Further compounding the love of coffee was Francesco Illy who in 1933 opened a coffee business in Trieste and developed coffee brewing technology. The Illy family still operates their international company from this region of Italy.

Another key player in Trieste’s coffee industry is Vidiz and Kessler with their Qubik Caffe. They have a premium line of coffees to include: Etiopia Sidamo, Santos Eden Rio Verde, Indian Plantation, Guatemala Antigua Pastores, Santo Domingo, 100% Arabica, and Decaffeinated.

My favorite is the India Plantation, a mellow brew, sweet with hints of cocoa, spice and herbs on the finish. The premium Arabica beans are grown in the mountains of Karnataka in southern India, then processed in Trieste.

More details at: www.vidiz.it

We’ve come to this beautiful wine producing region located between the Giulian Alps and the Adriatic Sea as two wine prospectors searching for bottled treasures of delight. Little did we know that we’d find gold in the vineyards, wines, and souls of the local artisan people: the chefs and winemakers. In fact, I was so taken aback with the region that I raced into Trieste to stake a claim, so I can return and explore this region for a seemingly endless amount of gems and jewels in the wine and culinary cultures blended together here over many centuries. We’re here with our newest project: Vino Mundo Productions, a collaboration between myself as a wine, culinary and travel writer and the talented filmmaker, Adrian Ruiz.

In addition, I’m here to trace my Austrian-Hungarian roots as a member of the Haider clan that moved to America from Vienna in the late 1890’s. My great grandfather, Michael Haider grew grapes and made wine near the famous Farmer’s Market in Los Angeles, California. As a vineyard manager and winemaker in Mexico, I’ve always wondered about my natural tendencies to indulge in farming, winemaking, along with the consumption of gourmet culinary delights, and an incurable urge for all things Italian. It only took a few minutes of exploration at my first stop in Trieste to fully understand the meaning of my Austrian-Hungarian heritage. The churches, the architecture, the promenades, the cuisine, the coffee, and of course, the great white wines from the Collio region.

Trieste is about an hour train ride from the province of Gorizia and the Collio wine region, and makes a great departure locale, especially if you’re looking for gold in the hills of northeastern Italy. Trieste is a gem in itself, a very charming and classic city, very much “off” the tourist maps, a real “dynamic destination” in my opinion. It’s no wonder that James Joyce lived and worked here for twenty years without ever mentioning what a “hidden treasure” he had discovered in the city, the people and the lifestyle. Sigmund Freud lived and wrote here too, but he was somehow able to avoid a “Freudian slip” and reveal the magical world he discovered here as well. Sometimes good things are better kept to yourself, but the secret about Italy’s emerging white wines is already being discovered around the world by serious wine lovers and connoisseurs.

The Collio wine region lies in the province of Gorizia and is also known as Friull Venezia Guilia or Friuli. There are six distinct regions within Collio: Gorizia to San Floriano del Collio, Mossa to Capriva del Fruli and Preval, Cormons, Dolegna del Collio and Farra d’Isonzo. These unique regions are blessed with high mineral content in the soils, many diverse habitats, hilly exposures and soulful, creative winemakers. This dynamic combination allows for wines of distinct flavor and richness. The white varietals that excel here are: Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, Tocai Friulano, Picolit, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Pinot Bianco. Some reds do great here as well: Merlot, Cabernet Franc and a few local varietals such as Pignolo and Refosco. For the most part, this is premium white wine growing country, blessed with an abundance of creative and innovation winemakers with a long history of winemaking traditions.

Four names you should know in the Collio DOG are Marco Felluga, his son Roberto Felluga and daughters Patrizia and Alessandra Felluga. In fact, the entire family is made up of “rock stars” in the wine and hospitality business in this region. Roberto is the fifth generation of Felluga winemakers and manager of Russiz Superiore, while sister Alessandra oversees the operations at Gradisca d’Isonzo, These are two of Italy’s top with wine producers of about 200,000 bottles annually from 60 hectares at Russiz Superiore and 650,000 bottles from 120 hectares at the Marco Felluga group. Roberto’s diverse wine portfolio contains excellent examples of wine from Collio Bianco, Tocai Friulano, Sauvignon, Pinot Blanco, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. I particularly enjoyed the rich flavors and deep structure of his Rosso Riserva, but in fact, all of his wines are of superior quality on a global scale.

