November 2, 2008
Italian Sparklers, Roger Coulon, 1985 Alzero, and More
In This Issue
A Note
from Sergio
Yeast: it’s not a very pretty word but
it’s a necessity for some of
life’s greatest pleasures. Bread,
beer, and wine would be impossible without
the group of single-celled micro-organisms
collectively known as yeast. Yeasts are the
magical microscopic elements that turn
ordinary grape juice into Barolo, Brunello,
Sassicaia, and every other type of wine under
the sun. You can take the most perfect
grapes, harvest them impeccably, press them
carefully, put them in the optimal vat, but
without yeast, all you’re going to get
is a fetid purple or yellow murk. It
wouldn’t be pretty and you certainly
wouldn’t want to drink it.
Simply put, without yeast, there is no
fermentation. Fermentation requires an
oxygen-free, warm and nurturing environment
that has plenty of carbon and nitrogen;
provided with this, yeast essentially
"eats" the fructose and sucrose,
emits carbon dioxide and alcohol, and
eventually creates wine. Since 1857, when
French scientist Louis Pasteur discovered
that yeasts were the driving force behind
fermentation, winemakers have used this
knowledge to finesse their wines, learning
how yeasts impart flavor, how to pair strains
of yeast and kinds of wine, and how best to
harness the power of yeast.
Yeast, like most creatures helpful to
humans, comes in two forms: wild and
cultivated. Wild yeast, also known as
ambient yeast, either occurs naturally on the
grapes or appears courtesy of fruit flies
(see, even annoying insects are good for
something). Some winemakers will help to
encourage the growth of this yeast by, for
example, using the discarded must from
fermentation as compost and tilling it into
the soil. Not surprisingly, this wild yeast
helps to create some of what we call
terroir, for each strain of yeast (and there
are millions) carries its own unique
characteristics.
Cultivated yeast is pretty much what it
sounds like: specific varieties of yeast that
wine producers add to jumpstart, encourage,
guide or otherwise manipulate fermentation.
The great advantage of relying on cultivated
yeast is always knowing exactly what
you’re getting. As with many other
technological advances of winemaking,
there’s nothing wrong with a producer
using cultivated yeast per se;
however, when producers rely too much on it,
they can produce wines that have the hallmark
of a very modern wine—an over-produced
and manipulated taste.
Although yeast is important to all
winemaking, it’s most important in
sparkling wine because unlike all other
wines, sparkling wines require two
fermentations, and that double fermentation
requires a lot of yeast, which both makes
wine sparkle and poses a problem. The
problem is, essentially, getting rid of the
yeast once you’re done fermenting the
wine. Often, when producers make sparkling
wine, they get a yeast plug, which sounds
worse than it is. Dead yeast is much of what
makes up the lees in the bottle of wine,
something that provides much of the flavor
in Méthode Champenoise sparklers, for
example. But consumers like a clear wine, so
producers often choose to get rid of it.
Sometimes, as in Méthode Champenoise,
the yeast is removed through riddling, or
slowly jiggling and rotating the bottle over
time until the time comes to simply uncap
the bottle and remove the yeast. Other times,
as with the Puro of Movia’s Ales
Kristancic, the yeast is left in, and the
wine drinker or sommelier has to remove it.
This process can feel a bit intimidating, but
if you have a showman’s flair—as
Ales himself undoubtedly
does—it’s a fun and show-stopping
challenge.
A wine always tastes of its grapes, its
terroir, and its winemaker. In the case of a
sparkling wine, however, the last two become
far more prominent. How producers chooses to
make their wine, whether they add cultured
yeast or rely solely on wild yeast, speaks a
lot to the wine in the bottle. For these
reasons, this week we’ve chosen a
variety of sparklers that highlight a variety
of methods, makers and locales.
As a culture, we Italians have a deep love
of sparkling wine. It’s fun and
festive, and its natural acidity makes it a
natural complement to foods as diverse as
prosciutto and panna cotta. Life always gives
us things to celebrate—we ought to do
it with style.
My Best,
Sergio
For more accounts of Italian wine, food, and life reserve
my new book:
Passion
on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart
of Italy.
The Sparkler Sampler: Beyond Celebratory
 The Sparklers Sampler
(one of each):
Col
Vetoraz NV Prosecco…$21.19
Murgo
2004 Brut…$29.70
Villa
Sparina NV Brut…$29.70
Bruno
Giacosa 2003 Spumante
Brut…$42.99
Movia
2000 Puro…$49.50
Roger
Coulon NV Brut Rose…$59.99
The Sparklers
Sampler…$233.07‡
Some wine trends tend to be a little more
apparent than others: You can’t help
notice that the size of the sparkling wine
section in retail wine stores has expanded
in recent years. It comes as no surprise to
us because we’ve been advocating for
casual sparkling wine consumption for several
years now. The days of sparklers being only
special occasion wines are past. While there
are several reasons behind sparkling wine’s
ascension, including the renaissance of the
rosé Champagne subgenre, the constant
refrain behind our sparkling wine campaign
has been its versatility with food. Just
take Prosecco, our highest-volume seller. It
doesn’t start and stop at the aperitif.
It launches the event, moves on to pair with
a range of dishes, and serves as a palate
refresher throughout the evening.
