Today's Sponsors• A message from WineLibrary.com In This Issue• Soave revisited As I pack for a trip to Italy's Veneto region, I get in the mood with a mouth-watering dry Soave from a respected producer. |
Soave revisited
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As I pack for tonight's long trip over to Verona in Italy's Veneto region (see box at the right), it seems only appropriate to talk briefly about Veneto wine.
As I've discussed before, there's a special pleasure in re-discovering Veneto, the broad Northeastern region that runs from the Alps and scenic Lake Garda down toward Venice. Like many other wine regions where climate and soil make viticulture possible on an agri-business scale, the region produces a lot of mass-market wine, not least a river of everyday Pinot Grigio.
But in its most favored zones - particularly on hillside vineyard land - its respectfully grown vines and carefully produced wines can be memorable. And it's been good news, in recent years, to see two familiar regional names - red Valpolicella and white Soave - regaining their reputation after a time when industrial-type wines largely dominated the market.
But quality producers fought to bring back the reputations of both regions, particularly the favored hillside regions whose vineyards make wines entitled to bear the designation "Classico." They've beaten back proposals to allow heavier vineyard yields, and won the right to experiment with non-traditional blends in addition to the traditional (and excellent) Corvina of Valpolicella and Garganega of Soave.
So it is with today's wine from Gini, a respected producer. This basic bottling is 100 percent Garganega made from 40-year-old vines, and it never sees oak or malolactic fermentation, fostering a pure manifestation of fruit.
I've got to get packed, so let's move right on to my tasting report, which is below. As noted above, I'll try to get out another 30 Second Wine Advisor on a travel schedule next Monday, returing to regular publication on April 2.
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Gini 2005 Soave Classico ($13.99)
Made 100 percent from the indigenous Garganega grape and made entirely in stainless steel, Gini's Soave Classico offers pure expression of fruit. A transparent straw color, it breathes rich aromas of honey and almonds, figs and dates, with more delicate floral overtones. Medium body is shaped by zippy acidity; white-fruit and floral flavors mirror the nose and persist in a long finish. U.S. importer: Vintner Select, Mason, Ohio, and other regional importers. (March 16, 2007)
FOOD MATCH: An excellent pairing with fish and seafood, including my choice, sauteed red snapper fillets with lemon.
VALUE: The lower middle teens seems more than fair, but be warned, there's a lot of profit-taking on this item: Wine-Searcher.com shows U.S. prices ranging all the way from $11 to $20. Shop wisely, and if your merchant is seeking a price near the upper end of this range, you might want to ask why.
WHEN TO DRINK: Its aromatics might gain a little richness with a year or two of aging under good cellar conditions, but consider it iffy for cellaring. It's really meant to be enjoyed reasonably soon after the vintage.
PRONUNCIATION:
Gini = "Jee-nee"
Soave = "So-AH-vay"
WEB LINK:
Gini's Website is available in Italian, German and English. Click the text link of your choice from the Flash home page,
http://www.ginivini.com/
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Today's wine is widely distributed. Find vendors and check prices on Wine-Searcher.com:
http://www.wine-searcher.com/
find/Gini%2bSoave/-/-/USD/A?referring_site=WLP
Today's Sponsor
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Talk About Wine Online
To read and comment on today's column in our non-commercial WineLovers Discussion Group, click:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?t=7133
Today's article is cross-posted in our Netscape WineLovers Community, where we also welcome comments and questions.
http://community.netscape.com/winelovers?nav=messages&tsn=1&tid=5167
To contact me by E-mail, write wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.
PRINT OUT TODAY'S ARTICLE
Here's a simply formatted copy of today's Wine Advisor, designed to be printed out for your scrapbook or file or downloaded to your PDA or other wireless device.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/
2007/03/soave_revisited-print.html
This week on WineLoversPage.com
• Oxford Town Wine: Julia, we have a problem
Columnist John Juergens rarely uses wine in cooking, even when the recipe calls for it. This is not to say that he doesn't cook with wine. He always has a glass of something handy to keep himself motivated while slaving over a hot stove.
http://wineloverspage.com/oxford/cookwine07.phtml
• Italian Wine Guide: New Tuscan reds and dining in Montalcino
Writer Tom Hyland has just returned from a week in warm, sunny Tuscany, where he sampled new releases at the annual anteprima preview tastings. Here's his overview, plus bonus reviews of two outstanding Tuscan eateries.
http://wineloverspage.com/italwineguide/montalcino07.phtml
• WebWineMan: Bordeaux up-close and personal
Recently two distinguished wine luminaries from the Médoc region of Bordeaux visited Columnist Richard Fadeley's home town, He and the Columbia Free Times tasters were there to greet the makers of Chateau LaGrange and Chateau d'Issan and try their wines.
http://wineloverspage.com/webwineman/bordelais07.phtml
• WineBlueBook: 2002-2005 German Riesling
When combining all the vintages by score and price, the 2004 and 2005 vintage both have only three "Great Value" wines while the 2002 and 2003 vintage do not have any "Great Values." But don't let the small number mislead you: The average price of a 90-point German Riesling is only $27.
http://wineloverspage.com/qpr/qprwines.phtml
• This week's "TalkShoe": California, here we come!
We're headed to California (virtually) to talk about the grapes and wines in the most visible wine-producing state of the USA on this week's interactive Internet radio TalkShoe. You can participate online at noon Mondays, US EDT (17:00 in Western Europe), or download our past TalkShoes to your iPod from the archives. See our TalkShoe page for details:
http://wineloverspage.com/talkshoe/
• WineLovers Discussion Group: Talking about mead
Okay, it's not wine, strictly speaking, but the old English tipple brewed by fermenting honey makes an intriguing side trip for our WineLovers Discussion Group, where we're talking about both the home-made and store-bought varieties. Come, take a glass and join our friendly conversations.
http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?t=7093
• Netscape WineLovers Community Poll: In spring and summer, I drink ...
How does the change of seasons affect your wine consumption? Do you drink more wine or less wine during the warmer months than when you're holed up for the winter, or doesn't it make much difference? Cast your vote, and let's see how the numbers break out in our Netscape/CompuServe Community poll!http://community.netscape.com/winelovers?nav=messages&tsn=1&tid=5165
Last Week's Wine Advisor Index
The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Here's the index to last week's columns:
• Return of a favorite (Mar. 16, 2006)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/tswa20070316.php
• Prosecco for spring (Mar. 14, 2006)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/tswa20070314.php
• Short stuff (Mar. 12, 2006)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/tswa20070312.php
• Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/archives.php
• Wine Advisor FoodLetter: Pimento cheese grits (Mar. 15, 2006)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/food/tsfl20070315.php
• Wine Advisor Foodletter archive:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/food/archives.php
