Todd Abrams
Todd Abrams
One of my favorite Sangiovese based wines this year is the 2016 Sesti (Castello di Argiano) Rosso di Montalcino. It offers a medley of alluring scents: summer fruits, sandalwood, rose, wet stone... A sip is like eating a summer berry salad at the bottom of a dry stone quarry. It’s got Brunello vibes but not quite the Brunello concentration.
Apparently the Montalcino estate of Castello di Argiano is built upon an ancient Etruscan outpost. I have a bit of a fixation with the Etruscan civilization. I couldn’t really tell you why. Perhaps it is because they remain somewhat mysterious relative to many of the other Mediterranean civilizations that were around in the same time periods.
My family was kind enough to celebrate my last birthday by presenting me with an extremely well-informed and current collection of essays on the Etruscans published by Routledge. Interestingly, the editor, Jean MacIntosh Turfa, is a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum -- easily the finest collection of Etruscan artifacts I have encountered yet.
The UPenn museum also employs Dr. Patrick McGovern as the Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health. Possibly of interest to a few of you fine people here is McGovern’s paper providing the earliest known biomolecular archaeological evidence of winemaking in France, gleaned from artifacts discovered at the ancient port site of Lattara near Montpelier. You guessed it. Apparently we can thank the Etruscans for luring the Gauls into wine culture sometime around the 6th Century BCE.
I do find a bit of history enhances the character of Old World wine.
Apparently the Montalcino estate of Castello di Argiano is built upon an ancient Etruscan outpost. I have a bit of a fixation with the Etruscan civilization. I couldn’t really tell you why. Perhaps it is because they remain somewhat mysterious relative to many of the other Mediterranean civilizations that were around in the same time periods.
My family was kind enough to celebrate my last birthday by presenting me with an extremely well-informed and current collection of essays on the Etruscans published by Routledge. Interestingly, the editor, Jean MacIntosh Turfa, is a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania Museum -- easily the finest collection of Etruscan artifacts I have encountered yet.
The UPenn museum also employs Dr. Patrick McGovern as the Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Project for Cuisine, Fermented Beverages, and Health. Possibly of interest to a few of you fine people here is McGovern’s paper providing the earliest known biomolecular archaeological evidence of winemaking in France, gleaned from artifacts discovered at the ancient port site of Lattara near Montpelier. You guessed it. Apparently we can thank the Etruscans for luring the Gauls into wine culture sometime around the 6th Century BCE.
I do find a bit of history enhances the character of Old World wine.