As this assembled sampler of sparklers
shows, Prosecco hardly owns the Boot’s
bubbling category. All 20 of Italy’s
regions are represented by sparklers, and
some are pretty prolific—like
Lombardia, for instance, where Piemonte
specialist Bruno Giacosa produces an elegant
Italian Blanc de Noirs (100 percent Pinot
Noir). Then there are the indigenous grapes
that show a predilection for the sparkling
mode—Piemonte’s Cortese and
Sicilia’s Nerello Mascalese. Of course,
there is the striking and wholly inimitable
Movia Puro, which makes méthode
Champenoise very personal. Regions,
varietals, techniques: Italy simply has fun
with the category of sparkling wine, and, in
the process, delivers incredible diversity
and exceptional quality.
This sampler would not be complete without a
bottle of Champagne. Italians have always
made room for Champagne at the table,
gatherings, and celebrations—it is a
traditional gift among the holidays. The
Antinori Family favors Krug, and it is a
standby for many of their events. At IWM,
Krug certainly holds a pinnacle place in the
category, and from their Grande Cuvee to
their Clos d’Ambonnay, each vintage
serves a unique purpose for the enthusiast.
Another selection Sergio always has on hand
is Roger Coulon; this grower Champagne
captures the spirit of the artisanal producer
that has defined much of IWM’s
collection. We complete this sampler with the
house’s Brut Rosé to provide a
diverse selection of bottles for you to have
on hand this extended holiday season.
‡ Free Delivery in Manhattan
Artisanal Champagne: Roger Coulon
Often misunderstood as a solely a
celebration wine, Champagne operates a highly
diverse category unto itself, offering
several levels that cater to different
interests and experience. Vintage Champagnes
in particular have enjoyed a great deal of
attention in recent years. It’s a
category that we’re particularly
interested in, and its popularity has been
precipitated by the rise of grower
Champagnes, the work of producers who
cultivate the grapes, vinify the wine, and
commit to estate bottling. One that has
impressed us for awhile now is Roger Coulon,
the first grower Champagne house that we are
formally
presenting. While major houses like
Bollinger and Roederer produce millions of
cases each year, the family-owned Coulon
releases just 5,000. That’s one of the
reasons why you’ve not likely heard of
Coulon before: it’s an insider name.
We’re introducing Coulon through the
house’s entire portfolio; each
Champagne serves a distinct purpose and
reflects the artisanal ideal that make Coulon
a name to know. Read more
on the distinction of each of these
wines.
Roger Coulon NV
Champagne
Brut Grande Reserve…$49.99
(33% Pinot Meunier, 33% Pinot Noir,
33% Chardonnay)
Roger Coulon NV
Champagne
Brut Rosê…$59.99
(80% Pinot Meunier, 20% Pinot Noir)
Roger Coulon 2002
Champagne
Brut Blanc de Noirs…$64.99
(50% Pinot Meunier, 50% Pinot Noir)
Roger Coulon NV
Champagne
Cuvee Prestige Coteaux
Vallier…$69.99
(80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir)
Roger Coulon NV Brut
Nature
Esprit de Vrigny…
$72.99
(Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier, Pinot
Noir)
Roger
Coulon 5-Bottle Champagne
Sampler…$317.95‡
‡ Free Delivery in Manhattan
Appreciating Alzero 1985
This is it. This is what collectors and
enthusiasts around the world search for and
can rarely find: A wine that summons few
comparisons and elicits exclamations along
the lines of "oh my god," "what was that,"
"what can match this," or leaves the
experienced palate simply
speechless. In a line-up at IWM that
included the
likes of 1990 Soldera Brunello Riserva, 1990
Solaia, 1990 Tignanello, among others, the
1985 Quintarelli Alzero did just that when this
“experience wine” challenged the
eyes, nose, and palate for its descriptors. 25
years young, the wine was an explosion of
characteristics and nuances even after being
open for eight hours. Often compared to
Cheval Blanc for the mastery of the Cabernet
Franc grape and the sugar levels the wine
reaches, this wine is even more unique than
that French icon. Fewer than three hundred and
fifty cases of Alzero are produced (whereas
3,500 plus cases of Cheval Blanc
leaves the cellar each year). Even more, just
a few bottles of this 1985 Quintarelli
exists. You might find a bottle or two on
the auction market, but at IWM these are
wines of provenance from which this story
came to be. Open a bottle, let this wine
breathe, and
share it with friends, family and enthusiasts.
This is a wine to talk about.
Quintarelli
1985 Alzero…$799.00
More Quintarelli
Alzero Vintage
Appreciation
Quintarelli
1998 Alzero…$440.00
Quintarelli
1998 Alzero (1.5L)…$907.50
Quintarelli
1998 Alzero (3.0L)…$1815.00
Quintarelli
1997 Alzero…$357.50
Quintarelli
1988 Alzero…$799.00
Quintarelli
1986 Alzero…$799.00
* Limited availablity, subject to
remaining.
If
you would like to receive these offers on a
regular basis or view a complimentary online
demo of our wine collecting software, please
send a request to our Cellar
Specialists.
November Tasting Events
Tastings to Consider for Early-Fall
A Study of Hearty Reds—Sagrantino to
Amarone
Saturday, November 8, 1:00-3:00 p.m.,
$85.00
A Taste of Thanksgiving Wines
Saturday, November 15, 1:00-3:00 p.m.,
$65.00
To learn more about IWM’s Studio Regionale
Saturday Tasting Series, or to make
a reservation over the phone, contact Maryellen
Philipps at 212.473.2323, x129.
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