Wine made from the Roscetto Grape, by Falesco

Recently myself, Marcus Guiliano, and Chris Rowley, Wine and Beer Guide at Aroma Thyme Bistro, where invited to a wine lunch. The occasion, Wine Maker and Owner of Falesco from Umbria Italy was in town. Riccardo Cotarella, known in Italy as the master of Merlot for his rich, juicy, complex single vineyard Montiano merlot, has come up with a new passion.
The Line-up included Est!Est!Est! A white blend Trebbiano, Malvasia and Roscetto. His well known Vitiano White, Rose and Red. The wines just kept coming it seemed like. The single varietal red line-up included Pesona Merlot, Sangiovese and two Montiano's, 2001 & 2003. The 2001 Montiano has been a flagship half bottle for the Aroma Thyme Bistro for a while now. It was great to taste both side by side. Our favorite is still the 2001. But time may change that, as it does with wines. Since there was not much more of the 2001 in stock with the distributor I hurried and purchased enough for the year. And I was right, by the end of the meal the other restaurateurs and wine shop owners felt just as I did. Also showed where the Marciliano a blend of Cabernet and Cab Franc, A nice powerhouse red. Of course thier was a dessert wine from this award winning vineyard. Pomele which is made from 100% Aleatico, a new grape for Chris and I. But the show stopper was Ferentano Bianco made from 100 % Roscetto. "My passion now is for Ferentano, a white wine. I know, this is not what people in America expect of me," he says with a twinkle in his eye.You pour Ferentano into your glass. It has the look of a dense, solid white wine. Immediately you think of Meursault or an intense California Chardonnay.You swirl and sniff and first impressions are heavily reinforced by a massive honey note accompanied by hints of apricot and berries and perhaps figs.You taste and find a finely balanced, yet quite enormous wine, with that long honeyed edge to the palate that I, at least, associate with white Burgundy, especially Meursault, and some of California's finest Chardonnays. But this is no Chardonnay, the flavors of apricot and pineapple are alloyed with the honey along with some nuttiness and an earthier flavor that I can't quite nail down. The flavors go on and on, as with great Chardonnay, and the depth and the tannic structure are balanced by a fine level of acidity.Wow.Now very much interested you learn that Ferentano is named for the ruined city of Ferentum,originally Etruscan, then Roman. The birthplace of the Emperor Otho (one of the short reignEmperors following Nero in AD69), and later an ecclesiastical center of some importance until the eleventh century when it was destroyed in some long forgotten war over christian heresies.The name, interestingly enough, harks back to the Indo-European root "bher" -- to bear or carry, and the placename thus meant "fruitful" or the "fertile place of fruit."Which, as you sip this wine, seems just perfect.The varietal is the next surprise. Not Chardonnay, not at all. This is from the virtually unheard of Roscetto grape, which Signore Cotarella believes is of the Greco family. Roscetto is a minor component, perhaps 10% of the famous, fragile Italian white wine "Est! Est! Est!" which, it so happens was Signore Cotarella's first breakthrough wine. His long fascination with this varietal began back then.However, the Roscetto is problematical. When fully ripe the skins are thick and pink, and in a normal crush they will release bitter tannins, which will not go away and will not be pleasant in a white wine. Cotarella's answer was some modern technology. By producing a "thermic shock" by dousing the grapes with freezing carbon dioxide, he chills them in a matter of seconds, cracking the skins open, releasing the juice, without using pressure and extracting those tannins from the skins. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel and barrique, and the young wine is aged for a few months in two-year-old oak."This wine it continues to improve for maybe two days after it is poured," says Riccardo Cotarella. "Now, with "Est!Est!Est!" if we pour it and leave it for just an hour it is gone. But this wine will change and evolve in the glass for many hours."Which, over the course of lunch, it does, and even two hours later it remains lively with the fig and honey note now completely dominant.
Astonishing.Then there's the price. Retail around $20. Compare with California's best, or anything fromMeursault. You get the picture.Chris Rowley
Wine and Beer Guide
Aroma Thyme Bistro
165 Canal St
Ellenville NY 12428

