Balgera Vini, Chiuro, Valtellina

Paolo Balgera is THE protector of the faith in the Valtellina, continuing a tradition started by his Great Great Grandfather Pietro in 1885 and he is still mad that the new DOCG regs allow his neighbors to release their Sforzato after just two years aging when HIS current vintage is 1997!  Despite being the most traditional wines in the zona, Paolo’s bottlings have smoked all comers at several consorzio blind tastings proving elegance CAN win out over sheer extract. Come see for yourself how old dogs still have plenty of new tricks to show your palate and are so shockingly unique they left the Gambero Rosso speechless. Bravo!

Balgera Vini Chiavennasca

Terrazze Retiche di Sondrio Frizzante, Valtellina  $22.99

Now THIS is interesting: 100% Nebbiolo (the varietal used to make Barolo, Barbaresco and, more importantly, Sforzato) vinified WHITE then fizz-a-fied to about the pressure and refreshment factor of a nice Prosecco but with a bigger mouthfeel and a drier finish. The culinary possibilities of this are approximately infinite so you had better get started tonight.

Terre da Vino, Barolo, Piemonte

These guys were our find of the year at VinItaly 2009: a modern cooperative cantina in the heart of the Barolo zona with 2800 small growers tending 5096 hectares to chose from but dedicated to quality AND value for money!

Terre da Vino Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato Frizzante 2008, Piemonte  $12.99

Sort of a Piemontese retort to Vinho Verde: 100% Cortese (the Gavi variety) harvested early, fermented bone dry and then bottled while still retaining a nice light fizziness (and just 11.5% ABV), just perfect for cleaning spicy or oily foods off your palate. We LOVE this!

Terre da Vino Moscato d'Asti Monticelli 2009, Piemonte  $19.99

The most refreshing of our gamut of Moscato d'Asti: more lemony than burnt orange in flavors and just 5% ABV so, yes, you can have a third glass!

Tenuta Uccellina, Bertinoro, Emilia-Romagna

Alberto Rusticali does things the old fashioned way: by hand. His unique wines have been cult favorites from the instant we brought them to you nine years ago. Aside from the lovely juice, the watercolor labels on some of them are exquisite...

Tenuta Uccellina Pagadebit di Romagna

Vino Frizzante Libertino 2009, Emilia Romagna  $15.99

Bright pear and apple flavors with a hint of lemon zest and lime flowers on the nose, crisp acidity but plenty of fruit, all with just enough bubbles to get that hot sauce or fancy vinaigrette off your tongue so you can dive in for more. And, at just 11.5% ABV, feel free to dive in! 100% Bombino Bianco, called Pagadebit (the debt payer!) in dialect for its early ripening and high yields.

Tenuta Il Falchetto, S. Stefano Belbo, Piemonte

The wines of I Fratelli Fabulosi Forno (The Fabulous Forno Brothers!) have been big hits here since we opened the doors in ‘93 and we have just unloaded a new batch of their fabulously food (and wallet!) friendly wines for your enjoyment:

Il Falchetto Moscato d’Asti Tenuta del Fant 2009, Piemonte  $26.99

The fresh orange blossom and citrus zest aromas and refreshing sweet / tart finish of this wine burned its sheer excitement into the brain cells of so many of you that you never let us forget about it no matter how many other wonderful Moscati we threw at you when we were out of stock. Recently we were quoted in the City Beat Summer Guide as saying that we call Moscato d’Asti “the Zombie Detector” because if you don’t like it you are probably dead. What the editor cut out (and what made the reporter do a spit take and nearly fall off his chair when we said it) was we also noted that “neurologists will tell you that there are receptors for crack cocaine and marijuana right in your brain...well, the one for Moscato d’Asti is right between them”. Fun, fizzy, low alcohol, bursting with bright citrus aromas and LOVE, serve this with salty snacks (Corn Nuts, Prosciutto e Melone, Honey Roasted Cashews and Dried Fruit, ect) in the afternoon and all will be well with the world.

