Cork Poppers -- Italian Wines Rock!

Barb and Mike were our hosts for Cork Poppers this month and the wines of Italy didn't disappoint!

 

We started out with Barb's homemade limoncello, which Bob poured.

Cork Poppers Party Like Its Pompeii!

When our hostess Barb sent out invitations to our most recent Cork Poppers gathering, the theme was "Party Like It's Pompeii." We knew most of the Italian wines would be red and that there would be plenty of fun in store.

Barb greeted us at the door with a spot of limencello to begin the festivities.

After our plates were loaded with Dick and Cheryl's crackers and cheese selections and lovely bits from Meredith's antipasto platter, we were on to the first wine.

This Abazzia di Novacella Stiftskellerei Neustift Pinot Grigio, offered by Dick, was the only white wine but even us red fans were impressed.

"Yummy! It has a bite!" said Barb, while Clayton said he smelled grapefruit, pear and a little lemon.

This wine was from Northern Italy in an area right next to northeast Germany. It certainly ticked all the boxes for taste. At $22 at a local wine shop it was more than I care to spend, but I certainly would be happy to drink it.

At this point, Barb brought out the winesicle. Have you seen these? Freeze them and they are supposed to keep a white wine cool. Needless to say, we had much discussion.

(At this point, only one taste in (if you don't count the Limoncello, which one probably should) we had already disintegrated into loads of laughter and side conversations. So it was a little tough to take notes!)

Photo by Cheryl Rice

My wine was next, a Sanperetto Valpolicella DOC Classico Superiore, 2015 by Roberto Mazzi e Figli.

Roger thought it was quite acidic and smelled very purple, after which we had to discuss what purple smelled like. Barb  said "we embrace the Valpolicella."

Someone else said it reminded them of a light pinot noir, not like a heavy Tuscan wine. Clayton said we should "drink it first thing in the morning instead of Welches," but I think I'll give that idea a pass.

This was $16.99 and I got it at a restaurant in Ann Arbor called Paesano's.

Barb was up next with her 2017 Rocca di Montegrossi Chianti Classico, DOCG.

There is often a rooster on the neck of a bottle of chianti, which unfortunately I did not photograph. Barb told us the story of how this came to be (if you're interested, here's a link.) You'll see this mark on a Chianti Classico.

Photo by Cheryl Rice

This one had lots of SanGiovese grapes and was $22 at a local wine shop. We thought it would pair very well with steak or red meat and my notes said, "This is very good!"

Roger was up next with Palazzo Della Torre 2015 IGT by Allegrini.

This Valpolicella came from Northeast Italy near Verona and he told us that it was described as the nose of the wine being forest floor. (You can only imagine the discussion.)

We all agreed it was excellent and at the price (Costco) it was well worth it -- $13.99. (This might have been the wine of the day.)

Somewhere around here we started talking about Pompeii being the Vegas of early Italy -- a resort community with lots of brothels and plenty of mosaics that illustrated what one can do. There were a few on-the-spot limericks and then back to the wine.

Kate offered Maraia Barbera de Monferrato DOC by Marchesi de Barolo which immediately received "Mmmms" from Barb and Jeanie.

Barberas are a really tasty wine. This one came from Torino in Northern Italy and a portion of proceeds from sales go toward the poor and the animals of the area.

Mike said "She pulled into a Sunoco station and this is what they were selling," but in truth, Kate found this excellent bargain at Costco for $11.99.

Photo by Cheryl Rice

If there was a favorite label, it might have been Anne and Clayton's offering of Toscana IGT by Casaponte.

This is a red table wine from Tuscany. "This smells SO good!" I said at the first whiff. "Lock me up in the cellar!" Clayton added.

He said they picked it because Anne liked the label and he liked the wines of Tuscany. It was definitely a good deal -- he bought it at the Meijer store for $13 (on sale). 

Rick was missing this night and around this time we all bemoaned the fact that he preferred to be with cyclists he hadn't seen in decades rather than us. (But he did have a jolly good time riding his bike around Detroit so we shouldn't feel too bad he missed much!)

