WTN: 2006 Cavatappi Maddalena Red Willow Vineyard Nebbiolo

If I couldn't see the label I'd swear I was drinking a Barbaresco, the kind that's short on tar but calls for a Burgundy glass to bring out the aromas of violets and roses. I bought two bottles of this delightful wine from Garagiste a couple of years ago, at just under twenty dollars each, and now I'm kicking myself for not buying a case. Who said great Nebbiolo can't be grown outside the Langhe? If this is representative, the Yakima Valley may be an exception, but then I always seem to have good luck with just about everything Cavatappi makes.

[Jenise]

If I couldn't see the label I'd swear I was drinking a Barbaresco, the kind that's short on tar but calls for a Burgundy glass to bring out the aromas of violets and roses. I bought two bottles of this delightful wine from Garagiste a couple of years ago, at just under twenty dollars each, and now I'm kicking myself for not buying a case. Who said great Nebbiolo can't be grown outside the Langhe? If this is representative, the Yakima Valley may be an exception, but then I always seem to have good luck with just about everything Cavatappi makes.

I'm also a fan. God bless Pete Cavatappi for staying true to his Italian roots.

Jenise, that would be Peter Dow, Come to think of it, I don't know where the Cavatappi name came from. The winery does continue to make principally Italian varietals, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Cavatappi also has a distributorship with such first rate clients as Terry Thiese and Kermit Lynch. John Marvin now runs that, but I don't know who is making the wine now that Peter has retired, as I understand it. Somebody correct me if I'm out of date.

[Jenise]

Jenise, that would be Peter Dow, Come to think of it, I don't know where the Cavatappi name came from. The winery does continue to make principally Italian varietals, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Cavatappi also has a distributorship with such first rate clients as Terry Thiese and Kermit Lynch. John Marvin now runs that, but I don't know who is making the wine now that Peter has retired, as I understand it. Somebody correct me if I'm out of date.

Yes, Dow. I wasn't thinking. I'm aware of the distributorship as a good friend of mine works for them, also that he owned acclaimed Seattle restaurant Café Juanita--which I believe he sold at the same time he sold the distributorship (to Southern). At the time it was said he sold those to concentrate on winemaking, so last I knew he was still at the helm. But it's been a few years, so things might be different now.

Jenise, that would be Peter Dow, Come to think of it, I don't know where the Cavatappi name came from. The winery does continue to make principally Italian varietals, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Cavatappi also has a distributorship with such first rate clients as Terry Thiese and Kermit Lynch. John Marvin now runs that, but I don't know who is making the wine now that Peter has retired, as I understand it. Somebody correct me if I'm out of date.

Awwww, Clint..... everyone knows that cavatappi is a cork-screw looking pasta. That's where the name originates.
Because of Peter's CafeJuanita connection.
Tom

If I couldn't see the label I'd swear I was drinking a Barbaresco, the kind that's short on tar but calls for a Burgundy glass to bring out the aromas of violets and roses. I bought two bottles of this delightful wine from Garagiste a couple of years ago, at just under twenty dollars each, and now I'm kicking myself for not buying a case. Who said great Nebbiolo can't be grown outside the Langhe? If this is representative, the Yakima Valley may be an exception, but then I always seem to have good luck with just about everything Cavatappi makes.

Well, Clint....there are legions of folks (I not be one) who say that Langhe is the only true home of Nebbiolo and
refuse to accept that great Nebb can be grown in OltropoPavese/CollineNovarese/Valtellina...let alone Calif/Yakima/Arizone/Virgina.
I took the '88 Cavatappi Nebb to NEB#5 a month ago and it was doing quite fine, thank you. Much like an old Gattinara.
Tom

[Jenise]

So I saw my Cavatappi friend last night. I was right about Café Juanita and the distributorship, but wrong that Peter was ever, at least in recent memory, the hands-on winemaker. Wasn't, still isn't.

Did taste a yummy thing, though, so here's a heads up: 2012 Cavatappi 'San Pietro'. Tongue-in-cheekly named after Peter, it's a so-called Super-Tuscan blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot, and it's damned good. Bigger fruit than we're used to from Cavatappi but appropriate for the grape blend and vintage, with spot-on balance and restraint.

I see Tom's right, as usual. Cavatappi is a short, tubed corkscrew (spiral) or S-shaped pasta.

Jenise, I'll run down the 2012 "San Pietro." I'm sure it will be good but you are correct that big isn't Cavatappi style. Maybe the Cab goosed the San Pietro a bit? And you weren't wrong when you said Peter was involved in "winemaking," as distinct from distributing. as that's not the same as being the winemaker. So if the San Pietro is as good as I think it will be, you are still on my list of infallible wine gurus.