The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Luca Currado of Vietti (on the left), my favorite Barolo producer at the event, and Iron Chevsky (me, on the right) holding the red wine of the year - Vietti Barolo Riserva "Villero" 2007 The 2015 Tre Bicchieri in San Francisco took place in February. The weather was spectacular, the setting at Fort Mason gorgeous, yet it seemed like few famous producers attended, and few bottlings per producer were poured, many of the wines ran out well before the event end. Despite my expectation to taste Brunello and Barolo from the much heralded 2010 vintage (because last year we tasted 2009 Barolo), there were but a handful of 2010's. Perhaps producers don't feel the need to promote their 2010's. Perhaps the famous brands of Italy are focusing on Antonio Galloni and James Suckling events rather than Gamero Rosso's. Whatever it is, I am left thinking that somehow this event is losing its importance to the big names, which is unfortunate as this has always been the top...

I started hearing about Mount Etna over the last couple of years as it grew in popularity in the "in" circles. The region has been going through a renaissance in the last 10 years, finally starting to show up on the radar of boutique wine shops and serious Italian restaurants. The fascinating and impressive aspect of red wines from Etna is their textural, structural, and color likeness to red Burgundy (Pinot Noir grape) and particularly to Barolo (Nebbiolo grape) - the two greatest wines in the world. One expects rustic, thick wines to come out of Sicily, the widely known consumer-marketed examples made from Nero D'Avola and Syrah. Yet, grown on elevations thousands of feet above sea level on centuries-old lava soils around the Mount Etna volcano (the largest active volcano in Europe), the native grape called Nerello Mascalese achieves dizzying heights. Last week, I sat with Enrico N. - director of Italian wines at one of the largest wine distributors in California - Wi...

Last time I posited that a light-bodied high-acidity fruity red wine paired well with seafood. Continuing with the theme on unexpected food-and-wine pairings, this time I evolved this concept by pairing a medium body Italian red wine with seafood pasta in light red sauce. While normally I would think more toward a Sangiovese-based Chianti or Umbrian red , or perhaps a Piedmonte's native Barbera or Dolcetto, this time I went to a lighter bodied wine, made of Nerello Mascalese, an indigenous grape varietal of Sicily with a Burgundian character, less cherry-like though, with a hint of pepper and volcano-ash-like, which worked wonderfully with the heartier, chewier flavors of the red sauce and calamari / shellfish / mollusk mix. Paired with Etna Rosso, Graci 2007 (available at Vineyard Gate ). Officially designated as Etna DOC, the vines are planted between 1800 and 2100 feet above sea level in the hills surrounding Mount Etna in Sicily, the second largest active volcano in Europe.