Our final wine was a Colline Teramane Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOCG Savini Reserva 2012, offered by Dick.

Deep red and tremendously fragrant, it had the full bodied flavor of a really good red wine. Even I could pick up the soft cherry scent.

Unfortunately, this came from Dick's basement and he had no idea of how much it cost or where he got it, but he estimated it was about $20.

Then it was time to hit the kitchen for our dinner. Kate and Anne took on salad and veggie duties.

Mike made a marvelous sausage pasta.

As always, Barb's table was lovely...

...and her party favors perfect, the lava a reminder of Pompeii's fate.

I love how she always incorporates corks into her table settings and floral arrangements.

When all was said and done, we gathered in the living room (the wine was done by then!) and just had a lovely time, talking and hanging out. Friendship. That's what Corkies are all about. (Earlier Cork Popper posts are archived at the menu tab at the top of this page.)

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Cork Poppers Go Northern Italian

With Valentine's Day on the calendar for February 14, Cork Poppers managed to do the red-and-white theme nicely on Valentine's Eve as we celebrated the holiday with a love of wines from Northern Italy!
 

This is a long one because we had eight great wines and lots to say about each of them. It may have been the best tasting we ever had but if you don't enjoy wine or our weird comments, you can skip down to the flourless chocolate cake recipe at the bottom! I should also mention (and will again!) that we aren't total lushes. The tasting wine is split to 12 people for each bottle. Just saying!

Rick pulled together an early glimpse of the region, learning that the most respected and elegant wines of Italy are in the Northwest corner, near France, in the region of Piemonte (Piedmont), including the Barolo wines, gathering the highest DOCG rating. They tend to be the most expensive (which may be why we didn't have any of those!). Lesser priced wines produced in the area from the same grape, including the Barbaresco and Gattinara wines, tend to be more reasonably priced.

Decanting -- Rick and Mike take care of the reds!

First order of business, decanting the reds -- decanting is always wise, letting the wine breathe. Even a so-so wine can improve with a little decanting. Well, maybe not college kid wine...

After loading up our plates with cheese, bread and crackers (from Pat, Jan and Rick), we were ready to taste. For white wine fans, the Pinot Grigios are popular and we were lucky to start our tasting with two of them. With Italian Pinot Grigio wines, it's best to drink those produced within the past two or three years. Both our offerings fit this category.

Clayton offered the Ruffino Lumira Pinot Grigio 2014 Delle Venezie IGT. It was tart and acidic and as he said, would be "great on the boat!" Cheryl noted it "tingles on your tongue for a long time" and Rick observed that it had structure to it. Cheryl, our resident white wine drinker was the first to go for seconds, adding that she liked it a lot.

Price: $12 about a year or two ago.

Dick was up next with Alois Lageder's Pinot Grigio 2014. We found it had a totally different finish and Dick observed it wasn't as spicy as the first. Rick noted it was "mellow" and "not a wine to watch football with." He also called it sophisticated. I liked that one a lot as well, perhaps slightly better than the first but both were very good and comparatively priced ($12).

We were up next with the first red of the day, E Solo 2013 Barbara Provincia di Pavia IGT. Everyone seemed to really like this (including Rick, who praised me on my selection!). Clayton called it "yummy," and that was an apt description. "This really says 'come and get me' and I really want to go and get it," someone commented. It comes from Lombardy's westernmost province bordering Piedmont and is an area not famous for its wines. I think our group would disagree, especially at $12.

Rick liked the wine I picked -- and so did I!

Mike was next with 2012 Luchessa Lia Barbaresco DOCT 2012. This one had an odd rusty/pinky/maroon sort of color when poured, more like a Pinot Noir than a full red. Barb noted "it's odd." We agreed it had smoky and spicy tones. I found it a bit more bitter. Other comments included "upfront" and "swallow and it stays with you for awhile."

