The Event: a tasting of the wines of Friuli Grave, Feb 17, 2009

The Time and Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009    2PM to 4:30PM

The Event: a tasting of the wines of Friuli Grave under the auspices of the Italian Embassy in Canada.

The Venue: Grano Restaurant

The Target Audience: wine media, trade (mostly agents).

The Availability/Catalogue: These wineries are looking for Ontario agents; some of them are repped in other provinces. Wines are only available ex-cellars.

The Quote/Background: "Quite a crowded affair – just about everybody came out today!"

The Wines: the thirteen wineries had at least three wines each, with pinot Grigio, cabernet franc, refosco, and tocai friulano in the mix. Vintages were the most recent available. I concentrated on the wines already here or available through a current agent.

 

**** Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Cantina San Martino Cabernet Franc 2007, 4.06 Euros (Tannin Fine Wines)

-Furlan Castelcosa Cabernet Franc 2005 IGT Venezia Giulia, 3.95 Euros – oldest wine in the show (T2 Import-Export Canada Inc.)

 

***1/2 Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Cabert Cabernet Franc 2007, 3 Euros (Lifford)

-Forchir Pinot Grigio 2007, 4.90 Euros (Stem Wine Group)

-Le Due Torri Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, $14.95 (La Cantina Imports)

-Stocco Cabernet Franc 2007, 13% ABV, 3.10 Euros, looking for agent.

 

*** Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Plozner Pinot Grigio Malpelo 2007 IGT Venezia Giulia, 6 Euros – almost rose in colour, looking for agency.

-Ronco Cliona Ucelut 2006 IGT Venezia Giulia, 8 Euros – late harvest style, 500 mL bottle, looking for an agent.

-San Simone Cabernet Franc Sugano 2007, 5.50 Euros, looking for agent.

 

The Food: excellent waitservice brought out platters of prosciutto, smoked salmon, stuffed mushrooms, various breads and cheeses.

The Downside: the wines were pretty basic, but it was a good survey of where Friuli is now.

The Upside: the ex-cellars prices in Euros were given in the catalogue.

The Contact Person: piero.titone.toronto@ice.it

The Marketing Effectiveness (numerical grade): 92.

 

Chimo!  www.deantudor.com