Marco Felluga is a dynamic leader in the Collio wine region. He is and was the visionary and patriarch of this region, the one who first understood the unique significance and magic of the mineral rich terroir and the local grape varietals. His daughter Patrizia has now stepped in and inherited her father’s spirit of leadership, passion, determination, and vision. Her winery estate, Zuani, produces 40,000 bottles of superior wine from 14 hectares annually. She focuses her talent on growing limited yields of high quality fruit and making two specific wines: Zuani, a cask conditioned wine, released in the second year, and Zuani Vigne, processed in steel tanks. Both are O Collio Bianco wines of excellent quality. Her son Antonio and beautiful daughter, Caterina are well on the road to being the next generation of “super stars” from the Felluga family.

The only problem I encountered in the scenic wine regions northeastern Italy was that all the wines were of premium quality, and all the winemakers are unique individuals with an amazing diversity of talent and vino. Another important element in this equation is that this remote section of Italy isn’t ALL about wine, it’s also about Italian-Austrian-Hungarian culinary delights, a wonderful blend of people, classic traditions and beautiful scenery. Having said, that, I’ll be writing many more articles during 2011 to help you understand and discover one of Italy’s best kept secrets: their phenomenal white wines. Be looking for our documentary from Vino Mundo Productions: A White Christmas in Northeastern Italy, coming soon on a DVD near you.

Steve Dryden is a wine, culinary and travel writer based in Mexico’s premier wine country where he grows northern Italian Nebbiolo grapes, makes Barbaresco-style wine and guides small group wine tours. He can be reached at: sbdryden@hotmail.com. Follow his global wine and culinary adventures at: www.winefoodguide.com

Winery owner Antonio Escalante and Master Enologist Dr. Enrique Ferro of Roganto winery in Baja California have teamed up to craft an amazing Pinot Noir from grapes grown in one of Mexico’s premier wine growing regions. The vineyard is located is located about sixty miles south of Ensenada in Baja California. Although the vines are young at five years of age, this new release of 2009 shows great promise as another addition to the diverse portfolio of wines coming out of Mexico’s top wine regions. As these vines evolve, complex flavors and structure will enhance the quality of the fruit.

Dr. Enrique Ferro is the talented son of Esteban Ferro (Piedmont), the first manager of Santo Tomas winery and the first vino-visionary to import European grapevine cuttings into Baja California. In fact, Enrique Ferro is one of the two top wine masters now working in Mexico, the other is Italian master, Dr. Camillo Magoni of L.A. Cetto winery. It was Esteban Ferro who first introduced Nebbiolo grapevines into Guadalupe valley in the 1930’s and it was Camillo Magoni who made it into one of the first “world class” wines to come out of Mexico. So, it’s not too surprising that Esteban Ferro’s son, Enrique Ferro of Temecula, continues to explore varietal possibilities in Mexico. For great winemakers like these, one big problem facing Mexico is that many varietals perform at superior levels, making it hard to focus on a specific, single grape varietal. But, who would of thought of growing and producing quality Pinot Noir in Mexico?

This Baja California 2009 Pinot Noir is light in color, structure and elegant in flavors. Floral aromas with hints of Cognac on the nose, bing cherry and cranberry fruit, carmel and vanilla flavors, followed by a soft and elegant finish. Roganto winery, located near near Home Depot in Ensenada, has mastered the art of using premium oak barrels to enhance flavors into their premium fruit, thus their style offers classic, well-balanced oak aromas and flavors. This Pinot Noir is aged for one year in “special hybrid” oak barrels with three year old seasoned French heads and American oak stays. Using a mix of French and American oak adds magical hints of flavors into this graceful wine. The 2009 vintage is the first release of this Pinot Noir, but it looks like Roganto winery is leaving no stone or vine unturned in their search for excellence in creating superior Baja California wines. As each vintage evolves, it is becoming quite evident that this winery has become one of the top producers of “world class” wine in the Mexico. When serious wine lovers look beyond the marketing hype, smoke and mirrors, the truth is always found in the bottle. Roganto winery has proven this time and time again among wise connoisseurs with international expertise and unbiased opinions.

Pinot Noir is somewhat of a white wine wine imitating a light-bodied red wine, thus it often pairs well with fish and foul, veal chops and pork chops. Most French Burgundy wines are made from Pinot Noir, but it has been grown successfully in California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and other global regions. For the New Year 2011, I paired up this Pinot Noir with my culinary creation I call: Guadalupe Goulash. Add 1/4 cup of L.A. Cetto olive oil to a medium skillet, add one red onion, and two diced medium potatoes, season with garlic and onion salt and a pinch of Mexican paprika. Cover skillet and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat, add organic diced tomatoes and 1/4 pound of beef. Simmer until beef is tender. Serves two wine lovers along with a bottle of Roganto’s 2009 Pinot Noir.

