Pinot Grigio delle Venezie DiFlora 2006 IGT Whole Foods – Great everyday white table wine

The dollar falls resulting in higher prices for European goods. My favorite wines are caught up in this mess. Most domestic wines do not do it for me and I do not want to give up my bottle of wine at the dinner table. Whenever wine is missing it just seems wrong. The more famous Italian white wines available in our local market are too “pushed”. The acidity is too high or they tend to have an underlying sweet base. I like my Pinot Grigio dry and clean. As I have seen MezzaCorona slide higher I have been looking for a substitution. Raffaella and I were shopping at our local Whole Foods and we had a pleasant surprise.

A Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, private lable, was sitting anonymously in the cooled wine section. It was $10 for a 1.5 liter bottle. DiFlora, a name that we had never heard of but if you do not try new things you will not find that great value of an unknown product. Once everyone knows about it invariably the price will rise. I bought two bottles. Raffaella prepared Risotto with Asparagus and Scampi. This would be the perfect chance to try this wine.

DiFlora Pinot Grigio delle Venezie 2006 IGT, a Whole Foods private lable, is a clean, dry Pinot Grigio. It has a mild bouquet of peaches and mature pears. On the palate this wine tends toward mature yellow peaches and has a clean finish. Amazingly the acidity found in most low cost Pinot Grigio is missing. There is just enough bite to clean the palate. I also have what I call the morning after test. Many wines are hard to digest. You can still taste the worst parts of the wine the morning after or your head is in a slight state of confusion. My friend, John the Baptist of Italian wines, says I may have an intolerance of complex sugars found in many “forced” wines. No matter what the reason my morning after test tells me whether or not a wine is produced by traditional or contemporary methods.

This is a great wine for the price. It is the perfect solution both as an aperitif and with light meals. The alcohol content clocks in at 12% so be careful when drinking this chilled wine on warm summer nights. This wine goes down so smooth that you may not realize when you have had too much to drink.

Tags: Pinot Grigio Whole Foods White Wine Italian Wine Veneto Sommelier Food and Wine Travel Italy

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Passion for Life – Passion in Wine

Recently Raffaella and I, along with a friend, had the opportunity to participate in the pre-opening presentation of a new Central Market. Central Market is a homegrown version of Whole Foods. Each has their strengths. We shop Whole Foods for meat and Central Market for Cheese and wine. Both stores have fresh fruit and vegetables, attempting to source locally, where possible. The presentation was done very well. It is most likely apparent that I strongly support any attempt to improve the quality of food and to bring the production of our food sources back to a local level.

As we walked through the store, danced to the Jazz band and marveled at the mimes, we met some interesting people. People passionate about their life. One such gentleman, a computer software salesman, had just started a small winery in Oregon. As we talked and he expressed his dream to create something of value, I told him of a good friend, a powerful investment banker, who, after 9/11, left his investment career and started a winery in Maryland. He felt life meant more than just accumulating numbers in a bank account. He and his family wanted more. His winery is successful. He produces a quality wine sold only in local restaurants.

This gentleman asked me what I thought of his idea. I tried to express what I had learned from the family producers in Italy. I encouraged him not to try to compete with the Gallo or Yellow Tail type producers. Their model will always be the McDonald’s concept. The same thing every year, lower the quality to produce consistency at a cheap price. A newcomer cannot compete in this market.

Wine is a combination of good land, a good growing season, knowledge, and a tremendous passion. I suggested he forget the industrial production methods, risk the wine clouding a bit, take more time, and always work for the best quality he can produce. In this way he acquire a following, even in the years when the weather is not favorable. Most importantly he has to love what he is doing. Each harvest is a new child to be nurtured, followed with fatherly attention, and loved for its natural characteristics.

This morning Italian Wine Guy wrote about a couple of passionate winemakers from Veneto. Without knowing them personally I can see their passion in the photographs, I understand their way of life and what makes them tick. They are the artisans, the masters. They are not the most profitable of wineries, nor the most famous, but they, or should I say their grandchildren, will be there, producing quality wines, long after the Yellow Tail and Gallo have been forgotten.

Quality of life is about balance. Good food, good wine and good friends are what make us happy. They are our memories, the things we hold on to in difficult times. Quality of life is passion for who you are and what you do. Good wine, which cannot be rated on some arbitrary wine spectator scale, is a compliment to a balanced life. Are you doing what you are passionate about?


Tags: Whole Foods Food and Wine Central Market US Wineries Quality Foods Wine Travel Italy

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