Mariani Italian Enrichment Program

William Moss, Wine Director at Osteria del Circo / Le Cirque, Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas 
and one of five Mariani Italian Enrichment program scholarship recipients, 
shares his journal of a November 2008 trip to Tuscany

        Our journey to Italy organized by the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation and hosted by the Mariani Family of Castello Banfi started by meeting at JFK Airport with our travel mates Amanda Marshall Sommelier at L’Escalier at the Breakers Resort Florida, David Denton Sommelier at Charlie Palmer Steak Washington DC, W. Scott Harper General Manager of Bristol Bar & Grill Indiana, Troy Scott Sommelier at Studio at Montage Resort & Spa Laguna Beach California and myself William Moss Wine Director of Le Cirque and Circo at Bellagio Resort Las Vegas and our great host Lars Leicht Vice President-Assistant to the Chairman of Banfi.

        Banfi certainly knows how to leave a first impression by flying us with Alitalia Business class to Rome. What a great way to fly a long trip. As we land in the morning we started our trip with a cup of espresso, Lars tells us that the Italians take there espresso very seriously, Some like glass cups some like chinaware cups some prefer a dash of milk foam and they enjoy it throughout the day. I thought I knew something about espresso working in Italian restaurants but there is lot more to it than I imagined. We all learned a great deal about espresso through out the trip.   After a short break, we go to tour the great sites of Rome. Some of us have been to Europe, but four of us have never been to Rome before, Lars having family in Rome knew almost every inch of Rome like the back of his hand. He made it easy and had an answer for all of our questions. Our first stop was Campo dei Fiori food market that is open in the mornings and afternoon with fresh meats, produces and spices. We had a Pizza Bianca and Porccietta sandwich for breakfast and off we went to see the great architectural sites: Coliseum, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and finish at Ristorante Matricianella for lunch. This was our first experience of a true Italian meal that we will have throughout the rest of the trip. It started with an antipasto followed by pasta course and entrees with dessert with local wines like Frascati DOC and Cesanese Del Piglio DOC that were chosen from a very impressive 1000 plus selection wine list by Lars. We finished the lunch Italian style with Amaro or Grappa with espresso. All the flavors were great with good portions; we all left full and satisfied. We took a 3 hour drive from Rome to Montalcino arriving at the Collupino farm house on Castello Banfi Estate a pretty Roman style house that has been remodeled for a guest house in the middle of the vineyards.  We had a light dinner prepared by Lars with Banfi wines and called it a early night to end the eventful first day in Italy.

Day Two we visited the Banfi vineyards with Maurizio Marmugi a veteran vineyard manager and asked some challenges that they face and what they have done to improve there grapes. Mr. Marmugi says `Esca (A fungal diseases that enters the vine through cuts turns the wood into dry cork like texture and eventually kills the vine) is a challenging problem here, It has been around for a very long time and we tried everything…’ ‘This is why there are not a lot of old vines in Tuscany’. He showed us an example in the vineyard. I am used to people only telling me the good facts about there vines but this told me a lot about this man. As for improvements Mr. Marmugi says: ‘we plant a family of clones, we don’t want to have a super clone that could be up and down every year’ since Sangiovese has more challenges with climate than International grapes. `Achieving sugar levels is not a problem here, it is the tannin level that is our challenge. We try to achieve ripe fenalic tannins’.  After a great visit with Mr. Marmugi we had a Sangiovese clonal tasting with the Assistant winemaker at the Castello. We learned the difference a type a clone could make in the final wines style. Banfi has invested 24 million dollars in clonal research and offers there clones to others in the region. after the Tasting we toured the Castello`s Il Borgo Hotel rooms, L’Enoteca Glass museum and had a tasting menu lunch with Banfi wines paired at La Taverna on the Estate. After a brief rest at the farm house we headed to Montalcino for a comparative tasting of the following 2003 vintage Brunello di Montalcino. Biondi Santi, Banfi, Banfi Poggio alla Mura, Capanna, Capanne Ricci, Casanova di Neri, Costanti, Mastrojanni, Siro Pacenti and Talenti. Our overall impression after this tasting were slightly different to what we liked the most, but the one thing that was common among us was some producers wines were tired and one was so ripe and extracted that it will be hard to tell if it would be taken as a Brunello in a blind tasting. The Banfi wines showed the most balanced with still a style identifiable as a Brunello.  Aperitivo, Banfi wines and a great Tuscan dinner at Osteria Porta al Cassero finished our 2nd day.

