Say you’re preparing an Italian dinner, or you want to take a couple of reasonably priced Italian wines to dinner, or you just want a couple of terrific and reasonably priced Italian wines to drink, I mean, I’m not trying to suggest a career path or anticipate your every need, but try this pair:

For the white, La Tunella Pinot Grigio 2009, from Italy’s far northeastern Colli Orientali del Friuli region, or “Eastern Hills of Friuli.” I gripe and bitch and moan about the mediocre quality of 90 percent of the pinot grigio wines on the market, but this is not one of those. And, no, La Tunella does not mean “the little tuna”; it is, rather, the name of a hill and village close to this impeccably run family property. Made all in stainless steel, La Tunella Pinot Grigio 2009 opens with a spurt of spiced and herbed lemon, followed by scintillating green apple and a hint of apple blossom, and then something warmer, acacia, roasted pear. Forget watery pinot grigios; this offers a lovely sense of weight and balance that join crisp, lively acidity with elegant lushness. The wine is spicier in the mouth, especially through the finish, where the lemon and pear flavors are haunted by a hint of grapefruit. Incredibly charming. The alcohol content is 13 percent. Drink as a beguiling aperitif or with grilled fish and seafood. Excellent. About $21.

For the red, here’s a robust example from “the sun-burnt South,” as Keats says, referring to Provence, except that the Rapitalà “Nuar” 2007 is from Sicily, which, as you know, as souther. The wine is a full-throttle blend of 70 percent nero d’Avola and 30 percent pinot nero (pinot noir), as unusual combination, as is the treatment. The nero d’Avola sees only stainless steel, while the pinot noir is fermented in stainless steel and then transferred to small French oak casks for nine months. The result is a wine whose ripe, fleshy, meaty black fruit scents and flavors provide a heady kick that leans to the funky side of the street. These aspects of black cherry, black currant and blackberry are heightened by a touch of fruit cake and baking spices, by an earthy and minerally, slightly granitic vein and highlighted by acidity that stops short of being pert. In several words, the Rapitalà Nuar 2007 is perfect for hearty pizzas and pasta dishes, for barbecue brisket or braised short ribs and other such rib-sticking fare. The alcohol content is 13.5 percent. Drink now through 2012. very Good+. About $16.

Samples for review.
La Tunella imported by Quintessential, Napa, Cal.
Rapitalà imported by Frederick Wildman & Sons, New York.

Well, of course the simplest pasta would be a bowl of naked noodles, but one step up in complication and yet remarkably delicious is the Roman dish Spaghetti a Cacio e Peppe, that is, Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano cheese and Black Pepper. You cook the pasta — as you can see, I used farfalle because I love those cute little bow-tie shapes — and when the pasta is cooked, reserve a little of the water and then drain the pasta as usual. Put it back into the pot, grate on a bunch of pecorino cheese and fresh cracked pepper and stir in a bit of the pasta water to help it all cohere. That’s it! I added — please don’t curse me, you sweet old lady goddesses of Roman cuisine! — a dribble of olive oil. It’s great stuff, and one bowlful made a more than adequate lunch for me yesterday.

For wine, I opened a bottle of the Argiano Non Confunditur 2007, a Rosso Toscano blend of 40 percent cabernet sauvignon and 20 percent each merlot, syrah and sangiovese. Argiano, whose winemaker bears the unexpected name of Hans Vinding-Diers, is a viticultural estate in Brunello di Montalcino that goes back to 1580, though the present ownership, of Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano, began in 1992. Non Confunditur is a Latin tag that means something like, “not to be confused,” and if the point is that this wine should not be confused with Brunello, well, don’t worry, small chance of that.

The wine is dark, ripe and robust and seductive with its aromas of macerated and fleshy black currants, black cherries and black raspberries, along with a whiff of black pepper. The wine ages one year in a combination of French barriques and Slavonian vats, so the oak influence manifests itself in the wine’s framing and foundation, exerting a sense of subtle, supple woodiness and blond, slightly exotic spice. Notes of red currants, orange rind, lapsang souchong tea, tobacco leaf and a tinge of cabernet’s graphite-like minerality develop in the glass. A stream of taut acidity keeps the wine lively and enticing throughout its soft almost plush ripeness, while dry, dusty tannins contribute to a build-up of briery and brambly austerity on the finish. Impressive character and confidence. The alcohol content is 14 percent. Drink now through 2014 to ’16. Excellent. National prices are all over the map, as in about $16 to $24.

