Lunch: Cecchi Family Estates

by Rob Bralow, Wine Post Editor

The world is full of people. Even better, the world is full of people trying to make something new, exciting, and refreshing. I find that this is especially true in the world of alcoholic beverages, especially wine.

I was treated to a press lunch where roughly ten other journalists and I tasted through the offerings of the Cecchi Family Estates, imported by Banfi Vintners. Cecchi started as a négociant family, lead by Luigi Cecchi. Today's Luigi Cecchi, grandson of the first, began purchasing land throughout Italy, including vineyards in the famous Chianti Classico region.

Andrea Cecchi, the current generation proprietor along with his brother Cesare, lead the lunch and expounded on the family philosophy of earth driven wines. Tasting through the wines I could see what he meant. They all had a lot of rich and rustic qualities, certainly wines that screamed for food.

There were three wines that stuck out to me at the tasting. The first was the aperitif wine, the 2009 Litorale Vermentino Maremma Toscanna. This white wine was beautifully floral, with a light perfume of red grapefruit, lemon zest, and soft minerality. It was very pleasant to drink and had I not known there were bigger fish coming down the stream, I might have indulged myself unhealthily.

The second wine I took note of was the 2006 Villa Cerna Chianti Classico Riserva. I almost did not want to take my nose out of the glass and taste the wine, it was that good! Rich tea leaves, a soft mix of red and black fruits, and a spicy complexity made me go back again and again to see what I could find. I was absolutely shocked when I was told this wine sold for under $25. Incredible value.

The last wine was really the spotlight wine of the afternoon. The Cecchi Family's new wine, COEVO is a quintessential super-Tuscan. The name means "contemporary" in Italian and also alludes to an "EVOlution." On the bottle is one of the famous quotes from St. Augustine:

Time does not exist. It is only a dimension of the spirit. The past is past. The future does not exist, as it has yet to happen. And the present is only one instance of separation between past and future.

Whether you feel philosophical or not, this wine is certainly worth seeking out for the experience. With a strong Sangiovese base, the 2006 COEVO is a blend with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. The wine is huge, larger than life fruit with a dry background. Definitely in a more modern style, I believe this wine may need a year or two to integrate the flavors together.

Disclaimer: This write-up is a direct result of a press lunch.

A Lunch with Ruffino

by Rob Bralow, Wine Post Editor


I have decided that I love Spring. This is the time of year when every winemaker and their brother comes into town. I sometimes get jealous of all the bloggers in California that can go out to wine country every weekend to meet winemakers, taste their wines, and do so with a group of other wine geeks. In New York, the wine country is both father away and not nearly as attractive as the wineries near San Francisco (although I have been hearing great things about wine being made in Brooklyn).

This past Monday, I attended a tasting at the International Culinary Center (ICC) of wines from Ruffino. This company, founded in 1877 by Ilario and Leopoldo Ruffino and purchased by the Folonari family in 1913, makes some of the finest wines from Italy. Adolfo Folonari, the CEO of the company came to New York to talk to some of the most important wine writers and journalists that have been in the business for several of the past few decades. I have no idea how I wrangled an invitation.

Along with the wines from Ruffino, we had the pleasure of having Cesare Casella, a renowned Italian Chef, give us a taste of Italy. Casella has run many successful restaurants in New York, and is currently the Dean of the Italian Culinary Academy at the ICC. Casella most recently opened Salumeria Rosi (www.salumeriarosi.com) on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, a shop and restaurant with a focus on premium Italian salumi (yes, I spelled that right). With seven types of salumi to taste and a delicious meal prepared by students of the ICC, it was a delicious rainy afternoon.

Have you ever seen two Italians (I mean real Italians, direct from Italy) talk about food? It is like watching two professors discuss their favorite topic to someone who takes an opposing view. With arm waving to match the conductor of the New York Philharmonic. There has to be a thought of how the food was grown, where the pigs were housed, what they ate, how long the smoking took, which village has the best atmosphere, etc. On Facebook one of my friends said, "They were probably actually talking about sex." I loved every minute of it.

