A sad day in Dirtville (file under "ass" redux)

[Botafogo]

A sad day in Dirtville

Any of you who have ever had the pleasure of meeting famed Italian wine author Victor Hazan (or his wife, Chef / Author Marcella) or read his works know that he is an absolutely passionate, poetic and honest man. We have often recommended his book "Italian Wine" to aficionados over other books with more raw data while noting that "if you just read the paragraph describing Roero Arneis you will be so jazzed you will call your travel agent and book a visit to Piemonte!". That book was published in 1982 and, while it is still a certifiable classic, we have been eagerly awaiting his updated views on the subject. So imagine our reaction upon reading in one of his recent essays that, after tasting wines the length and breadth of Enotria for three years in the late '90's, "I knew what I had to do. I asked my agent to return the publisher's advance and I wrote my editor to explain why I was abandoning the project. Why? I found I could not write a guide to Italian wines when I no longer recognized many of the wines being produced as being Italian. Following the examples set by Antinori and Gaja, the producers had begun to master a style of wine that drinkers and critics at home and abroad found irresistible: clinically perfect bottlings filled with massively concentrated fruit wrapped in easy, tender tannins and emitting the dulcet, toasty vanilla scent of new French oak familiar to wine drinkers everywhere."

Then he drops this bombshell: "These popular, well regarded examples of 'Italian' winemaking make me think of so many geishas, sweet smelling and thickly powdered, hiding any blemish or evidence of alarming individual character. They speak to us of those who fashioned them rather than the places where they were grown; they represent the triumph of style over substance, of image over identity. They could have been made anywhere"!!!!!!!!!

We had no sooner finished reading this than we were shown the current issue of America's most influential yet misguided wine newsletter featuring a round up of "great wine values" and nearly every Italian wine in it was made by the same wine "maker" who we heartily believe should be deported to Australia so he can fulfill his destiny. Then, ten minutes later, we see that one of these wines is the cover story Wine of the Month in one of our competitor's catalogues. Not an hour later, someone tries to sell us an alleged Ribera del Duero (one of Spain's most heralded zones, justifiably famous for earthy, traditional wines of medium body that smell of aged meat and DIRT, not black currents and vanilla) that has the consistency of port and tastes like Aussie Merlot all the while invoking the name of two of the zone's most traditional producers for credibility.

Arrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!!!! Thankfully we had a nice Amarone within reach or we might have killed someone... Why do we care so passionately about this? Because we fear that we are living in the transitional age and in as little as ten years ALL wine will taste like the "geishas" above and no one will even remember what REAL wine is supposed to be like!

As is our wont, we will throw in some musical analogies: Which is a more authentic plea of enduring love, that insufferably perfect and overproduced Celine Dion song from "Titanic" or Aretha Franklin purring "You make me feel like a natural woman" to her own sparse piano accompaniment? Can you really tell The Back Street Boys from In'S'ynch from O-Town without looking at a video of the song in question? Brian Wilson is a genius as an arranger and chose to go to warp nine in producing "Good Vibrations" yet stripped "Sloop John B" down to the musical bone to let its simple melody and wistful emotions shine through.....we could go on for days! But instead, we will bring you some truly authentic wines:

Wine of the Week: Pesenti Private Stock "Red Velvet", California
This is one of the most traditional, Italian American wineries in California, churning out large quantities of classic Southern Italian style sturdy reds a great prices since 1934. Many of you went gaga over an Amarone styled Zin we offered a few years ago and we have just now re-established distribution. Sadly though, just in time for the winery to be acquired by a famous wine "maker" who will no doubt increase the price of the wines by ten fold while destroying their very essence in the process (and we do mean "process"). An ominously worded quote from the web site notes that "Since the purchase, a major retrofit of the cellar has taken place and a tremendous amount of energy has been spent improving viticultural practices. The original winery now houses state-of-the-art winemaking equipment. This newly updated facility allows for natural winemaking techniques allowing the intensely concentrated grapes to reveal their true terroir." Now either the winemaking is natural (ala Pepe or Bea) or it's "state of the art", not both, and we are convinced this will be the last great wine from this estate. It was a real wowzer at last night's Il Forno tasting, no one thought it could cost less than $15 and we strongly suggest you pour it for your wine geek friends blind and watch them twitch! Then tell them it's just $5.99!!!

Roberto

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 08-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 08-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 08-08-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 08-08-2001).]