Vias Imports, New York.

The Regaleali “Le Rose” 2009, from the Sicilian producer Tasca d’Almerita, is among the most charming and refreshing rosé wines I have tasted all summer. Tasted? Nay, happily consumed in these Dog Days when the temperature is just, as we say in our house, stinkin’ hot. Today, for example, the mercury is supposed to reach 105, with a heat index of 115. Taint a fit day out for man nor beast. The grape for this wine is the nerello mascalese, indigenous to the island of Sicily.

The color is a radiant copper-salmon, midway between the classically pale of the South of France and the increasingly and unnaturally dark of “rosés” from Australia and California. Aromas of ripe and slightly fleshy raspberries and red currants are twined with hints of melon and peach and a slight sensation of earthiness. This is a lovely, supple and quite dry rosé that exhibits delicately spiced and macerated red fruit flavors imbued with traces of dried thyme and tarragon wrapped around a lean backbone of limestone and thirst-quenching acidity. The alcohol content is 12.5 percent. Very Good+. Prices range from about $10 to $14 around the country, but like an idiot I paid $18 at a store here in Memphis. Caveat emptor, indeed.

Leonardo Locascio Selections for Winebow Inc., New York.

At the Barbera 2010 conference in March, in Piedmont, I tasted two barbera wines from — to render the complete name — Tenuta Cisa Asinari dei Marchesi di Gresy. The Barbera 2007 and Barbera “Monte Colombo” 2006 from Marchesi di Gresy I found to be smooth, harmonious and well-balanced wines and not in the least afflicted with the searing acidity, scorching tannins and piled-on oak that marred many of the other wines we tried at the four-day event. The first ages six months in a combination of two- and three-year old French barriques and Slavonian oak casks; the second ages 12 months in barriques, but reveals its wood in a sensibly soft and subtle manner.

Two days ago, at a trade tasting in Memphis, I tried three different wines from the estate and also met Alberto Cisa Asinari di Gresy, as charming and unassuming a personage as one could wish to meet or desire to emulate. The historic property. Monte Aribaldo (24.86 acres for dolcetto, chardonnay, sauvignon blamc), surrounds a 19th Century hunting lodge built by Alberto di Gresy’s grandfather in the commune of Treiso d’Alba. Alberto di Gresy, born in 1952, took over the operation of the property right out of university and began producing wine, instead of selling grapes to other producers, in 1973. Another vineyard nearby, Martinenga (59.28 acres, mainly nebbiolo), has been in the family since 1797; this is the location of the central winery. A third vineyard, La Serra consists of 27.21 acres of moscato, barbera and merlot, while the 6.38-acre Monte Colombo is for barbera and merlot.

The wines of Marchesi di Gresy are imported by Dalla Terra Winery Direct, Napa, Ca.
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Made all in stainless steel, the Marchesi di Gresy Dolcetto d’Alba 2008 is as pretty a wine as you could ask for in a red that also provides deeper notes of tobacco and leather, black and red cherries, bountiful spice and a whiff of violets, all wrapped in a slight haze of shale-like minerality. True to its name, this is a sweetheart of a wine, almost translucent in its tone and balance, that’s perfectly suited for summer drinking with lighter fare such as fresh tomato pasta or vitello tonnato. Very Good+. About $20 to $22.
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Just under an acre of the Martinenga estate is devoted to nebbiolo grapes bottled under the Langhe D.O.C. Also made in stainless steel, the Marchesi di Gresy Nebbiolo Langhe 2008 displays the grape in simple purity and intensity. The color is mild medium ruby with a slightly ruddy interior; tobacco leaf, lilac and lavender, macerated cherries and plums distinguish the bouquet. The wine is quite spicy and fleshy, with notes of roasted red and black currants bolstered by lively acidity and a footprint of dusty tannins that dissolves into a touch of graphite and tar. This feels like a distinctly Mediterranean wine, with the unusual scent of damp roof tiles and dried herbs that one occasionally encounters. Mainly, though, the wine is a tissue of delicacies wound into a fabric of ineffable grace and balance. Drink now through 2013 or ’14. Very Good+. About $18 to $22.
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No heavily extracted Barbaresco here, the Marchesi Barbaresco Martinenga 2006 is a medium ruby-rust color that fades to light garnet at the rim. The perfume is incredible: sassafras and cloves, spiced and macerated red and black currants and plums, a dusting of shale, violets and lilacs. The entire effect is seamless with a structure of impeccable poise and a sense of delicacy married to innate and almost invisible power; it would be impossible to say, “Here is tannin” or “Here is acidity” or “Here is fruit,” because of the complete permeation of balanced elements. This ages six months in French barriques and then 14 months in large Slavonian oak casks, but you would hardly know it except for a sense of supple and sinewy shapeliness that the wood confers. To flavors of macerated and roasted cherries and plums, add a touch of tar, a hint of balsam, a suggestion of cedar. Pure elegance and confidence. This drinks beautifully now but should mature equally beautifully through 2018 or ’20. Excellent. About $45 to $55.
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Or, the subtitle might be “There Is Such a Thing as Too Much Raw Veal.”

