Author, Italian translator, wine historian, writer and rocker Jeremy Parzen, Ph.D. joins the W25 ladies this week to share Italian wine adventures around the world. In this episode we get the 411 on what Sir Elton John has to do with Barolo, learn about the allure of Franciacorta, and get a little grape gab on about Groppello. Grab a bottle, some friends, and click play. We guarantee some fun treats and a chat about sweets that will surely please any palate.
Val: “Welcome back listeners! This is Episode 68 and we really should just call ourselves the ‘treat fairies’ because we have another treat for our listeners this week!”
Steph: “I know. This week we are going to plug in an interview with a beloved wine personality in the Italian wine world. This was actually a treat for us, too.”
Val: “It really was. I’ve been following this guy for about six years or so and really love what he does for the Italian wine and writing community. But before we reveal our guest interview, what are you treating yourself to in the glass today, Steph?”
Drinking:
Steph’s Moscow Mule goodies
Steph: “Finding something to drink on the show isn’t difficult, but sometimes I rack my head over it. It’s really a funny thing. Today was one of those – “Gee, what sounds good?” days. I didn’t want to drink what wine I had open… and then the Bundaberg Ginger Beer called out to me. Plus, I haven’t made a cocktail for the show in a long while. Needless to say, I’m sipping on a Moscow Mule out of my copper mug from the Women of the Vine Symposium.”
The Roussillon Coast, very near where Val’s wine came from this week.
Val: “This is something that was originally picked out to pair with some of those PRiMO preserves, but I couldn’t get off the rose’ truck last week. I’m sipping the Domaine Lafage Côté d’Est Blanc 2014. It’s a blend of at least 50% Grenache Blanc with some Marsanne and Chardonnay blended in. This wine hails from one of my favorite regions, the Languedoc-Roussillon, but in particular, Cotes Catalanes IGP area. It extends from the Pyrenees to the sea and borders Spain. *sigh* This is an $11 bottle that is great for summer with tropical fruit on the nose, balanced acidity and makes me want to just pull up to a trough of moules-frites (steamed mussels and fries) in Banyuls and call it a day.”
Discussion:
This week we are chatting with Jeremy Parzen from Do Bianchi.
Jeremy Parzen, Ph. D.
Jeremy Parzen is a widely published author and translator. His feature articles on food, wine and food history have appeared in nationally distributed cooking magazines, cookery books and academic journals. He lived, traveled, worked, and studied in Italy as a graduate student and resided in New York from 1997 to 2008. For two years he was the chief wine writer and Associate Editor of La Cucina Italiana (1998-2000), New York. His translation of the first modern cookery book by fifteenth-century Italian cook Maestro Martino was published in January 2005 by the University of California Press. His articles on food and wine have appeared in Wine & Spirits Magazine, Gastronomica, Men’s Vogue, La Cucina Italiana, and The Tasting Panel among others. Jeremy resides in Houston with his wife Tracie P. and adorable daughters Georgia P. & Lila Jane.
As usual, Steph and Val had a list of questions for Jeremy, including one about his recent experiences at a cultural and wine celebration in Italy called Collisioni. Collisioni is Italian for “collisions” and the AgriRock festival is in its seventh year. Along with Italian musicians, speakers, writers, and wine professionals from around the world Jeremy stood in front of the stage set up in the single piazza in the tiny Barolo village sipping Vajra Nebbiolo d’Alba from a plastic cup and eating deep-fried tortellini. Because that’s how we all roll at concerts, yes? Maybe in some of our our dreams. However, Sir Elton John taking the stage and saying, “Good evening, Barolo!” is about the only thing that could take the dream over the legendary top. “You just kind of had to pinch yourself and say, ‘I never thought I’d hear Elton John say that’!” This was the most extraordinary part of the entire event. “Usually you go to a concert venue … and there’s never anything really super groovy to drink.”
Speaking of something “super groovy to drink” Jeremy also explains his love for Franciacorta, a sparkling with from an appellation on the southern slopes of the Italian Alps. So while some would call it Italy’s answer to Champagne, that’s not exactly how he’d describe it. He should know, as he’s been a brand ambassador for the category in the US and writes for the consorzio. There are differences in the grapes, growing areas, climate, soils, production, and characteristics in the glass. Jeremy’s happy to have you join him in one of his upcoming tastings around the country to show you exactly what he means by this. Watch Jeremy’s blog for dates. It was kind of epic listening to Jeremy talking about the producers he knows personally, including the owner of Ca‘ del Bosco (squee!). Ironically, it was a bottle of Ca‘ del Bosco Steph and Val (and our guys) polished off while recording our cheesy holiday video.