Speaking of Facebook, between the journalists there was a lot of banter regarding how often one of them posts status updates and comments. This really highlighted for me how far behind the people in the room really were in today's world of social communication. The room was filled with people for whom I have the utmost respect. Their wine savvy is unquestionable, their contribution to the wine industry immense, and their connections to the most powerful winemakers and import companies could change the course of the market. One of their number was learning how social media works, checking out how to use Facebook. I know one or two of them are on Twitter, but they do not really interact with people there. They did it to see what it is all about. I applaud their efforts and I encourage them to keep going. Read the blogs just as often as the newspapers. Put the wine reviewing site on the radar. Add an RSS feed or two to an RSS Feed Reader. If that is all gibberish, read about it on Wikipedia.

Now that I got that out of my system, I can turn back to the wines. My favorites of the tasting were:

2009 Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio Venezia Giulia IGT - Bright and creamy, with very nice hints of lemon. This wine had flavor and body, something I find lacking in so many Pinot Grigio's. The group also loved this wine and for $10 it's a steal.

2004 Ruffino Greppone Mazzi Brunello di Montalcino DOCG - Delicate, with slight cedar wood notes, blackberry and a pleasant heat on the nose. Rich and fruity with soft spices, a heap of cinnamon, and a liveliness that gives the wine energy and a strong desire for food.

2001 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG - A smooth wine, deep dark fruit, but with a solid base of structure and bright acidity and a chocolate finish. This is a big wine that has done well for nine years and I think would love some more time to sit.

Pretty but missing something

By Rob Bralow, Wine Post Editor

It amazes me how old Europe is. I can only say that as an ignorant American in his mid-twenties, but when I compare some wines in California, many of which where non-existent before the 1990's, and the wines from Italy or France, many of which have history going back to the 1600's, it just boggles my mind.

That is how I felt when I received samples from Tiziano. In the About section, Tiziano talks about how old the Chianti Classico region is and how lucky Tiziano is to be part of that tradition. Somewhat misleading, since what I really want to know is the age of Tiziano winery. A pretty website, with very little information.

The wines somewhat echo that sentiment and being almost done. The winery makes a Chianti, Chianti Classico, Chianti Riserva, and a Pinot Grigio. Below are my tasting notes:

2008 Tiziano Pinot Grigio, Veneto, Italy - Starts with bright kiwi and fresh cut flowers in the glass. The taste is extremely light and grapy, with a slightly metallic taste upfront.

2007 Chianti - Earthy and rich with blackberry and slightly barnyard characteristics. Yes, that's a good thing. The taste is light and a little creamy. It is a simple wine, but easy to drink and destined for Tuesday night with pasta marinara.

2006 Chianti Classico - Fresh raspberries and stawberries are almost growing out of the glass. Such fruity sweetness on the nose! Then there are notes of dark chocolate and toast that mixes with the fruit. The only thing holding this wine back is the mass of woody dryness that cuts away the fruit on the finish.

2005 Chianti Riserva - Not sure what happened with this wine, but it was not my favorite. There is a super sweetness to this wine which is almost immediately dropped and dissapears. I tried two different bottles and both had the same result.

In Praise of the Saint of Margherita

Perhaps not as interesting as my recent topics, but I felt as if I needed to get back to the recreational part of blogging, rather than the academic.

There is no question that I am a fan of the occasional margarita. In fact, for most of college I remember going into the local Chili’s for one or two or three Presidentes. I may or may not have remembered leaving the Chili’s…

With such pleasant memories of college fresh in my mind, I was more than happy to taste a few bottles of Santa Margherita. Yes, the spelling is slightly different, but if you drink enough of them you’ll never notice.

Santa Margherita, founded in 1935, currently makes 32 wines according to their website. Which means it is somewhat unlikely that this is a small company. In addition, Santa Margherita sponsors environmental initiatives in Italy as well as AIDS research in Canada. Hopefully this company will also begin doing some sponsorship in the U.S.

I tasted their Brut Prosecco NV from Valdobbiadene as well as the Chianti Classico 2006, which does not seem to be listed on their website. The Prosecco had medium sized bubbles with peaches and kiwi coming through on the nose. The taste was of white fleshed fruits, but nothing really discernable. The Chianti Classico was smooth, with some rich stewed red berry theme running through it.

Neither was amazing, but then again, I would not have passed up a second glass.





















But, why is the bottle image that is on their website, different than the label which is actually on the bottle?