I swear you couldn’t possibly make this shit up if you tried. Forget the NRA, next time you happen to come home to someone in a ski mask rifling through your possessions, or when a cadre of armed men break into your private club demanding everyone’s wallets or jewelry, just make sure you offer them a glass of (good) wine before trying other negotiation tactics.

Apparently all it took was a glass of Château Malescot St-Exupéry (a Bordeaux Third Growth estate), a nibble of camembert cheese, and a group hug to prevent a recent robbery in a private home in Washington, D.C.

After bursting into a dinner party brandishing a gun and demanding everyone’s money, when offered a glass of wine by the (very level headed) host, the robber was purported to say “Damn. That’s good wine!” After taking a nibble of cheese and then requesting (and receiving!!!) a group hug from the assembled guests, the robber fled.

There’s got to be at least one t-shirt slogan hidden in this little incident. Bordeaux Not Burglars, anyone?

Thanks to Jathan at Winexpression for the tip-off to the story.

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Nature giveth, and she taketh away. Just when we all thought that Global Warming might be making wine a little easier to make in Europe, the summer of 2007 comes along and reminds us that we can put a man on the moon, but we’re not any better at predicting the weather more than about 7 days out.

In case you haven’t been following the news, it’s looking like the 2007 vintage in Bordeaux is going to be one of the worst in recent memory. Unseasonably cold and hard rains have decimated the grape crops, to current estimates of approximately 90% loss due to rain damage and subsequent mildew and rot. Just remember this when someone offers you 2007 Bordeaux futures. Apparently the issues are not confined to Bordeaux, having affected vineyards in both the Loire and the Rhone. Burgundy, apparently, is mostly fine for now.

While it’s clear that the vintage is not a total failure at this point, more rain could certainly push things over the edge. However, should the weather stay sunny through August, some decent fruit may be produced, especially in those areas with lower humidity.

The implications of late season rains and their attendant mildew for winegrowers are myriad, but mostly they equal a lot of work and a lot of expense to salvage any usable fruit. Workers are generally required to make daily or even hourly passes through the vineyards to quickly cut off any clusters of grapes which show mildew or rot, as well as to manage the leaf canopy to ensure sun exposure to the damp grapes in the hopes of drying them to avoid mildew. Presumably there are also treatments like sulfur and other concoctions (provided you’re not Biodynamic) to help prevent mildew and rot. No matter how you slice it as a grower, you’re looking at spending more money, and getting fewer good grapes.

England too, has had its share of adversity this year. Most people still aren’t used to thinking of Britain as a wine producing nation, but rising global temperatures have helped the quality of its wine production, the best of which appears to be some quite excellent sparkling wines. It’s somewhat unclear how the torrential rains and flooding are affecting the harvest, there are some initial reports (that for the life of my I cannot seem to find the link to at the moment) that suggest it may be hard going for English winemakers this year as well.

All this on the heels of some awful news in the Northern Rhone and Alsace a couple of weeks ago. A tough year for wine in many places, and a good reminder of how blessed many regions (such as California) are with generally much less volatile weather.

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We Americans aren’t deprived of much in the world when it comes to wine, but if there’s one segment of the wine universe that remains highly unexplored by the average American wine drinker it’s the world of non-Champagne sparkling wine. And I’m obviously not not talking about California wine. I’m talking about the hundreds of different types of sparkling wine made in dozens of countries around the world.

Thankfully, as more people begin to appreciate the pleasures of bubbly but can’t always spring for the price tag of Champagne, there is an increasing demand for alternatives, such as Prosecco.

Prosecco is both the name of an Italian grape variety, as well as the name of the wine made from these clusters of light green berries that hang on precipitously steep hillsides north of Venice and the city of Treviso. The south facing hillsides farmed by hundreds of families in the Conegliano Valdobbiadene region are famous for their inclines that have required (careful) hand harvesting for the nearly 200 years that the region has been producing its sparkling wine.

Rising steeply off the narrow two lane highways that run through the East-West oriented region strung between the towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, these hillsides would make excellent blue and black diamond ski runs, were they not packed with densely planted vines of mostly Prosecco grapes, but also occasionally the Verdiso, Perera, and Bianchetta varieties that are permitted into Prosecco wines in small quantities. In recent years the region has also seen plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, as well as even experimentation with red varieties, but for all intents and purposes everyone remains devoted to producing the delightful, fruity, uncomplicated spumante wine for which it has been known for centuries.

The region is farmed by perhaps thousands of small farmers, each of whom sell their grapes to larger producers, either large commercial wineries, or co-ops of various kinds. Increasingly there are also big wine estates being created that farm their own grapes amidst the family vineyards of the region. Additionally, Prosecco contains one specific DOC sub region known as Cartizze, which is a specific hill that is being marketed as a “Cru” or designated area of particularly high quality. While it is still unclear to me whether this area really is much different from the surrounding region, it is certainly true that those producers who source grapes from this area tend to treat them with the special care that winemakers usually offer their reserve or tete-du-cuvee wines.