great value Organic Wines

A Pair of Good Value Wines from South AmericaAt Aroma Thyme Bistro lately we’ve been carrying the Santa Digna Chardonnay, one of the massive Torres wine company’s offerings from Chile. The Torres family, long established in Penedes, Spain, expanded to Chile in the late 1970s and now produce quite a range of varietal winesthere. The vineyards are in the Rio Clara section of Curico, a bit further south and cooler than the central valley of Chile. Stainless steel tanks are used for the three weeks of primary fermentation, and then half the wine goes through a month in oak. This chardonnay sells for $8 or less in stores and pours with a nice, deep yellow gold color in the glass. The nose has the mix of mangoes and apples that is to be expected from Chilean chardonnay along with vanilla notes from the oak treatment. A nicely balanced chardonnay, good with fish and a steal at the price. For something completely different try the Santa Julia Torrontes 2003 from the Mendoza section of Argentina. Mendoza lies just a hundred miles or so from Santiago, Chile, but it’s a world away, because in between are the Andes Mountains, twenty thousand feet high and covered in snow. Mendoza lies in the rain shadow of the mountains and the vineyards survive on irrigation derived from snow melt. Torrontes is a spanish varietal, little heard of today, even in Spain.It comes from the Ribeiro of Galicia, but you’ll have to search really hard to find Spanish Torrontes. In Argentina, however, it remains the number one white wine grape. And in Argentina it makes unique wine. At Aroma Thyme we have the Santa Julia Torrontes 2003. As soon as you put your nose to a glass of this wine you sense something different is coming. There’s a strong floral aspect, with notes that are reminiscent of Muscats, and the flavors follow through with ripe, but unusual fruit combinations, there’s a grapey aspect, but there’s a hint of pomegranate and a citrus flavor as well. The acidity is above average, but the wine is balanced and easy to drink. At something like $7 in stores this is a wine well worth trying. If you like it you’ll have added a new varietal to your personal list.

Chris Rowley

Wine and Beer Guide

Aroma Thyme Bistro

165 Canal St

Ellenville, NY 12428

845-647-3000

Irish Whiskey for St Patricks Day

Irish Whiskey (note that letter e), is the first whisky, the oldest whiskey, and a very differentspirit from Scotch. It used to be, back in the 19th century, that Irish was THE whiskey in most pubs and bars in England and North America. Then as now, Irish whiskey was big and bold. But in the early 20th century the Scottish distillers began marketing their blended whiskies, adding neutral grain spirits to the pot still malt whisky to make milder, more accessible brands that caught on with the global market and began to shoulder Irish out of the way. Two disasters in a row then struck the Irish distillers. The first was Prohibition in the US, which collapsed the big US market for Irish whiskey. The second was the war for Irish Independence from Britain, which hurt all things Irish in the prime market for their whiskey, England. When the dust settled, Scotch was the world's whisky and Irish had slipped to a distant second place. But Ireland's great whiskeys are recovering some of that ground today, with their big flavor profiles and lush, smooth palates. The biggest differences from Scotch are the absence ofpeat notes, because despite its abundance in Ireland, the Irish don't use peat to heat their malting kilns, plus the spicy taste provided by using unmalted barley mixed in with the malt in the brewed mash. For historical reasons, Irish whiskeys are nearly all made in the same distillery complex, at Midleton outside Cork. Irish whiskey was legal while Scotch was not in the early and mid-19th century, so Irish distilling came out of hiding and moved into the cities. There, the ways of capitalism soon concentrated the business among a few big players and a handful of distilleries. More recently the whole business was centralized under a single business banner. Then it was bought by the French (Pernod Ricard) and broken up again. Even more recently than that a slew of new brands and labels have appeared in the US market to joust with the established favorites such as Jameson's, Bushmills andTullamore Dew. My favorite is Jameson, which we sell at Aroma Thyme Bistro, here in Ellenville. Of course nothing is simple in this world, and John Jameson, who founded the company, was, what else, a Scot. But, that's all uiskebeagh under the bridge, as it were and Jameson has been synonymous with Irish whiskey all over the world for a century or more. There's a sweet heart to this whiskey that is unmistakeable, and the spiciness of the unmalted barley is there, with a slight oiliness that floats the other flavors across the tongue. A drop of Jameson to accompany a pint of stout is a wonderful way to end the day. For variety you can switch to Bushmills, which is still made in Country Antrim, in Northern Ireland and comes in a variety of forms these days, from the white label, through Black Bush, a blend mostly of single malt Bushmills matured in sherry casks, and up to the 10, 16 and 21 year old single malt varieties, which are all lovely things to be savored and sipped while thinking of that gorgeous green Island far across the sea.Chris Rowley

