Bigi Est! Est!! Est!!! Di Montefiascone Secco

This is a wine that holds a special place in my heart. In the middle of Umbria in the heart of Italy lies a little town called Orvieto. Orvieto has many stories of great and miraculous things that have happened in it. St. Thomas Aquinas preached many of his sermons in its Duomo, A Eucharistic miracle even took place here. Another one of its notable characteristics is its wine. This region and this town are known wide and far for having (arguably) the best white wine in the world. So upon my trip to Italy last year, and a brief day stop in Orvieto, I purchased one of the most famous and longest lived wines of the Umbrian region. Truly, it was a magnificent wine, and since drinking that bottle with some friends in Florence, I have been dying to try some again.

I had that pleasure just a few days ago. A friend had just returned from Italy, and she brought some Est! Est!! Est!!! with her.

Est! Est!! Est!!! has a wonderful story behind it. This particular version is courtesy of The Wine Buyer.

Around 1100 A.D., Bishop Fugger was traveling from Germany to Rome for the coronation of Henry V. The Bishop sent his quartermaster ahead to scout out inns that had good food and wine. He would write “Est!” (Latin for "This is it!") on the walls of the best inns. He was so impressed with Montefiascone that he wrote Est!Est!!Est!!! on the wall of an inn there. Needless to say, the Bishop agreed and never made it to the coronation. He spent the rest of his life in Montefiascone. Local inhabitants, on the anniversary of the Bishop's death, pour a cask of Est! Est!! Est!!! on his grave in celebration of the notoriety he brought to their wine.

The company, Bigi, is based in Orvieto, but their vines for this particular wine are from Montefiascone. Est! Est!! Est!!! Secco is a Malvasia Trebbiano varietal mix with perfect balance. The color is reminiscent of a honeyed wine, something one would expect of a sweet desert wine, but a sugary wine this is not. The nose is a mix of ripe berries and spring flowers, with overarching notes of jam and oak.

The body is something on which to linger. Expressive grapes mixed with medium amounts of oak make for a truly unique experience. The nose does not belie the body, the jam and flowery notes make themselves present toward the back of the tongue. Another interesting feature is that the wine has a slight bubbliness about it, biting slightly but very pleasantly. A carbonated wine this is not, rather the mixture of flavors coming together create this wonderful effect from a still wine. The wine finishes subtly, quickly, and rather than a disappointment at its departure, it leaves one with a desire for more. A desire in my case, that has lasted over a year.

In all, I am in love with this wine, and at 7.99 a bottle, I challenge you to find a better white wine for under $100.

I leave you with an image I took while visiting Orvieto in January 2007.Ah Italia, que bella.

San Martino Prosecco Frizzante (NV)

This was a...... complex wine. As much as I love almost all Prosecco I have, there was something a bit off about this one.

Straight off, the nose was a bit astringent, with a bit off mineral quality to it, and then some very pleasant plum. The body was wonderful, mineral tones again with a bit of anise and vanilla. The finish unfortunately was initially astringent again, followed by a pleasant plum and pear aftertaste.

I just don't think I'd buy this again. It had very nice qualities, but not enough to make up for the unpleasant ones.

Bolla Pinot Grigio (2005)

I have no idea why Pinot Gris is so popular right now. This bottle certainly didn't help answer that question. Good thing it was only USD 7.99 at Lakeridge Liquors in St. Paul, MN.

The nose made me quite optimistic as it had a lovely, strong honeydew note. Everything after that was just disappointing. The body was not particularly high in acid, but it was harsh for whatever reason. The body was also just plain thin and uninteresting. One could detect a bit of honeydew, but it was difficult to tell if it was coming from the body or still from the nose. The finish was not altogether horrible, it was medium with lime and citrus.

My companion thought he could smell and/or taste some free sulfites also. This is bad.

Website: http://www.bolla.com/home.aspx

Martellozzo Veneto Prosecco (NV)

This wine was a nice surprise. The nose was refreshingly mineral with a whiff of apple. The body was just a bit off-dry but very fruit forward with nice, medium acidity and easy flavors of apple and pear. The finish was a bit short, but that is fine for a wine that would make a nice standalone before a meal or with light appetizers.

The bubbles in this one were very soft and pleasant. USD 6.99 at Trader Joe's in Maple Grove, MN.

Villadoria Piemonte Brachetto (2005)

To start, I would not recommend chugging this wine from the bottle while spinning. Bubbles and all. I'm sure you understand.

This is my own personal stand-by, being easily procured at the local liquorist for well under $20. This bottle I am currently swigging from only ran an affordable $12.99, but I believe it was on sale. It is a mildly sweet red wine with just hint of bitterness. It is only 6.5% boozle by volume, so it is pretty easy to drink in a large quantity, assuming one is not overcome by its bubbly nature.

This wine comes from the Southern region of Piemonte, which is quite possibly a good thing. Perhaps there is a wine snob somewhere who knows. After they tell me I'll give them quite a pummeling.

I would go deeper into the tasting notes, but it doesn't really matter so much. In fact, the flavor is really easy to summarize- grape juice.

I know this shocks and surprises you that wine will taste like grape juice, but there it is. There are no amazing other flavors in it. That little bitch from the Welch's commercials couldn't tell the difference if it weren't for the bubbles.

Its a great substitute for juice, cola, or cool-aid. I expect it will be all the rage at children's parties next season.

DRINK!