FEUDO ARANCIO SYRAH SICILY

Feudo Arancio is a Sicilian winery owned by the large producer Gruppo Mezzacorona.  Their 1,700 acres of vineyards are located on Sicily's southern coast, and the winery specializes in single-variety wines including Grillo and Nero d'Avola, in addition to the Syrah I'll write about here.

I had the Arancio Syrah at the Los Angeles Italian eatery Fabroncini, near Beverly Glen and Mulholland.  It's a favorite place for Denise and I to drop in for some great Italian food and wine.  They sell the Arancio Syrah for $8 by the glass, and it appears to be available for about that price by the bottle in retail.

The waiter did not recommend the wine very highly, but I love Syrah and don't get the chance to experience it in its Italian form very often.  I waved off his admonition and ordered it anyway.  I'm glad I did.

It's very inky in the glass, with a nose that is just as dark.  Herbal notes lace around a tarry aroma with blackberry fruit on display, although it is not so pronounced as one might expect in a California or Australian Syrah.

The flavor of blackberry and black cherry dominate the palate, however, and there's a little tar evident.  Licorice notes join a very nice minerality and the acidity is in top form.  The tannic structure is very soft, possibly not what many Syrah lovers may like.  I find it quite nice, and at less than $10 per bottle retail, it's a great wine to look for when you're in the mood for an easy-drinking, food-friendly Italian.

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CANTINE RUSSO UVE D'ORO NERO D'AVOLA

When we go to Disneyland, my wife and I often make California Adventure our first stop.  If it's time for lunch, we head for Wine Country Trattoria at the Golden Vine Winery.

For the uninitiated, they actually grow grapes right there in the theme park.  It's a real vineyard in the same sense that Disneyland's Frontierland is actually the Old West.  But it does make me think of Napa Valley, which is the intent.

A site called All Ears - guess who's ears - has an interesting tidbit to share:

"Anaheim was actually a grape-growing area with a number of vineyards.  But in the 1880s a virus called "Anaheim Disease" destroyed the grapevines, and the growers eventually turned to citrus instead.  This virus still persists, and the vines at the Golden Vine Winery have to be re-planted as they fall prey to it."

The restaurant features nice Italian food and, of course, wine.  The outside area makes a great place to dine and offers a good view of the World Of Color water and light spectacular in the evening.  They say reservations are a must if you want that vantage point.

The Wine Country Trattoria's wine list has some nice Italian offerings in addition to the expected California pours.  I usually pick a California wine, what with Mickey's smiling face looking down from the ferris wheel in the midway.  This time, I chose an Italian vino.

The wine, Uve D'oro Nero d'Avola, is from Cantine Russo.  The 2005 Sicilian red hails from vineyards in Sambuca di Sicilia and has an alcohol level of 12.5% abv.

The dark purple color suggests some rich flavor, and the nose gives it away with black fruit spiced with anise and clove.  On the palate, the flavor of black tea layers over the dark fruit.  It's a very aromatic wine and it tastes simply and rustically beautiful.

While I enjoyed it with the lasagna I ordered, I found myself wishing I had opted for a Sangiovese instead.  I especially like the way Sangiovese pairs with tomato-based food, but this Nero was certainly serviceable.  My wife liked the pairing more than I did, and I have the utmost respect for her sensibilities in pairing flavors.



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MARINELLA DRY MARSALA

You may know Marsala only as a cooking wine, as in chicken Marsala, but it also makes a fairly decent sipper.

Produced in the Sicilian city of Marsala, D.O.C., this fortified wine has a long history dating back the Roman era.  Marsala is usually labeled by its relative sweetness - secco, semisecco, dolce - and by quality.

Marinella Dry Marsala is labeled as “fine,” which means it received less than a year of aging.  “Fine” is the lowest level on the quality scale for Marsala.  It retails for around $13 and has an alcohol level of 17% abv, the minimum for fine Marsala.  Some higher grades are required to be at least 18%.

The Marinella shows a brownish brick or amber brown color in the glass.  It smells of alcohol at first, but just let the heat burn off for about 15 minutes to a half hour and it’s smooth sailin’.  I
love the aromatic nature.  The nose is rich with dried fruit, raisins and a caramel aspect.  It tastes of dried fruit, too - a little like raisins, but with a helping of dark berries and some apricot sneaking through.  There’s a nice acidity, and an astringency lingers on a little too long for my taste on the finish.  It is quite a lengthy finish, however.

I tried the Marsala at room temperature, but the winemaker recommends a chill - 50 degrees F - for use as an apertif or dessert wine.  It is much better this way.

I have found better dessert wines, although at $13 for a full 750ml bottle, this wine is a good buy.  I would also recommend cooking with it.  Chicken Marsala, anyone?

VASARI SICILIA BIANCO MISTRAL 2008

A recent trip to 55 Degree Wine in Atwater Village allowed me to net a few delightful surprises.  They have a store full of small-production wines from all over the world, with an emphasis on Italian, Spanish and Portuguese wines.

The Vasari Mistral white is a Sicilian IGT wine which utilizes native Sicilian grapes - 40% Cataratto, 40% Inzolia and 20% Grillo.  The Vasari family has grown grapes in the hills of Santa Lucia del Mela, Italy for 1000 years, according to their website.

