05/27/2022 | News release | Distributed by Public on 05/27/2022 09:06
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Today we have a guest post from Alan Tardi, CSW. Alan gives us a deep dive in the real Lambrusco as well as a preview of his upcoming session-A Walk on the Wild Side: A New Look at Lambrusco-to be presented at the 46th Annual Conference of the Society of Wine Educators. The conference is scheduled for August 10-11 in Coachella Valley (Indian Wells, CA).
If you think Lambrusco is nothing more than a banal, reddish, cloyingly sweet bubbly, it's time to taste again.
It happened over and over again: The first wines of a given appellation to be exported to America from post-World War II Italy were the most commercial, inexpensive, readily accessible ones possible. Some of them became quite popular, though it was often more about an appealing name or jingle or the color or shape of the bottle than it was about the wine.
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In the 1960s and '70s, Americans started to become more familiar with and attracted to wine. At about the same time, a handful or two of visionary Italian wine producers began focusing on attaining a high-quality level of production and capturing the essence of their particular grape varieties and growing areas.
There are numerous examples of this but one of the best is Tuscany, specifically Chianti.
Prior to this time, the majority of consumers looked (often fondly) upon Chianti as a cheap, rustic wine in a straw-covered flask sitting on a checkered tablecloth next to a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. Then it got a makeover, shed its straw, slimmed down into a Bordeaux-like cylinder and became super, sexy and more expensive. Many other wines underwent a similar transformation (think Barolo, Valpolicella, Friuli whites, Southern reds) and subsequently garnered respect and appreciation in the marketplace.
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Alan's session-A Walk on the Wild Side: A New Look at Lambrusco-is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10th at 8:45 am as part the 46th Annual Conference of the Society of Wine Educators, to be held August 10-11 in Coachella Valley (Indian Wells, CA). Click here to read about the extraordinary wines-as well as a few other treats that will be tasted as part of Alan's session.
About the speaker: Alan Tardi first got interested in wine while working as a cook and chef in some of New York City's finest restaurants and this interest blossomed into a passion when he opened his own restaurant in Manhattan in 2001. While still working long hours in his restaurant, Alan became a frequent panel taster at Wine and Spirits Magazine's New York office and began writing for the magazine. Over time he went on to write for numerous other publications including The New York Times, Sommelier Journal, Food Arts and Wine Spectator. In 2003 Alan moved to the village of Castiglione Falletto in Piemonte, Italy where he worked extensively in the surrounding vineyards and wineries and managed the town's Cantina Comunale. His first book "Romancing the Vine: Life, Love and Transformation in the Vineyards of Barolo " won a James Beard Award for Best Wine Book of 2006. His second book "Champagne, Uncorked: The House of Krug and Timeless Allure of the World's Most Celebrated Drink" (2016) received a Gourmand Best in the World Award. Alan holds a CSW from the Society of Wine Educators, IWS and Champagne Master certificates from the Wine Scholar Guild and is currently pursuing the WSET level 4 Diploma.