In the village of Barbaresco, we had a major tasting event at Gaja, with Gaia Gaja, and then her father, the legendary, the visionary, Angelo Gaja joined us for a chat, and then we went to lunch with Gaia Gaja at a charming place up the hill, just beyond the church and under the 13th or 14th Century tower, called, appropriately, Trattoria Antica Torre.

In the picture you can see a remnant of the snow that unexpectedly blanketed Piedmont on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 9 and 10). And notice in the following images how even though this is just a trattoria in a village and it’s lunchtime that there’s a white cloth on the table, that the plates and bowls are supported by chargers and that the plates and bowls are good china. No short cuts here, and that’s the way I have found things at restaurants in Italy generally. There’s no fear of formality; it’s ingrained in the culture, and it feels, to this diner, comfortable and comforting. I hate this American notion that a white tablecloth is supposedly stifling and stuffy and that proper service somehow takes the “fun” out of eating out.

Anyway, Trattoria Antica Torre fields a traditional Piedmontese menu, with which, by this time, we were pretty familiar. The genial proprietress seated us upstairs and asked if she should bring a selection of tradition dishes, and we agreed to that. She also mentioned that rabbit was on the menu, and my ears perked up. Call it Peter, call it Thumper, but I love rabbit when it’s cooked right.

A couple of our group were feeling a bit puny, and she graciously offered to bring them bowls of brodo — broth — to ease their unsettled stomachs. I’ll admit to feeling a big smug and superior that guys half my age were succumbing to the weariness, overeating and gladiatorial drinking that a hectic wine-trip imposes while I was fit as a fiddle and ready for lunch. It didn’t hurt that we were drinking the Gaja Rossj-Bass 2007, a lovely chardonnay and sauvignon blanc blend, and the Gaja Barbaresco 2006.

First came the usual veal tartare, and not a small serving either. Obviously at Trattoria Antica Torre lunch was taken seriously. This was delicious stuff, clean and ripe in the way that the best raw meat is, but enough was enough. I hardly ate half of my portion.

Next came the ubiquitous pasta of the Piedmontese region of Langhe, tajarin, a form of egg noodle like tagliatelle except cut, ideally, about 1/12th of an inch wide. This is typically served with an intense ragu of veal and pork and sometimes rabbit made with no tomatoes. Again, the portion would have been enough to satisfy me for a meal, and delicious as it was, I couldn’t finish the serving.

Our hostess that not forgotten my interest in rabbit, and she surprised me by bringing a plate that held not, say, one piece for me to sample but three pieces with roasted potatoes and glazed carrots, enough for a hearty dinner. It was, I’ll make clear, the best rabbit I have eaten, braised to tender and succulent perfection, but one piece, I think a thigh, and a few potatoes and carrots utterly defeated me. A cup of rich, bitter espresso either revived me or delivered the coup de grace.

After a few hours of driving around and what seemed to my addled brain a series of fruitless ventures and visitations, we arrived at dusk at the winery of Negro Angelo e Figli, where the Negro family has been cultivating grapes since 1670. Our hostess, Marissa Negro, who conducted a tasting for us, was attractive and amiable and the wines, particularly the whites made from the arneis grape, were excellent. It was Friday, however, and we had tasted hundreds of wines since Monday, and I think we were all feeling pretty slogged out.

