Salina - Malvasia and so much more

Malvasia delle Lipari. You'd think it was mostly grown on the island of the same name. After all, Lipari is the largest and most densely populated of the Aeolian Islands (population nearly 12,000). You would be wrong. It's all grown on the second largest island, Salina (population 4,000). Why? Because Salina is the green island - the most verdant, fertile and above all, the best irrigated of the group.

So why call Malvasia from Salina Malvasia delle Lipari? Lipari is a generic term for the whole Isole Eoli group but even that is not the reason. After much searching we discovered that the reason Salina doesn't figure in the name of this wonderful and ancient sweet white wine is because historically, Salina was only sparsely populated and sometimes completely de-populated due to the depredations of pirates from the Barbary coast etc. So the grapes were grown on Salina but the wine was either made on or shipped to Lipari. QED.

There may have been vineyards on Lipari and there may still be some but evidence is scarce apart from one very interesting exception; a modern estate of about 8 hectares planted around 2005 called Tenuta di Castellare which we encountered at the 2012 Real Wine Fare in London and from whom we first heard the words Corinto Nero.

No, Salina's the place and to prove it here is a list of producers in the 27 sq. kilometer  island which by the way is composed mainly of 6 extinct volcanos;

D'Amico
Caravaglio
Colosi
Fenech
Florio
Hauner
Marchetta
Mimmo Paone
La Rosa
Tasca D'Almerita
Barone Villagrande
Virgona

Even the largest of these, Barone Villagrande and Tasca D'Almerita are only 'critter producers' given the lack of space available but size doesn't preclude excellence. Some of the historic producers such as La Rosa win prizes as much as some others. Moreover, half the wine produced on the island is done by way of Agricoltura Biologico.

The modern era of Malvasia delle Lipari begins in 1973 when the DOC was awarded. Prior to that a leading Milanese designer, artist and architect Carlo Hauner had become enchanted with the relatively unknown island of Salina as so many have since  (including anyone who saw the film "Il Postino"). Starting in the 1960s, his visits became longer and longer until he decided to stay and make wine. He bought up 20 hectares of abandoned land and researched the traditional methods of making the sweet Malvasia delle Lipari. He made innovations too - drying the grapes on the vines and using refrigeration during fermentation.  He designed and built a modern house and winery. Through this mixture of tradition and innovation, he made Azienda Hauner a byword for the production of Passito as well as dry red and white wines.

There are other highly talented growers and winemakers on the island including as far as we can see every one of the producers mentioned above. On a trip to the island just after the harvest we visited Caravaglio, Fenech, Marchetta and Virgona. Expecting only Malvasia, what we found was truly astonishing. Apart from this particular Malvasia (and there are very many), they grow the following varieties on Salina;

White
Cataratto
Grecanico
Grillo
Insolia

Red
Alicante Bouchet
Calabrese/Nero D'Avola
Corinto Nero
Nerello Capuccio
Nerello Mascalese
Nocera
Sangiovese

Malvasia delle Lipari or Malvasia di Lipari is thought to be an ancient variety because it has been found in recent DNA analyses to be the same as Malvasia di Sardegna, Greco Bianco di Gerace, Malvasia de Sitges, Malvasia Candida (Madeira) and Malvasija Dubrovacka and closely related to four others.

The Passito Malvasia di Lipari includes 5% of Corinto Nero, another ancient grape believed to have come from Greece and from whose name apparently we get the word Currant. Ever since hearing about this grape and seeing a bottle of Nero Ossidiano from Tenuta di Castellaro at the Real Wine Fair in London, we had longed to taste an example in purezza. Imagine our joy at finding Caravaglio's Nero Corinto on the hotel's wine list the first night we arrived on Salina. This was heavanly; a major find. It immediately joins the Slotovino Hall of Fame.

Now we are hopefully in the mood, let's take a tour of the island's wineries.

Hauner

Hauner is on the East side of the island, near the village of Lingua which boasts what is possibly the best place in the world to buy Granata as well as several excellent restaurants, the most famous of which, Alfredo had unfortunately closed for the winter shortly before our arrival.

We were met by the grandson of Carlo Hauner who is obviously a dedicated and capable chip off the old block.

