It all started with the name. Pfefferer. Though the wine is from Northern Italy, the word (like my own “-erer” surname) has a German origin and translates as “peppery.” It is made from a Muscat/Moscato grape variety in the mountainous Alto-Adige region of Italy, not far from the Austrian border. Photos from the area are stunning and Bolzano, where the winery sits, is on my ever-expanding bucket list. But it was the familiar “-erer” ending that grabbed my first attention…
[An aside: When I was in training in the 90’s, there was a neurosurgery resident (nicest one I ever met) who referred to me as “Dr. Hfuhruhurr,” based on Steve Martin’s character (a pioneering neurosurgeon) in “The Man With Two Brains” (1983). I enjoyed the connection to Mr. Martin (saw him do “King Tut” live at Cole Field House in College Park, MD circa 1978). I hadn’t seen the film but it clearly impacted my clinical colleague and so I promised to do so one day — still haven’t, but let this post serve as my renewed pledge!]
…so in our local wine shop I pass this unassuming green bottle and there it is, that name. Times being what they are, I used the Vivino app to get a spot-read, and sure enough it boasted a fat score of 4.2. SOLD! And when we opened the bottle, a whole new world opened up…. but not really…. there was a distinct nose of birch bark, tobacco and cumin…. not really…. and on the tongue the top note was boysenberry and elderflower mixed with pine and whale semen… are you still reading this??… but what I really discerned is that it tasted, nod to Larry David, “… pretty, pretty good!” To my inexpert palate, it has what some might call “balance” (to borrow from “Koyaanisqatsi” by Godfrey Reggio, “vinyaanisqatsi becomes Hopi for “wine out of balance”…. golfyaanisqatsi translates to “golf out of balance”…. and so on). A little floral. a little fruity. Light touch of pepper/pfeffer. And all to the good. A new favorite is born. Nuovo favorito! So much so that we buy other Italian whites to extend our supply. We call those “pfillerer.” How clever is that?!
And I realize that these things are a matter of both taste and of time. The latter in the sense that over time, your tastes will inevitably change. I, like many including Brett Kavanaugh, went through a lengthy beer phase in high school, college and beyond. I liked beer (“Do YOU like beer?!”). Nowadays I drink 1-1/2 and I’m full, especially the heavy artisanal ones. But, back in the day, I tried a Bartles and Jaymes wine cooler. It just wasn’t cool enough (or maybe I wasn’t… strikes me that you would have had to be a total badass as a guy drinking those in the 80’s). I tried white Zinfandel but, like the iced tea in NC, it leaves you thirstier than when you began for all that sugar. Eventually I graduated to red wine and then to better bourbon (Woodford Reserve). But sometimes change is foisted upon you, and in my case it was visited on my lower esophagus (the only thing more plentiful in our house than Pfefferer is Gaviscon). But white wine is, mercifully, less corrosive to my esophageal mucosa. And so there I was, shopping the white wine aisle at BIN 604 in Baltimore, when I stumbled upon my new favorite thing….. Pfeffererererer. I now answer to both Dr. Pfefferer and Dr. Hfuhruhurr. And I’ll let you know if that movie holds up.
Cheers!!
Great Exudations 