This week, it’s all about one grape: Primitivo. Primitivo is quickly becoming the next grape of choice. This is a grape with very enjoyable qualities, affordability, and a crowd-pleasing palate. Typically one will find it to be a deep ruby-colored wine that’s rich and concentrated with flavors of zesty cherry, clove, wild blackberry, raspberry and spice. As for affordability, there are solid Primitivo choices out there in the price range of $10 to $20. You can certainly spend more on a wine to cellar, but the everyday-priced Primitivo can be a gratifying experience in and of itself. And there’s something you should know: this year at VinItaly, a wine from Puglia took top honors as the best wine of the year in Italy; it was made from 100% Primitivo. Read the rest of this entry »

This week instead of focusing on a region, grape, or producer, we decided to follow our stomachs. Let’s say it’s a Wednesday night and you don’t feel like going out but you want a good hot meal, and a little vino would really help put the day behind you and allow for relaxation. What to make and what wine to pour are the questions. Try boiling some pasta; while it’s still hot, shave liberal amounts of pecorino cheese over the top, season with cracked black pepper, and finish it off with a good olive oil. This is a quick, simple, and delicious dish that might take you 10 minutes to make. Now pour yourself a glass of red, and you’re set for the evening (try a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo or a Rosso Toscana). Read the rest of this entry »

Institut Agricole Regional (I.A.R.) was started over 50 years ago and was set up as a two year program for locals to learn about the land. It is now a school offering a five year program with viticulture, agronomy (encompassing work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science), and pomology(a science mainly focused on the development, cultivation and physiological studies of stone fruit trees). While all of the pursuits of I.A.R. are noble and important, we are going to focus on the viticulture and wine production of this agricultural marvel. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this year (in February), I was lucky enough to get to travel with one of our favorite importers. During our marathon of travel, we set out all over Italy visiting winemakers, exploring vineyards, checking out off-the-beaten-path artisans, and generally eating and drinking our way through the country. One of my favorite stops along the way was in Piedmont: the commune of Costigliole d’Asti in the heart of the “Barbera d’Asti” appellation at Cascina Roera. Read the rest of this entry »

The primary focus at Panzano is sharing our favorite Italian wines with you and we have a paramount rule: we only drink good wine. Honoring our mantra, we feel it is important not to discriminate and offer wines to you that are good even if they aren’t Italian: Enter the French. France is where most people begin their lifelong love affair with wine as there is something for even the most discriminating palate. Read the rest of this entry »

So what do you do if you are a wine maker producing wines of high quality in Chianti or Tuscany but no one recognizes your wines as being important or valuable? Well, first you keep producing great wine and then wait for someone to write about it and coin a new class or style of wine. Second, that tag needs to be memorable. Last of all, you’d need to back it up year after year by producing better and better wines, and then you’re all set. Sounds easy, but it took nearly 20 years for it to catch on. Enter the “Super Tuscan”.

The term “Super Tuscan” was coined in the late seventies to give credence to the high quality wines being produced outside the lines of the traditional and protected guidelines of wine made in Tuscany. Read the rest of this entry »

It has been over a year since we have featured the wines of Elena Walch at Panzano. Since the wines have been in short supply over the past months, it has been difficult to count on having enough of them on hand for a tasting. But it looks like the dust from the supply issue has settled and now it’s time for the encore.

The wines of Elena Walch offer beautifully-structured wines with great balance and depth. If you are a fan of Loire Valley or consider yourself a wine snob of sorts, the offerings from Elena Walch promise to be a new favorite discovery. We feel the current releases of the Pinot Bianco and the Gewurztraminer are a stronger vintage and are better layered with more intense flavors and aromatics than the prior bottlings. Elena Walch’s wines are adept at pairing with almost any seafood dish or any of the in-season veggies now available at your farmer’s market.