He reminded us that Salina is at least as famous for Capers as for wine and showed us an ancient caper sorting machine

 which graded the capers by size. The brightly-shining winemaking equipment looked up to date and the entire operation was modern and clean.

The posters on the wall of the tasting room included works by Carlo Hauner.

 His grandson's favourite Hauner Red is 'Hiera' which includes Nero D'Avola, Alicante and Nocera in the blend.

Hauner is by far the best known and most widely distributed wine from Salina. As well a the Capers, they produce Grappa.

Caravaglio

Close on Hauner's heels in terms of credits and foreign distribution is Caravaglio who like Hauner make a range of Whites and Reds. The Caravaglio Salina dry Malvasia has been noted in this Blog since we discovered it is a very posh London Restaurant.

As with the other producers we visited we had called ahead and kindly been given appointments to visit the wineries. This was one of the busiest times of the year with all the grapes harvested and in various stages of processing and fermentation. Sr. Caravaglio was as charming as if he had been waiting all year on the off-chance we might drop by.

His various helpers were busy under the lean-to and porches of the house which clearly served as Winery, Chaix and living quarters as in most of the other outfits we visited.

He was busy standing over what appeared to be a de-stemming machine from which a pulp of Malvasia grapes was being piped along a huge red snake of a tube, he showed us a sample

 and then poured is a taste of the Malvasia juice.

This was followed by the juice of his Corinto Nero - both rather delicious.

After shooting the breeze with this extraordinarily patient person we left but not without making many excuses for not tasting his wines (on the grounds that we were travelling hand luggage only and so could not possibly buy anything. On the way out a massive refrigeration plant caught our eye. It had been manufactured by Flli. Furiosi of Milano.

Virgona

Not quite as prominent but equally fine was Virgona, a family affair par excellence with old man Virgona on hand to represent tradition

and his son and son's partner to show the future which no doubt will be vigorous.

Virgona has no shortage of awards

and again we were struck by the modern equipment and cleanliness of the operation.

The family were again charming and delightful no doubt as their wines. Their Red is a blend of Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Capuccio and Corinto Nero.

Fenech

Sr. Fenech had gone fishing but a lady representative kindly showed us around. Again, cleanliness and modernity were in evidence.

 Everything was as we had already seen at the other wineries from the improvised spaces for the annual harvest influx to tasting room, cellar, living quarters office etc.

Fenech's vineyards surrounded the property as at Virgona and we saw later other parcels around Malfa on the North of the Island where most of the wineries are.

 These are planted hugga-mugga with houses which comprise the small town.

Marchetta

Perhaps a bit smaller and more rustic then the others Marchetta is nonetheless obviously also a serious producer.

The Winery is almost in the town of Malfa itself, overlooking the sea. Sr. Marchetta was on hand to show us around and yet again we were treated to a Royal Tour with complete understanding that we could sadly not actually buy any wine due to those damn security rules for air travelers.

Never mind, Sr. Marchetta seemed to bask in our interest almost as if his ship had come in. Amazing seeing as how he probably receives an endless stream of people as anxious as we to waste his time in the busy tourist season.

The local Coop Supermarket acted almost as a Consortium for the promotion of the wines of Salina. This was something we have rarely encountered and no praise is too much for their display of the above and almost everyone else producing wine on the island. When you think about it, that supermarket was offering local wines whose diversity outstrips a country such as South Africa (population 50,586,757) for example.

There we found bottles from D'Amico and Colosi as well as the above.

as well as shelves of the golden Malvasia delle Lipari (senz'altro)

And that's not all, dear Winelovers and Slotovino readers. You can actually stay at a Vineyard in a 1st class hotel during the summer season if you like.

Capofaro Malvasia Resort belongs to Tasca D'Almerita, the prominent Sicilian concern whose Malvasia vineyards surround the property. It was closed when we were there but we are sure it is a great place to stay, not that Salina lacks others even if they are not in the middle of a vineyard. Just above the little lighthouse tower by the way, you can make out the conical shape of Stromboli on the horizon. Fantastic.

As one door closes, others open

We were truly saddened to hear that Kate Thal's creation 'Green and Blue wines' has to leave their headquarters in Dulwich. At the height of their career they had a second outlet in Clapham.

Now they are reduced to the æther selling wine online only. Dulwich had been a lovely shop with a place out back for nosh. They expended this to make a full scale place to eat (now in front) with a wine shop at the rear.

