Well, I did it. I changed to the new blogger layout. Yes, it is still the same me. Nothing changed there. But after some very useful suggestions and hints from my dear friend Katherine Andes, I decided it was time to go forward. You can get to her website by clicking on the "My Great Writer Friend" in my links list or you can just follow this link
After 30 plus years of tasting and enjoying wines, I have picked up a little bit of knowledge about wine but I am still a neophyte when it comes to websites, blogging and all that wonderful technical stuff. So her help was invaluable. I also pick up a lot of good info from her free newsletter which you can sign up for via her website.
My friend Carl Brown, who gets my newsletter and regularly leaves a comment on my blog, also is prompting me to get a little bolder and braver. He left a good suggestion in his comment on my "Champagne then and now"post. So thanks to all of you for your regular visits, comments and suggestions. I appreciate it very much. It spurs me on to the continued pursuit of the" fruit of the vine".
I could not do a post without at least one picture related to this subject. So enjoy this one. I took it in the Blue Grouse Vineyards and Winery on Vancouver Island. Those are lush Ortega grapes a few days away from picking. 
Oh and while we're at it, I am still having great fun preparing my Italian dishes.
Which leads me to my final note. In my next blog entry I will be telling you about the fabulous wine maker we met in Bolgheri. Alessandro Dondi makes some of the best wines we tasted while travelling through Tuscany.
Ciao!
Too many wine tastings, too many events and a series of my wine newsletters have kept me from returning to post another entry on my blog. But I am back because memories of my recent Tuscan tour keeps filling me with thoughts of returning soon to that blessed area and its wonderful wines and friendly people. So I want to share some more of that experience.
Before I do, I must tell you about my experimenting with various Italian recipes. In my December post I have a link to Mestolando, the authentic Italian kitchen in Florence and their Bucatini ala Matriciana recipe or as they call it, Amatriciana. Or go to Bobby Flay's for this bucatini recipe. With all due apologies, I have altered it a little bit. Perhaps we will call this a New World adaptation of an Old World Recipe.
First of all I break up the Bucatini into two or three pieces rather than the regular spaghetti length.I'll tell you why in a moment. Then after cooking the sauce, I put it into a saucepan and keep it on low heat. The recipe calls for some of the sauce to be mixed in with the spaghetti ( and remember I use the real Bucatini, not the regular spaghetti) Then you plate it and top it with the grated Pecorino Romano. Stop, right there. I now take two or three good tablespoonsful of pesto and add that to the frying pan that has just been released from it sauce. I add a couple of tablespoonsful of olive oil and stir and spread it across the frying pan and heat on a low to medium setting. Now I add the Bucatini an stir it to ensure the pesto is thoroughly mixed with the spaghetti. Having broken up the spaghetti previously makes it easier to stir it around. Then I take all the sauce and add it and again stir it until all the Bucatini is thoroughly coated with the sauce. Then after heating it for another two to three minutes, I plate it and sprinkle generously with the grated Pecorino. May not look as pretty as it does in the video but it is oh so delicious. Just a hint on the pesto. I have tried almond, walnut and even Macadamia nut pesto but I keep returning to pine nut pesto. And the best recipe for that I have found on my good friend David's blog "Cooking Chat".
So now finally to the purpose of this post. We had the pleasure of a visit to the Casa Vinicola Luigi Cecchi & Figli winery in Castellina in Chianti. It was one of the more impressive wineries we visited while touring throughout Tuscani.
Ultra modern state of the art facilities at Cecchi.
A lot has been said and written about "Old" World and "New" world wines. The new world claiming superiority because of advanced technology. But hold on... what if Old World wineries adapt New World technological advances? Well now that means that the Old World wineries have the advantage of tradition and generations of family history. Yes, of course some New World wineries have a proud history of making wine in their family for many years. But few can claim generation after generation of wine making tradition. In the New World everyone uses modern technology. So you cannot use that as your claim to fame. But knowledge of terroir and tradition is a little more difficult to claim when promoting your wines.
The Cecchi winery is a true traditional proud family winery. Started in 1893 by Luigi Cecchi and today both his son, Cesare and his grandson Luigi are very involved with the Cecchi winery. They are comitted to sustainable practices in both the vineyard and their facilities.
In fact one of the beautiful meeting rooms at the Castellina winery has a beautiful oak floor made from their old wine barrels. It even has a red wine stain visible in the oak.
The feel of family is evident when visiting this winery. Our hosts were the two beautiful ladies Chiara Bellaci and Cecillia Muzzi. Truly dedicated to the Cecchi family of wines they proudly showed us the state of the art facilty followed by a tasting of the best Cecchi has to offer.