The Elena Walch Winery is perfectly situated in the heart of the Alto Adige winegrowing country. The climate at this estate is exceptionally mild which makes for ideal growing conditions. The limestone soils on this land are rather poor, but this actually stimulates the growth and maturation of the vine. Although the climate and growing conditions are ideal for cultivating vineyards, it takes a true artisan to craft wines of this character. Recently the wines of Elena Walch have scooped some of Italy’s highest awards including the much coveted “Three Glasses” from Italy’s most influential wine guide, Gambero Rosso, for three years in a row.

On the table both Friday and Saturday this week will be the 2007 Elena Walch Pinot Bianco ($20) a concentrated, rich and almost juicy wine with excellent minerality and a long finish of white flesh fruits; the 2008 Elena Walch Gewurztraminer ($22) a wine with enormous appeal, multi-layered and rich in aromatic nuances; and a wine from Elena’s husband the 2007 Wilhelm Walch Prendo Pinot Noir ($17) a very good dark fruit-forward wine with nice light tannins and acidity. We strongly encourage making time for this tasting, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Cheers!

Fred Mullins

Tenuta Migliavacca

From the Piedmont, this producer was the first biodynamic one in the region dating back to 1964. This was way ahead of the organic movement and certainly eons before it was cool to be sustainable. But that is the way it has always been done at Migliavacca. From raising their own cattle to composting everything in sight, this self sustaining winery is the real deal. All of this hard work is overseen by the family with the Patriarch Francesco leading the way. Francesco’s no nonsense, back to basics work ethic generates wines that taste like the old world Piemonte. Classic, full-on minerality, high acidity and light finessed bodied wines with floral and barnyard aromatics give all of his bottlings unique character, grace and importance all while being very easy to drink, and every bottle is less than $20. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend we are offering two different tastings in order to satisfy your need for diversity. On Friday, Jeff Slavin (owner of Hangtime Wine), will be at the table tasting one of his favorite styles of wine; Riesling. We have to warn you that assuming all Rieslings are sweet would be wrong.

Instead, the array of Rieslings produced are quite diverse and come in all shapes and sizes from bone dry to intensely tart, sweet, and delicious. To put it mildly, Jeff is “passionate” about German wines, and we could hardly think of a better ambassador to hold a tasting of our Rieslings.

There will be more than two bottles of Riesling tasted, and here are a couple that anyone can get excited about: the 2008 Mosel “Old World” Riesling Qualitatswein ($18) is a ripe and juicy white wine loaded with fresh pears and apples and a creamy lush palate that finishes with crisp notes of tangerines. The other featured Mosel bottling is the 2006 Cardinal Cusanus B.B. Troken Riesling which is a rare find of very high quality wine that is ridiculously affordable at $19 a bottle. The ‘06 Cardinal is pleasing to the palate and loaded with flavors of candied citrus, golden raisins, cantaloupe, and vibrant acidity. As for food pairings, there is no need to look any further than your most reliable source for a good lobster roll.

Moving on and into the heartland of Italy for Saturday’s tasting we will feature the wines of Le Fornaci located in San Giminagno, Tuscany. Le Fornaci makes wines of tradition and quality. The three bottles to be uncorked are: the 2009 Le Fornaci Vernaccia San Gimignano ($17), the 2007 Le Fornaci Colli Senesi Chianti ($18), and the 2003 Le Fornaci Vin Santo San Gimignano ($42). The vernaccia is a medium weight white with tones of sage and white pepper balanced out by the subtle tastes of toasted almonds, and quince; the Chianti is classically-styled with good tobacco tannins, black pepper, and flavors of bing cherries; lastly, the Vin Santo is memorable with notes of Acacia honey, spice and figs. That should be enough to whet your appetite. For the Saturday tasting, John Bailey of Masciarelli Wine Company will be on hand to pour and discuss the wines of Le Fornaci. John brought these wines to our attention last October, and they were well received. We quickly sold through our first order, and our second shipment didn’t hang around for long either. We have been waiting since January to get these wines back on our shelves, so if you are a fan of Tuscan wines, don’t miss out on this tasting. We look forward to seeing you at the tasting table this weekend.

Cheers!

Fred Mullins