— 700 Years of Italian Wine Making
By
Carol & Joe Davis
Dining Detectives
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We
were pleased to be invited to join one of Italy's premiere
wine makers, Lamberto Frescobaldi, at North
Beach Restaurant www.northbeachrestaurant.com
in San Francisco for lunch where we enjoyed delicious Prosciutto,
Veal and Tiramisu while we tasted a few of his family's wines.
The Frescobaldi's www.frescobaldi.it
have been making wine in Tuscany, Italy for 700 years and Lamberto
who is responsible for viticulture and winemaking represents the
30th generation of this winemaking dynasty. He shared some very
interesting history with us, as they have sold wine to the Royal
Courts of Europe, gifted wine to the Church and because wine has
always been taxed that they still have invoices signed by Michelangelo!
Frescobaldi's
wines take three to five years to release and each vintage has
its challenges even though the weather conditions are generally
consistent in Tuscany. We enjoyed the reasonably priced 2008
Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina. Rufina is the smallest
of the Chianti regions. It lies above the Sieve River east of
Florence and they enjoy perfect weather with long, warm, dry summers.
Chianti from this region is highly regarded and the Nipozzano
Riserva was excellent. It is interesting to note that the 2007
vintage of Nipozzano Riserva Chianti Rufina was rated #1
out of the top 100 wines in the world by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
We
also enjoyed 2007 Castel Giocondo Brunello Di Montalcino,
the 2009 Tenuta Frescobaldi Di Castiglioni but our favorite
was the premium 2007 Mormoreto. This limited production
excellent blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc
and Petit Verdot has a deep red color, berry, spice and vanilla
nose and is a worthy rival to the better Napa blends.
We
certainly enjoyed tasting and learning more about Italian Wines
and now make a point to go to the Italian Section of our favorite
wine shops to explore. We must agree with Lamberto, now that we
know more about Italian wines.... the more unfaithful we may be
to California wines. It is always exciting to broaden your knowledge
and experience.
North
Beach Restaurant
www.northbeachrestaurant.com