We tasted our way through 8 of their outstanding wines. What a shame I cannot get them here at home. But I can dream. Dream, I will be able to get them someday soon and dream of visiting Cecchi again. The first two wines we tasted were the Litorali and the Natio Chianti. Two superb wines followed by 6 more of the best Cecchi has to offer.
The Litorale is a lush , fresh lively Vermentino. Refreshing and crisp and loaded with fresh fruit. The Natio is a superb organic wine with 90% Sangiovese and 10% Colorino grapes harvested from small vineyards in the Chianti region. The essence of Sangiovese is captured in this wine. The remaining 6 wines we tasted were equally exciting and flavourful.
Ciao Cecilia and Chiara! Thanks for the memories!!
In my next blog entry I will tell you about the amazing Alessandro Dondi of the Castello di Bolgheri.
After my first post on my Tuscan tour, I fully intended to share more about that marvelous trip. But I am detouring slightly to cover part of a previous trip. And thus I will make mention of my visit to the Champagne. Only because Harper Collins, the publishers in New York, send me a copy of the book The Widow Clicquot by Tilar J. Mazzeo to review. I had the pleasure of a private tour during the 2005 vendange, again with my friend Sanjoy from California, and with that background it made this book that much more meaningful.
The Champagne house of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin is truly a must visit establishment and those of you who have been there will agree with this I am sure. The limestone cellars, which have been there since Roman times, are a treasure house of works of art. If you follow this link it will take you to the Veuve Clicquot website. There is an age verification before you can actually visit the site and just a little hint for those of you from Canada ( and yes we are a bilingual country) if you do not speak French, use the USA country of origin. The good people at Veuve have assumed if you are from Canada you must be able to speak French and the French version is what will present itself. We had a wonderful, knowledgeable young lady give us a most interesting tour and at the end of it, we had the pleasure of being served the La Grande Dame. Like Dom Perignon, I thought I was seeing stars.
The archives at the Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin reveal very little of the remarkable widow Clicquot. Their website gives only sparse details about this brilliant business woman. But Tylar Mazzeo has done an incredible amount of research for her book. Tylar is also very well versed in anything wine related and the book is liberally sprinkled with wine facts, especially about Champagne. For instance, did you know that in those early days, Champagnes were very sweet and had upwards of 200 to 300 grams of residual sugar? These are woven into the story and makes the history of the widow Clicquot come alive and the book almost reads like a novel and personal diary at the same time. This book is certainly a must read for all Champagne lovers out there. It is a tribute to the widow Clicquot Ponsardin and her marvellous determination and entrepeneurship. I believe Veuve Clicquot should host a major book signing event with Tilar Mazzeo present. She has contributed immensely to the story of the Veuve Clicquot with this fascinating, well written book. Publishers Harper Collins have just added another great book to their long list of excellent books.
A news item on the total volume of wine for the 2008 Italian vintage as reported by the Associated Press puts Italy in the number one position as the world's largest wine producer. It has been copied verbatim by many leading newspapers. It never ceases to amaze me that news media do not check the accuracy of facts and figures. Thus the Assoenologi's estimate of 44.5 billion liters, should have read 4.45billion. But you read it accurately here. It is 4.45 billion liters. Now that I have got that out of the way I can tell you that not only is it a larger volume but the grapes are wonderfully ripe and mature. Look at those Cabernet grapes. (click pic.)
Even the grapes for Vinsanto ( as pictured here) are juicy and delicious. The grapes shown here are Trebbiano grapes at the Castello di Verrazzano estate winery.My traveling buddy Sanjoy and I spent a delightful day at Ruffino's Tenuta Poggio Casciano property in Tuscany. Click on the map to enlarge and see Ruffino's other Tuscan properties.
Tenuta Poggio Casciano is a state of the art facility. Our gracious and very hospitable host Francesco Sorelli made our visit a memorable one. Knowledgeable and dedicated, he gave me enough information to write a book. Ruffino was established by two cousins, Ilario and Leopoldo Ruffino. In 1913 having no heirs, they decided to sell to the Folonari brothers, Italo and Francesco. Their proud history and traditions were carried on by the brothers. Ruffino was the first Italian winery to export Italian wines to the United States. Before treating us to a magnificent lunch with wines matched to each course, he gave us an extended tour of the magnificent cellar and facility. History seeps out of the walls and their wine cellar is just like you always pictured a wine cellar to look like.
I am not going into a detailed description of the wines we tasted. I am leaving that for my email newsletter I send out on a regular basis. It is also called Wilf's Wine Press. But here is the line up.