Actually, I was feeling more than slogged out; I was feeling distinctly as if my innards were protesting, rebelling, mounting an assault, mounting …. and as discreetly as possible I rose from my chair, soundlessly left the room, found the restroom, closed and locked the door and, yielding to an irresistible force, violently tossed my cookies. It took two more trips to the toilette to resolve these issues, by which time my compatriots were beginning to look askance. I smiled mirthlessly but I hope reassuringly, waving a hand to dismiss concern. Later, however, when someone asked if I were feeling all right, I confessed to being grossly importuned.

I think, honestly, that there wasn’t a thing wrong with the meal I ate at lunch. I think it was simply too much of a good thing added to too much more of a good thing, and my stomach couldn’t take the punishment. After the group returned to Asti that night, my colleagues went out for a pizza. I stayed in my hotel room and drank sparkling water and finished Sense and Sensibility. In the morning, I was ready to start again.

Dear Readers, beginning Monday — or Sunday if I can manage — I’ll be posting from Asti, a central city in Piedmont, where I will
be attending the Barbera Meeting 2010 with a group of American wine bloggers. In addition to the festival or conference, we’ll be visiting prominent estates that produce the three “B” wines of Piedmont — Barbera, Barolo and Barbaresco — and eating some fine meals. There’s an official blog, of course.

I’ve traveled and tasted and dined in Tuscany, Umbria and the Veneto, but not Piedmont, so I’m looking forward to this trip a great deal, for the landscape, history and culture, for the wine and food, and for the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas, as well as japes, jests and jabs to the arm, with some fellow bloggers.

Until Monday, then, or Sunday, after a long flight to Amsterdam and then to Milan.

Last night LL made a perfect carbonara. Like so many Italian pasta creations, whether classic or contemporary, the thing is utter simplicity: butter, garlic, pancetta, eggs, Parmesan and Romano
cheeses. The whole process takes even less time than it takes the pasta to cook. We didn’t have pancetta — spiced and cured but not smoked pork belly — but applewood smoked bacon made a fine substitute. Nor did we have Romano cheese, so I grated half Parmesan and half Campo de Montalban, a hard cheese made from goat’s, sheep’s and cow’s milks. The ability to improvise, but not compromise, is essential, in cooking and in life, n’est-ce pas?

Anyway, this was a great dish. To accompany it, I opened – with a deft twist of the wrist — a bottle of the Monte Antico 2006, Toscana, a blend of sangiovese (85%), cabernet sauvignon (10%) and merlot (5%). The label is owned by its American importers, Neal and Maria Empson. The wine is made in the Tuscan province of Pisa by Franco Bernabei.

Monte Antico 2006, as befits its broad grounding in the sangiovese grape, is clean and spare yet warm and spicy. Aromas of dried black and red fruit, dried spice and flowers are woven with orange rind and a sort of floral-rooty black tea and hints of tobacco and smoke. The smokiness increases as the black currant and macerated plum flavors take on their freight of dusty tannins, crushed gravel and vibrant acidity. This is sleek, polished and harmonious and will drink nicely through the end of 2010 or into 2011. Very Good+ and a Great Bargain at about $13, though seen on the Internet as low as $10.
Imported by Empson USA, Alexandria, Va.

Notes on other recently tasted red wines from Italy:
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I once heard a winemaker in Australia say that there were no great wines without oak. This point of view ignores many of the great wines of Chablis and Alsace and portions of Germany, but those are white wines, and perhaps he referred only to red. It’s true that the great red wines of the world, from Bordeaux and Burgundy to Tuscany and Piemonte, from Napa Valley to the Barossa Valley, tend to be aged in wood, and they tend to be made from “noble” grapes like cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, sangiovese, nebbiolo and syrah. What then do we make of the Serra de Prete 2007, a deep-dyed, towering blockbuster of a red wine made by the producer Musto Carmelito in the rustic Italian province of Basilicata, a wine made with nary a speck of wood? No, my friends, this staggering wine spends six months in stainless steel tanks, four months in cement vats and two months in bottle before it is unleashed to an unsuspecting world. Now if the definition of a great wine is one that will develop and mature into mellow nuance, refinement and subtlety, as we expect with Bordeaux and Burgundy, then Serra de Prete 2007 doesn’t approach greatness. If however a wine achieves a supreme expression of a single grape variety and vineyard, if it practically shivers with authenticity and integrity, well, that’s a different kind of greatness. The grape in question is aglianico del vulture — “vool-CHUR-ay” — and it provides Serra de Prete 2007 with a color that’s like some nocturnal Lovecraftian deep purple shading into black; with intense and concentrated scents and flavors of licorice/oolong tea/tar-stained black currants; with a dense, supple, chewy texture that draws on the power of fathomless tannins; and a tone somber and brooding but not rustic or truculent. In fact, the blessing of keen acidity keeps the wine unexpectedly vibrant and resonant. Best after 2011 or ’12. Excellent. About $20-$22, Good Value.

