Dorothea Lasky in The Paris Review:
I made a conscious choice early on in my writing not to punctuate much in my poems. I made this choice when I was working in an elementary school as an M.F.A. student. I was teaching W. S. Merwin’s The Vixen and there was a student in second grade who said, amazed, “He doesn’t use any punctuation!” Of course, that student had just learned about punctuation, so teachers were constantly telling them, “No, you forgot the period, you forgot the comma, that’s incorrect, you must punctuate.”
I was drawn to the irreverence of not punctuating. To put a period or a comma or a question mark at the end of a line is so dramatic, because the line break is already definitive enough. You have to really want to put it in. I love questions that aren’t dramatic, and I love the idea that everything could be a question. I mean, every line of every poem could be a question, when you really think about it.
Pietraventosa Est Rose
This vibrant Cerasuolo captivates with its intensity and fine structure. Its elegant aromas of spring flowers, roses, and peach blossoms blend with the sweet scents of morello cherries, black cherries, and wild strawberries. On the palate, you’ll find a refreshing burst that balances the initial sweetness with beautiful minerality and gentle softness, inviting you to savor each moment.
Tastes like a dirty martini on first blush. Mellowed out over time but retained strong briny characteristics. If the balanced, “refreshing burst” to which they refer is that of a Croatian vermouth, sure, they nailed it. “Gentle softness” decidedly did not come to mind.
Fonda53 Sparkling Rosé
The Fondo 53 Rosé cuvée blends the finesse of white wines (93%) — Pedevenda, Marzemina Bianca, and Vespaiola — with the strength and fruitiness of the red wine Gruajo (7%) from the hills of Breganze. After bottling, within a few weeks and also influenced by climatic conditions, the wine undergoes a refermentation process that creates the “presa di spuma” (sparkling formation). With sur lie aging, the result is a wine with extremely fine bubbles and a cloudy appearance, showing a light deposit of lees at the bottom of the bottle. This deposit is proof that the bottle has not been reopened after refermentation. The outcome is a dry wine, with no sulfites added during fermentation or bottling.
“Extremely fine bubbles” is right—I’d almost believe this wasn’t even a sparkling wine.Firmino Miotti is a historic winemaker from Breganze who “chose to use Gruajo to create a pure rosé that stands out for its personality and authenticity. The rosé vinification enhances the finest and most fragrant soul of this grape variety, offering a refined tasting experience deeply rooted in tradition.” I can’t speak for the tradition, but this was light and refreshing with a subtle metallic darkness giving the wine a very unique character.
To the eye, it stands out for its antique pink color, with fine and persistent bubbles that add elegance. On the nose, aromas of red fruits such as raspberry and citrus notes. On the palate, it offers a balance between finesse and intensity, with fresh and mineral undertones. Pairs well with white meats and is suitable throughout the meal.
If I taste red fruit, it’s primarily apple; the cider notes typical to rosé are exaggerated here to an almost spicy degree. Don’t mistake that for a complaint: this is a crisp, relatively dry flavor profile tailor-made for dusky autumn evenings but also perfectly acceptable in the midst of a brutal Bay Area heat wave.
Dieter Sölva Niklas Schiava
The best Italian whites come from the Alto Adige, the German-speaking region in Italy’s far northeast, just below the Austrian border. The young Dieter Sölva (like his father, a graduate of San Michele’s famous enology school) makes his wines in the tiny village of St. Nikolaus, high up on the west side of a majestic valley leading north through the Dolomites, where the altitude gives the wines an acidic backbone, even amidst the atypically hot 2003 vintage; the whites are vinified in stainless-steel with neither malolactic fermentation nor oak, allowing the wine to show the true flavors of the soil. Typical for the region, the wines are impeccably clean, and this red is no exception, with a taste and mouthfeel recalling pure cranberry juice.
Dieter has sold excellent sauvignon, Kerner and Lagrein at Niklaserhof for years, along with a light red wine traditionally called Kalterersee Auslese. For those timid importers who fear the world may not be ready for an Italian red labeled “Auslese,” it’s also known under the Italian name Schiava. Dieter uses two types of the Schiava variety (also known as Vernatsch or Trollinger) from the vineyards around Lake Caldaro, in the South Tyrol. It is all stainless steel vinification. Pale, translucent red in color, the wine carries aromas and flavors of berries, herbs, and orange peel. This is a highly versatile red, best drunk chilled, particularly suited to warmer weather and pairing with cured meats — some Tyrolean speck would be ideal, but the prosciutto I had was no slouch. Maybe the closest Italian counterpart to Beaujolais?
Caparrone Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Juicy sour cherry, soft tannins and lip-smacking acidity combine to give an unusually fine example of Montepulciano. The quality of the fruit takes this casual dining classic to a new level.
More acidic and possessing more dark cherry notes than one might expect from an Italian red, this is a heavy-bodied wine with a refreshingly smooth mouthfeel and deeper notes of ripe blackberries, spices and wood. I hate when wine reviewers point out a flavor like “wood” but this bottle typifies that particular profile.
Deeply-coloured red with aromas of violets and ripe black fruit. The palate is richly-flavoured and generous with attractive black cherry fruit, wild plum, youthful tannins and good length. A great combination of spicy, robust flavours with fresh and approachable fruit.
Those “youthful tannins” pop up again, and here they’re downright impetuous—this wine remains acidic well after opening. There’s a decent amount of residual sugar which probably wouldn’t be a problem for someone with fewer cavities than me.
The Montepulciano grapes are grown in the 9 hectare Colle Caparrone vineyard, southeast facing and at 200m altitude. The grapes are harvested at the start of October. Then they’re fermented in stainless steel at a controlled temperature of 26-28ºC for 2-3 weeks, with up to a week’s maceration on the skins.
Given its age, it’s surprising how fruit-forward this wine is. It would probably only improve with age but it’s extremely drinkable on opening.
Rocco Pasetti’s superbly sited 30 hectare estate lies in the heart of the Collecorvino district in the hills northwest of Pescara, recognised as one of the best vineyard zones in Abruzzo. Surrounding the winery the south-facing slopes of clay-chalk soils, at around 250m altitude, are ideal for the cultivation of Montepulciano, with Pecorino grown on the lower slopes. The cellar was completed in 2004 – carved into the hillside. Rocco’s son, Franco Pasetti, is also a winemaker and now works alongside him at the estate. The Contesa wines are impeccably made expressions of Abruzzo’s local grapes – modern and easy to drink, yet wines of real substance.
Heavy soil notes remind the palate of the wine’s origin, southeast-facing or otherwise. The vintner calls this wine “a proven match for quality pork and leek sausages, onion gravy and mash!” I’ve actually never seen those particular pairing notes but I’m now craving each and every one.
Instigator Red Blend
Being a proud philistine, I finished the night with an entire bottle of cheap red from my neighborhood’s newly-opened Grocery Outlet, where all beer and wine was 20% off for the first week. Supposedly the Instigator features aromas of blackberry jam, ripe raspberry, mocha, and warm toasted oak, with flavors of plum, dark chocolate, sweet vanilla, and spice, and you know what? Sure. It paired perfectly with Costco frozen pierogies and John Schlesinger’s SF Yuppie Fear Thriller Pacific Heights.
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