Azienda Agricola Cascina Fonda

di Marco e Massimo Barbero, Mango, Piemonte

Living in a town named after the most sensual of fruits (Mango, near Asti) the Barbero brothers, Marco and Massimo, just HAVE to make exotically perfumed nectars of seduction, right? Well.....YES they do, and, despite the pronouncements of a recent “authoritative” book about regional wines of Italy that you would have to go to Piemonte to find any, we’ve had them (and a lot of the others mentioned) here for years.

Cascina Fonda Moscato d’Asti 2008, Piemonte  Sold Out, New Vintage Soon!

A deliciously fun, completely non snobby tipple that is light in body, low in alcohol, lively and fizzy but not full on sparkling, this virtually explodes with citrus, tropical fruit and floral aromas. Yes, it is sweet but so are stolen kisses and homegrown tomatoes so just relax and enjoy this when you need to be reminded of the joy of life and the beauty of nature. It smells like orange blossoms and tastes like love and you just can’t put a numerical score on that....

Cascina Fonda Vendemmia Tardiva 2006, Piemonte Sold Out, New Vintage Soon!

We call even normal Moscato d’Asti “The Zombie Detector” because if you don’t like it you might be already dead but this is a whole ‘nother thing. It is not labeled as DOCG due to its unique production methods and flavor profile: it is made from Moscato grapes left to hang an additional three weeks on the vine which give it notes of walnuts and toffee on top of the burnt orange peel, dried fruit and hibiscus flower base. OUTRAGEOUS, unique, undeniable, this has already earned cult status. Uh...Ladies Man...this is goooooooood...wink, wink.

Cantina del Glicine, Nieve, Piemonte

Adriana Marzi and her husband Roberto Bruno operate a tiny mom and pop cantina out of a 17th century house in the center of the capital of Barbaresco, Nieve. Nicer folks you will never meet and the wines are outstanding in both quality and fidelity to local traditions. Enjoy!

Cantina del Glicine Moscato d'Asti 2008, Piemonte  $26.99

Literally made by hand from a tiny plot of old Moscato vines, this wine shows a flavor profile leaning more toward very ripe apples than the usual Moscato citrus bomb. The label is perhaps the most whimsical we carry: a water color of kittens relaxing on clouds that reminds us of old Betty Boop cartoons. VERY limited!

Cantina Sociale di Puianello,

Quattro Castella, Emilia-Romagna

We met these guys through a friend of a friend (ciao e grazie Arrigo!) and were immediately impressed by their almost surreal professionalism. Their stand at VinItaly was like a Formula One pit stop: Marketing Director Vittorio Maltezze welcomed us in perfect English, we sat and within seconds a crack staff went to work and for nearly an hour glasses appeared and were replaced like magic, top flight Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and cured pork products materialized seemingly out of thin air (with their salt, spice and sweetness levels matched to each new wine), technical and marketing brochures in English landed next to each new glass, mineral water filled our glasses, spit buckets were dumped and replaced without us even noticing let alone asking. And the wines? As the company motto says, “É buono, è un Puianello” (it’s good, it’s a Puianello)! Now for the story:

In 1938 five grape growers in the hills of the tiny hamlet of Puianello near Reggio founded a co-op so they could make wine instead of selling grapes and thereby see a little more of the profit on the fruit of their labor (and they located the cantina at an address on Via Carlo Marx, quite fitting for a Cantina Sociale, don’t you think?). Over the years more growers joined bringing more land so that today there are 330 members producing a large range of wines in many styles with a focus on the traditional frizzante and spumante styles of the zona, red, white and rosato, ranging from bone dry through “amabile” (amiable or friendly) to dessert wines. We tasted over twenty of them and brought in four that fill some holes in our ever expanding omniverse of fine fizz.

Puianello Malvasia Dolce Frizzante Le Gemme, Emilia-Romagna  $16.99

Diplomacy: the search for the 3rd option. If, like us, you have been desperately searching for a wine that is just a tad sweeter and more aromatic than Prosecco but not quite as hedonistically explosive as Moscato d’Asti, then here it is. And just in the nick of time as Summer Lollygaging Season enters full force.