Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Cantina Briamara Biancamano Erbaluce di Caluso 2018

Written by Allison Levine on October 23, 2019

Wine

Erbaluce is a white Italian wine grape grown in the Piedmont region. This white wine is little known and definitely under-appreciated. But taste one and you will understand why the Cantina Briamara Biancamano Erbaluce di Caluso 2018 is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

Erbaluce is grown in Alto Piemonte, near the Valle d’Aosta. More specifically, Erbaluce is produced in 33 communes in the province of Turin. At the center is the commune of Caluso. Caluso was under the realm of the goddess Albaluce, which is where the name Erbaluce comes from.

Erbaluce earned DOCG status in 2010 and is the only white wine in the Alto Piemonte to receive DOCG status. It can be produced as a sparkling wine (Erbaluce di Caluso Spumante), a dry wine (Erbaluce di Caluso) or a sweet dessert wine (Erbaluce di Caluso Passito).

Cantina Briamara Biancamano Erbaluce di Caluso 2018 is a dry white wine produced by Cantina Briamara. Established in 1931 by Silvio Bianco, it is currently owned and run by Massimiliano and Elisa Bianco who have ten hectares of Erbaluce planted.

Cantina Briamara Biancamano Erbaluce di Caluso 2018 is a straw yellow color. It has aromas of flowers, citrus, honeydew, white pepper and a touch of sage and mineral notes. On the palate, it is light bodied with persistent acidity but also a well-rounded mid-palate with a mouthwatering finish.

Imported by Vero Vino Gusto, the wine retails for $19 and is available on the Vero Vino Gusto website.

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Dinner with Friends Italian Style

Written by Allison Levine on September 21, 2019

Travel Lifestyle Food

Twenty-Five years ago, I moved to a small town in northern Italy. I knew no one and spoke no Italian. But, when you are blond and pale, you stand out and soon in this town of 46,000, I had made friends. Throughout the six months that I lived in Italy, one of my fondest memories was dinner. It was not the food, although always good, but rather the ambiance, the idea of friendship around a table, enjoying good food, wine and conversation. I went back to Vercelli this past week and my friends all came together for a large dinner. And that is why, dinner with friends Italian style is the Please The Palate pick of the week.

I have had many good dinners in the US and with my foodie friends, a meal is the entertainment for the evening. Yet most times, dinner in the U.S. is a precursor to something else, such as heading to a bar, a movie or a concert. And, most dinners take between one to two hours. But in Italy, dinner is the event of evening. Dinner is scheduled for 8pm or 9pm and will last three or four hours. Read More +

Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Marenco Carialoso 2016, Monferrato DOC

Written by Allison Levine on September 18, 2019

Wine

The Piemonte region in northwest Italy is famous for its Nebbiolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato d’Asti, Brachetto d’Acqui, Arneis and Cortese. In addition, there is Grignolino, Ruché, Friesa, Bonarda, Croatina, Erbaluce, Pelaverga, Vespolina, Timorasso and more. But one grape I had not heard of until my recent visit to Piemonte was Caricalasino, a rare native grape in Piemonte that was close to extinction. Luckily, the grape has been revitalized and the Marenco Carialoso 2016, Monferrato DOC is the Please The Palate wine of the week.

Caricalasino, which translates to the “load of the donkey”, was saved by Marenco winemaker Patrizia Marenco who discovered some old vines in the Bagnario Valley in Strevi.

In 1990, Patrizia began experimenting and approximately 3000 plants were reproduced. For a while, they thought that this white grape was Vermentino, brought up from Ligueria. But this wine has more structure than a Vermentino. Then, ten years ago, research and testing concluded that the grape Caricalasino is white Barbera (the skin of the grape is white).

The Marenco Carialoso comes from a vineyard in Strevi with white marl soils. The grapes are hand-picked and fermented in stainless steel for 15 days. The wine is then aged on the lees for five or six months in stainless steel and in 250 liter barrels.

The Marenco 2016 Carialoso is a bright straw yellow color with delicate notes of citrus fruits, aromatic herbs, flint, camomile and butane. The wine is well-structured with electric acidity on the palate. It is refreshing with a saline finish and soft tannins.

Only 3000 bottles of this wine are made and only in the best vintages. 2016 was the last one they produced and 2018 will be the next vintage. This is a wine that is versatile with food pairing! It can be enjoyed with white meat and fish.

Luckily, 20 cases of this wine are imported into the USA by Vias Imports. It may be difficult to find but it is available and delicious if you can get your hands on it!