Posted in Beverages, Italy, Travelogues, Wine, tagged Andrea Oberto, Azienda Agricola Iuli, Cascina Corte, Erbaluna, Ferdinando Zanusso, Gabriele Buondonno, Giovanna Tiezzi, I Clivi, Lauren Friel, Lo Spaventapasseri, Millésime Bio, Oleana, Pacina, Richard Kzirian, Sandro Barosi, Stefano Borsa, terroir, VinItaly, VinNatur, Violette Imports, Wine, winemaker, winemakers on April 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
With Giovanna Tiezzi of Pacina
As Formaggio Kitchen Cambridge’s wine buyer, the long-awaited arrival of spring means traveling to Verona for Italy’s most significant wine expo, VinItaly. The enormity and intensity of the show are both invigorating and challenging as it offers an expansive view of Italy’s wine scene, not only with thousands of indigenous grape varietals, but also with a genuine diversity of both terroirs and winemaking styles. Feeling overwhelmed is unavoidable. (more…)
Posted in Wine, Italy, Travelogues, Beverages, tagged Wine, biodynamic, winemakers, terroir, organic, Millésime Bio, Lo Spaventapasseri, Jo Landron, Muscadet, Julien Guillot, Domaine Vigne du Maynes, Chardonnay, Gamay, Jean-François Deu, Domaine du Traginer on February 2, 2012 | 1 Comment »
During a short stint from January 23rd to 25th, I had the opportunity to once again attend Millésime Bio, an annual organic wine exposition in Montpellier, France. It not only proved to be an exciting and challenging experience with my struggling French but offered me a closer view into the diverse world of wine. A wide range of regions, traditions, styles and levels of quality were represented at the show. My goal this year was to further develop an appreciation for these differences and find language to capture them for my colleagues and our customers. For example, organic, biodynamic, and even no-sulfur added wines can be made quite conventionally through machine harvesting and high yields, with poor terroir, additives and invasive cellar techniques. For me, it is an ongoing effort to understand and be able to explain the differences between industrial, conventional, artisanal, natural, and heirloom even within the categories of organic, biodynamic and no-sulfur added wine. It takes tasting, re-tasting, traveling, and speaking directly with producers to be able to speak to these qualitative differences and really comprehend who is doing the work to make great wines. With this mission in mind, I reconnected with many of my favorite growers – and discovered new ones too. Here are some of the highlights! (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Italy, Producer Profile, Wine, tagged Chianti, Chianti Colli Senesi, food, Giovanna Tiezzi, Italy, organic, Pacina, Sangiovese, Stefano Borsa, terroir, Wine, winemakers, yeasts on July 26, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Recently, we were thrilled to welcome Giovanna Tiezzi and Stefano Borsa to our shop. Giovanna and Stefano are the dedicated growers behind Pacina wine and they stopped by our Cambridge shop on a rare visit to the United States to taste out their ’07 Chianti Colli Senesi and speak to folks about what distinguishes them from other viticoltori in their region.
Where is Pacina?
Located about twenty-five minutes east of Siena in the Chianti district of Colli Senesi, Pacina is an old convent, dating to circa 900AD. The land where the convent is located is rich in wine history insofar as Pāca was the Etruscan god of the grape harvest, the equivalent of the Roman god, Bacchus, or the Greek god, Dionysius. For centuries, wine has been made in this region.
Flash forward to 2011: Pacina serves as a home to Giovanna Tiezzi and Stefano Borsa, along with their children, Maria and Carlo. Giovanna took over the estate that was bought by her great-grandparents. Today, she and Stefano cultivate a wide range of produce – from cereals, to fruit, to vegetables, to extra virgin olive oil. Giovanna and Stefano are, however, probably best known for their wine. As with everything they produce, it is organic. (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Italy, Producer Profile, Wine, tagged harvest, I Clivi, Tocai, Tokay, Wine, winemaker, winemakers on November 2, 2010 | 1 Comment »
“Questo è un grande vino,” said Ferdinando Zanusso, referring to his ’99 Galea Bianco.
’99 Galea Bianco Magnum
The Zanussos produce wines under the name I Clivi in Friuli, Italy, and this past September, I stayed with them to help with the grape harvest. The night before I left, Ferdi led me through a vertical tasting of 10 vintages of I Clivi wines. (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Italy, Travelogues, Wine, tagged growers, Italy, sommeliers, tasting, terroir, varietal, Vini Veri, VinItaly, VinNatur, vintage, viticulture, Wine, wine buyers, winemakers on June 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
To read Part I of Gemma’s post, please click here.
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Alessandro of Valli Unite
One of the most memorable tastings I had at VinItaly was with Valli Unite, a cooperative I visited in 2006, located in the hills outside of Tortona (essentially in the DOC Gavi growing area). Dreadlocked Alessandro, who now greets me on a first name basis, excitedly mentioned that in 2009 he made all of his wines without added sulfur. He recalled all of the questions and concerns that I have had over the years about sulfur usage. After some successful initial trials with Barbera and Dolcetto, he is confident enough to move forward with a more natural, minimalist approach in the cellar. This courage impressed me a great deal as did his desire to express as much terroir as possible in his wines. One of the questions that I like to ask growers is with regard to the future of their wines and their farming practices. Some producers express an ambition to sell more wine, expand into additional markets and find new exporters. Others talk about trying natural yeast fermentations, yield-reducing practices and no-sulfur cuvées. The latter type of grower is the one with whom I definitely want to establish a relationship. One can ascertain very quickly and easily who is thinking, trying, experimenting and who is merely responding to the market. (more…)
Posted in Beverages, Italy, Travelogues, Wine, tagged growers, Italy, sommeliers, tasting, terroir, varietal, Vini Veri, VinItaly, VinNatur, vintage, viticulture, Wine, wine buyers, winemakers on June 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Le bellissime colline di Verona
During the second week of April, I had the opportunity to attend VinItaly – one of the largest and most well-attended trade shows for wine professionals – and two smaller, organic off-shoot shows: VinNatur and Vini Veri. These tastings brought growers, suppliers, sommeliers, and wine buyers together near picturesque Verona. It was a very special opportunity to taste wines alongside the growers, a process that is important in gaining a true understanding of the wines on our shelves and the farming behind them. Attending a show like VinItaly is the next best thing to actually visiting a producer. (more…)
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