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+--- Thread: Italy from Z to A: Zibibbo! (/thread-7706.html)
- Botafogo - 01-02-1999
In response to requests for more info about the wonderful exposition of Chaos Theory called Italian Wine I am innaugurating a sort of Domande Frequente re varietals. Today we will check out one of the rarest wines in the world, made on an island closer to Africa than Italy but still Italian territory:
Zibibbo is the dialect name used on Pantelleria for a particularly fragrant clone of Moscato Alexandria, usually vinified after the grapes are dried severely (in nets strung ove black volcanic glass) to produce wines of insane concentration, depth, sweetness AND acidity and often very high natural alcohol.
Great producers include:
1) Murana who makes three levels of sweetness (almost always capturing a tre bicchieri for one of them) as well as a bone dry but very aromatic version called Gadi.
2) The late, lamented Eleanora Limonci Keusseoglou who made a version so rich and balanced that she packaged it in minaret shaped bottles with stoppers attached as it will not spoil like a normal unfortified wine. This is called Khaggiar!
These wines have more citrus and spice (coffee and cloves) than Vin Santo and are fabulous with dried fruits and really stinky cheeses.
Salute, Roberto
[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 01-03-99).]
- SteveZ - 01-03-1999
Roberto,
Once again [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb/frown.gif[/img] if possible, how would we track these wines down?
Steve Manzi [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
- Botafogo - 01-03-1999
Steve, the easy answer would be the obvious one of just give me a call. But, since anyone actually doing God's work and making this stuff available is a pariah to many in cybersociety, they are imported (in excruciatingly small quantities) by Cosenza Imports.
- misterjive - 01-29-1999
Nino Negri impresses with Inferno, and the nebbiolo grape astounds us once more. Gattinara from a reliable producer is always
a treat. As for abandoning the big names and
styles and grapes and places (the killer b's, Barolo, Barberesco, the super t's), I don't think so. Together, Sangiovese and Cab Sauv bring a helluva lot to the dance, and I will keep buying those pricey vinos da tavola (Castello di Querceto is a favorite producer, and Campaccio, Sassicaia, Tignanello, and all the other original rebels are too fantastic to ignore).
One word of advice for Chianti freaks--revisit Il Grigio for an example of
Old School style (NO CAB, great use of white grapes). The subtlety is stupendous, the complexity easy to miss in the common (American) haste to find the big and the
bold
As for "different" varietals, drink Refosco!!! (and for a stateside version,
try the refosco by Bonny Doon, made with Monterey County grapes).
Ohh, and one more thing--Banfi is to Italy as K-J is to America.
Ohh, and one more thing--Allegrini's "La
Grola" (single vineyard Valpol) is huge bang
for the buck, inky and delicious.....
Ohh, and three more things:
Does anyone know what grapes are in Policalpo? (The label is like the white
album, with only raised letters Policalpo
on white paper).
Does anyone have theories on the theory that zinfandel reached Cali from Italy (or was it
Hungary...)?
And finally, has anyone else out there had the outstanding Chards made by Silvio Jermann?
- Jerry D Mead - 01-30-1999
The latest word on Zin is that it is NOT Primitivo, nor is it Plavec mali from Croatia. UC DAvis ran dna tests which showed some similarities...but definitely not the same.
All we know is that it is from the Vitus Vinifera family of grapes, which is the European family.
So Zin remains a mystery...one theory is it may be a spur.
JDM
- Jason - 01-30-1999
To Misterjive, I agree with most of your rants. But you have unfortunately jumped on the "Big is bad and small is god" bandwagon mentality in the wine world.
Banfi, even being as big as they are, has recognized entire growing areas (Montalcino) and 60% of their product never leaves Italy.
An argument could be made that the little guy directly benefits from the capital spent decades ago by the likes of Banfi. These folks put Brunello on the map and created world demand. A small producer in Montalcino owes his $40 price tag to Banfi. Without them, his wine would remain buried in somebody's esoteric portfolio or never leave the village at all.
My point being that it is a ying and yang situation and each benefits from the existence of the other.
Also, Banfi has great stuff in many price points. Try a Col di Sasso for $9 then grab a Summus at $50. Diversity is a good thing yes?
Many of the same things could be said for KJ.Its easy to stand back and take shots at the big boys, but the world market would be a very different place (and probably a lesser one)without these two companies.
- misterjive - 01-31-1999
Jason, my long lost brother....Let me rant a bit more, if it might humor the ghosts in my machine. When I said that Banfi and Kendall-Jackson were comparable, it was meant to be a compliment, albeit a somewhat left-handed one. Both producers are consistently good, in vintages both trite and tricky. Both producers are dominant in their respective markets for this very reason. But wines from the big boys rarely startle me. A bottle of Cardinale or Poggio All'Oro is a known quantity of great quality, but sometimes the lesser-known shit can be a bit more sublime. In response to Kali, who wrote in the Cab forum recently, I would say that I am a huge K-J fan, but the smaller producers excite me more often than does the goliath. Anyway, I think we can agree to agree on this point.
One quibble, however. Wasn't it Biondi-Santi that made Brunello a household name, not Banfi?
- Jason - 01-31-1999
To my aptly named friend Misterjive (whose identity will remain secret to protect the innocent)
Perhaps I was a bit premature on the defense of our larger friends.
Concerning Biondi - Santi, they did create the wine, but it stayed in very small production and expensive.
Banfi, with the help of Ezio Rivella, put in some major capital and marketing and brought it to the rest of the world.
- Jerry D Mead - 01-31-1999
Speaking of large and small...just because the big guys make some pedestrian wines for mass markets (K'J's slighty sweet Chardonnay comes to mind), one should not allow that to take away from the really great stuff.
Gallo makes ordinary wine, excellent mid-range wines and some truly great stuff in the single vineyard and Estate wines.
The same can be said for K-J, Banfi and a lot of other big names.
JDM