Langhe hills outside of the Gavi area, the Icardi family has chosen the proprietary name “La Aurora,” which means the dawn. Aged in stainless steel tanks and in bottle for 12 months before release from the winery, the wine is light, dry, crisp, and filled with peach and honeydew flavors  along with lime, almond and light grassy aromas.

Serve chilled with fish, pasta, salads and before a meal as an aperitivo.

I really love alsatian wines. Over the years I’ve been many times in this lovely place.

Travelling through the southern part of Alsace wine country, always my first stop is the impossibly pretty village of Kinetzheim, to visit Domaine Paul Blanck.

I have always appreciated the quality and prices of wines from this excellent wine producer.

Sylvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany. It is somewhat neutral but when grown on better terroirs and when yields are left low enough, it can be a flavorful aperitif wine. It shows a lot of self-confidence simply by being itself. Blunt, strong and good.

Fresh and clean, good acidity, green fruit, earth.

Perfect with simple dishes: salad, grilled tuna, vegetable or bacon quiche