Ciao Italia again! This time we traveled to Piedmont and Veneto and then said goodbye to Italy. With this tasting on March 19, 2009 we completed the tastings laid out in Andrea Immer Robinson’s book, Great Wine Made Simple. We sampled three of the four major varietals grown in the Piedmont region – Dolcetto, Barbera and Barbaresco – and had a little trouble distinguishing the Barbera from the Dolcetto. Almost everyone picked the Barbaresco though. After that we tried an Amarone della Valpolicella from the Veneto region.

Our first wine was the 2005 Patrizi Barbaresco (13.5% alcohol). Of the three, this had the palest color, being almost translucent. While it had an expansive bouquet, it had a more rustic and musty aroma, like one student’s cellar in fact. The fruit was tart cherry, and the abundant tannins really dried our tongues. As Andrea predicted, a little cheese improved the flavor of the wine.

Our second wine turned out to be the 2006 Marengo Dolcetto D’Alba (14.5% alcohol). Contrary to what Andrea described in her tasting notes, this was the darkest of the three wines which is why many in the class thought it would be the Barbera. The scent of the Dolcetto was not quite as earthy as the Barbaresco with licorice and vanilla peaking through the sour cherry. The high alcohol content came through in the smell as well. The taste echoed the scent with cherry and plum flavors. Though we definitely tasted tannins, this wine didn’t dry us out as much as the Barbaresco. We thought this was more refined than the first wine.

The last Piedmont wine was the 2005 Borgogno Barbera D’Alba (a measly 13% alcohol). This wine had more of a garnet color, but its smell was certainly not as potent as the Dolcetto’s. In fact we found it to be more complex and idiosyncratic. We could definitely taste the acidity and noted that the tannins were clearly softer than the other two wines. We found flavors of red fruits like red plums and cranberries. Some likened this to an easy listening wine whose finish slowly faded away. Perhaps this is the reason almost everyone in the class liked this wine the best of the three Piedmonts.

We then ended our first world tour with in the Veneto region with a 2005 Zeni Amarone della Valpolicella (a whopping 15% alcohol). This wine is made is fermented to dryness, so it is typically very strong and full bodied. We thought this wine had a great scent, with raisins and tar defining it. We could really taste the high alcohol content and wanted to have it with chocolate. Everyone thought it delightful and picked it as the overall favorite of the four wines we tried this evening.

So, having ended on such a high note, we discussed our plans going forward and thought we should go back and review some of the “lessons” in Andrea’s book, Great Wine Made Simple, before striking out on our own to explore some other countries like Spain, Australia and South Africa. Where better to start our review than with the Big Six – the most popular varietals of white and red wines. At our next class, which is scheduled for April 16, 2009, we’ll explore the three most popular whites with a Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 2003 Piesporter Goldtrőpfchen Riesling Kabinett (9.5% alcohol), a Robert Mondavi 2006 Fume Blanc from Napa Valley (14% alcohol) and an Acacia 2006 Chardonnay Carneros from Sonoma Valley (14.4% alcohol). If you have the book, please review the tasting notes on pages 21 and 22.

See you all on April 16 around sevenish!!

Suzy Marquard