Craig Camp

Are you looking for stages in Italian restaurants?

A good overview to start. I am sure most of us know little - In my case nothing. I am very interested to know who the serious folks are.

A leaking cork is usually caused by exposure to temperature extremes not some fault in the cork.

What's the difference (chemical) between corked and cooked? How else can wine go bad? Corked - wine adversely affected by a cork infected with TCA. Cooked - wine damaged by heat. First give away is a severely leaking cork. Baked wine tastes baked and oxidized.

There are many fine Italian wines at all price ranges. Perhaps you could give us a price range and mention a few wines you have liked from other countries to give us a reference point in making some recommendations. There are literally thousands of Italian wines so we need to get a little more specific.

Tough prices. Perhaps if you have the time you could help us get a closer look at those 150 wineries. I am sure there are a few serious ones we don't ever get to see. I would love to learn more. This could be an interesting and ongoing new thread.

70% tax talk about criminal. Do they do this to protect your own wine industry? I think it is probably proper to give the customer some kind of warning. Let's once again ask Mark S. what he thinks it is proper in this case. I could see that the customer could be easily insulted if it is not handled just so.

Like most of these law changes it was just the rules catching up with what the producers were doing anyway.

I just had a bottle of the Morellino Di Scansano 2000 by Elisabetta Geppetti and liked the wine very much. A great value at only 7 Euro. The plastic cork was in good shape, worked perfectly and I was quite happy to see it. Certainly the customer is not always right (except as Mark S. so deftly noted), but if a super-expensive wine is spoiled because of the cork it should be returned. If you order a huge piece of Kobe beef you would send it back to the kitchen if it was spoiled - no matter how much it cost. If the sommelier agrees that the wine is corked - I can't imagine a restaurant not taking it back. Now if the sommelier determines the wine is fine that is another matter. If you order old wine you as a customer take a risk as to its condition. If it is over the hill it is your problem. If it is corked it is theirs. They are different issues.

I'd depart from that in two ways: 1) There's a point of super-expensive agedness where the risk of a bad bottle has to fall at least in part on the customer. Restaurants aren't in the business of providing insurance on $5000 bottles of wine. People who play in that league understand that they assume some or all of the risk of a bad bottle. 2) I wish more restaurants would adopt the attitude that, even after pouring a taste, a rejected bottle with no technical flaws will yield 4 glasses at the bar at 25% of the bottle price. If the bottle isn't too expensive, it should be no big deal for restaurants to accept the occasional rejection based purely on preference and to sell it off in this manner. We will request Mark Sommelier's consultation on this, but I think if a customer orders an expensive old bottle and it is corked that it can and should be returned. The scary thing for restaurants about old wines in not corked bottles, but consumers that don't know what old wine tastes like. It is very true that a rejected bottle that is good wine can be easily sold profitably by the glass. Unfortunately many restaurants also sell the rejected wine from bottles that are actually corked by the glass.

Bill's photos of his pizza oven all have those pretty girls you see on Italian TV game shows standing next to it. Bill loves Italy.

Exactly. 99% of the wine produced does not require (and the producers don't want) aging. If you eliminate the corks for everyday wines corks for great wines will improve. There is not an unlimited supply of natural cork.

1. Not that screw tops have, but natural corks don't seem to be standing the test of time either. When I keep wines for 20, 30 or more years only to open an undrinkable bottle because of a bad cork I don't think they have stood the test of time. What other beverage would you accept a packaging failure rate of over 5%? Wine sometimes suffers and sometimes benefits from the quasi religious status conferred on it. 2. What flavor does the cork add? Good question. If we are looking for totally neutral seals why would we not jump at modern technological advances just like we do with cars and computers? 3. Barrels impart more than just the wood flavor of chips. The slow, controlled oxidation is the most significant advantage that barrels can bring to SOME wines.

...ah - the proverbial can of worms. First of all the rule for returning wines to stores or in restaurants should be that the only reasons that justify this are that the wine is technically faulted in some way. Those faults can come from bad winemaking, bad storage or the failure of the cork to keep the wine in top condition. To give a outline of this is difficult after all some wines are oxidized on purpose. In Greece they add pine tar to wine. Dr. Barolet added cognac to his Burgundies. What is right is a rather broad concept. What is legal a whole other concept. If you don't like the way the wine tastes it is your problem as long as the wine is SUPPOSED to taste that way. Give it to your bad neighbors if you hate it. However, if somebody sells you a ultra-sweet dessert wine and told you it was dry as a bone you have a valid complaint.

