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MiWine Day 1 - The first wine fair held in Milano (LOMBARDIA)
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Location: Blogs Antonio MaurielloVisiting Italy as a Tourist |
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| Posted by: Antonio Mauriello |
6/14/2004 7:59 AM |
 What else could be more thrilling!
I spent a wonderful
weekend in Monza with my friends Maurizio and Daniela, who are giving
me the best hospitality I could ever receive from a friend. Their
2-year old boy Ivan is a "train" at full speed all day long! Very
entertaining!
On Monday June 14, my day is starting with a fast and easy train ride
from Monza to Fiera di Milano, the huge complex of pavilions hosting
the MiWine. I am now seated comfortably in the train and taking these
notes. In 45 minutes I will be at my destination. I have decided not to
take the car to go to Milano, so I can rest from driving and stay away
from the traffic of the metropolis, which is as chaotic as it can be in
any dynamic Italian city.
I am very excited: this day will be intense and full of things to learn. What else could be more thrilling!
10.30 am: I am writing from the balcony of the Fiera, on the first
floor, looking down over one side at the busy Milano streets, and over
the other side at the even busier stands area, where hundreds of
bottles are being opened in preparation for the crowd.
My first morning went pretty fast: I wanted to understand how big the
show was, so I can organize the following days and not miss anything.
So, I walked and walked, looked and looked.. my head is already
spinning...! I have decided to spend the 3 mornings on the show floor
and the next 3 afternoons at the seminars and lectures upstairs.
I started this morning with the first pavilion. (3 pavilions for 3
mornings). I strolled the wine literature area featuring 15 different
magazines and 10 book shops. In Italy there is a huge amount of
literature on food and wine. I got some free magazine issues on food,
wine and travels. I left behind some subjects like legislation,
agriculture and wine making, even if I was tempted to put those as well
in my already heavy knapsack! I also visited the foreign guest area
where I was professionally welcomed by the staff and where I could use
an Internet connection all for free. Yes... I registered as a "foreign
visitor" which it is really what I am, however it felt weird...
1.30 pm lunch time. I am having a juicy swordfish steak and a fresh fruit salad (no wine...)
To wrap up, here is my first impression: huge! A total of 3 main
enormous pavilions filled with stands of various sizes. Big ads, and
colorful light schemes show a huge effort done during the design phase.
I still don't see a big attendance, which is fine for me because I can
walk around easier and get more attention at the booths.
What follows are some notes taken at the different seminars I attended in this first afternoon at the MiWine.
Prices, where indicated, are in Euro (1 Euro is almost equivalent to 1 $US)
2.30 pm - 3.30 pm
ViP - Vino in Piazza: Banco d'Assaggio di 50 vini autoctoni italiani
Presented by the association "Autoctono" and "Le Citta' del Vino" to
promote native grape varieties in Italy. This tasting was not a guided
event, but a free tasting among different "banchi d'assaggio" (tasting
stations) where different producers were showcasing their products. It
was interesting to talk to them and to the organizers to discover
lesser known wines. This is, as a matter of fact, one of the goals of
my entire trip to Italy.
4.00 pm - 5.30 pm
Seminar: Noble, Red native grapes: Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Aglianico, Nero d'Avola, Carignano del Sulcis
The seminar started almost 30 minutes late. 4 wines instead of 5. Aglianico was missing.
The subject of the conversation was a trip through Italy describing 4 wines good for aging.
1) Piemonte: Barolo 1999 Pio Cesare. From Serralunga vineyards in the Barolo territory near Alba (PIEMONTE).
10,000 bottles produced. Light ruby red. In fact, the Nebbiolo grape
has less antocians (the color agents) than other varieties. Color is
mature, even in young Barolo. Spices and liquorice on the nose. Fresh,
Tannic. Long finish, not too astringent however bitter. A young baby -
a young potential.
60 Euro at store. My score: 88/100
2) Toscana: Brunello di Montalcino Poggio delle Mura 1998 Castello
Banfi 100,000 bottles produced. Deep ruby, purple edges. Earthy,
blackberry, vanilla. Tannic, astringent, long finish. Very young.
45 Euro at store. My score: 90/100
3) Sardegna: Carignano del Sulcis Superiore Terre Brune 2000 Cantina Sociale Santadi. Carignano 90%. 14% alcohol.
Carignano is a native grape variety of Sardinia of very ancient Spanish
origins. It was ported to Southern France, then Corsica and Sardinia.
Deep ruby. Sweet bouquet. Strawberry very evident on the nose. I then
noticed tobacco, vanilla and coffee. Dry, fresh, full of sweet fruity
notes in the mouth. Robust. Tannins are intense and pleasant. Long
finish.
30 Euro at store. My score: 86/100
4) Sicilia: Duca Enrico 2000 Nero d'Avola Azienda Duca di Salaparuta.
Gela. Will be released in Italy on October 2004. The wine maker
("enologo") said that it will last 3-4 years. Deep dark ruby. Bouquet
is less intense than Carignano. Animal and earthy notes. Cherry.
Tannins are evident. The finish is long and very pleasant.
45 Euro at store. My score: 84/100
6.00 pm - 8.00 pm
12 wines from Tuscany's top collection
12 wines. A paradise. The entire Toscana's top collection from Maremma is here.
The title of this tasting is intriguing:
"Maremma: la via Montenapoleone del vino griffato"
well, it took me few moments to understand its meaning!
So, let's analyze it word by word:
"Maremma" is the region of Tuscany near the sea very well known in the entire wine world.
"via Montenapoleone" is the most trendy and expensive street in Milano known for its fashion and jewelry stores.
