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Azienda Agricola Petrera Pasquale, Gioia del Colle, Puglia
This cantina has such an interesting story to tell that we don’t even know where to begin. THEY begin in their press kit with “At the beginning of the Oligocene era there was still a channel between the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic Seas. Between the cretaceous plate of the Bari area and the Southern Apennines, the Saddle of Spinazzola formed a broad strait that linked the Ionian Sea to the Adriatic, where the today's territory of Gioia del Colle was then submerged....” then note that their vineyard site was used as same by the Peucetians in the 8th century B.C.. They then fast forward to the late 18th century when their ancestor Nicola Petrera picked their hillside (365 meters above sea level) to plant to vines and built a home / cantina at about the same time as local bishop Don Franceso Filippo Indellicati selected a local grape variety, known in dialect as U’pr’mati’ve, as the best in the Zona and renamed Primitivo as it is not only the first to ripen but gives TWO harvests each year, the second one (known as “racemi” and with less body and color but more sweetness and aromatics) being thrown into the fermented wine as a sort of Ripasso or Governo thus adding richness to the wine.
The current generation were the first to bottle Primitivo in purezza (in 1987) and founded the DOC Primitivo Gioia del Colle in 2000 and have taken Nonno Nicola’s motto, “Who loves and respects Nature, loves God and himself” as their own and do everything by hand and in strict accordance with Certified Organic Agriculture standards (“considered as life-style: not for business but for respect of Nature and every living creature, in primis ourselves”) and even say that they treat each vine like a person and that “We want to make our wine like mirror of the territory, the soil and the people who are its authors...the success of a wine has to be made starting from roots of the vine”. They kind of lose us at the part where they “foster tranquillity and harmony by diffusion of new-age sounds in our cellar to support the activity of the living enzymes inside our natural wines sensitive to music therapy” but, hey, what could it hurt? So, anyway, we tasted the wines and immediately ordered piles of them for ourselves (we might let you have some too if there is any left).
Fatalone Greco Spinomarino 2006, Murgia, Puglia $19.99 ORGANIC
Phat, nutty and dry with a very long finish and just plain FUN, this is about as far from the stereotypical flat, boring and oxidized southern whites of old as you can get. We see this being a very big sensation with everyone from traditional Chard-o-philes to card carrying members of the ABC Movement*. Try it with your favorite fish, seafood or chicken dish or just sip some while vegging out and watching Adult Swim on The Cartoon Network. *Anything but Chardonnay
Azienda Agricola Vitivinicola
Lomazzi & Sarli, Latiano, Puglia
Proprietario Pino Dimastrodonato and famed enologist Franco Bernabei have managed to drag a traditional winery (founded in 1869 but on land used for viticulture since the 8th century BC!) into the future by making it even MORE old school: they converted to all organic agriculture and instituted hand harvesting of the alberello trained 30+ year old vines. The results are not only delicious and packed with the dirt and sun of the heel of the boot, they are also almost ridiculously affordable (we love the fact that they talk about not a “good” quality/price ratio but “the correct” QPR in their brochure!) :
Lomazzi & Sarli Malvasia Bianca
Partemio 2005, Puglia Sold Out, Returning Soon! ORGANIC
Malvasia....it’s the new Viognier! Medium bodied with a refreshingly dry finish and simply gorgeous aromatics dominated by flowers, spice and citrus. Sushi, ceviche, scallops with lemon grass, fruit, cheese, friends, this works...
Azienda Agricola Emidio Pepe, Torano Nuovo, Abruzzo
At VinItaly 1997, while greeting friends in the Abruzzo pavilion, we stumbled upon an unpretentious booth that turned out to be one of the greatest wine producers we have ever encountered. It must have been the classic bottle presentation and vintages dating back to 1964 being poured that caught our eye rather than the three beautiful women working within (yeah, right!). Then three years ago we brought in eleven different vintages, they blew out in short order and not a week has gone by since without someone calling up and demanding “Yeah, Yeah, Brunello, Barolo, Amarone, Sforsato, I know, I know...but WHERE THE HELL is the PEPE!!!!!”
What makes these wines so special? Well, meeting Emidio was like meeting a T - Rex still in fighting trim, snacking on passing farm animals and unaware / uninterested in what had happened in the last 63 million years: he does what he does and is not about to change anything to meet the demands of the market or some critic. Emidio is the Orson Welles of the Abruzzi (although he actually looks like Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery morphed into one hard as nails, take no prisoners kind of guy), everything must be done HIS way because he knows it is the RIGHT way: totally organic, manual agriculture, pressing the grapes with the feet of his beautiful daughters, fermenting the wines in stone tubs, bottling them by hand (without racking or filtration) into demijohns and THEN aging them for up to thirty years at the winery before decanting into a new bottle, cork and label ensemble (after standing up for two months and only his wife is allowed to do this!) when it is actually sold. This results in wines of amazing quality and diversity (Sr. Pepe considers consistency in wine from year to year not only undesirable but dishonest and spares no words castigating producers who achieve this!) ranging from Syrah / Sagrantino style spice bombs in ripe vintages to deeeeeeep meat and earth scented marvels in more balanced vintages. All of these bottlings are ORGANIC and the cantina will be certified BIODYNAMIC with the next vintage.
Emidio Pepe Trebbiano d’Abruzzo 1995 $79.99 ORGANIC
This is one of the best whites we have ever offered: it smells like toasted almonds, cinnamon, dried white fruits and your first teenage love and has a rich, full texture that can handle fairly big foods. Decant it for at least a half hour and serve at cool room temperature. VERY limited!
