Domenico sent me this rather distressing report today from Merano, where the Merano Wine Festival started today. I have to say that, for once, I am very glad I'm not there.
Dom, I feel for you, buddy.
(His distressing report in the continuation.)
It is my first time in Merano. I pray God it is the last.
First this city. It is not Italy, and although some might say, "Oh, that's a good thing, Italy is all fucked up," etc., etc., I tell you that Italy, real Italy is a wonderful place to me now that I have seen this other place. In America you may not know that the region of Merano, which is Alto Adige, was a part of Austria until after the First World War. The winner (Italy!) got this region. There was terrorist attack in the 1960 and 1970 for separation or maybe reunion with Austria. To shut them up the Italian government threw a lot of money at these people. So it is now a rich area. OK, fine, but they act like they are better than us. Even that is fine - everyone in Italy think they are better than everyone else - but it is so boring and the food is so bad. At 7 pm all is shut tight and someone tell me that it is like being in Sweden or Norway.
OK, that's OK too, they can live the way they want, but the real problem is the Wine Festival. It is very badly organized - I will never bitch about Vinitaly ever again - you can't find anything, there are hardly no signs and it is a manicomio [madhouse] with everyone pushing and shoving round the tables for tasting. A lot of the people get drunk because they say, "What the fuck, it cost me 70 euro a day to enter so I should be able to do what I want. If I want to act like a cafone [a loutish asshole] then I will do it! Fuck you Southerner!"
You cannot talk with a wine producer about his wine if you love it and want to learn more because some big guy is blocking your passage or knocking you off your feet to grab the bottle away. I like the wine of this region but maybe that is not enough.
My blood is boiling.
But I had a nice very experience yesterday at a biologic wine event at some castle of Prissiano, which was great. I saw some of the fine producer - wines which really make your mouth and your heart sing - for example of I Clivi, and I see Mario Zanusso again. And some new producer like a young guy and his mother from the Montecucco region of south Tuscany, a place call La Schiaccionaia (mean something like stone quarry or they smash rocks for paving stone) with great white wine and especially one of the best dessert wine I ever taste. Wow! There was some other but I am at Merano Wine Festival now and don't have all my things with me because I forgot it at the hotel. (Relax, Terry, I am taking a few photos, I will post them some day soon after I get to Florence tomorrow night.)
I met the famous and a little anarchist Giuseppe Rinaldi who make excellent classic, not new world style, Barolo, which pleased me very much. He is a very funny man - most winemaker are not too funny but he is a real comic.
I saw again Francis Boulard of the Champagne house Raymond Boulard, the man who has the beautiful biologic Champagnes.
I have seen some old friend and so forth, that make me happy, but Verona was much better for me. And Florence will be good, so good to me now. I will have Internet access in the hotel there, mi raccomando [believe me].
Ciao.
Dom is right about one thing: Most winemakers are not very funny.
Posted by: fredric koeppel | November 10, 2007 at 12:18 PM
I'll take the Mezzogiorno anyday.
Posted by: Marco | November 10, 2007 at 04:10 PM
It looks like Dom is taking it in the Mezzagiorno up there in Goulash-landia...
Posted by: BR | November 11, 2007 at 01:17 AM
No press pass for you next year, Domenico. I can't associate myself with such a provocateur.
Posted by: Giampiero alias Aristide | November 11, 2007 at 04:48 AM
LOL and totally agree with everything you say about alto Adige or Sud tirol how they want to be named...
in italy we don't need an event like this!
Posted by: andrea gori | November 11, 2007 at 06:26 AM
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.
It looks like Domenico lost his patience, BTW you don't go to Merano to go out at night.
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Posted by: Gabrio Tosti | November 11, 2007 at 01:45 PM
Listen to me, next time choose "Vini di Vignaioli" in Fornovo...
:-)
Luk
Posted by: Luca Risso | November 11, 2007 at 02:40 PM
You don't go there to go out in the day either, from what I hear.
Andrea, non voglio sembrare leghista da FZ ma hai ragione...btw, Dom e' a Firenze in questo momento...costa troppo ma e' grato di esserci. "Almeno qua i cafoni parlano italiano!" mi scrive...
Posted by: Terence Hughes | November 11, 2007 at 06:59 PM
e allora manda Dom dal rappresentate italiano in europa!
http://vinoalvino.org/blog/2007/11/il-“sommelier-informatico”-vola-da-firenze-a-londra.html
Posted by: andrea gori | November 12, 2007 at 09:03 AM