2007 Libaio Toscana IGT Chardonnay. Unoaked,it is fresh, clean and rich on the palate.
2007 La Solatia Chardonnay Toscana IGT
It has 10% Viognier added and this well balanced wine is rich in fruit aromas and on the palate.
2004 Nero al Tondo Pinot Noir Toscana IGT. This one is not available anywhere except for in house use and a few lucky journalists like myself. Ah, The touch of tuscan soil and forrests mingle with rich cherry aromas. Well balanced acidity and lingering flavours.
2007 Il Ducale Toscana IGT. This is a blend of 60% Sangiovese, 20% Syrah and 20% Merlot. Fruity and velvety tannins, it matched beautifully with the Pappa al Pomodoro we were served. Loved the wine and loved that true Tuscan dish.
2005 Tenuta Lodola Nuovo Vino Nobile Montepulciano DOCG which is predominantly made with Prugnolo Gentile grapes. Rich aromas of spice, earth and cherries which carries on to the palate. Red berries and plum on a long lingering finish.
2006 Tenuta Santedame Chianti Classico DOCG made up with 85% Sangiovese and 15% other varietals. The colour is a violet best described as "mammole" which is a special violet. Complex aromatics mingle with spicy scents, elegant on the palate and a lingering, long satisfying finish. A beautiful match for the rich pork dish and roast potatoes we were served. It all ended too soon with the 2004 Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG. This of course is Ruffino's flagship world renowned wine. Country fresh fruit, complex spicy notes with sweet tannins, elegant in structure and a long lingering satisfying finish. Very fruit driven and food friendly and a oh so worthy of aging. Long will I remember this wonderful visit. I really liked Italian wines and food before this, now I can only say I really love their food and wine. Thanks to Francesco for being such a wonderful ambassador for Ruffino. I have been making some delightful Italian dishes since my return home. I have used a good many recipes forwarded to me by friends and found on the web. But I have also modified and added some of my own twists to some of them. One of the dishes that has become a regular for me is the Bucatini alla Matriciana. Thanks Bobby, but I have altered your recipe somewhat, adding a little home made Pesto sauce among other things. Want to see how it is done Tuscan style in a Florence kitchen? Watch this video and open that bottle of Ruffino Chianti and get ready to enjoy a great meal with a super food friendly wine.
Thats me toasting our host. Ruffino also produces some very good olive oils which we applied liberally to the tuscan bread and of course you need Pelligrini to clear your palate for the next part of the adventure.
......you probably have a plumbing problem! At least that is what happened at this year's annual Sagra dell Uva Grape Festival in the city of Marino. Every year, since 1925, the city of Marino celebrates one of the oldest wine festivals in Italy. Marino is located in the wine making region of Lazio in the Alban Hills south of Rome. This year the festival had a delightful turn of events when residents turning on their taps were surprised with a free flowing supply of local wine. Sad to say we were not there. But we did get our share of local wines and food while traveling all over Tuscany with my buddy Sanjoy from California. Having just returned, hence my lack of postings to my blog, I must say I am missing all that good food and wine. We visited the major DOCG regions and some of the more important DOC's like Montalcino, Montepulciano and
Bolgheri.
Driving along the Strada del Chianti ( SS 222) you get a wonderful sense of what the Tuscan countryside is like. That large picking basket just seems to be waiting to be filled up and 2008 appears to be bountiful with good quality grapes throughout the region. Just look at those beautiful bunches of Sangiovese grapes. Lush, ripe and mature and oh so sweet. These were scheduled for picking the day after our visit to the vineyard. Click on the pic to get a better view. 
In my next posts I will be going into more details about some of the wineries we visited. All well known and all outstanding producers. Names like Ruffino, Cecchi and Ornelaia are recognized around the globe and we had the pleasure of visiting with them. Met an outstanding young winemaker in Bolgheri and was really impressed with his style of wine. I will be telling you more about Alessandro Dondi at the Castello di Bolgheri.
Tuscany, one big happy vineyard and I am already looking forward to a return visit. We maybe going through some world wide financial crisis but I tell you Italian food and wines give me comfort and lifts my spirits. But then good food and wine tends to do that. I will leave you with a message captured in this picture taken outside St. Francis' Basilica in Assisi. Yes, we did get in 
some fantastic sightseeing and of course sampled local foods and wines.
So Peace to you all, enjoy your wines and good things are bound to come your way.