Azienda Vitivinicola Ciù Ciù, Offida, Le Marche
Brothers Walter and Massimiliano Bartolomei thank you for all of your support and invite you to visit them at their restaurant in Offida. There you will see just why were immediately entranced by not only the quality of the wines produced by organic agriculture, hand harvesting and careful vinification but also their incredible value for money as they all play way out of their respective price categories.
Ciù Ciù Falerio dei Colli Ascolani
Oris 2007, Offida, le Marche $12.99 ORGANIC
Our #1 selling Bianco: a full flavored but medium bodied, bone dry and delicious blend of Trebbiano, Passerina and Pecorino, this blasts aromas of white flowers, citrus and quince out of the glass, making it perfect with ceviche, sushi, frito misto, calamari steaks or just some popcorn shrimp, a bowl of aioli and your favorite episode of South Park...more Cheesy Poofs, honeybuns?
Ciù Ciù Offida Bianco
Le Merlettaie 2007, le Marche $18.99 ORGANIC
This just knocked us over when presented to us by Walter and Massimiliano with a large plate of local cured pork products: its deep straw color might make you think it is a dessert wine but this may be the DRIEST white you taste this year, its nose transports you directly to the wildflower strewn hillsides of Offida and, then, down, down, down into the very rocks those hills stand on. If we had to compare this to something you may have had it would be VERY expensive White Bordeaux but it is much friendlier. And more affordable too!
Enzo Mecella, Fabriano, le Marche
Enzo Mecella obtained a degree in Enology in Conegliano in 1977 and then set about bringing his father’s fifty year old cantina into a new era of quality, using the large production of high quality but quickly selling Verdicchio di Matelica to subsidize research into clones and methodologies for improving the classic reds of the Marche, Rosso Cònero and Rosso Piceno. His wines have earned a place in the WINE EXPO-isti Hall of Fame as perennial favorites.
Enzo Mecella Verdicchio di Matelica
Pagliano 2007, le Marche $18.99 ORGANIC
Enzo Mecella Verdicchio di Matelica
Antico Casa Fosca 2001, le Marche $31.00 ORGANIC
Kick that Chardonnay habit tonight with these: the Pagliano is a classic rendition of one of the best seafood wines made, bursting with white fruit flavors and brisk minerality while the Antico Casa Fosca beautifully balances just a touch of oak with the intense mineral and almond flavors of the oldest vines. This well cellared beauty is the CURRENT release of the Antico Fosco as Verdicchio is one of the most age worthy whites made in Italy.
Azienda Agricola Martilde, Rovescala, Oltrepò Pavese
Martilde is one of our favorite discoveries in the Brave NEW World of the Oltrepò Pavese: a full service vino-teria making ten or so bottlings ranging from dry and delicate whites to insanely concentrated reds, all grown with molto rispetto for nature by a couple who have become good friends of ours, Antonella Tacci and Raimondo Lombardi. AND they all have fabulous art labels (painted by Antonella) depicting the animals on the estate.
Martilde Oltrepò Pavese Malvasia
Piume 2006, Lombardia Sold Out, New Vintage Soon! ORGANIC
“Young man, I nearly fainted with delight when I tasted that Piume Malvasia last night...”. So said a customer in a lilting Welsh accent as she grabbed a case of this. The sheer audacity of the intense citrus and honeysuckle aromas and flavors of Martilde Malvasia Piume coupled with its bone dry, “give me some more right now!” finish makes it a no-brainer with any Pacific Rim cuisine, Sushi, Fruit & Cheese or just sipping while watching a Scrubs marathon on Comedy Central. Try it! You won’t be sorry and you just might catch a case of the vapors as well. Pass the smelling salts and a spring roll, please...
Corte Marzago da Tenuta Aurelia, Valeggio, Veneto
Just outside the old and pleasant village of Salionze, between Valeggio sul Mincio and Peschiera del Garda, in the heart of the Bianco di Custoza and Bardolino zonas, sits this former convent that has been lovingly transformed into a wonderful agriturismo and winery. The wines are light in body and easy to drink (except the Le Bugne, more on that later) yet richly perfumed and very flavorful, classic compliments to the local seafood specialties served at the myriad lakefront cafes. They are also the result of backbreaking, manual and organic agriculture so we feel they are outstanding values for money as well:
Corte Marzago Bianco di Custoza
Vigna la Soldanella 2005, Veneto Sold Out, New Vintage Soon! ORGANIC
Garganega, Cortese, Trebbiano Toscano, Tocai and Chardonnay woven into a light and lively sipper with honey and white flowers on the nose, almonds and apples on the palate followed by a crisp dry finish sure to make you reach for more.
Finca La Anita, Alto Agrelo Mendoza
One of the first wave of “Cult Wineries” in Argentina ,Finca la Anita is rarely offered in the US. This bodega was founded in the early nineties in an attempt to revive the tradition of small, self contained and self sufficient wine producers that began disappearing when the giant Co-ops and large producers funded by outside investment started buying all of the grower’s grapes for their world wide brands. All of the wines are estate bottled (and only in the best vintages) and the philosophy of the bodega is to let each vintage and varietal speak its mind, not force them into some “house style” through manipulation in the cellar.
The estate farms 175 acres located on the slopes of the highest peaks of the Andes mountain range, at 1000 meters above sea level and far away from any signs of civilization, using strictly organic viticulture. The vineyards are composed of dry and porous soils, set off by the permanent reflection of the sun on the snowcapped Andes mountains. Cold, dry winters and dessert-hot summer days contribute to the quality of the harvest. A large part of the crop is sold off with only the best fruit going into these bottlings.
Finca Tocai Friulano 2004, Mendoza $18.99 ORGANIC
This is something you don't see everyday: a rich, textured and minerally Tocai from 40 year old vines in ARGENTINA?!?!? Made with no oak but lots of love, this will not scare away your resident Chard-o-phile but brings something different to your dinner table. VERY limited!
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