You know, the Italians can be pretty logical when it comes to naming some of their wines. Really, all an English speaker needs to translate is d’ or del—it means “from, or, of”—and you can get this stuff down. For instance, Aglianico del Vulture is red wine. Made from the grape Aglianico. In the region of, you guessed it, Vulture.

Though some Italian wines don’t all follow this nice concise naming rule, one that does is Barbera di Asti. Now that’s a name. Barbera is the third most planted red grape in the nation of Italy. Think about that. Italy is perennially in the top three wine producing countries in the world. And there are only two red grapes that are more popular than Barbera. Yet you’ve never had a single bottle of Barbera? Well, Barbera d’Asti is the place to start.

Barbera d’Asti is a DOC as well as a DOCG since 2008. Barbera d’Asti is some good juice. And that’s a guarantee from the Italian government! Barbera is a red grape that calls northwest Italy its home. Barbera is planted across the nation of Italy, and the world, but the heartland of Barbera is the Asti region of Italy.

So here’s the best part about Barbera d’Asti—it’s fun to drink. It’s fun say. It’s fun to know about a semi-obscure varietal that more people should know about. It’s fun to flirt with Italians.

Barbera is a medium bodied red wine, similar in structure to a Tempranillo or a light-style Zinfandel. Barbera has a terrific acid and tannic load. Some of these wines can age as beautifully as a Barolo, but others are ready to go now. The freshest of wines are display a nose of sweet berries and crushed roses. They say Italians have one of the highest percentages of red-heads. Get to know this Italian red head.

International Wine, Italian Wine Barbera d'Asti, Italian Wine, Red Wine

The region and the wines of Alsace are just a little different from the rest of France. The wine must be bottled in the signature flûtes, which are tall and thin. The wines are made from grapes foreign to the rest of France—Riesling and Gewürztraminer. Also, they put the name of the grape on the wine bottle. That may not sound like a monumental practice, but for French wine, it is.

Tall bottles, Riesling, name on the label…hmm, those all sound like German wine ideas… Well, they are. That shouldn’t be too surprising given that Alsace has been governed by intermittently by Germany and France in recent history. These days, the population speaks French, but more than a third still speak Alsatian, a German-based tongue.

The region lies in the northeast of France, right on the border with Germany. The wine producing are in the region lies on a narrow strip that runs north and south between the Vosges mountains to the West and the Rhine river to the east. The long strip of grape growers lies in the rain shadow of those Vosges Mountains, this gives the region a rather dry and sunny climate. If you can ever make it this neck of the woods, the Wine Route of Alsace is a 100 miles of wineries in beautiful country that will surely make a few happy days.

Alsace produces several styles of wines from a mixture of grapes. The dominant grape is Riesling, followed by Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris. A few kinds of Muscat are also planted, but not in a great amount. The wines of Alsace have a range of sugar levels. Fully dry wines are common, especially Rieslings, but it’s up to the individual producer to determine how much residual sugar to leave in. This practice can be a little confusing for the wine drinker because the bottles aren’t labeled as to whether they are dry or off dry. Read reviews online or ask the restaurant staff if you’re ordering out and you should be able to get what you want.

And if the sweet stuff is what you’re after, Alsace has you covered. Semi-sweet Alsatian wines are labeled as Vendage Tardive, or VT for short, which means late harvest. These wines can be made from any of the grapes and the label will say Vendage Tardive. They’re similar to a German Auslese in sugar level. Finally there is the Selecion de Grains Nobles. This is wine made for grapes affected with noble rot (botrytis). This wine is very sweet and is comparable to a Sauternes or a Beerenauslese. These wines can again be made from any grape and will be labeled as Selecion de Grains Nobles.

Dessert Wine, Fine Wine, French Wine, International Wine, Riesling, White Wine Alsace, France, Riesling, White Wine

There’s no better way to get to know a wine than to go to its source. Standing in a vineyard, somehow the look of the land, the feel of the air, the quality of the sun, the smell in the air—everything—can make the wine make sense to you like never before.