Clapham had always been more of a wine bar but closed after only a year or so..

Through all these improvements they operated a series of evenings devoted to tasting and education Their bias had always been towards organic wines, natural wines, bio-dynamic wines etc. They had a loyal and enthusiastic local following for their fascinating and original winelist. So what did they do wrong? If initiative, hard work a great name and imagination are worth anything they should be flourishing. We fervently hope that the present situation will turn out to be just a retrenchment from which they can rebound with increased vigour. Their website asks if anyone knows a suitable property from which they can relaunch themselves.

Meanwhile a more modest enterprise has already existed at 259 Hackney Road, London E2. Their name is "259 Hackney Road". Hackney Road is perhaps a cooler place than Dulwich these days. 259 is not far from the Columbia Road market, Hoxton, The Soho House and indeed Hackney. They are specialists in a very narrow range of vins naurels mainly from the Jura, Savoie, Beaujolais and the Loire - Mmmmmmmm!

The shop is one of those French places selling Vin Naturel who seem to have imported the atmosphere and even small of a second-hand bookshop.

In the case of 259 Hackney Road they have even brought in two adorable young French people both from Paris, Florian Tonello and Milena Bucholz whose English is charmingly un-fluent. This is perhaps not surprising since a great many of their customers are from the sizeable London French community and one can find oneself delightfully outnumbered and speaking French despite oneself. We don't recall having to present our passports at the door but there is a visitors book which  kind of belongs to the idea of entering a special place.

The wines are displayed in an original way; empty bottles are placed on a table or on shelves with the prices written in tipex in that inimitable French handwriting, in £ sterling fortunately.

These prices are in the main not modest given the fact the business probably doesn't command much of an economy of scale and Natural Wines are rarely cheap.

Here's their Spiel (including delightful spelling mistake);

259 Hackney Road is a little wine shop focusing on traditionally made French wine.

Sharing wine by small winegrowers and winemakers who we've met is really important to us; which is why we've decided to bring their wine to London.

Our selection may be small, but knowing our wines by heart is what matters most. Wether it's for vin de table (table wine) or vin de garde(wine that aged well), craftsmanship, terroir and tradition is what we offer.

Florian TONELLO & Milena BUCHOLZ

We found all kinds of treasures.

Firstly our all-time favourite Chardonnay, the one by Pierre Overnoy/Emanuel Houillon from Arbois Pupillin, Jura. This bottle is fairly priced given the difficulty in obtaining it and its fantastically aristocratic mien.

Also from the Jura, a wonderful Poulsard 'Les Gruyeres'

our first vin naturel Aligote

a cheap and dare we say somewhat too light Beaujolais Nouveau if such a thing is possible (a very delicious Beaujolais 'Tete de Cuvee' was better)

A Cot from the Loire

and our favourite Gringet from Savoie.

Maybe Hackney would be a good place for Green and Blue?

While all this was going on there was some rather sensational news from The Wine Pantry, the award winning English (and Welsh) wine specialist from Borough Market. They have opened a branch on the Grand Terrace of St. Pancras Station. The Grand Terrace is where the Searcy Champagne Bar is, so not actually on the level where the Eurostar check in and arrivals are.

In other words, the message has to get through to departing and passengers that the best present for anyone they are visiting in Brussels, Paris, Bourg St. Maurice etc. is to be found upstairs and not anywhere once they are through security and passport control. So get there an extra 10' early! Arriving passengers can make a detour too! Th Wine Pantry sell all kinds of things as well as wine by the way such as beers, ciders, spirits and teas.

We paid a visit as soon as we could - slightly too soon perhaps as things were not quite straight and there was no Gribble Bridge Dornfelder to be had (imagine!). For encouragement we left with Biddenden's Gamay.

News from the Village

Icewine is now the USP for Canada. Available in most Duty Frees, quite a lot of supermarkets, it is less ubiquitous on wine merchants' lists. It makes a tempting gift idea - satisfyingly both the donor's and recipient's perception of cost and uncontroversial in taste. Our experience is limited but it seems not a bad beverage, quite different from classier German Eiswein. Its lack of acidity makes it more an actual dessert than a dessert wine.