"Griffato" is a word meaning fancy and trendy, very fashionable at the moment, therefore very expensive.
If we put everything together: it translates to something like: "The
Italian top wines are all here" (at least from a cost perspective...)
Led by all of the 12 producers, we scanned the 120km stretch of Tuscany
between the towns of Bolgheri and Scansano covering 3 provinces:
Grosseto, Siena, Livorno
Here is a list of the speakers present: starting from the South of Maremma and seated from the left of the table:
SCANSANO:
1. Sergio Zingarelli (Rocca delle Macie)
2. Chiara Giannotti (Fazi Battaglia)
3. Stefano Cinelli Colombini (Fattoria dei Barbi)
4. Andrea Cecchi (Cecchi)
5. Marchese Filippo Mazzei (Tenuta Belguardo)
6. Iacopo Biondi Santi (Biondi Santi)
VAL DI CORNIA:
7. Vittorio Moretti (Petra)
MONTEREGIO:
8. Principe Girolamo Strozzi (Tenuta I Massi)
9. Adolfo Parentini (Moris Farms)
BOLGHERI:
10. Piero Antinori (Guado al Tasso)
11. Lamberto Frescobaldi (Tenuta dell'Ornellaia)
12. Marchese Nicolo Incisa della Rocchetta (Tenuta San Guido)
Then: President of Cifa, President of world's enologists: Professore
Ezio Rivella was seated at the center table, with the Master of
Ceremonies Peter Khail
Each speaker had 4 minutes to talk about their estate and geographical
area and 2 minutes for the tasting. Then they would take only 1
question.
Here is the list of the wines. The sequence numbers correspond to the producers' numbers.
1) Morellino di Scansano 2003 Campomaccione Rocca delle Macie 90%
Sangiovese 5% Merlot 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. simple, medium body, medium
persistence, not very tannic. My score: 80/100
2) Morellino di Scansano Greto delle Fate 2003 fruity, with a light, gentle very pleasant woody finish. My score: 84/100
3) Morellino di Scansano Vivaio dei Barbi 2001 cherry, nice finish.
Cost at the cellar: Euro 6.20. My score: 80/100
4) Morellino di Scansano Riserva Val delle Rose 2001 100% Sangiovese
very warm and soft. Long fruity finish. My score: 85/100
5) Tenua Belguardo IGT Maremma Marchesi Mazzei 2001. My score: 88/100
6) Schidione 1999. My score: 80/100
7) Petra 2000. My score: 86/100
8) Guidariccio Strozzi DOC Montereggio di Massa Marittina. Intense and dark purple. Strawberry. My score: 81/100
9) Avvoltore 1999 Moris. Very tannic. Young.
The next 3 wines are the best of the best. Sought after by the entire
world community of wine collectors, they are positioned right at the
top of the Italian pyramid of wine costs! They are all from 1998 (the
latest release) which was a very hot summer in Toscana.
10) Guado al Tasso Bolgheri Superiore Antinori 1998. Very aggressive and very young. My score: 92/100
11) Ornellaia Bolgheri 1998. Still very closed on the nose. A huge
structure, power and an endless elegant aftertaste. I smelt it again at
the end of the seminar. Great complexity of berries and spices with
notes of chocolate emerged. My score: 96/100
12) Sassicaia Bolgheri Marchesi Incisa delle Rocchette 1998
The first year this wine was produced was 1968 as a table wine. It was
the beginning of the SuperTuscan fashion era. 30 years later, I am
tasting a 1998, which is still very young, impenetrable, robust, just a
bit poorer than 1997. My score: 94/100. If you can afford it, it's
worth to try it.
Notes:
- This event was held during Italy's first soccer match for the
European Cup, which keeps the entire nation in front of the TV. No
European and no Italian has ever missed a game of this nature. However
tonight the room at this MiWine's event was full! (myself included!)
- PERFUMES....OOOOUCHHHH!!!!!! Unfortunately for us, there was a strong
scent of a lady's perfume in the room. As most of us know, this can
ruin a tasting… especially of this kind!
- Another distracting disturbance: CELLULAR PHONES were not turned off during the events.
8.30 pm - 9.30 pm
A world of organic wines
Seminar on world Organic wines from Enotime ("Naturalità & Qualità: grandi vini biodinamici da tutto il mondo")
The seminar wanted to identify the benefits of organic wines (in
Italian they are called "vini biologici") on humans and on the
territory. The latest trends and legislation from different countries
aim to spread a wider knowledge on the topic.
6 Organic wines tasted.
The score I gave is broken into 3 judging factors:
- O (olfatto - nose - from 1 to 5)
- G (gusto - taste - from 1 to 5)
- F (Final - from 1 to 5)
1) Movia Ribolla 2001 Colle Slovenia
My score: O4 G4.5 F3.5
2) Meursault 2001 Pierre Morret Chateau LeFevre - a Borgougne blend
He started to produce organic wine when he realized that there were no more snails in his fields!
My score: O4.5 G4 F4
3) Mosel Saar - Riesling 2001
My score: O2.5 G4.5 F4
4) Pithos Azienda Cos Ragusa 2001- 100% Cerasuolo
My score: O4 G3.5 F3
5) Faugeres Leon 2001
Grenache, Carignano, Cinsaut fermented in cement vats without de-stemming the vine.
My score: O2.5 G3 F3
6) Matallana 2001 DOC Riviera del Duero - 100% Tinto Fino
My score: O4 G4 F4.5
Pavillons at MiWine: View from the above gallery |
| Copyright ©2006 Antonio Mauriello |
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