There was some good discussion on this one. Barb and Mike preferred the E Solo, while Dick preferred this one. It was at this time that we came up with what we call the PSR -- Price to Satisfaction Ratio. This one cost $20. Compared to the earlier one at $12, the first had a better PSR ratio. For those of us with limited wine budgets, this is a decent measure.

Mike and Barb

Our fifth wine was from Bob -- a Corteforte Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Classico Superiore by Podere Bertarole. This comes from the Northeastern area of Italy near Verona and we all found it pretty tasty! Dick called it "the best red so far" while Barb was trying to decide between that and the E Solo. It was a very good wine but at $16-$24 online, but for me the PSR was high. (Bob bought it at a boutique grocery and realized after purchase he had paid too much for it -- $34. Always price check!)

Jan was next with Mignanego Barbera d'Asti DOCG 2011. Rick said it was his favorite to date with a "corner to corner structure"and Dick took back his assessment of the previous wine as best of the day and declared that this one was his favorite. Apparently 2011 was a very good year for this region ("no wonder it is so good!" said Dick!). Being lighter bodied, it is best enjoyed a few degrees cooler than the heavier reds.

Jan paid $13 for this (most found this a very good PSR!) and purchased it out of town. At least two members of our group were ready to send her with money to buy a case of it. I wouldn't mind her picking up a few bottles of this for me, too!

Pat was next with La Fiera 2014 Montepulciano dÁbruzzo. The label, with its carousel reflects the region of Bruzzi, originating in a medieval court and later replicated.

We gave this an "off the charts!" PSR. It might be my favorite -- Dick again changed his mind on the "best" and declared: "THIS is the best. BEST!" (The declaration of each wine being the best tends to be Barb's domain, a point that was not lost on Anne, who turned to Barb and said, "He's turned into YOU!")

And why did we love this one so much? Well, apart from being delicious, that PSR rating was based on it being $9.99 and for a $10 bottle of wine to be that good, was a real treat. It would be a great one to include in Coq au Vin or Boeuf Bourgenogne when you have to dump the better part of a bottle of wine in the stew and you want it to be good -- but not that pricey!

Dick and Anne. Dick saved the best for last!

But Dick saved the best for last with a Valpolicella Ripasso 2013 Superiore DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta)  by Marchesi Biscardo. As someone said when they first sipped, "This is not ten dollars!" Other comments included, Ï see whales going by. I see whales and fishes." "This is very good, and I don't think it's because it's the twentieth bottle!" (It wasn't -- only the eighth -- and we have pretty small sips when dividing up a bottle of wine between 12 people, lest you think we are all wild and crazy drunken folk. I feel compelled to remind you of that.)

I wrote "This is my personal favorite -- it is to die for,"and Bob summed it up with "This is DOCGEFG!"

 This brings up the question -- why did we save this for last? We should be drinking it out of crystal glasses -- especially when we learned it was $30. Definitely a special occasion wine. I'd call the Price to Satisfaction ration pretty equal. Expensive but fabulous.

It's a good thing we follow these tastings with dinner and hosts Dick and Cheryl served up a magnificent pork roast with a wonderful berry sauce. Barb had provided a sweet potato casserole and corn souffle, Anne a vintage salad. I know there were other things but I forgot to photograph them!

Fortunately Cheryl photographed my flourless sugarless chocolate cake. Here's the basic recipe -- one pound of chocolate (bittersweet or semi-sweet -- I mix half and half), two sticks of butter (melt together over simmering water), eight eggs beaten about five minutes and 1/4 c. coffee, poured into chocolate after melting and off the stove. Fold eggs into chocolate 1/3 at a time till streaks are gone. Put in a springform pan (greased) with tin foil wrapped around the outside and place in a roaster. Put pan in a boiling water bath, halfway up the side of the pan and bake at 325. Easy and fabulous!

All in all, a four-star Cork Poppers and some of the best wines we've tasted. It was also a day filled with love and fun, and what's not to love about that? (And thanks to Cheryl for some of the photos!)

This post is linked to "Talk of the Town" and "Thoughts of Home on Thursday" -- where you can check links for decorating, creativity, entertaining and more ideas!