Food & Beverage Intl. — A Feast Fpr All Senses - 1st Annual Cabo Wine & Food Festival

INTERNATIONAL

Wines Of The World Seminar

Discover the roots of Italian Prosecco

Story and Photos by Mary Buttaro

National Champion Sommelier Juan Carlos Flores of Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach and LaFrida Restaurant brought together representatives from select wineries in four different parts of the world for an educational seminar, wine tasting and a great time. Gathered at the Pacifica Holistic Retreat the presenters celebrated their wine-producing regions by sharing their unique stories and bringing their wines for us to taste.

Discussion of Italian Prosecco - the dry, bubbly, sparkling wine from the Northern Veneto Region of Italy - its history, culture and production was lead by Wesley Alejandro Rodriguez Young. In a fast paced half hour we learned that Prosecco originated in the historic area between Coneglino and Valdobbiandene, at the foothills of the Italian Alps, on a 4300 hectare DOC of clay and sandstone that is 50 to 500 meters above the sea level, where grapes are grown on the south facing slopes only.

The Prosecco grape is blended with others - Verdiso (for acid and sapidity), Perera (for aroma and perfume) and Blanchetta (for polish and refinement) and is made using the Methode Charmat resulting in a wine with moderate body, a pale straw color with a greenish cast, was crisp, clean, refreshing and exhibited aromas of citrus, floral, peach and honey.
Three types were tasted - Fermo or still is much like any white wine, Frizzante or Semi-Sparkling so barely effervescent that bubbles could hardly be felt, and Spumante or Sparkling, very much like Champagne, only better.

Prosecco is very affordable when compared to French or California sparking wines and becoming widely available in the United States and around the world.

Devon Larking, Sales Mgr for BanksChannel, wine merchants, led the tasting of California wine, serving a 2005 Cabernet from Souvrain. Blended with 5% Merlot is a big jammy, fruit forward wine.
Although wine is produced in just about every state in the United States, California dominates by producing 90% of the wine grown in the United States and is the highest valued crop in the country.

Asked to speculate about 20009 and wine Devon thought 2009 may be the year of Merlot, box wine, tetra bags and canned wine!
Next up was Argentina with its flagship variety, Malbec, a grape of French origin introduced to Argentina in the 1800's.

Susana Balbo, celebrity winemaker and President of the Argentinian Wine trade association, described the sensual, passionate, tango-like wines produced in the Mendoza Valley. The vineyards, highest in the world at 9000 feet above sea level, receive moderating sea breezes; grow 22 Malbec grape varieties in clay soil.

The wine is blended for fruity flavor and tastes of black cherry, strawberry and violet. Agentinians, wine lovers, recognize the quality of their local product and consume 40% of the wine produced in the county. Only 20-25% of these seductive Argentinian wines are exported, with demand for wine from Argentina leaping to 35% growth in the USA. So my advice is, when you see it, buy it!

Hugo D'Acosta, Wine Consultant, introduced us to Mexican wine development. Mexico is considered a dynamic wine region of the world. With soils of decomposed Granite, sandy riverbed, earth moved by water, and an ocean orientation producing fog, Mexico has a vision to develop a "New World Country" wine tradition. A wine school has been set up to train growers and winemakers.

Currently no less than nine different grape varieties grow in Mexico but wine production is small and not much is exported. Thirty-five formal wineries exist, but 99.5% of the wine production is from only three wineries. 90% of Mexican wine is produced in a wine region east of Ensenada.

To implement the vision 3000 hectares have be planted in Baja with more vines are being planted in Santo Tomas, Sante Vincente, Tecate and Valle de Guadalupe.

The wines we tasted displayed the personality of the region, exhibited minerality and good acidity.

These wines were delicious. Visitors to Mexico have traditionally come to fish, swim, sun and relax. Now a new reason to come to Mexico - drink the WINE!

Enlightened by the knowledge of terroir challenges, attendees were amazed and excited to learn and taste the great wines produced in these four different regions of the world.

The Venues:
Pueblo Bonito Oceanfront Resorts and Spas
Pueblo Bonito Pacifica Resort & Spa
Pueblo Bonito Rosé Resort & Spa
Peublo Bonito Sunset Beach
Peublo Bonito Pacifica Holistic Retret & Spa

More Links:
Cabo Movie Clips
Cabo Slide SHow

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