Brazil - Faces 2013

I am not really a fond of football (despite being Italian!) but the FIFA World Cup remains an event that affects, for at least one month, billions of people. My interest in this competition rose immediately when I discovered that there was an official wine! It took a while to find it in Europe but finally I got a bottle … just in time to see the Italian team playing!

The Vineyard

In 1875 first families of Italian immigrants from Veneto arrived in Brazil and settled in the region of Rio Grande do Sul. Among them there were the Carraro. They started cultivating and producing fruit. Only one century after the family moved to the production of wine, under the footprint of Lidio Carraro who was at that time a pioneer of the cultivation of Merlot in the area.

The region benefits of an average temperature of 17.2° C with marked excursions between night and day, creating the ideal conditions for the cultivation of the vine.

From the very beginning of his adventure, he embraced and sustained a philosophy of purity in the production of wine, meaning less intervention both in the field and in the cellar, letting the terroir and the grapes express all their best. And no wood, not to alter the original taste of the wine. The result is a wide range of wines, all selected to be the best representatives of Brazil and its possibilities. The winery as we know it now was established in 2001 and from 2005 started to receive national and international awards. The Carraro won the selection to produce the official wine of the FIFA World Cup 2014 and they named it Faces.

The wine

Faces 2013 is an assemblage of 11 different grapes, as many as the players of a football team. Each grape is vinified separately and then it has been a hard job for the oenologist to find the right balance among all these grapes; as reported on their website they did some tests before reaching their goal; the outcome is a “grapeball” team:

Goalkeeper: Malbec (in charge of the aftertaste, it gives aromas of fruits and sweet spices)

Defenders: Tannat, Nebbiolo, Ancellota and Alicante (in charge of the structure of the wine)

Midfielders: Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional and Teroldego (dedicated to the aroma and the body, they provide the aroma of plums, chocolate, violets and raspberries)

Forwarders: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (the most present in the assemblage and the first wines detected during the taste)

Vinification is then conducted in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats for a period variable from 12 to 18 months.

Tasting Note

Date	20 June 2014
Wine name	FACES	Vintage	2013
Nation	Brazil	Region	Rio Grande do Sul
AOC-DOC	//	Grape Varieties	Malbec, Tannat, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo, Ancellota, Touriga Nacional, Alicante, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Teroldego.
Serving temp.	16-18° C	Alcohol	13
Price (in euro)	10

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Weak
Color	Ruby Red	Balance	Quite Balanced
Consistency	Scarcely consistent	Soft sensations	Quite Warm
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Quite Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Scarcely intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavors	Sweet spices, fruits
Aroma intensity	Quite intense
Complexity	Quite complex	Finish/Persistence	Scarcely persistent
Quality	Quite Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Raspberries, plums, violets	Development	Ready
	chocolate	Harmony	Quite Harmonious

Food pairing

The best suggested pairing is with pizza. Other good matches with grilled meats, churrasco and mature cheese.

I bought this wine for two main reasons: first of all I wanted to taste a wine from Brazil; in addition I have been sincerely and positively shocked by the marketing campaign that has supported this product. The Carraro family has been able to present a bottle of wine enough fresh and light to be paired with the heat of the world cup matches. It means a wine quite young, to be drunk now, without any pretension to rewrite the history of wine. The result is: I bought the bottle; but I didn’t really enjoy what was inside.

Official website : www.lidiocarraro.com/worldcupwine

Tanzania – Dodoma Dry Red

When I start planning a new trip abroad I usually open three tabs on my browser. On the first there are the monuments to visit and places to see. On the second there is the gastronomy: local dishes or specialties (there is always a tour in a local market and a supermarket when we go abroad, as we consider that see what the others eat is a way to get in touch with a new environment). 
On the third, of course, I google … wine.
Last year I’ve been to Tanzania three times. I my fist visit we went to Zanzibar with the whole family for a fantastic and relaxing week, but not so much of … local. The other two times I went to Dar Es Salaam and I started looking for wine. Even if the climate doesn’t really looks suitable for grapes I experienced that the passion for wine can usually win every adversity. Grapes arrived in Tanzania thanks to the Italian monks that came here to open mission. I bought three bottles in a local supermarket and … let’s taste the first.

The Vineyard

The Dodoma Wine Company (DOWICO) was established and funded directly from the Tanzanian government. Immediately after independence in 1961, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, now deceased, visited the region of Dodoma and was very much impressed with the plant. He requested the missionaries to assist the introduction of grapevine production in Dodoma region by providing planting materials and expertise.

This state created factory encouraged the production of grapes among local farmers, succeeding in creating a good business. DOWICO bought grapes from farmers, established a research centre to determine appropriate types of grapes of wines and encouraged more and more farmers to come forward and open grape farms. But the system collapsed in the nineties.

On the rests of DOWICO the private owned TDL (Tanzania Distilleries Ltd) bought the brand and restarted the production. They mainly focused on brandy and international wines production, supported by South African experts. 