Day Three we started our day by heading up to San Gimignano for a visit to an artisan cheese maker Guido Pinzani. They are known for there regional specialty Pecorino and fresh Ricotta cheese. The daughter Giulia was kind to give us a tour and we saw fresh Ricotta cheese being made and also the aging room for different styles of Pecorino cheeses. We ended the visit with a tasting of the cheeses with Banfi wines. The 3 month aged Pecorino with black truffles was one of the highlights. Few of us purchased the cheese as a souvenir for home.  Next we visited the Cecchi Family Estate a historic firm in the Chianti Classico region that has 4 other estates under there umbrella Villa Cerna, Castello Montauto, Val delle Rose and Tenuta Alzatura operated by the two brothers Cesare and Andrea. My image of a Chianti Classico estate that has been around since 1893 and what we saw was quit different, A tour through the modern designed Cellar and a well designed winery with Italian furniture and contemporary art left us an impression how the Cecchi family has  Tradition with vision to foresee the future. We were invited to Andrea and Cesare’s Villa for lunch and enjoyed another great Tuscan meal with Cecchi wines including some old gems that Andrea has treated us to.   We thanked our host and left the Estate to visit Siena. A tour the city through Campo, Duomo and we stop at an artesian Pizzicheria(a store for dry meat products) Palazzo delle Chigiana. The owner Antonio a close friend of Lars who calls Lars Maestro treated us with great hospitality.  We sampled cold cuts, cheeses and some sweets. After our visit we finished our day with a Pizza dinner at Il Castelluccio.

Day Four started with an early visit to Lambardi, a local Bakery in Montalcino. The 70 year old Mama treated us to freshly baked bread, pizza and sweets. Here we learned how they make the unsalted Tuscan bread. Our next stop was the Banfi winery, Lars gave us the tour through the amazing scale and technology advanced winery. We came across some new inventions like stainless and Oak hybrid fermenters that were custom made for Banfi and rooms where they still used old wood Botti casks from years back. Following the tour we had a super Tuscan tasting from different lots of the vineyards were we learned how different aspects of the vineyard add a difference in the final wine.   Another great lunch at Osteria Il Leccio with Banfi wines in San Angelo il colli a hilltop village not to far from the winery. The group took a rest at the Farm house and we went to see the Vespers at the Abbey of San Antimo followed with a memorable dinner at Ristorante Boccon di Vino prepared by a Canadian Chef David who has recreated classic Tuscan recipes from the Family owner and added a few touches on some of the dishes paired well with the Brunello di Montalcino and Super Tuscan wines that we enjoyed.

Day Five started with a visit to an artisan olive oil factory Frantoio Franci that was just getting fresh olives that were harvested. We saw the whole production with a tasting of the oils. The operation was quite advanced with sophisticated machinery. The next stop was the local Butcher shop Macelleria Norcineria. Carlo Pieri and his wife were so kind that they not only showed us the  Shop, Pig farm, Cattle ranch with the famous Canigna white cattle’s and his dry aging facility. They invited the group to his home for a great Tuscan lunch prepared by his daughter and wife. One of the highlights was the Canina T-bone steak prepared over the wood burning fireplace.  Carlo a man born in a family who owned pig farms is known locally as the best Butcher in Italy. He started the business when he was young apprenticing under a local butcher who were purchasing there family pigs. Lars tells us that even the celebrity Chef Mario Batali came by the Canina cattle ranch to film a scene where he is chasing the Beast with a knife for one of his shows. We thank our host gratefully and headed over to Val della Rose Estate by the Tuscan coast. We toured the vineyards of Morellino di Scansano a new DOCG site with Andrea from Cecchi Family and tasted the current release wines.  This evening we experienced a fantastic dinner at the Castello. Some champagne to toast to our fine travel mates with passed ourderves In the Reading Room at Castello Banfi followed with a 9 course tasting menu with Banfi wines paired in the Il Ristorante a Star Michelin restaurant on the Estate. Some of the highlights were Summus 1997 with a Pigeon dish, Poggio Oro 1999 and Brunello 1978 with Aged Pecorino Cheese. All of us were blown away with the fine service and the quality of the Chefs dishes.

Day Six, Salvatore Quarto Executive Chef of Banfi gave us an Cooking lesson at our Farm House. We learned how to prepare great dishes like Pinci, a hand rolled pasta, Ribollita a tomato based vegetable soup and even home made Biscotti.  All of us enjoyed the dishes with Banfi wines and packed to go back to Rome.  We experienced another great dinner at Osteria San Cesario just out side of Rome. The stewed oxtail with tomato sauce was a dish that I will probably never forget, just amazing. The Owner chef Anna came out to talk to us and sat down. A simple Osteria was full with satisfied customers like us. Another great choice by Lars.

Day Seven, we all said our goodbyes and headed back home with great memories of Italy. I would like to thank Lars for showing all of us such a great experience in Italy. All of the visits that we made we were treated with such great care because of the relationships that Lars had built with each and one of them.

The whole trip was very well planned and by far it was the best wine trip that I have ever taken.  The experience through out this trip was more than I could possibly imagine and will be something I will never forget. Being in Tuscany enjoying the local foods, wines and products has now given me a understanding of the true Italian culture. On behalf of all of us, I would like to thank the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation and the Mariani Family that made this trip possible.

I wish all the Sommeliers that will go in the future to enjoy and cherish this magical land of Tuscany.