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Crazy Good Wine in Umbria

Frank Cipparone Umbria , , , 1 Comment
Crazy Good Wine in Umbria

Round trip airfare for two to Rome: $1410. Eight nights at an agriturismo near Montefalco: $750. Spending an afternoon with Giampaolo Tabarrini: priceless.

The seeds were planted at Slow Wine Italy’s February trade show in Manhattan, where I met Daniele Sassi, Azienda Tabarrini’s PR and marketing director. He insisted that a planned viaggio di vino in Umbria must include meeting the winery’s head man, adding that his compadre “is a little crazy.”

Tabarrini is crazy all right… like a fox. He’s a dynamo of passion and enthusiasm, bursts of energy flying from him like atoms in a reactor. Proudly showing us the work in progress that will make his cellar the area’s largest, he explains that space is needed for the long-term projects and creative ideas fermenting in his restless mind. He’s the shark who must keep moving or expire, always trying, as he puts it, “to move forward and step up to the next rung of the ladder. This motivates me to push my work to the next level every time.”


Which explains taking a chance on Grero, one of those rediscovered grapes that keep popping up in Italy. A decade ago Tabarrini’s DNA research showed it to be an indigenous varietal and he gave it a shot. “Clearly in Umbria we have unique native grapes that are different from anywhere else,” he adds. “My work is bound to them and to the context of Montefalco.”

The result is Piantagrero, a not-yet-released, 100% varietal stunner he defines as a versatile wine. As Sassi pours from an unlabeled 2015 (one of only a hundred made), I ask Tabarrini where he hopes to go with this oddball grape. “It’s not going to be us taking Grero anywhere in particular, but rather it taking us somewhere new. When the wine is special, it’s the wine that will lead us somewhere.”

Destination unknown, it’s weirdly appealing and geeky. Sassi calls the vibrant reddish-purple color psychedelic, and it certainly resembles a high school lab experiment gone haywire. Unlike most reds, Piantagrero is vigorously fruity and highly acidic, an unusual combo of tingling mouthfeel and savory ripeness. There’s nothing to compare to this quirky brainchild of Montefalco’s excitable boy, who calls it the “natural evolution of traditional winemaking to becoming a maverick.

“My wines and I have the same character,” he continues. “They come from my way of thinking and taste… They mean a lot to me… They are my creatures.”


Grero’s story may be uncertain, but that of Tabarrini’s Sagrantino has been written. A fourth generation winemaker, he was the first in Umbria to bottle single vineyard Sagrantino in 2003. He believes that “the single vineyard concept is absolutely the most interesting thing we can do in wine. Noticing that the same type of grape can be so drastically different when it’s coming from single vineyards makes me think there can be different versions of the truth.”

The truth is that he makes his three expressions of Sagrantino the same way, eliminating the variables to showcase variations in altitude, exposure and, as he points out, especially the soils.

Tabarrini pulls no punches about his flagship grape. “Sagrantino is a great wine. I can easily put it among the five or six best wines of Italy. People in other regions have started to realize the wines can’t age as well… When it’s young, it’s surely difficult, but even a 2010 already has smoothness and depth. This lets me think that bottle will have a great evolution, like a Barolo would from a great producer.”


The Sagrantino we taste validates his single vineyard theory. Colle Grimaldesco is beautiful, the least broad shouldered of the three. a balance of elegance and rich flavors of cherry and blackberry in a firm tannic structure. Colle alla Macchie is the big bad wolf of the trio that blows me away with its muscle and woodsy, tarry depth. Campo alla Cerqua is the bruiser, a wallop of power and finesse, Muhammad Ali in a bottle. Warmth, depth and complexity make it a Sagrantino for veterans of the vine. There’s already a lot going on, but time is on its side. To my mind, Tabarrini’s best.

Afternoon turns into evening as we pass around plates of house-cured charcuterie and homemade bread brought to the table by Tabarrini’s parents. Chatting and drinking with two cool guys. It just doesn’t get any better, at any price.

Top image by Mike Madaio. All others via Tabarrini Facebook.

 

When Less Is More

Frank Cipparone Umbria 1 Comment
When Less Is More

Planning an itinerary for a week along Montefalco’s Strada del Sagrantino should be a breeze. With a cantina around every bend in the road, there are certainly enough choices. That’s the problem – so many wineries, so little time. Booking visits at well known places is a sound strategy, but there’s the chance of missing some hidden gems. So, what cosmic force led me to Azienda Francesco Botti? A website that featured a quote from Virgil: “Praise a large estate but cultivate a small one.” A winemaker with an appreciation of the classics was someone I had to meet.

