Craig Camp

Really good pinot noir wines from Alsace are few and far between. They seem to insist out of tradition more than anything else. With Burgundy a short trip south you have to wonder why. The same goes for Spatburgunder in Germany and Champagne has its Bouzy Rouge. Every once in a while you get a pretty good one, but they always a suprise when you find them. The climate for making fine pinot noir has a very narrow range. A little too cold and you end up with a herbal soup and too warm you end up with stewed tomatoes. Then there is the soil. You can have the perfect climate, but if you have the wrong dirt you get weird funky stuff.

Carnarino is used in many seafood/fish recipes. Some times people with use both wine and carnarino in the same recipe and some omit the wine. It is more a matter of taste and tradition. Soffrito simply refers to sauteed aromatic vegetables used as a flavor base in many dishes. The classic onions/celery/carrots combo is used in all of Italy (I hear the French have stolen this idea too), but a soffrito can be only one or any combination of these three used depending on the dish. So in risotto the onions alone are the soffrito.

As the 2003 harvest gets underway, Gallo is in the process of buying 4,000 tons of premier Napa-grown Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, enough to make more than 250,000 cases, according to industry sources. And Gallo is getting the grapes for as little as $1,500 a ton, about 60% less than the average price similar grapes fetched last year, according to industry sources.

97 was just an average vintage and Panisse is a solid, but not stellar producer. The wine could be very pleasant to drink now if it was stored correctly. At $13 it seems worth a try.

Wines that are over-chaptalized or over-acidified always seem disjointed to me. Like the parts are all there but they just don't fit together. I would describe it as more a textural sensation than taste or aroma. The higher alcohol that results from over-chaptalization always seems to stick out and never integrates into the wine. The wines seem 'clunky" if you know what I mean. With acid it always seems to bite your tongue in a strange way.

Welcome Nebbiolo Fanatico! For those of you who don't recognize his writing, Nebbiolo Fanatico is a true lover and expert in all things nebbiolo. Finally the defender of traditional nebbiolo arrives at eGullet. Thanks for accepting my invitation! Take the time to read his post and part 2 that I hope is coming soon. Really great stuff. WARNING: not for the timid or young children - he really says what he believes! Thanks again Nebbiolo Fanatico.

The parmigiano is a key flavor element in the two recipes given. They would of course be acceptable without it, but the dish will not have the complexity of flavor the cheese brings to the rice. Parmigiano would not be added to seafood dishes, but he does not like that either. As this is the last step what you might do is take his risotto out before adding the cheese. Then you don't have to deprive yourself!

This sounds very Sicilian. In Sicilia there are many sauces based on estratto which is a super reduced sauce made from semi-sun dried tomatoes. In Sicilia you can buy it in cans in the store. However as far as I know it is not commercially available outside of southern Italy -- you certainly can't find it in Lombardia. However many expatriates made a reasonable facsimile by cooking down tomato paste in a substantial amount of olive oil. This concentrated tomato sauce made by this method certainly ends up with a thick layer of olive oil that sits on the top. It sounds like your recipe could be one of these. It is certainly common to simmer polpette in the sauce after you have cooked them. You can find recipes for this sauce in La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio by Wanda and Giavanna Tornabee.

Your love and knowledge of wine is well known. What are some wine and soul food matches that knock you out?

WSWA now there is a reliable source. The WSWA has cautioned for years that the growing phenomenon of so-called

On a spotless concrete floor, seven huge molding machines sit in a row, pressing out little nubs into pallet-sized cardboard boxes. Each box contains some 50,000 of these synthetic doodads, just wide enough to fit the neck of a wine bottle. And that’s precisely where they end up.

Kiss her. No matter what we do GM vines, just like all fruits and vegetables are going to be part of our future. This will be a prime example of chaos theory. No one knows what will happen.

Raccolta is my weekly Italian wine selection that I am pleased to share with all here at eGullet. 2002 Pala Cannonau di Sardegna

The question that follows is: Does the name of a dish really mean something? To me there is risotto and then there are risotto inspired dishes. To be risotto it must be prepared using a clearly defined technique with certain types of rice. This is not to say that many of these risotto inspired dishes are not excellent - they are just not risotto. I think the wine is an essential part of the risotto process. I guess I like 'boiled wine taste'. Also the creamy texture of risotto should come from the starch of the rice itself - even if creme is added in the recipe the main texture should be created by the rice.

The Lombardian version of bollito is not as exciting as it is in Emilia Romagna. Here it is often just a piece of beef, tongue with some vegetables. My wife loves it, but thank God for mostarda which adds some excitement to the boiled beef. Maybe that's way mostarda is so popular here!

