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05/23/2000 Archived Entry: "Four Wine Buys"

Carol Berman and I are trying to record all the Wednesday Wine Buys we haven’t yet recorded for this web-site – and those number many. Here’s our first installment. All four, three reds and a white, I notice now, are perfect for this weekend’s Memorial Day picnics, barbecues and parties -- well, what wine wouldn't fit in somewhere.

Felline Primitivo 1998
Primativo is a grape from Puglia that is believed to be the genetic predecessor of California’s Zinfandel. Through genetic mapping – in other words examining the DNA of the grapes – the experts now say the grape originated in Croatia as the Plavac Mali.

At any rate, Carol Berman describes this Primativo as a soft, warm, rich red wine with ripe spicy fruit. I’d say it’s a big and powerful red wine, deep and dense, perfect with meat dishes, be they stews or braises or meats from the grill. I love it with Italian sausage and peppers. Carol says she’s not sure about its compatibility with tomato-based sauces, though if I was following my spaghetti with red meat I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it and I’d drink it throughout the meal.

The producer, Felline, makes a limited amount of this wine, so it is one of the more difficult of our wine buys to find. The distributor is Michael Skurnik in Syosset, Long Island. (Ask your local wine merchant to look it up in Beverage Media, the bible of the retail trade and to order some for you.).It costs about $11.99.


Falesco Grechetto 1998
This white wine is from Umbria (the only land-locked region of Italy; in the central part of the country, next to Tuscany). Umbria’s famous white wine is Orvieto. This is a lesser-known wine made from a local grape. The grape name means “little Greek,” so one might suppose the grape was brought by the Greeks to Italy. Carol calls it full-bodied, with a big mouth feel, loaded with fruit, and finishing dry with a slightly lemony, citrusy quality. Like many of Carol’s favorite whites, and like Orvieto, it also has an earthy, mineraly feel. Carol always says if you can’t taste the earth the wine is from why bother drinking the wine.

This is a great wine for summer salads, whether they are based on seafood or chicken or vegetables. Also try it with grilled fish, even those fish dishes with a cream sauce, but not those with aggressive sauces. It’s too light for lobster and scallops, but probably not for shrimp. I’d love it with one of my favorite summer salads, shrimp with white beans.

Drink the 1998 wine this summer and look out for the 1999 vintage. Grechetto should be drunk soon after it is released. It is nationally distributed by Winebow and costs about $9.99.


Ca’ del Solo Big House Red 1998
Italy meets France meets America in one bottle or, one might say, under one roof. The French grapes are Cinsault and Mourvedre, the Italian Barbera and Sangiovese, and the American Zinfandel, although they are all grown in California. One of the reasons for the name is that some of the vineyards are behind the Soledad prison in California. The winemaker, Randall Grahm, is known for off-beat blends and whimsical wine names and labels, not to mention wonderful wines. This name/label has several word/picture puns working on its behalf. Ca’ del Solo is the name Grahm uses for his Bonny Doon Italian varietal wines. Ca’ is Italian slang for “casa,” meaning house. Big House is American slang for prison. House Red is … well, you know what that means. The picture on the label is a red house with bars on the windows. If this seems confusing it’s because it is.

In any case, Carol describes Big House Red as lush and layered with raspberry, blackberry, and earthy flavors and aromas; with soft tannins and good acidity tying them all together. In other words (mine), it’s an easy drinking red that’s likeable even to those who profess not to like red wine that much.. Drink it with cheese, grilled meats and poultry. Carol thinks it’s a great hamburger wine, which it is.

It’s very well distributed by Michael Skurnik in Syosset, Long Island, and costs about $9.99.


Domaine St. Gayan 1998
This is a Cote du Rhone Villages. Let me explain. The Cote du Rhone (the hills that bank the Rhone river) is south of Burgundy and it produces rich, chunky wines with, at their best, deep, dark fruit. The main grape is Syrah. The most generic labeling from the region would be simply Cote du Rhone. (Hermitage and Chateauneuf du Pape are the most famous, high-quality wines from the Rhone Valley.) The word Village indicates that it is from a designated village where the wine deserves to be singled out more than a basic Cote du Rhone. In this case, the wine comes from the village of Rasteau.

Domaine St. Gayan is extremely lush and complex with, as Carol describes it, “a core of dark, spicy fruit with hints of strawberry and black berry.” To put it plainly, the wine is awesome and you should buy some.

It costs about $12.99 and it’s distributed, again, by Michael Skurnik of Syosset. The importer is by Christopher Canaan of Europvin, who is known for his French and Spanish imports. Look for his name or Eurpovin on labels. You can’t go wrong.