Steve Dryden has been promoting Baja California wines via articles, social media and film for seven years. He lives in Mexico’s premier wine country where he grows Nebbiolo grapes, makes wine and guides small group wine tours. He can be reached at: sbdryden@hotmail.com. For details about the World of Wine and Gourmet Cuisine visit his blog: www.winefoodguide.com

Looking back over 2010, I think this really gave some positive energy to the Mexican wine industry. In addition, with our filming of the top ten Mexican wines at the Wynn hotel in Alex Restaurant with the top US Wine Master Paolo was great too.

Serious international wine lovers are discovering the phenomenal wines coming from the Collio region of northeastern Italy. Despite a long history (14th century) of wine production in this beautiful region near the Slovenian border and the charming city of Trieste, it has only been in the last seven years that wines from these family-owned, artisan and boutique wineries have caught the attention of dedicated wine drinkers with an open mind and palate. White wines from this remote section of Italy were the last “closely held secret” among local Italian wine lovers until recently. So, the next time you are seeking a palate pleasing white wine with reasonable pricing for the quality, try wines from the Collio region. These wines have a distinct taste and style, pairing well with a diverse selection of culinary delights.

I’ve just returned from a revealing wine tour of the Collio region where I was exposed to the best wineries and culinary establishments in that region. Italy is ALL about elegance, class, expression, passion and hospitality, thus it was no surprise that these wines and winemakers are unique in every way. For example, most of the wines from the Collio DOC have the amazing color of 14K gold. The Collio hills in Friuli Venezia Guilia provide for some of the best Italian white wines using grapes from Tocai Friulano, Malvasia Istriana, Ribolla Gialla (now called Ribolla) and Picolit. Newer varietals grown on 3,000 acres of vineyards in this region also include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio. Most of the wines in this region are single varietal except the Collio Bianco DOC and Collio Rosso DOC wines which are usually blends (but no limited to) of three native varieties, Ribolla, Malvesia and Tocai.

The soils in the Collio region are diverse, but typically very rich in minerals. Bordered on one side by the Giulian Alps and the other by the Adriatic Sea, the Collio terroir is blessed with cool nights and warm days providing character and structure to the grape flavors. Colors range from pale yellow to 14K gold, and amber colored wines. Aromas are light to full with floral notes, apple and pear flavors, bright acidity, with a pleasant finish. Of course, the flavors, texture, structure, aromas and balance vary with the varietals and blends from this region. One important factor lies in the hands of the regional winemakers who are known for their innovation, creativity and craftsmanship.

Finding the great white wines from the Collio region in wine stores around San Diego can be challenging. Wine Steals stocks a limited amount in all of their San Diego locations, but their inventory changes each week, so you have to be keen in your shopping skills or order them from their wine buyer. Some of my favorite labels from the Collio DOC are: Il Carpino, Russiz Superiore (Marco Fellugo), Venica & Venica, Ca’Ronesca, Livon, Rossali, Simon, Il Carpino, Vitilia, Edi Keber and Roncho del Gnenriz. Villa Chopris, Villa Russiz,, Radikon, Rohco Blanchis, Paolo Caccese, Vitilla, and Muzic,

One thing is certain, the white wines from Collio pair well with a wide variety of culinary delights to include: cheese, vegetables, gnocchi, seafood, salumi (salami) or selame, prosciutto ham, pasta in cream sauces, and much more. Italian white wines would be the perfect match for turkey, ham and other holiday specialty dishes. The next time you’re feeling adventurous in your wine selection, “Go Italian” with a wonderful white wine from the Collio DOC of northern Italy. For in-depth information on Italian whites, please visit: www.winefoodguide.com

Steve Dryden is a wine, food, and travel writer living in Mexico’s premier wine country where he guides small group wine tours. He can be reached at: sbdryden@hotmail.com

Thanks for visiting my blog. I’m in the process of making a new front page and transforming this into an international wine and culinary site. Soon, you’ll be able to view clips from our documentaries about the various wine regions of the planet, as we taste our way around the world.

Right now we are making the final touches to our latest production: A White Christmas in Northern Italy. We also have many clips about the emerging wine industry of Mexico, where I live, grow Nebbiolo grapes, make wine and guide small group wine tours. My tour site is: www.bajawineandtours.com

I’ve been involved in the international wine industry since 1982 when I worked for Deer Park Winery of St. Helena and Escondido, California. These days I publish wine guides, write for several sites and blogs, and co-create documentaries with my business partner Adrian Ruiz.

Please stay tuned for interesting articles about little known wine regions, rising super stars, culinary delights and global wine adventures.

Beginning in April of 2012, I’ll be on the road (BC to BC) for six months each year, researching the wine cultures of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and British Columbia. Enhanced with quarterly explorations through Europe.

Steve Dryden sbdryden@hotmail.com
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