Bollito is such a common dish around our house in cool weather that I always have some broth in the refrigerator or freezer. This is part of the concept of Italian home cooking - everything connects to something else and nothing is wasted: just like the delicious arancini you mention. I see no reason why diluted stock would not work for risotto. Never done it, but I will have to give it a try I agree risotto is served too thick(or dry) in the USA for the most part. I like to think of it as creamy when I get it right. By the way it was cool and rainy here for two days so I have a nice batch of broth to use - so in a few hours friends are arriving for ossobuco e risotto Milanese. Thank God that hot weather is gone so we can cook and eat again!

Because his reviews sell wine. In Varese: Bologna -via B.Broggi 7 -0332234362 Just 10k outside of Varese in Vergiate is the excellent: Antica Trattoria San Giacomo - via Giacomo Matteotti 18 -0331 948194 (this is really in the middle of nowhere but really good food. In Besozzo just outside of Varese: Osteria del Sass - via S. Antonio 17b- 0332 771005 (only uses produce from the area - very good)

1. I believe there is no 'one direction' that is right for stirring risotto. It depends on the person doing the stirring. They should stir in the direction that is most comfortable to ensure they stir all the rice evenly. The issue is not really direction but consistency, gentleness (don't breakdown the rice) and thoroughness. 2. No. In Lombardia it is a weekly (if not more) dish in most homes. In regions where it is not a regional dish sometimes yes. 3. The exact amount of broth needed depends on the type of rice used. It is an issue of taste and how al dente you like your risotto. I like my risotto quite moist so I use a bit more than you do. 4. The type of rice used often not only depends on the dish, but the region. In Piemonte arborio dominates and their risottos tend to be quite robust like the rice. In Veneto where vialone nano dominates they have wonderful seafood and they have many seafood based risotto. I think the grainy texture of vialone nano goes best with fish and seafood and arborio with meat and mushrooms. However this may be physiological on my part. Carnaroli is good with everything. I'd say I use carnaroli 90% of the time and vialone nano the rest. I almost never use arborio anymore. Not that there is anything wrong with good arborio. 5. Your comments about adding ingredients are correct. You just want to be sure to add enough of them early on to well flavor the broth and rice. Shrimp and other seafood are often cooked separately and added at the end with a broth used to flavor the rice. For instance with fresh porcini you would add some chopped in the beginning, but then add the large pieces towards the end to maintain their texture.

Don't feel bad. Tommy is a famous hater of butter bomb chardonnay. Come to think of it: so am I. Needless to say that besides Tommy and me there are a few hundred million people out there who seem to love the stuff. NeroW was drinking KJ and this HAS to be a step up!

Cavallotto remains one of the great bargains of Barolo. Really wonderful wines. I bought the 96 Bricco Boschis on close-out at $20. It was extraordinary. Needless to say I bought every bottle I could find. The introduction of large French oak (as compared to Slovanian oak) botte is a growing phenomena in Piemonte. I think the results look very promising. As Barolo Boy notes. the war seems to have passed from the producers to the consumers, wine trade and press who are all viciously debating the issue with the same passion as Catholics when the Vatican dropped the Latin Mass. Tradition dies hard, but some traditions should die. The old style is not inherently great and the new style is not inherently evil.

I don't think you disagree with me. As I said in the article the aging issue is now the focus of debate . You do not have to look to far to find someone that will complain that the newer style wines are not aging well. This is just the next chapter in the Barolo wars. Myself I believe the jury is still out on these wines and I have tasted ones that are aging well and others that are not. As fine as the Altare Brunate is it just does not have the same sense of place as Marcarini Brunate. I would certainly feel more comfortable aging the Marcarini for the 25 years that you mention. At the same time I think the commitment to quality of Elio Altare is incredible as are his wines. As I tried to explain in the article I admire both styles and respect winemakers from both schools.

Bill it has been raining for almost 2 days now.

The trip you propose would be very easy and reasonably priced by train. The only disadvantage is not really being able to stop and wander the countryside. Don't worry there will still be plenty to see on the trip you propose. The connections would be all easy to make. Be sure to pack light because you will have to deal with stairs in Italian train stations. Avoid driving in Milano. There is no parking and it is a pain in the ass finding your way around. Use public transportation and cabs.

Prices for grapes made into wine or juice concentrate are edging up. For example, Thompson seedless are at $90 a ton, up from $65 last year. But growers say the prices remain below the cost of production.

As harvest gets underway across Europe every winemaker in Bordeaux is anxiously watching the weather, but paying scant attention to another potentially devastating force – Robert Parker.