Not for the first time we asked what happened to the other wines of Canada. At one point they could be found quite easily in several UK supermarkets but then they practically disappeared. Visits to Canada itself were frustrating with wines of British Columbia and God forbid Quebec difficult to impossible to be found in Ontario.

Nevertheless, an afternoon at one of the larger state controlled wine shops in Toronto revealed a more diverse and interesting scene than might have been expected.

Beyond the shelves of Icewine White

(mostly Vidal [even sparkling] but also Riesling) and Red (Cabernet Franc and others), we found no less than 6 versions of Baco Noir,

 another in a blend with Foch and Zweigelt,

 a Savignin,

a Pinot Blanc

and an Aligote, (very rare for the New World)

all in purezza as well as the more frequent but not predictable Riesling

and Cabernet Franc for which we think Ontario is particularly well suited.

There was even Canadian 'Sherry' and 'Port'.

It would be interesting to taste some of the more recherche hybrids developed in Nova Scotia and Quebec such as L'Acadie and Vandal-Cliche but it seems we need to go to those provinces for that. British Columbia may be just as diverse with 60 varieties grown but but we'll probably never be able to taste anything besides the usual suspects without taking a long haul flight.

Canada as you may know is an indigenous word for 'Village'. In 1535, a misunderstanding occurred when the Huron/Iroqouis speaking guide to the French explorer Jacques Cartier pointed out the village on the site of the future city of Quebec and said 'Kanata'. Cartier took this to be the name of the entire land north of the St. Lawrence river. News to us. Just something else we had to go to Canada to find.

The most important event of the wine century so far

For Slotovino the most important event of the century so far is the publication of "Wine Grapes, a complete guide to 1,368 vine varieties, including their origins and flavours" by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz (Alan Lane, 1,242 pp) on October 29th, 2012.

In its way this book is the equivalent to Diderot's Encyclopedie, Johnson's Dictionary or Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. It is astonishing that the three authors have been able not only to amass the staggering array of facts concerning the origins, parentage and viticultural characteristics of every grape known to be involved in commercial production throughout the world (and even some that are not) but to include almost in each case information on 'Where it's grown and what its wine tastes like'.

There is much besides. For the first time, family trees of incredible complexity show how many varieties have come into being and there are handsome illustrations of grape bunches too. The production is of a very high order and the design is outstanding. Unfortunately it has not been given to Slotovino ever to have laid eyes on Pierre Galet's classic 'Dictionnaire Encyclopedique des Cepages' much less having acquired a copy. There is literally no second-hand market in this previously most important publication on the subject of vine and grape varieties although M. Galet was kind enough to respond to a question as to whether we could expect a new edition by writing that one was planned for the end of this year.

Robinson, Harding and Vouillamoz cite Galet frequently but one has the impression that scientific advances  since Galet's great work was published 10 years ago have left it in need of a good deal of updating. There have been very many new conclusions brought about by DNA tests in particular of course and Jose Vouillamoz has been at the forefront of these researches since his time at the Univerity of California, Davis.

In the FT Magazine shortly before publication, Jancis Robinson drives home the importance of Vine Varieties for once and for all. She made the following very fundamental point

"One of the most important differences between how wine is bought today and how earlier connoisseurs viewed it has been the rise and rise of grape varieties at the expense of geographical names. We now know wine as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir rather than as Chablis, Claret and Burgundy. Our wine-drinking forefathers would probably have been hard pushed to name a single grape variety, whereas many a wine list and supermarket aisle today is dominated by them." 

something we all knew but how trenchantly expressed and convincing at a time when there are still those in the wine world that would doubt the significance of varieties. We remember being told only recently that looking for wine by variety "n'est pas un critere, monsieur" (wine department, Galeries Lafayette, Paris).

It was irresistible to test the completeness of the book. For the first week, we scurried to the index with every obscure variety we had heard of only to be informed of its entry on page xxxx or to discover it was a synonym for something else. This in itself was an enormous pleasure; a rare instance of frustration leading to satisfaction! After numerous probes, we found a handful of possible omissions and following the invitation in the introduction to send these to contact@winegrapes.org and by return heard from Julia Harding herself that, together with Jose Vouillamoz most of our candidates could be dismissed on grounds that they were just mispellings of varieties already included or geographical names - not varieties. Nevertheless, we got a couple of names onto the list for possible inclusion in the next edition: Chanel Paradiso (or Paradisa), Rubienne and Vino del Soldato.