Imported by Domenico Selections, N.Y. Available in the Northeast and limited in the rest of the country.

Double disclosure: This wine was sent to me as a review sample, AND I borrowed the image from Benito and modified it.
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In the old days, that is, the 1950s through the 1980s, the grapes that went into Amarone were hung up in the rafters of the wineries or spread out on mats to dry. Now, however, the grapes — corvina and rondinella — are dried in temperature-controlled rooms and carefully monitored. Recioto della Valpolicella Amarone, as the wine used to be called, is the great red wine of the Veneto region, though it must be carefully made to retain freshness and clarity. One that does just that is the Masi “Costasera” Amarone Classico 2005, a dark vigorous, boldly flavorful wine, deeply spicy, dauntlessly dry yet succulent. Aromas of fruit cake and spice cake are twined with dried black and blue fruit and hints of orange rind, toasted almonds and bitter chocolate; nothing raisiny or toffee-ish mars the wine’s sleekness and its profound presence or tone. Paradoxically, this Amarone is dramatic, displaying a flair for overt statement of fruit, structure and acidity, yet at the core, it is calm, generous and, through the finish, austere. Drink now through 2015 to ’18 with hearty stews and braised meat or strong cheeses, or allow it to mature into a wine that encourages contemplation and meditation. Excellent. Prices range ridiculously across the board for this wine, as in from about $35 to $65.

Imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, Cal. Tasted at a trade event.
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The Moccagatta Nebbiolo 2007, from Piedmont’s Langhe region, represents the entry level wine for the Minuto family’s Moccagatta estate, founded in 1952. Made from 100 percent nebbiolo grapes (from young vineyards) and aged a scant six months in old barriques, the wine offers the typical nebbiolo aromas of tar, smoke, violets, spiced plums, damp leaves and moss and gravel. Flavors of macerated black currants and blueberries are draped on a spare, taut structure whose bright acidity cuts a swath on the palate. Nothing opulent or easy here; the wine is an eloquent expression of a grape at a level of purity and intensity that’s especially gratifying from vines that are less than a decade old. Dried heather and thyme seep through the bouquet after a few minutes in the glass, as the wine gets increasingly spicy, dry and austere, with touches of old paper and dust. While the Moccagatta Nebbiolo ’07 doesn’t display the dimension or detail of Moccagatta’s more expensive single-vineyard Barbarescos, it’s an admirable statement of a grape variety and winemaking philosophy. Best from 2010 or ’11 through 2015 to ’17. Bring on the pappardelle con coniglio. Excellent. About $25.