Just received my copy of Tyler Colman's "Wine Politics" but since I am of to Italy in a couple of days, I will have to read it when I get back. But here are a few of my thoughts on politics and how they have influenced wine and wine consumption for thousands of years. Speaking of Italy, I guess you could say that is where it all began. When Roman armies invaded and conquered one European country after another they planted vineyards along the way. Not very nice to be taken over by a foreign army but how often do you end up with some nice vineyards in your backyard planted by your enemy?
It is generally believed that Georgia is the oldest wine region in the world where it all began some 7000 years ago and it is often referred to as 'the birthplace of wine'
Some archaeologists now believe that wine may first have been produced in Iran.
However I have"Georgia on my mind" when it comes to classic manipulation of wine for political purposes. Back in March of 2006 Russia put an embargo on wine from Georgia
claiming to have found heavy metals and pesticides in their wines. A little political economic blackmail to punish pro west Georgia. Russia had been the largest consumer of Georgian wine accounting for up to 85% of its production. But over the next couple of years Georgia found markets in other European countries, notably Poland. Taking it one step further the recent invasion of Georgia by the Russian army resulted in Polish wine drinkers, in support and solidarity with Georgia, to encourage all Polish people to drink Georgian wines. Watch for Russia to take punitive measures to punish those popular pro west Poles.
And then of course there is always the "politically correct" factor in wine consumption. A few years back a good friend of mine, who happened to be the XO on one of Canada's navy ships, was informed that Canada's ambassador to the UN would be making a visit to our west coast navy base in Esquimalt and that the ambassador wished to have a meal with the officers on his ship.
He was instructed as to the wines to be served with dinner but when my friend read that they were French wines he had a rebellious fit. Not on his ship! British Columbia wines or nothing. Hastily the protocol officer for the ambassador admitted this "oversight" and BC wines would be served.
In my own case I fought the government for 4 years in an attempt to get a licence to sell BC wines. Finally BC's Attorney General himself overturned the liquor control board's decision not to give me a licence. Talk about heavy handed politics! And so on and on it goes. Yes, I am afraid politics in wine is here to stay. I am sure there are countless stories out there about politics and wine. What is yours?
It gives me great pleasure to welcome and introduce a new wine blogger, Canada's well known
John Schreiner.
I have had the pleasure of knowing John for many years. John has had a long and distinguished career as a reporter and writer. He began as a reporter for the Regina Leader-Post and subsequently became the newspaper's chief political reporter in the Saskatchewan Legislature. In 1961 John joined the staff of The Financial Post in Toronto. Served in the paper's Montreal bureau from 1967 t0 1969 and in 1973 became the bureau chief in Vancouver for that newspaper. John "retired" in 2001 but has been busier than ever adding to his already impressive list of 15 books on wine.
John has also been the regional correspondent for Appelation America.
So now he has added blogging to his endeavours and you can click on
"John Schreiner on Wine" in my links list or follow this link to his blog
The first Canadian Icewine was made by Walter Hainle in 1973 in Peachland in the Okanagan and yes it was several years before Ontario started making icewines.
John is the world most knowledgeable expert on Icewine or Eiswein and his book
Icewine-The Complete Story is a must read for anyone wanting to learn more on this fascinating wine. I did a post on the 2006 Icewine harvest in BC and you can scroll down in my December 2006 archives to Dec. 3 to get John's take on it.
Welcome John!! I am sure we will get many informative and entertaining posts.
Speaking of entertaining, I have just put a link to "My Favorite Canadian Wine Lady"
in my links list. Follow the link and have a look. She has a great newsletter that you can sign up for. I don't know how she does it all. Daenna is a very knowledgeable (and beautiful) wine lady and she is the Diva of wine. Welcome to my links list Daenna.
So there you have it. I am off to Italy on September 17th but will get one more post in on "politics" and wine before I go. Pliny the Elder has been quoted as follows. "It has become a commonplace proverb that in wine there is truth" Yes and isn't it too bad that so much in the way of politics is commonplace as well.