Julia was able to find Chanel Paradisa in Australia and sent us the link to Bago Vineyards whose site obligingly  includes the following information;

Chanel Paradisa (Pope’s Vine)
A rare white variety with an intriguing history but which is extremely difficult to produce mature grapes of quality. The fruit it yields is generally of a large size, and is similar in appearance to popular white table varieties.  We use this particular variety to produce a dessert style, in very small quantities.

Rubienne is a relatively recent hybrid also from Australia and according to Julia may be used for blending on a small scale. She will also look into Vino del Soldato which is one of several grapes used in Palari's Santa Ne (Etna).

On November 18th, we were privileged to attend Decanter's Masterclass on Grape Varieties at the Landmark Hotel in London. Arriving late, we were shown to a place next to Stephen Spurrier himself. As if this wasn't exciting enough, the room contained the actual discoverers of the identity of Zinfandel, two gentlemen from Croatia, Ivan Pejic

and Edi Maletic.

Their achievement is the vinious equivalent to finding the Rosetta Stone. Astonishingly the occasion was only the third time the three authors of "Wine Grapes" had ever been in the same room together.

Nine wines had been selected - three by each of the authors. We started with a Gouais/Gwaess from Valiais, Switzerland. What else given that this is, according to the panel the most important grape variety in Europe from a genetic point of view with 156 varieties descended or linked to it? We learned that in the middle ages, Gouais used to be planted around the vineyard so thieves would be deterred from stealing the crop, such was the low esteem in which it was held. Our sample was already familiar to us at Slotovino - not suprisingly as it is practically one of the very few commercially available (from Josef-Marie Chanton). Wine from Gouais is paradoxically bland and neutral given the variety's prolific sex life and prominent offspring. It was only in 1999 that Gouais' connections with so many other varieties was discovered by the way.

Next came a Vinho Regional Lisboa made from 100% Jampal, a name previously unknown to us. Given Portugal's rich catalogue of indiginous varieties this is not surprising and the pleasant character of Jampal was equally to be expected. Our example, Dona Fatima by Manz is the only wine produced from Jampal. The vine is very unproductive and as the Masterclass progressed we learned that there were a myriad other reasons why some varieties catch on and others don't.

In the third offering we were introduced to a white blend from the Plaimont co-operative consisting of 70% Gros Manseng, 20% of Petit Courbu and 10% of Arrufiac. The important news here was that uncommonly for a co-operative, Plaimont are interested in discovering and restoring local varieties. They have found many of these. In one half-hectare vineyard of 150 year old vines they discovered 20 different varieties, 7 of which were entirely unknown. It is thanks to them that Arrufiac has been rescued. Their name will be added to our Role Call of Honour of such vignerons who have saved worthy and threatened varieties.

The fourth offering was a delicios Godello from Valdeorras in North-West Spain. The wine was made by Valdesil and is called Pezas da Portela. Jancis Robinson informed us this example came from a bottle retailing at over £50 and it was certainly the classiest and best Godello we had ever tasted. The basic Godello from this producer called 'Monte Novo' may be found in Waitrose for not much more than £10. Godello is hardly a rarity these days but we were told that as recently as the 1970s, it was down to just a few hundred vines in Spain. The situation in Australia might have been different as it had been planted mistakenly as Verdelho. It has caught on not only due to its quality but because it is more productive than Albarino.

Jose Vouillamoz then introduced us to an Orange wine made from Nosiola by Foradori; a natural wine made in Amphorae with 8 months' skin contact after which we tasted a rarity from Santorini made from Mavrotragano. A dark powerful red from vines over 60 years old with small berries and thick skins, barrel fermented. Mavrotragano was previously used to make sweet red wines and was traind in an interesting basket form. Apologies were made for a certain dumbing-down of our wine (produced by Sigalas) but we were assured the strong personality of the grape was in evidence and we could certainly appreciate this. We decided to elevate Mavrotragano to the Slotovino Hall of Fame without delay.