Marc de Grazia Imports, Winston-Salem, N.C.
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From the vast sea of wine turned out in Puglia comes this distinctive number, the Masserie Pisari Negroamaro 2005, Salento Rosso. Made from a grape that’s often treated like a bludgeon, the Masserie Pisari ’05 takes rich, deep black currant, blueberry and plum scents and flavors and adds exotic spice and a note of wild cherry. After a few moments in the glass, matters turn tarry, briery and brambly; the wine grows more exotic, wilder and spicier, more roasted and smoky, with an expanding tide of dusty tannins, dried thyme and rosemary and a warm, meadowy aspect, all enlivened by brisk acidity. The wine does sort of hit you over the head, but gently; there’s something almost droll about it. Definitely calls for burgers, pizzas and hearty pasta dishes. Very Good+. About $16, which is what I paid in Memphis, Tenn., but prices on the Internet go as low as $10.
A Marc de Grazia Selection for Vin Divino, Chicago.
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I wish I hadn’t paid $19 for this wine; the national median is about $16. We live and learn (or not). That range in prices isn’t the fault of the wine though. The Marcarini Fontanazza 2008, Dolcetto d’Alba, which we drank on Pizza-and-Movie Night, opens with aromas of black cherries and plums with a background of sour cherry, a tea-like spice and a touch of dried orange rind. In other words, this is classic Piedmontese dolcetto, with that good old dependable northern Italian acid structure, piano-string taut and vibrant, and the requisite black currant-leather-tobacco nature that leans lightly on supple tannins. Here’s another wine that sees no oak and is all the better for it. Very Good+. About (oh, well) $16.
Imported by Empson USA, Alexandria, Va.
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A perfect dish for seasonal transition, that is from Summer into Fall, is this recipe from the September Gourmet magazine. It touches five essential food groups — chicken, figs, garlic, bacon and thyme — for a combination that’s savory, hearty and flavorful, with a touch of woodsy sweetness. The recipe calls for Cornish game hens, but the examples we see in stores here look like small mutant chickens, not the petite birds of yore, so we used chicken thighs, which we had on hand. The dish did not suffer in the slightest. In keeping with our new philosophy — two small meals a day –LL and I each ate one thigh (and one piece of bacon), along with mashed potatoes and green beans, leaving some for lunch this weekend.

For wine, I opened the Campo Santa Lena Valpolicella Classico 2007, from Villa Monteleone, located in the town of Gargagnago, in the central-western reaches of the Valpolicella Classico region. Valpolicella Classico, in the Veneto, like Chianti Classico in Tuscany, is a delimited vineyard zone, not a style of wine. Theoretically, wines from Valpolicella Classico, closer to Lake Garda and at a higher elevation, will be better than “regular” Valpolicella because of the more salubrious geography and micro-climate. Indeed, as the vineyards of Valpolicella spread easterly toward the city of Verona and flatter land, the more lackluster or at least merely drinkable the wines tend to be.

Campo Santa Lena Valpolicella Classico 2007 is a blend of the typical grapes of the region: Corvina and rondinella with some croatina and molinara. Made all in stainless steel, the wine is a medium ruby color with inviolable violet at the center. The bouquet offers black currants, dusty plums, a whiff of black pepper and dried herbs. In the mouth, Campo Santa Lena ’07 is robust and earthy, but not heavy; in fact, it carries itself with point and polish, invigorated by lithe acidity. Flavors of black cherries and plums are permeated by chewy, slightly brushy tannins and back-notes of tar and bitter chocolate. A rewarding drink with our roasted chicken, figs and thyme with bacon and garlic chips, it would be equally suitable with a variety of hearty autumnal fare, especially game-birds. Very Good+. About $20.

Imported by Domenico Selections, New York, whose wines are now available not only in the Northeast but in North Carolina and Texas.

… to be here tonight speaking about our elevation to DOCG status, the highest honor that can be bestowed on an Italian wine. Yes, thank you, thank you, give it up for the little guy! Ha, ha! O.K., whew, thanks! I mean it! You’re great! You’re wonderful! Ha, ha! Yeah!

O.K., so, what does this all mean?

Take a look at the chart projected behind me. Uh, Guido, the chart? O.K., Italian technology, it’s the best, right? I mean, the trains run on time.

Anyway, you see there, straight north of Venice is Conegliano and straight west of that town is Valdobbiadene and in the region, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, is the best Prosecco produced. And we’re so pleased, so pleased, you cannot imagine, to have the coveted Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita bestowed upon this region of beautiful and historic authenticity. We worked, we waited, we prayed, we petitioned Luca Zaia, the Minister of Agriculture, a native son of Veneto, and now it is here. With this elevation from plain D.O.C status to D.O.C.G, we join the sacred ranks of only 45 other wines in Italy, including such notable wines as Chianti, Gavi, Bardolino Superiore and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Yes, we have arrived and we’re here to stay!

And in order to combat the shameless pirating of the Prosecco name, to thwart the assault on our authenticity, the government has generously bestowed a Prosecco D.O.C on eight provinces, all the way to Trieste, where nobody is actually making Prosecco, but who knows, they might want to some day! I mean, we’re owed! In Champagne, they’re adding 2,500 acres to the official vineyard sites, so why shouldn’t we add most of northeastern Italy. My grandmother has always wanted to grow Prosecco grapes and now she has her chance, and what’s good for Grandmama, well, it’s good for Italy!

