Meet the Mansengs

At long last I have joined a tasting group! It is very exciting to be able to meet and share wine with like minded individuals, even though they are all preparing to take their WSET level 3 and I have never taken a WSET course before. No matter our first meeting was an overall success. We focused on Bordeaux and Southwest France which prompted me to bring something from Jurancon. It was a dry white wine composed of petit and gros manseng. This was the last wine we tasted and it caused everyone to ooo and ahh. The color was a rich golden hue with heady aromas of butterscotch, dried apricots, and caramel. The palate exhibited screaming acidity with the rich lushness dried apricots and honey. I could understand right away how these grapes are capable of producing long lived dry and sweet wines. According to Wine Grapes the two grapes are closely related and most likely offshoots of the savagnin grape. Gros manseng is typically used for dry white wines whereas petit manseng is favored for the sweet wines. Both varietals have a natural resistance to botrytis allowing for the bunches to stay on the vine late in the harvest. The sweet wines of the region are made through a method called passerillage, which is the process of pinching the vine stems to cut off circulation making it possible for the grapes to stay on the vine for a long time and dehydrate further. Sometimes the grapes aren't harvested until as late as November or December. I look forward to trying one of these sweet late harvest wines in the near future.

The dry wine that I tasted:

*We did the entire WSET tasting grid which is a bit weird for me so I abbreviated my note.*

2007 Lapeyre Jurancon sec

Medium plus aromas of honey, butterscotch, caramel, dried apricots, grapefruit

Dry
Medium plus acidity and alcohol
Medium body
Lemon pith, dried apricots, creamy

Falanghina and Greco di Tufo: 2 grapes worth getting to know

As I continue my research on the region of Campania, I can't help but fall in love with these indigenous whites. Unique, distinctive, absolutely delicious!

Falanghina is an ancient varietal found exclusively in Campania. It is cultivated near the shores of Naples making it a natural pairing for the bounty of seafood dishes found in the area. Another interesting fact is that Campania is known for its farms and livestock, particularly cattle and buffalo. Fresh cheeses, like mozzarella, are widely produced. Mozzarella di Bufala (mozzarella made from buffalo milk) is especially prized. While researching falanghina I learned that it is often paired with this cheese so I decided to give it a try. Finding the cheese proved a bit more difficult than I imagined but after 2 days and 3 stores I was successful.


2012 Taburno Falanghina del Sannio
Aromas of peach, melon, and citrus zest. Fruit forward on the palate with a finish of wet pebbles. The peach and citrus really shine and pop in this wine.


2012 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina
Apricot/stone fruit aroma, tropical fruit
Slightly honeyed 
Grapefruit, orange blossom 
High tart acid...like sour candy
Tangerines and grapefruit
Jasmine
Reminds me of chewing on sweet tarts

Both wines are from the Sannio DOC, a hilly region north of Naples near the regions of Avellino and Benevento.

I was so excited to find actual Mozzarella di Bufala from Campania...who needs to travel anyway? The cheese is very soft, fresh, and mild. Imagine a creamier, more intensely milky mozzarella. I cut it into rounds, drizzled with olive oil and served on crisp bread to enjoy with my falanghina. I have to say the pairing was not to my taste. The delicate cheese is overwhelmed by the zesty fruitiness of the falanghina. Even so it was truly a transporting experience.

Now we come to Greco di Tufo. First off the varietal is technically just greco; Tufo is the town near where the grapes are grown. The word tufo also refers to the soil type in the area which is called tuff. Tuff is formed with volcanic ash that over time becomes a sort of rock. This gives you an idea of the crumbly, mineral-rich soil the greco is growing in. The name greco is thought to be derived from its possible Greek heritage. The grape is found in other regions and there are other grapes, not genetically linked, also called greco. I can only speak for the greco di tufo from Campania that I bought the other day to take for a night out with friends. I knew I made the right choice when my friends were greedily hoarding the bottle at the dinner party.

The grape is super versatile and I found that it complemented the simple roasted chicken and potatoes my friend's family had prepared, but I could imagine having it with grilled shrimp or semi-soft cheeses.

Steely yet floral, the timid bouquet betrays the expressive palate. Citrus, honeysuckle, and slate with a bracing acidity.

Do you have a favorite wine from Campania? I think you should!

Friday night in Campania

This week my attention has been drawn to Italy's "fertile countryside" aka Campania. The region earned it's name due to it's vigorous agricultural output. The area grows about 50% of Italy's nuts as well as a leading amount of tomatoes and olives. Mozzarella cheese is made extensively throughout the region as evidenced by one of the most celebrated dishes, pizza Margherita. Who doesn't love pizza? But that is not the dish I chose to prepare to taste the region. I chose a dish with a more colorful background: spaghetti alla puttanesca. Puttana literally means "whore" in Italian and the magical aroma of this dish was what these ladies of the night used to lure their customers. The spaghetti is tossed with a salty slurry of chopped garlic, capers, olives, and anchovies. Indeed, a dish worth whoring yourself for!