Jeremy also shared his advice for someone breaking into the wine industry as well as his vision for what’s next in his own endeavors. With a lot on his plate right now, most likely paired with a glass of something Italian and fabulous, most of his heart and head space is dedicated to the Texas chapter of his life. Not only does Houston have a killer wine and food scene, but it has a rich cultural scene. He absolutely loves living there with his beautiful wife, Tracie P., and raising his adorable little girls, Georgia P. (almost five) and Lila Jane (who just turned three last week). By the way, Franciacorta pairs well with the hot dogs that were served on that festive occasion. Just sayin’.
We had to have a little grape gab regarding the genesis of the Grape Name and Appellation Pronunciation Project on the Do Bianchi website. This came about when a wine blogger unwittingly published (at the suggestion of another Italian wine blogger) what Jeremy assessed to be “hackneyed” pronunciation of some Italian grape varieties. It occurred to him that something needed to be done, and the video idea was born. Part of the reason Jeremy believes some Italian wines (such as Brunello and Prosecco) have been more successful than others is their simplicity with respect to pronunciation in the Anglo market. The fascinating thing about the video project is that growers and producers are very willing to record these videos offering the proper pronunciation of grapes (like Catarratto) and appellations (like Salice Salentino). Through this project he can extend his advocacy of the great Italian wines, including those which may be more of a mouthful (see what we did there?), such as Aglianico del Vulture. His latest video is for the grape Groppello. A retailer made the request and sure enough, the producer Paolo Pasini happily obliged as he would be out in the vineyards that day.
We hope you enjoy our interview with Jeremy and his blog, Do Bianchi, and perhaps join him for a tasting in a city near you. Tell him the gals from Wine Two Five sent you!
Here is Jeremy’s latest video:
Factoid:
We tied our factoid into Jeremy’s latest pronunciation project video for the grape Groppello. This is a red grape from various northern regions of Italy. Upon consulting Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes: A Complete Guide to 1368 Vine Varieties, Including Their Origins and Flavours (otherwise known as Val’s idea of grape porn) we found that the name Groppello is believed to be derived from the word grop or gropo in the local dialect in the Veneto that means “knot” We are suspecting the grape bunches look like knots? Very well.
Well, apparently Groppello isn’t just one grape either. There are Groppello Gentile (believed to be the oldest), Groppello di Mocasina, Gropello de Revo`, and Pignola Valtellinese. They are all considered distinct grape varieties. Oh – and then they all have nicknames. So the Groppello Gentile, for example is also called Gropella, Groppello Comune, and Groppellone.
Be glad Val didn’t recite all the nicknames for the different Groppello grapes. Be very glad. Steph was.
Website: https://www.sugarfina.com/shop/champagne-bearsr/
Winoradar:
We stayed on the “treat train” and recalled lovely rose’ wines we sipped at the Society of Wine Educators conference last year from Château d’Esclans. There are gummy bears being made out of the Whispering Angel. And apparently there’s a waiting list. There are also gummy bears made of Dom Perignon Champagne and Val may just give them a try (she loved gummy bears in high school and her twenties).
Anyone try these yet? Let us know what you think!
Shoutouts:
Steph: “We love other podcasters and what they contribute to the podcast universe! And Tim Ferriss is one of our fav’s. In his most recent episode #175 How to Cage the Monkey Mind he says, “Wine makes you funnier, and then you just feel like you’re getting funnier but you’re no longer funny.” Man, I love that guy!”
Val: “We are so down with OPP – Other People’s Podcasts! This week I discovered She Podcasts, and of course I love The Unwritable Rant; these are lady podcasters getting it done! You know who else we love? We also love our listeners, and I’d like to give a shout out to Side Hustle Wino this week who gave us some props on twitter: “@SideHustleWino Happy Friday! @WineTwoFive making my commute enjoyable! Check out this cool episode: https://itun.es” and “@WineTwoFive you totally made my traffic JAM bearable! ” You know we appreciate the “punny” tweets, of course referring to the puns on our Summer Wine Jam episode.”
And that’s a wrap for this week!
Connect with Val on Twitter @WineGalUnboxed and on the Vino With Val FB page, and on instagram as Vino with Val. You can find Steph on Twitter @Albarellosoap and on the AlbarelloSoap FB page, and check out the videos on theAlbarello YouTube channel!
Jeremy? Well he can be found on his blog, Do Bianchi and on twitter as, no kidding, @DoBianchi.
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So until next week – Cheers!