We had always been intrigued by the American hybrid, Norton. Highly recommended in some quarters, Norton is also very interesting historically as it is one of the oldest hybrids to be discovered and occurred naturally. It's discovery in the early 19th century led to plantings in the USA on a quite large scale. An example won 1st prize at the Paris Exhibition later in the 19th century - quite an honour for a variety thought to have been descended from a Vitis Labrusca/Vitis Vinifera cross. Our sample came from Chrysalis Vineyards in Virginia and had a backing of 9% Nebbiolo and 3% Petit Verdot. We were not quite as enthusiastic about Norton as some on the panel but just to taste it was worth the cost of the ticket to this event. Next came Okuzgozu, a red variety from Kavaklidere of Anatolya, Turkey. Jancis Robinson has been an admirer of Turkish wine in general and this variety in particular and so it was perhaps not surprising to find it here. Our personal opinion is that it is pleasant without having a very great personality.

The masterclass ended with an appropriate bang. Zlatan Crljenak was unfamiliar to us until it was explained that it was the same as Crljenak Kastelanski, the origin of both Primitivo and Zinfandel. (Primitivo we learned by the way is named not because the variety is primitive but because it is early-ripening). As mentioned the two discoverers of this fact, Pejic and Maletic were present and were invited to stand up and receive an ovation from the 100 or so participants. They had even traced this vine to the garden of an old lady who had told them the variety was known locally as Tribidrag and it is under this name that Zinfandel/Primitivo/Crljenak Kastelanski is listed in the book. Curiously, the name Zlatan Crljenak doesn't appear. Another name for the 2nd edition! (This last sentence is a misunderstanding but we have retained it because it is the subject of a kind correction by none other than Jose Vouillamoz below).

Where it's at

As we write, the annual Rencontres de Cepages Modestes is taking place in St. Come d'Olt (Aveyron), near Rodez, France (www.cepages-modestes.fr). If you have ever wondered where Rodez was and why Ryanair fly there, this is obviously the explanation. Who could resist such a 'rencontre'? We only found out about this a week or two ago so it wasn't possible to attend on November 3rd or 4th this year but the corresponding weekend next year will be November 2nd and 3rd presumably. You may be sure Slotovino will be there.

This was the programme for last year. The 2012 hasn't made it onto the website yet. W e particularly like the evening of Degustation with Denis Wénisch tickling the ivories and Gérard Morel singing songs.(chansons). We don't think the equivalent get-together of the Cepages Nobles will have nearly as much fun.

RENCONTRES DES CÉPAGES MODESTES 
millésime 2011

- samedi 29 octobre  :

10h30 : début des séances

=> Premier débat : Le fer servadou/mansois/braucol dans tous ses états

Lecture d’un texte de Gilbert Garrier, historien du vin, président d’honneur .
Olivier Yobregat, Institut Français de la Vigne et du Vin (IFV) . 
Michel Laurens, ancien président de l’appellation AOC Marcillac

Déjeuner sur le pouce et dégustations (voir liste ; au piano, Denis Wénisch, alias Pinot gris, Aurillac)

Après-midi :

=> Deuxième débat : Le degré, un problème ?

Marie-José Richaud, œnologue, professeur, université du vin (Suze-la-Rousse) . 
Anthony Tortul, vigneron, domaine de la Sorga (Hérault) . 
Nicolas Carmarans, vigneron, Campouriez (Aveyron)

Dégustations. Au piano, Denis Wénisch Fin de journée : repas vigneron autour des spécialités aveyronnaises Soirée surprise :Gérard Morel (chansons)

- dimanche 30 octobre

9 h :

=> Troisième débat : Défense et illustration des « cépages modestes »

Robert Plageoles, vigneron, Gaillac, pionnier des démarches de valorisation des « cépages modestes » du Gaillacois (ondenc, verdanel, prunelard etc…)
Michel Grisard, vigneron, Savoie, président du centre ampélographique Pierre Galet de Montmélian (mondeuse, persan, altesse, etc…) . 
Anne Déplaude, vigneronne, Coteaux du Gier, réseau «Vignobles et Cépages rares» et Association pour la Restauration et le Développement du Vignoble des Coteaux du Gier (ARDVCG), (mornen noir, chouchillon, pointu, rousse, verdat blanc et persagne grise)

Midi : apéritif, dégustations Fin des dégustations au cours d’un repas d’au revoir en commun.

 Lieu de ces deux journées : Couvent de Malet, Saint-Côme-d’Olt (Aveyron)