Catarratto is the most widespread grape variety grown in Sicily.  It’s a native grape, the second most widely planted in Sicily after Sangiovese.  Inzolia typically has fruity and floral aromas.

This white wine has a vibrant gold color, spicy floral aromas and a full-bodied mouthfeel.  It tastes of slightly sour lemon candy - especially on the finish, which seems to last forever.  There is also a rather unusual savory aspect which I find very intriguing.  The alcohol level is a moderate 12.5% abv.

A Couple of Nero d'Avola Wines

I have been drinking quite a few Italian wines lately, not because they are necessarily my preference, but because my wife, Denise, really loves them. Don't get me wrong - I really love me some good ol' Italian varietals. I just prefer exploring the wines of California more than any other area.

I hate to drink alone, however, and if the wife has an Italian wine open, that's okay by me.

It's possible the reason she's so drawn to Italian wines is because it's in her blood. Her family tree has roots in Sicily. And she does seem more drawn to Sicilian wine than the other regions of Italy. Whatever the reason, when we can enjoy a glass of wine together, it's a good thing.

I can compare two wines made from Sicily's most important red wine grape, Nero d'Avola. From the southern town of Avola, this grape was long used primarily as a blending grape. Since the 1980s, though, it has stood very well on its own. The characteristics a Nero d'Avola shows are somewhat akin to those of a new world Syrah, so this would seem to be a nice varietal for a California wine guy like me.

First, a bottle from home, then a restaurant selection.

Ruggero di Tasso Archeo Nero d'Avola 2007 - True to its reputation, I found Syrah-like pepper on the nose and palate with ripe berries in the forefront. A vegetal note also came into play that I found intriguing. The texture is smooth, but the medium mouthfeel left me wanting something a little more substantial. There's a decent amount of acidity and it would probably fare well with a nice pasta dish or some Italian sausage. The finish is not too dramatic. It's serviceable enough, and I think it usually sells for under $10, so expectations shouldn't be too high.

The restaurant selection came at Il Buco on Robertson in Beverly Hills, a favorite of ours. The wine was Cataldo Nero d'Avola 2006. If the Tasso didn't quite satisfy my new world taste, the Cataldo certainly didn't. A big, fruity nose with blackberries, plum and pepper came off as perfumy - even my wife wrinkled her nose a bit. There was a vegetal note on the back end in this wine as well, but it served more as a curiosity than anything else.

The wine had good color, but unfortunately I found the taste not so much "medium" as "thin and watery." It was not my style, although its fruitiness and freshness would no doubt be attractive to some. It was a very lightweight entry.

Neither of these wines held too much interest for me. They were both drinkable - the Tasso more than the Cataldo - but ultimately I like a little more body in a wine.

Tasting Notes: Artisan Cheese Gallery

We were out for a Sunday morning adventure. Well, actually it was a trip to the Studio City Farmers' Market. We don't like difficult adventures.

The trip did turn out to be more than we bargained for, though. We strolled through the fruit stands - unfortunately, most of the fruit wasn't quite sweet and delicious just yet - and saw the various bead salespeople, the countless baby strollers and the gourmet corn tamale stand I can smell and identify without looking. There were a couple of guys singing folk music and another guy playing a steel drum, probably the happiest sounding instrument in all the musical world. Nobody's playing the blues on a steel drum.

Just about to call it a morning, we remembered the Artisan Cheese Gallery, just steps away from the Farmers' Market. It was an adventure after all. We went for the cheese and stayed for the flight of wines.

The aroma of their cheeses is magnificent. It's not overpowering, because all their cheese is put away and refrigerated overnight. It is a very pleasant aroma for a cheese lover to encounter.

Here's a rule of thumb: if there's cheese, there's wine. Artisan Cheese Gallery is no exception. Two walls are covered with racks of wine for sale and there are several displays in the floor space. A chalkboard on the counter shows which three wines are on the $8 flight. The flight is served in 3 stemless glasses on a wooden tray. The glasses have a dark spot on them in which the names of the wines are written, but it's no substitute for getting up and examining the labels yourself. A printed sheet containing information on the wine should be provided with your flight. I hope they'll do that in the future.

The worldly flight took me to Lodi, Sicily and the Medoc region of France. Here are the wines:

Peirano Estate Vineyard "The Other" 2007 - This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 10% Syrah has plenty of the earthy characteristics Lodi wine usually brings. This is the most distictive nose of the three, and it has a currant and plum flavor profile. Very nice indeed.

Chateau Poitevin 2005 - Described by a staff member as a Bordeaux blend of 55% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Petit Verdot, this Medoc offering was quite dark in the nose and on the palate. The complexity was not surprising. I am always struck by the complex subtlety in wines from Bordeaux and the surrounding areas.

Planeta La Segreta 2007 - This is an interesting blend of the wonderful Italian varietal Nero d'Avola with Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. The nose was rather difficult for me to ferret out, but plums, raspberries and chocolate were detected by my wife. There may be a bit of coffee in there, too. It tasted like a Sicilian version of Pinot Noir, with plenty of spicy, dark notes.

Artisan Cheese Gallery
12023 Ventura Boulevard
Studio City, CA 91604
818.505.0207