Wine Dinner & Tasting, Aroma Thyme March 1st07

At Aroma Thyme Bistro, Ellenville NY, we have a monthly wine dinner and tasting. Here are the notes from our February 28th 2007 event.

Theme:

California Wines and Cuisine

The Wines:

Yorkville Sauvignon Blanc (organic grapes)

Fess Parker Viognier

Van Ruitten Charddonay

Stonehedge Zinfandel

Bonterra 1994 3L (organic grapes)

Deco Chocolate Port

Frey Late Harvest Zinfandel (organic wine, no added or detectable sulfites)

The Menu:

Crispy Artichokes with Soy Ginger Dip and Pomegranate Dip

served at the bar

Our first plated course was going to be Organic Guacamole with Rice Crisps,

BUT we had a small problem with the avocados. We had some that were overripe and some that were way under ripe. So I went and bought some frozen Cavalo avocado pulp. Seemed like the next best thing in a pinch. But once the box came open we read the ingredients, as we do with everything! Yikes, SUGAR was the second ingredient, along with some preservatives. So myself, Jamie and Chris Rowley voted to send the Avocado Pulp back to the vendor.

Instead we served our Sesame Crusted Albacore Tuna Loin as the fourth course.

Second Course:

Crab and Shrimp Cake with a Wasabi Sauce

Third Course:

Hearts of Palm Salad with Lime, Orange, Tomatoes & Cilantro

Fourth Course:

The Tuna

Fifth Course:

Hanger Steak Skewers

Marinated in Lime, Cumin, Garlic & Cilantro Mojo

Kobe Beef Flank Steak Teriyaki

Dessert:

Our Chocolate Torte with Agave Marinated Oranges

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yorkville Sauvignon Blanc 2005

87 points from the attendees

Some comments:

Lemony, deliciously fruity, fruity, clean, grapefruit, vanilla, lemon, citrus, pineapple, some grass aromas.

most people said they would buy this wine

Fess Parker Viognier 2004

91 points from the attendees

Comments:

Smooth, balanced, delicate, apricot, peaches, mangoes, turpentine aroma turns to fruit, loved it, got fruitier the more we tasted.

Van Ruitten Charddonay 2003

61 points from the attendees

comments:

needs more body, no finish, light but fresh, buttery, very light but enjoyed it, bitter aftertaste, light floral, took a while for the wine to express itself, licorice

Most people said they would not buy this wine

Stonehedge Zinfandel 2003

71points from the attendees

love this, it does not taste red, love the nose, cherries, light for a zin, berries, some caramel, cherry aroma, easy to drink, nothing wrong with this wine.

most people said they would buy this wine

Bonterra Cabernet 1994

89 points from our attendees

surprise for a 13 year old wine, drinking very well, not overpowering, no tannis, love it, wonderful, oak, moderate fruit

most people said they would buy this wine

Deco Chocolate Port NV

95 points from our attendees

went great with the chocolate dessert, very nice, wonderful, nice chocolate finish, some berries

most people said they would buy this wine