This is true. There is no doubt here in Italy that the same mineral water tastes fresher in glass than in plastic.

The cork should be presented for two reasons: 1. So you can see the trademark so you know it is not a fake. 2. If a cork is really badly infected you can pick up the odor on the cork. However this is not a totally reliable method only an indicator of potential problems. Sometimes the cork smells musty but the wine is fine. The only accurate test is to smell and taste the wine.

The fat lady is singing - or should we say the fat wine is singing.

A cabernet sauvignon from Napa, China?

WINE HARVEST BROUGHT FORWARD IN NORTH EAST, FEWER BUT FINE GRAPES (AGI) - Venice, Aug 14 - The grape harvest in the North East has begun much earlier than usual. The extremely high temperatures well over the seasonal average and the long drought have obliged growers to begin the harvest already, in particular the harvest of soft-skinned varieties such as Pinot and Chardonnay. From a quantity viewpoint, there is likely to be an average drop in production estimated at around 10 percent compared to last year's harvest (already down by a good 20 percent compared to 2001), however the quality of the grapes is judged to be excellent, even though a lot depends on the weather over the next few days. A meeting has been organised by Veneto Agricoltura - Carrefour del Veneto, in collaboration with Avepa and the Regional Councils of Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige, to be held on August 25 beginning at three pm at the Corte Bendettina in Legnaro (PD). The initial figures regarding the grape harvest in the North East will be presented at that meeting. The main problem this year has been the drought. In vineyards not equipped with irrigation plants, the grapes have recently begun to show signs of suffering, with well-formed bunches but the grapes themselves very small. In vineyards with irrigation, both quality and quantity are excellent, however production will be down compared to recent years. Weather conditions this year have had a positive effect on the health of the vines. Almost everywhere there has been a massive reduction in the development of major pathogenic fungi such as peronospora, oidio and botrite. Thanks to the high level of sunshine and the lack of water, the grape gradation is good everywhere with low acidity and a high PH level. Provided there are no major changes in the next few weeks, the grapes should reach the wine cellars in perfect condition and this year's wine should be very alcoholic, well structured, although not excessively perfumed (the whites) and full-bodied, well-coloured and suitable for aging (the reds). The first production estimates divided according to province and type of grape will be released at the Legnaro meeting and there too the Anti-Fraud Commission in Conegliano will update wine growers and producers on relative legislation and the Veneto Agricoltura will illustrate a project underway in certain Veneto DOC areas as well as their research and experimental wine growing activities. (AGI) 141713 AGO 03 COPYRIGHTS 2002-2003 AGI S.p.A.

Le Coccole dell'Amorosa is rated 4 forks by Touring Club Italiano Blue Guide as a 'deluxe' restaurant, but receives no special awards for their food. In the other guides I have only the hotel is listed and it is always very highly regarded. I can only assume that such a highly reviewed hotel would have a good restaurant. Here is what they say about themselves.

I knew you were a religious man. Keep following the true faith Bill. Only in great pizza can you find inner peace. Bravo.

I quite like the rustic wines of d'Angelo who is clearly the most highly regarded estate in Basilicata and very likely the one wine from this region you will be able to find easily outside Italy - or outside Basilicata for that matter.

Sorry never heard of it before. I would have to see more issues to give an opinion.

The point of humidity to to keep the cork from drying out. Refrigerators normally remove humidity from the air and are too dry for long term storage - or for that matter medium term storage. I would not leave bottles in the refrigerator for more than a week or so. Ullage is when wine escapes from the bottle due to a cork with a loose seal. The ullage is the missing wine shown by the low fill of the bottle. It sounds like the wines you are buying are not for long term storing or aging. Assuming your basement is cool you are probably fine there for short term storage. Humidity is more of a long term concern.

Anselmi, along with Pieropan, Inama, Gini and a handful of other producers show the potential of the garganega vine. The Anselmi is a great value. Anselmi told the DOC to take a hike a few years ago because they let too much junk come out under the name Soave.