You’ll also be able to eat like the natives, which means drinking the wine with the food it grew up around, a deliciously enlightening experience. And you’ll be able to taste all sorts of wines that never leave the regions, either because they are so dear to the locals or there just aren’t enough of them to go around.

Many companies specialize in wine and food tours. These tours can be wonderful introductions to a place, as knowledgeable guides can offer extra insight into a region and its wines, and, often, entre to places you wouldn’t be able to visit on your own. You can just as well take a tour on your own, though. Often, the unedited tour is more exciting and memorable.

When travel isn’t in the budget, read. Read everything about wine you can get your hands on. Read wine novels, like Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on a Wine Route, or Burton Anderson’s Italian Table, where you can get a feel for not just the mechanics of the wine, but for the people who make it, the hue of the countryside, and the taste of the food. Primers like the one you’re holding are only jump-off points; now it’s time to take the wine and appreciate in the way it was meant to be used: with friends and with food. Enjoy.

Uncategorized traveling to wine, wine country, wine travel, wine trip, wine trips

Bought all your Christmas gifts?
Don't wait any longer!

If you've been putting off your Christmas shopping, it's time to get it done. Christmas will be here soon. You probably have a few people on your list that are hard to please. One gift they'll always appreciate is the gift of wine. We figured the people last on your list are the pickiest, so this month we've featured a top end wine club that they'll have to love!

Featured Wine Club: Cellars Ultra Premium

The Ultra Premium Cellars club is considered the “ultimate” due to its monthly selections of the most “highly rated” and “ultra premium” vintages available. This club is also limited in enrollment and requires air delivery on each monthly selection. The wines offered will be ready for enjoyment or ideal for aging in a private cellar and will generally include stronger reds, though an occasional white will appear.

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Christmas is approaching
Don't leave your shopping to the last minute!

Many of us leave our Christmas shopping to the last minute. And every year we tell ourselves, next year I'm going to do this earlier. Well this is the year to do it! Everyone loves wine, so it's a gift that works for any friend or family member. For Christmas we're bringing you a great deal on a tried and true wine club.

Featured Wine Club: Cellars Premium

The Premium Club selection is billed as “perfect for the wine novice”, and provides wines from around the world, and those not available in a standard wine or liquor shop. Countries include Argentina and Chile, Australia, France and Italy, as well as California wines, among others. The varietals will include known, and lesser known types, including Shiraz and Merlot as well as Torrontes and Tempranillo. Each month a member chooses either two reds or a red and a white.

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If you live in wine country, you know that every summer and fall brings a rash of wine festivals. Wine festivals aren’t exclusive to wine-country settings, though—many non-wine places will put on wine festivals to bring a sunny bit of wine country to an otherwise empty weekend. Food and wine magazines are a popular source of these several-day wine events; so are museums, which often use them to raise funds.

Many of the non-wine-country events are expensive, as it takes money to get wines and winemakers out there, and there’s always a cause that the money is going to, whether charity or business. However, festivals can be as informative as they are fun, if you focus amid all the socializing. With winemakers on hand, there are plenty of people to whom you can ask wine questions, and the higher tariff to get in promises some pretty special bottles.

A slim array of some wine festivals around the United States:

• Aspen, Colorado: Food & Wine Magazine Classic at Aspen
• Austin, Texas: Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival
• Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Wine Festival
• Hawaii: Kapalua Wine & Food Festival
• Kansas City, Kansas: Kansas City Festival of Wines
• Miami, Florida: South Beach Wine & Food Festival
• Orlando, Florida: Epcot International Food & Wine Festival
• Paso Robles, California: Hospice du Rhone
• San Francisco, California: Annual ZAP Zinfandel Festival
• Santa Fe, New Mexico: Santa Fe Wine & Chile Festival

Wine festivals in wine country tend to be as much for the locals as they are for visitors, and so they can be much lower key. They offer an advantage in that they put you right in wine country, where you can see, smell, and sometimes even taste the grapes that go into the wines.

Uncategorized wine festival, wine festivals