The wine

Dodoma Dry Red comes from the collection of grapes of local farmers in the Dodoma region. The wine comes from the only red grape variety of the region, Makutupora.

The dry earth and sandy soil, combined with low humidity, are perfect for producing dry wines. There are two harvests seasons a year, in March and August-September and after each harvest the plant is “left in peace” for one month. The two harvests are very different from a qualitative point of view and usually only the August one is use for wine production. The intervention of TDL aims at increasing the output per acres as well as at driving local producers to a better exploitation of their fields.

Tasting Note

Date	18 June 2014
Wine name	DODOMA Dry Red	Vintage	//
Nation	Tanzania	Region	Dodoma
AOC-DOC	//	Grape Varieties	Makutupora
Service Temp.	18° C	Alcohol	12.5
Price (in euro)	5

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Limpid	Body	Weak
Color	Ruby Red	Balance	Quite Balanced
Consistency	Scarcely consistent	Soft sensations	Medium Dry – Quite Soft
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Scarcely Tannic
		Flavors intensity	Quite intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavors	Tropical fruits, apricot
Aroma intensity	Quite intense		chocolate
Complexity	Scarcely complex	Finish/Persistence	Scarcely persistent
Quality	Quite Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	Tropical fruits, chocolate	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Quite Harmonious

Food pairing

Its natural pairing is with Nyama Choma a local delicacy of roasted spiced meat, usually of goat or lamb.

Tanzania is for sure not the most known country in the world for wine production. Nevertheless the passion and commitment of Italian missionaries has demonstrated that even there it is possible to produce wines. The TDL involvement will certainly help the development of the production probably not in terms of quantity but, hopefully, in terms of quality.

But my trip into Tanzanian wines is not over … 

France – Château Miraval «Pink Floyd» Rosé 2013

I live in Provence now, since last august. 
So my search for the uncommon wine couldn’t start anywhere but here, in the only place in the world that has been capable to give an AOC to the pink wine. I am Italian and the pink wine, in my country of origin almost doesn’t exist!

But rosé here is a tradition so … let’s taste the uncommon rosé “par excellence”!

The Vineyard

The “Château Miraval”, is located in the village of Correns in the Var department in the south of France. It is nowadays worldwide known for being the French residence of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie who, with the supervision of the famous wine-maker Marc Perrin produce here their wines.

The overall extension of the domaine is 400 hectares of which 30 hectares on the valley floor are devoted to vines. The château is known for its wines, white wines under the Coteaux Varois appellation and red, white and rosé wine under the Côtes de Provence appellation.

The immense wine cellar of Miraval was built in 1850 by Joseph Lombot, the inventor of reinforced concrete, who owned the nearby domaine of La Celle.

The whole site lies on the remains of a pre Roman settlement. A previous owner, the French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier, installed a recording studio in the château: Sting recorded there, as did the Cranberries and Pink Floyd laid down tracks for The Wall album, released in 1979. Its more recent American owner, Tom Bove, who bought the domaine in 1993 and has modernized its viticulture, which had been producing simple vin de pays.

The Wine

Miraval rosé comes from Chateaus' best parcels (Muriers, Longue, Romarin), as well as from a selection of vineyards close to the village of Correns, in the heart of Provence. The vineyard is cultivated on a terroir of clay and limestone, partially in terraces located at an average of 350 meters.

The climate is cool, with big temperature swings between night and day. In particular, the vintage 2013 has been characterized by a long and dry winter, followed by a spring cold and humid. The result is a poor (in quantity) harvest.

The grapes are harvested exclusively in the morning. Pressurage direct for Cinsault, Grenache and Rolle. The Syrah is vinified separately using the saignee method. Vinification is then conducted in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats (95%) and in barrels (5%) with batonnage.

Tasting Note

Date	11 June 2014
Wine name	MIRAVAL – PINK FLOYD	Vintage	2013
Nation	France	Region	Provence
AOC-DOC	Cotes de Provence	Grape Varieties	Cinsault, Syrah, Rolle, Grenache
Service Temp.	8-10° C	Alcohol	13
Price (in euro)	15

Visual Examination		Taste analysis
Limpidity	Cristal Clear	Body	Full
Color	Soft rosé	Balance	Balanced
Consistency	Quiet consistent	Soft sensations	Dry – Light
Effervescence	//	Hard sensations	Fresh
		Flavors intensity	Quite intense
Olfactory analysis		Flavors	Cherries, wild strawberries
Aroma intensity	Quite intense		Minerals, citrus fruit
Complexity	Quite complex	Finish/Persistence	Quite persistent
Quality	Fine	Overall evaluations
Aromas	White flowers, berries	Development	Ready
		Harmony	Harmonious

Food pairing

On its own as aperitivo or paired with seafood or light salads.

In conclusion, buying a bottle of Miraval you pay the name of the owners and the particular shape of the bottle. But, at the same time, you buy the expertise of Perrin family in making wine and a glass of rosé that smells of freshness and tastes of summer. And Provence.

Official website : www.miraval-provence.com