…is just a week from this Tuesday. Will you be ready?
The preparations begin:
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/case-study-lambrusco-summer/
I put a case of Riunite on ice, baby.
That’s nice!
Lovers of great Soave and Valpolicella (and even Chianti) remember when those were horribly debased names in the US due to the industrial versions that were the only thing you found here. That changed and Lambrusco is no different: there are LOTS of great ones and it is one of the most food friendly wines made. It’s not about points, it’s about La Dolce Vita!
Remember? I lived it. Still have a straw bottle of Mateus…
That changed and Lambrusco is no different: there are LOTS of great ones and it is one of the most food friendly wines made.
Name 3 that are available in the US. (what leading question?..)
Caprari is our favorite but there are quite a few. Do a wine searcher query with “ABOVE $10” and you should find a slug. That New York Times article lists some.
I think Roberto is a constant agitator on the board in trying to get people to try different wines from Italy - and I say that in a positive vein, as I think it’s good to be reminded that they make wine in places besides Piemonte & Tuscany. But I do think that availability/access to some of these wines remains an issue. For better or worse, a lot of people do put some value on supporting local retailers, and the fact remains that these wines by and large are not that easy to track down. As much as I like whites from the Alto Adige, as just one example, it’s a hell of a lot easier to get mutiple selections from chablis or muscadet than it is to track down Koferehof or Hofstatter, and at the end of the day, this is supposed to be about pleasure as opposed to becoming a wine hunter (with all due respect to the folks who get off on that aspect of collecting).
I’ve already consigned myself to the fact that if I’m ever going to be trying a selection of Bonarda, I will be doing so by placing an order at a certain wine store in Santa Monica, which still strikes me as an awful lot of trouble to go through given the fact that I am on the east coast.
Well said. And I guess I also just am not about to go online and order and ship a $15 wine. I can find a lot of cool stuff here (I’m drinking an Occhipinti Frappato as I type this). That said, I ordered some Jura wines from K&L, so… I do make exceptions.
Soave, Valpolicella and Chianti have all managed to overcome the reputation they had at one time as swill (not deserved, BTW, at least not for everything available here in the US, even then). Lambrusco has never managed to overcome that, which is a shame because they can be wonderful wines and perfect with the foods of Emilia Romagna and charcuterrie.But they are delicate and do not age well - they must be bought and consumed young, and kept under temperature controlled conditions from estate to store, which is almost NEVER the case.
I worked in a store that, when I started, was the second largest in the US, in terms of size (55,000 sq. ft.) and sales (classified but close to a kajillion dollars per year). When I started they carried one REAL Lambrusco, and that was older stocks they could not sell - the wine was pretty much shot by the time I got there. However, we sold tons of Riunite, and they still do.
Dave - and that’s a special issue for ordering it online since by time we all think about it, it’s summer. And too hot to ship any wine.
So nice ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Lambrusco on Cellartracker…impressive selection:
Wasn’t it just a week away when you posted in February? ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
No, I updated the initial post as the time went by…
This sounds almost as optimistic and potentially deluded as Steak & BJ day, but I applaud you nonetheless!
And a link with one extra parameter so logged-in CT users will see something:
I don’t understand what you said but I’m sure thanks are in order, Eric…
Well yes, I know that Steak & BJ day is confusing, so I’ll give you a link to that too: http://www.steakandbjday.com/
Maybe next year try to team up for Steak, BJ & Lambrusco day?