Ingredients for the puttanesca including the wine I paired it with

Now on to the wine: 2012 La Sibilla Campi Flegrei Piedirosso. I love that the name of this varietal translates to "red feet". These "red feet" produce deliciously food friendly wines with unique character. The varietal is native to the region. I found a pronounced smoky tobacco note balanced by soft fruity plum tones. On the palate there is also plenty of dried red fruit and beef jerky. This smoky lushness went perfectly with the garlicky, briny kick of the puttanesca. Even as the sauce was simmering on the stove I knew this pairing was a winner. 

My puttanesca

Certification???

Well hello! I know it has been forever but there has been a subject nagging me somewhat recently that I feel merits a post. The subject is wine knowledge certification. Let me start at the beginning and how I got into wine. Ever since I can remember I have loved food and cooking. My grandmother gave me a picture showing me stirring a pot at the tender age of 4. While other kids were watching cartoons, I was watching cooking shows on PBS. I was convinced (as was pretty much everyone who knew me) that I would become a chef. But something happened along the way. My parents developed a deeper interest in wine and started taking my brothers and I along on wine tasting trips to Napa. I was enthralled by the landscape. I couldn't imagine a setting more beautiful or magical. The vines wound their way around my heart and I was convinced that I had to learn more. I was only 16 so this would have to wait a few years. I mulled over several options; mostly winemaking. But around the time I turned 23 not much had changed. I hadn't pursued either of my great loves and was simply grinding it out at various jobs; pretty much choosing the most lucrative position regardless of whether or not I liked it or whether it fit within my master plan. I remember one night after partying with one of my best friends he advised me to stop wasting my time and go for it. He said, "you should be a sommelier." Now its not like I grew up surrounded by service professionals, my mother is an architect and my step-father is an engineer. The moment the suggestion came out of his mouth it was like gospel to me. I became instantly convinced that he was right and that I indeed needed to become a sommelier. But how? I had no restaurant experience but I just had this feeling that I would be good at it. Surprisingly no one wants to hire someone who has a hunch they will be good at something. Frustration, again. One of my dear friends, who is sadly no longer with us, came to the rescue. He mentioned knowing a sommelier at a prominent restaurant in San Francisco and that he was eager to set up a meeting. Not only did we meet but I had the pleasure of shadowing him one night during dinner service. He gave me two bits of advice: get a restaurant job and start out with the Introductory Course through the Court of Master Sommeliers. The next day I went and bought The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia and signed up for the next Introductory course offered in San Francisco. It was just my luck that I caught a cold before the 2-day course but I would not be deterred. I was hooked to every word as the Master Sommelier's spoke and imparted their wisdom upon us eager newbies. At that moment I thought I want to go the whole way...all the way to Master level. That would mean, first and foremost, passing the Intro level then Certified, Advanced, and being invited for Master. Well I did pass the Intro level and I felt so tied to my conviction. I studied, read, drank with purpose. I even quit my job, pursuing a position in the hospitality industry. The following year I signed up for the Certified exam in San Francisco. Now what I am about to say is something that until recently I couldn't even talk about without feeling sick to my stomach: I failed. The saddest part is that even before the announcement I knew it. The service portion killed me. I never worked truly as a server so when the questions about cocktails started flying I choked. I realized how out of my depth I was. I felt so crushed; after all this was supposed to be my birthday gift to myself since the exam cost $325. All I can remember is my feeling on the way home. I cried and cried and cursed myself for being so stupid. I vowed not to let it beat me and that I would retake as soon as possible.

Fast forward 2 years and I am still not a Certified Sommelier. Funny thing is that now I don't know if I even want to be. Don't get me wrong I still love wine. I think about it all the time. In fact, I study now more than ever. But something inside me has changed or maybe I just remembered what brought me to wine in the first place: the love of discovery. Each bottle opened is like a mini voyage. The enjoyment of a bottle of wine with my husband or friends always warms my heart. I think about these places I may have never been to and what it must be like there. I get to time travel as well, regretfully not much due to my limited budget. Wine is much more than a beverage and I am thankful for the experiences I get to have with it.

This all brings me back to my title question: why certification? Do I need to prove to the world that I can memorize all the grand crus in Burgundy? I can be a competitive person and the fact that I failed this test seemed unfathomable to me at first. Now when I think about it I realize how much my experience with wine is not an academic one and that's ok. Many people advocate continuing down the path of higher certifications to gain more clout in the workplace and make more money. A lot of people just love the build-up for a test and there is nothing wrong with that. My biggest takeaway from this argument is that there are many paths and mine is not one that involves pins or certificates. I study and drink because I like it and I don't need to be able to identify wines blind when there is so much more to be gained from enjoying them within their context.