Anyway, you’re a great crowd, I love you, really. Enjoy the Prosecco the waiters are passing out to your tables now, and remember, as our greatest poet, the venerable Dante wrote:

If you’re just passing time,
Prosecco is your wine.

Thank you, thank you, and God bless!

… but blueberries and cherries are good for warding off the accumulation of uric acid that can lead to a gout episode (sorry to be clinical) and yogurt, well, yogurt is good for something, in fact, LL asserts that “yogurt is totally good for everything!” so in the interest of good health — I also despite that term “wellness” — I’m trying to eat more fruit and berries (pineapple is also a top-rated gout preventative), so a couple of days ago I cleaned some Rainier cherries, blueberries and raspberries and put them in a bowl, and I scooped out a spoonful of the no-fat Greek yogurt that LL buys, and I thought, “Ugh, yuck, gack, no, I can’t do this.” BUT, I had a brilliant idea! I put the yogurt in a little bowl, stirred in a dollop of honey and then very carefully, drop by drop, added some aged balsamic vinegar and stirred that in too. I bought this tiny bottle for LL for her birthday, oh, maybe 15 years ago. We were having lunch at the old 61 restaurant in the basement of the Barney’s on Madison at 61st Street and before leaving we wandered around the food shop. There was a display of long-aged and rare balsamic vinegars, and we were particularly fascinated by this one, from the firm of Cavalli cav. Ferdinando that cost $100 for 100 milliliters; friends, that’s 3.4 fluid ounces. Only 333 bottles were produced. When we were back in Memphis, I called a friend in New York and sent him the money to go to Barney’s and buy one of those precious bottles. And fresh mint from the Farmers Market, as you can see in these images.

Anyway, I’ll tell you that that was some yogurt I could get my tongue and taste-buds around!

So, the next time (today) I wanted to eat some fruit and berries and doctored yogurt — maybe there’s a market for this — we had peaches from the Farmers Market and strawberries that some friends had brought over. I washed and and peeled and sliced (not necessarily for everything) and jazzed up the yogurt and was about to take a bite when I had ANOTHER BRILLIANT IDEA!! I was really missing an opportunity to try a dessert wine. I mean, the fruit and yogurt concoction was for lunch today, but what the hell, that’s what being a professional is all about.

Actually, I have 10 or so dessert wines that I have been meaning to try, so here was a chance to knock one off, so to speak. I poked around in the wine fridge and pulled out a bottom of Mendelson Muscat Canelli 2002, Napa Valley. This is a fairly unusual wine for California in that it’s made in the French vin doux natural style, that is lightly fortified with grape spirits (to 14.2 percent alcohol), and then after fermentation it’s aged two years in French oak. The result is pungent and potent, a wine bursting with notes of peach and apricot, banana and ripe mango; it’s spicy, honeyed and roasted, and exhibits profound earthiness and minerality. The texture is thick, almost viscous, and after a few minutes in the glass the wine begins to exhibit signs of spicy, blond wood, as well as touches of bananas Foster, baked apples and macerated peaches. The finish brings in candied ginger and orange peel. Yes, this is quite an effort, best enjoyed with a few sips on its own or with a shortbread cookie, not, I have to say, with fruit, berries and pumped up yogurt. 250 cases of half-bottles were produced. Excellent. About $33 for a half-bottle.

So, I’m thinking, though the Mendelson Muscat Canelli ’02 was terrific — it inspires silence and contemplation — what would go better with my yogurt and berry lunch? Back to the wine fridge I went and pulled out a bottle of the Vino dei Fratelli Moscato d’Asti 2007 from Piedmont. The alcohol on this wine is only 5.5 percent. It’s incredible freshness and appeal results from the winemaking process; the must (that is the mass of crushed grapes) is kept just above zero, and when wine is needed for bottling, the must is fermented and the wine is bottled immediately. The color is pale straw; the bouquet offers a beguiling wreathing of lemon-lime, almond and almond blossom, a hint of apple, a touch of jasmine. The wine is sweet, lightly spritzy, delicately fruity in a citrusy-apple sense and though basically simple and direct, it’s also tasty and charming and was delightful with the yogurt, fruit and berries. That’s the twins, Castor and Pollux, on the label. Very Good. About $15.