Prosecco is made by first creating a still wine of generally very high acidity, and then adding sugar and yeast to ferment in the wine a second time from within large pressurized, temperature-controlled tanks, where it becomes effervescent before bottling. Though increasingly Prosecco is being made in a Brut style, which means it is fermented nearly dry with no added sweetness, it most traditionally receives varying amounts of dosage (usually a portion of sweet wine) before bottling, resulting in variations labeled Extra Dry (a little sweet), Dry (marked residual sugar), and an unlabeled version which tends to be quite sweet indeed. My favorite Proseccos tend to be of the Extra Dry or Brut variety. I find the Dry version a bit too sweet for my palate.

One of the fantastic things about Prosecco is its price, which only in the rarest bottlings climbs above $20. This makes it a great budget alternative to Champagne, and at its finest, Prosecco can even have some of the complexities of Champagne. One must be careful, however, not to ask too much of a $12 sparkling wine.

The best Proseccos, in my opinion, offer a clarity and freshness of fruit and flowers and a hint of minerality that make them incredibly easy to drink, especially when very cold, as I prefer them. The worst Proseccos can either be trying too hard for complexity and end up with yeasty, herbal notes that I don’t care for, or can simply be one-dimensional syrupy fruit cocktails.

When I was in the region a few years ago, I was able to try perhaps thirty or forty wines (this was pre-Vinography, mind you) and found some that I really enjoyed, which subsequently proved impossible to find in the US. So when I heard that the Consorzio of the region’s producers was hosting a tasting in San Francisco, I was excited to see which wines were on offer for the US market.

Below you’ll find my tasting notes of the wines that were offered, most of which are available in the US, or will be soon. Some, however, are priced in Euros or marked “n/a” if they are not likely to be accessible to the consumer.

TASTING NOTES:

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 and 9.5
2004 Ruggeri & C. “Giustino B.” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $30.
NV Bellenda “San Fermo” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $18.
NV Bellenda “Miraval” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $18. Where to Buy?
2006 La Vigne de Alice Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $15.
NV Sorelle Bronca “Particella 68″ Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $20. Where to Buy?

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
NV Adami “Bosco di Gica” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $11
NV Adami “Dei Casel” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $11
NV Bellenda “Levis” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $19
NV Bellussi Spumanti Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $16
NV Bortolin Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze Dry. $23
NV Bortolomiol “Banda Rossa” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $18
NV Bortolomiol Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. $22
NV Canella Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $??
NV Carpene’ Malvolti “Cuvee” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $18
NV Drusian Francesco Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $18
NV Drusian Francesco Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $14
2006 La Vigne de Alice Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $15
2006 Malibran “Ruio” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $12
2006 Malibran “Gorio” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $12
NV Masottina Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $16
NV Sorelle Bronca Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $16

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 and 9
2006 Adami “Vigneto Giardino” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $16
NV Bellussi Spumanti “Belcanto” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $18
NV Bellussi Spumanti Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $16
NV Bortolin Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $16
NV Bortolin Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $17
NV Bortolomiol “Prior” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $15
2006 Cantina Produttori Di Valdobbiadene “Val d’Oca” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $15
NV Conte Collalto Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $18
2006 Drusian Francesco Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $30
NV Mionetto “Prestige” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $14
NV Mionetto Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze Dry. $35

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
NV Bortolin Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $16
NV Cantina Colli Del Soligo Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $16
NV Cantina Produttori Di Valdobbiadene “Val d’Oca” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $15
NV Drusian Francesco Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. $22
NV Masottina Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $16
NV Mionetto “Valdobbiadene doc” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $19
NV Ruggeri & C. “Gold Label” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $15
NV Serre Spumanti “Cuvee Valgres” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. 5 Euro
NV Valdo Spumanti “Cuvee del Fondatore” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. 18 Euro

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8 and 8.5
2006 Cantina Colli Del Soligo Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $23
NV Cantine U. Bortolotti Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $11
NV Carpene’ Malvolti “Cuvee” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $23
NV Col Vetoraz Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $18
NV Col Vetoraz Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $16
NV La Marca Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $12
NV Le Colture “Fagher” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $15
NV Le Colture “Cruner” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $16
NV Le Colture Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. na
NV Serre Spumanti Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. 12 Euro
NV Valdo Spumanti “Cuvee de Boj” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $13
NV Valdo Spumanti “Cuvee Viviana” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. $19
NV Vincola Serena Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $18

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND OR BELOW 8
NV Cantine U. Bortolotti “47″ Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $25
2006 Col Vetoraz Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $24
NV Col Vetoraz Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. $30
NV Conte Collalto Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $15
NV La Marca “Cuvee” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $14
NV Le Colture “Pianer” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. n/a
NV Masottina Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze Dry. $20
NV Ruggeri & C. “Gentile” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Dry. $14
NV Serre Spumanti “Tribus” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. 5 Euro
NV Serre Spumanti “Lovre” Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. 8 Euro
NV Toffoli Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Extra Dry. $16
NV Cantine U. Bortolotti Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $12
NV Cantine U. Bortolotti Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Superiore di Cartizze. $30
NV Toffoli Prosecco DOC di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Spumante Brut. $16

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Blame Sideways or changing times, it’s hard to find Pinot Noir bargains as New World bottles approach Burgundian prices.

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Nicely balanced and food-friendly, it’s a pretty Pinot … and it costs as much as a villages Burgundy.

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Crisp and refreshing, loaded with red berries and citrus, an exceptional rosé for those who’d really just as soon have a red.

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I reach back to an old favorite cookbook for this Hungarian treat, giving it a new twist with smoked paprika.

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Continuing our July survey of rosé wines, we sample a pink from Southern France that approaches a light red in color and style.

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