'I'll have some of that Italian talento'
One of these days, Italian wine producers hope it will be as common to say, "I'm looking for an Italian talento," as it is to say, "I'm interested in a Spanish cava." That's the new term for Italian sparkling wine made using the champagne method, or methode champenoise, a term that's forbidden by the European Union. (You know, protecting the Champagne region.) Italians currently say that such sparkling wines are made in the metodo classico, but that's never really caught on.
That was one of the messages of Mezzacorona winemaker Lucio Matricardi, who breezed through town last week, bringing his company's Rotari Talento Brut and other wines to sample. He's passionate about letting the fruitiness of the chardonnay, which makes up 90 percent of the talento, shine through. Its round, fruity character makes this more approachable than a lot of sparklers, yet it was also crisp and balanced. The aroma reminded me of apple dumplings - and the wine is a good buy at $12 to $13.
We think of Mezzacorona as a mass-market wine, but Matricardi (who grew up in Italy and has Ph.D. from UC Davis) reminded attendees that 1,500 farmers grow grapes for Mezzacorona's wines, and that the average vineyard covers less than 1 hectare (2.47 acres), adding, "I shake your hands 1,500 times for the growers, who thank you guys."