I thought I'd start a thread to discuss the upcoming Wine Expo (even though, unfortunately, I will be out of town). Anon has pointed out that there seems to be a focus on Italy, which is welcome - if I could only drink wine from one country, it would certainly be Italy, yet the current ANBL offerings are a bit slim.
Personally, I am generally not much of a fan of straight Sangiovese wines, including Brunello as well as Chianti. (Although I did once have a Chianti Classico that got a 94 from WS, and it truly was fantastic and excellent value at $42). We vacationed once in Tuscany and even there I thought the Brunellos were over-priced - that makes me think I'm just not a fan of the style.
I tend to like what the Italians do with international grapes, and I'm also a fan of their indigenous grapes. If nothing else, the variety is interesting. I notice that there is at least one straight Sagrantino, a grape that I have never had before. Oz Clarke's guide makes it sound very interesting. He says it was traditionally "austerely tannic, but better vinification has helped round out the fruit, and it is clear that this is a grape with a good deal of personality."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
One of the Grand Tastings is devoted to Italy and another to Chile. Should be interesting! Little something for everyone :)
ReplyDeleteI've never really understood the differences in the grand tastings being, like this year, Chile and then Italy. If I remember correctly, one year we had a ladies night v. a gent's night. A whole lot of marketing crap if you ask me. Two years ago, I went the Friday night and the Saturday night and didn't notice anything different. Unless someone corrects me, the wines are all the same.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure the wines are the same. From what I can tell, the difference is just marketing - on the Italian night, booths serving Italian wine will have some kind of banner saying so. But still, I guess it does say that they have enought Chilean and Italian wines at the show that it is worthwhile featuring them.
ReplyDeleteHi...
ReplyDeleteAll wines are the same for each of the four Grand Tasting sessions. It's just that as organizers, we wanted to highlight the significant presence of both Italy and Chile. For a complete wine list, please visit http://wineexpo.ca/winelist.htm The prices will be posted as well as soon as they are released by the ANBL.
Should be a great time....
Bill Vance
Chairman
2009 World Wine & Food Expo
Speaking of chile and grand tastings...What happened to Aresti? They have disappeared from the wine list. There are always one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteHello Erin,
ReplyDeleteThe list that I printed out in late September had 6 different offerings from Aresti. Equilibrio Cabernet, Equilibrio Carmenere. Equilibrio Chardonnay, Equilibrio Merlot, Equilibrio Sauvignon Blanc and a Late Harvest Gewurztraminer. Funny, but when I saw your posting I went back to the list for the wine expo and didn't see any Aresti product. I hope nothing happened to the gentlemen that's always at the wine show from Aresti. I think his name is Vincente. Had a long chat with him two years ago about a Meritage blend that he had brought over and he was very interesting (and that wine was great - I bought two cases and they didn't last long). Nice guy. Maybe Bill Vance has the answer as I believe he's close to the family. BTW Bill, even though I'm not crazy about the marketing aspects, I am a big fan of the festival and I think you do a wonderful job. So kudo's to you and your team. I actually wouldn't mind getting involved.
Hi...Aresti was hoping to have the North American launch of their new Bio/Organic wines. It sounded pretty neat...recycled paper labels, lighter glass in the bottles, etc. However, they weren't able to get their white wine completed on time and so had to delay everything. Hopefully next year....
ReplyDeleteBill
Hey! I am helping out at the Select Wine table this weekend. Fri/Fri night; Sat/Sat night! Hope to see some of you bloggers there! We have a massive portfolio for this show!
ReplyDelete