Or rather, smoke gets into your vine. As the saying goes: "Where there is smoke, there is fire!" California has seen many fires this summer and for vintners it has been "where there is fire there is smoke". Smoke taint in wine is not easily removed. The summer of 2003 saw major brush fires in Australia. Here in British Columbia, the Okanagan Mountain Park fire in August of 2003 saw 45,000 residents evacuated and 239 homes burned down.Tom Di Bello, a graduate of the University of California, Davis, is the winemaker at the Cedar Creek Estate winery in BC and is getting a lot of calls from vintners in California. He had to attempt to salvage some badly tainted grapes. I tasted his premium Pinot Noir from the barrel while up in the Okanagan in the spring of 2004 and let me tell you smoke taint ain't what I like in my wine. In the end this wine was used in their entry level red blend. If a wine is badly tainted it is pretty much a write off. Tom tells me that this particular batch of Pinot Noir was the worst tainted wine on record anywhere. A rather dubious and unwanted distinction. If the damage is not severe Tom recommends a method now widely used to reduce or remove smoke taint, Reverse Osmosis. Nanno filtration, micro-oxygenation and activated charcoal are other methods employed. Getting those grapes in as fast as possible if the fire happens near grape picking time is essential. Whole cluster pressing and no skin contact is what Tom suggests and forget about making a red wine. Just make a rosé.
I had the pleasure of meeting Hugh Hamilton from McLaren Vale in Australia and tasting his remarkable wines when he made a visit to Victoria this summer. Not only does Hugh have a great sense of humor (Is that an Australian trait?) but he makes outstanding wines. Talk turned to taint and I am endebted to Hugh for some very valuable info regarding smoke damage to grape crops. Australia of course not only suffered great losses in 2003 but major brush fires were a problem in 2007 as well. The McLaren region was lucky enough to escape both times.
The latest research seems to indicate that grapes do not actually absorb smoke directly, but rather the smoke compounds are absorbed by the leaves and translocated to the berries.
(pictured here is the Okanagan Mountain Park fire in 2003)Meanwhile back to the Okanagan. The picture below shows their entrance gate and the total devastation of the St.Hubertus Estate Winery. The winery building, a residence, tasting room and the entire crop was lost. By some blessed miracle the winery's storage facility with all the previous vintage wines and their entrance gate survived. They used to produce a Bacchus wine which is no longer produced. Too bad, I really liked it. But I think Bacchus, the God of wine, smiled down on Leo and Andy, the two brothers who operate the winery. They had brand new facilities up and running in no time and their wines are better than ever.Good luck to all California wineries who will be daeling with the problem of smoke damage to their crops. It will be interesting to see how they fare.The picture at the top? Those are real grape vine leaves, but it ain't smoke and it ain't a real fire. Just me trying to be artistic for this blog entry on "Smoke Gets in Your Wine"
Just putting the finishing chapter on my California adventure and Paso Robles wine country in this post. But I want to dedicate this post to the lovely lady pictured here, my friend Jan. Not only did she put up with me for a week but she introduced me to the fabulous Meyers lemon. Thanks for everything, Jan.So many things to see and do around wine country. And of course so many great places to eat. At the end of one day of tasting we ended up on Novo's outdoor patio in San Luis Obispo. Great way to finish the day. Can you imagine California without Two Buck Chuck? Just had to get a picture of that at Trader Joe.As always, click on the pics to get the large view.
What is more Californian than Pebble Beach?
Did not get to play on any of the courses but it is sure stunning to look at the various courses and of course the beautiful beach.
Oh yea, happened to stay outside of Pismo Beach one night and took a quick look in town the next morning. It just so happened they were getting ready for the 23rd Annual Pismo Beach Classic Car Show. No wine served there but what would a classic car show be without a "bud" Not one but two huge Budweiser trucks showed up for this event.
While visiting in the area you cannot miss going to Carmel. Great art galleries all over town. Oh and yes there are no stop lights and get this, no street lights. So bring your flashlight if you are going around town at night. My friend Sanjoy, Jan's husband, took me to this real funky eating establishment. The Casanova is a "must" stop to eat restaurant. Great food, fast and friendly service and an amazing wine list. I knew that I would get at least one mention of wine on this blog entry. With over 30,000 bottles in the cellar, they are the annual recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award. Jean Hubert, operations manager at Casanova, showed us where those
30,000 bottles were resting. Some rare dust covered wines are nestled down there, aging beautifully. Want to know the intriguing story of that table pictured below? Fascinating piece of history. Follow this link and you will find out. 
Lunch was so enjoyable. We picked a nice Chablis and it went down perfectly since the day was another hot one.Of course if you happen to go there for dinner, you can browse through 60 pages of their wine list.
So there you have it.
My next blog entry will be on "Where there is smoke, there is fire" Or in the case of California where there are fires there is a lot of smoke. Thought I would leave you with one final bit of true California. These two must have shared a bottle of bubbly. Happiness and Health to all of you!
Oh and while we're at it, I am still having great fun preparing my Italian dishes.
Which leads me to my final note. In my next blog entry I will be telling you about the fabulous wine maker we met in Bolgheri. Alessandro Dondi makes some of the best wines we tasted while travelling through Tuscany.
