Meet our expert wine columnist Nick Tomassi, who talks about how
growing up in a large Italian family sparked his lifelong passion for
wine.
Ten years ago my wife, Kathleen, and I joined five other couples
on their annual trip to the Yakima Valley, Washington, Wine Country. As we
spent the third weekend of October together with these good friends traveling
from winery to winery, sampling the wines and eating the food, it reminded
me of the family dinners I attended as a child growing up in
Connecticut.
These were family celebrations which took place about every three
months at Grandma and Grandpa Barbuto's home. Italian food and wine, aunts,
uncles, and cousins filled the house to overflowing.
Mom was the fifth of ten children born to Italian immigrants, and
most of them would show up. Grandpa and the uncles ran what would now be
called a big Mom and Pop market, so food was plentiful, and best of all,
Grandpa made his homemadewine "Dago Red". The grandkids would "help" Grandpa
bring the wine up from the casks in the cellar.
At dinner, the family tradition was to give the children a liqueur
glass (which looks like a miniature wine glass) filled part with wine and
part with water. As we grew older we often succeeded in sweet-talking Grandpa
into reducing the water content and increasing the wine.
The more assertive kids would butter up our favorite aunts and uncles
for a "sip" of their wine. (Occasionally one of the cousins would have enough
"sips" that he or she would be the evenings entertainment. I know from the
stories they tell that I had my turn!)
After dinner, the usual entertainment was listening to Italian opera
onthe old Victrola. I usually kept Grandpa awake by asking him to explain
what the opera was about and what the singers were singing. So my introduction
to great Italian food and good wine, homemade and purchased, and Italian
opera, began as far back as I can remember.
My trip from Connecticut to Washington State came via a four year
stint in the Air Force after graduating from high school; discharge from
the Air Force in Portland, Oregon, and an engineering degree at the University
of Portland. I worked as a test engineer at NavShipYd Brem for a few years,
transferred to the Torpedo Station at Keyport, continuing to work as a test
engineer; earned a Masters in Systems Management from the University of Southern
California.
I finally retired in 1988 and we are now living in Silverdale,
Washington, with a spectacular view of the Olympic Mountains. We call it
ground zero, because Silverdale is just outside Submarine Base, Bangor. I
figure that if the ChiComs decide to use the information they stole from
us to launch a nuclear attack, we'll just grab a bottle of our best wine,
sit on the front porch viewing the Olympics, and watch for the flash to get
it over with.
After retirement I volunteered for about two years in the Adult
Education part of the Continuing Ed Division of Olympic College. I took over
the class when the regular GED Preparation instructor on campus became ill
and was no longer able to teach. I currently teach math in the GED Preparation
Program at Olympic College, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Kathy and I have had the great pleasure of traveling to Europe a
few times, with return visits to Italy, Germany, and France.]
I began a more serious study of the fruit of the vine after our
last visit in 1989.Youngest daughter, Tracy, was a Rotary Exchange student
in Geuntsburg, southern Germany, from August 1988 to August, 1989. We visited
her in April, 1989, and traveled through southern Germany, across the Alps
to northwest Italy, across northern Italy to Verona and Venice.
We then went back across the Alps to Vienna, Austria, and back to
Geuntsburg, Germany. It was in Italy, about 20 miles north of Verona where
we found the Tommasi Winery, slightly different spelling. We stopped and
visited for a short while, and received some Tommasi wine.
Back home again, I began collecting books and reading everything
I could find on the subject of wine. One of the first things I discovered
was that books don't have much taste, so I decided to PRACTICE, PRACTICE,
PRACTICE. Now THAT'S the way to learn about wine! (And as a matter of fact,
it's the ONLY way to discover what wine tastes good to you).
But reading about wine and, drinking by yourself, has its limitations
also, so I looked around for someone to teach me more about wine.
No book could answer some of the questions, like "How do I know
when I taste a young wine that it will age well, that I can 'put it down'
for five or ten years?", or "How long will a red or white wine last after
it has been opened, and how can I prolong that time?" I knew that Olympic
Community College had offered wine classes in the past, so I went through
their old records, and spoke to the instructors named on the papers I found
there.
None were willing to resume teaching. I asked everyone I knew for
suggestions, with no luck. After about a year of dead ends, having found
no-one locally who was interested, I decided to gather the material and give
it a try myself. If I was going to learn more about wine, it would have to
be through my own efforts.
In early 1993 I prepared a syllabus for the Continuing Education
Division at Olympic College. Classes started in the fall of 1993 and over
the years have included Wine Appreciation and the Art of Wine Tasting, Wines
of the Pacific Northwest, Tasting International Wines, Making Wine, and Wine
with Food. One of the pages on my web site has the information for each quarter's
classes.
In 1995 I started writing a column on wine and beer for the local
paper in Bremerton, Washington, The Sun., focusing on Pacific Northwest wine,
winemakers, wineries, food and travel, and the same for beer, with occasional
writing side trips to Italy and other wines of interest.
In 1998 I joined other contributing wine writers in the new magazine
Wine Press Northwest, that is totally committed to the Pacific Northwest,
that is, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia.
My plan has always been to write about various aspects of the wonderful
food we call wine, concentrating on the wines of the pacific Northwest,
especially Washington State.
Wine Basics will include items such as some of the legends explaining
where wine originated, and how it worked its way to Washington State; the
Composition and Classification of wine; the Types of wine; Tips on Ordering
wine in a restaurant and Buying wine for home consumption; Equipment such
as bottles and their labels, glasses, etc; Touring the Wine Country,
etc.
Since wine is intended to be drunk with food, the Wine With Food
will focus on the signatures of different wines which give clues to their
food matches. I'll write about wines I've enjoyed recently. I welcome readers'
questions and suggestions. You can write to me in care of The Sun, PO Box
259, Bremerton 98337 or by contacting me by e-mail at
nicktom@silverlink.net. You are
welcome to visit my web site at
www.silverlink.net/winecabinet. |