Francesco Botti isn’t a poet or philosopher, just content to be sole operator of Colle del Saraceno. He cultivates only a portion of nine hectares (22 acres) on the western slope of the valley that bisects Umbria, land that has been in the family for over a century. As we sat on a shaded veranda overlooking vines and olive trees, Francesco poured his four wines as his assistant Monica translated. He makes about 2800 cases a year and has no desire to expand, or compete with neighbors who routinely have busloads of wine tourists at their door. “Staying a small producer I can respect nature and its cycles, I can maintain the traditional essence using modern techniques.”

Had he ever thought about hiring a consultant? “My wines have to be the expression of my character, of my ideas, but I can only interpret what every season offers me. I prefer to make my wines by myself. Every year is a challenge, and what the market wants is important but it cannot decide in place of me. An enologist would only suggest the best wine for selling!” He went on to say he wanted his wines to represent his little corner of Montefalco, that consultants sometimes have an identifiable style that can be repeated anywhere.

Giving our glasses of an aromatic Sagrantino time to open, I wanted to get his thoughts on what is important in making wine, and his connection to the land. “I was born among olive trees and vineyards and I felt that nature had to accompany me in my life. So I think the most important thing in making wine is the passion and seriousness which guided me in the difficulties I found along my human and professional paths.”

The discussion turned to Sagrantino being a hard grape to understand and warm up to. Francesco agreed, adding that “…it has a thick skin and bold tannins. Our wines have to withstand strong climatic stress all year from long winter to hot, dry summer. They need to have character, the same character you will find in their fragrance, body and structure. To know Sagrantino you must learn where it is born, lives and grows and the vegetation all around. Only after this you can say you know it.”

The 2012 we were drinking had character to spare, and Francesco’s low key thumbprint was evident. Unfiltered and unrefined, it wasn’t a punch in the mouth or a kiss on the cheek, more a balancing act of power and finesse, of density and structure. A good middle-of-the-road introduction for newbies to a grape that can be ornery. It would be interesting to see what it will be with five to ten years of cellaring.

Author’s note: When you reach a certain age, time may be the wine’s friend, but not yours. I plan to open the bottle that Francesco gave me this autumn!  

The artisanal wines of Colle del Saraceno make a personal statement. They are as serious, direct and unassuming as their creator. Grechetto 2015 was lively and savory, far better than many I had on the trip that were basically forgettable house wines that come in a quarto. It was a literal and figurative eye opener at 10:30 in the morning. Galdino is a proprietary blend of mostly Sagrantino with Sangiovese, Cabernet and Merlot. Francesco doesn’t adjust the percentages from year to year, in contrast to what seems a common practice used to maintain product consistency. As he pointed out, “The wine will change anyway because each season is different.” The proof was in front of me, successive vintages that couldn’t have been more unalike. A duo of smooth, darkly fruity and rich Sagrantino Passito topped off the morning. The older one had the elegance and depth of a vintage Port, the other more like a Tawny that needs time to grow up and fill out. Francesco hopes that his wines “…tell about the land they come from, wonderful and welcoming but hard and reserved at the same time.” On that score he has nothing to worry about.

On the way back , I pictured Virgil sharing a bottle with him, praising his small estate and contemplating the winemaker’s words: “If you learn to listen to nature, every day it teaches you something about life.”

all photos via http://www.cantinabotti.com/

One Great Bottle: Fiamberti Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda 2012

Mike Madaio Lombardy, _reD 3 Comments
One Great Bottle: Fiamberti Oltrepò Pavese Bonarda 2012

I’ve never been a huge fan of Lambrusco, mainly because it can tend towards a cheap candy (think Cherry Chan) flavor profile. Having been exposed to other wine writers and lovers gushing about the sparkling red stuff, however, I’ve tried my best to keep an open mind and sample as many as I can. Perhaps that’s why I took a flyer on this bottle of (non-Lambrusco) frizzante red, just $12.99 at Wines from Italy (out of stock as of this writing).

Confusingly, Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese is made from Croatina grapes, not the variety with which it shares a name. And though a still ‘Bonarda’ can also be made in this new (since 2010) Lombardian DOC, the most common version is naturally sparkling – though only slightly – and features, as the winery puts it (with perhaps something lost in translation) “a peculiar red foam.”

Regardless, Fiamberti Bonarda dell’Oltrepò Pavese Bricco della Sacca 2012 is a fascinating wine on every level. On the nose it comes across as pure old world, with savory, earthy notes, yet on the palate it’s fruity, almost jammy, with a bright freshness accentuated by a touch of effervescence.

Though commonly served with first courses, especially salumi, I went rogue and paired it with chili. That’s right, one of the most difficult wine pairings known to man. Incredibly, perhaps – or knowingly, due to my personal pairing, uh, genius – this wine was an excellent choice for the complex and spicy flavors, as the slight sweetness and refreshing bubbles helped clean my palate after each bite.

#ItalianFWT

This post was part of the May 2017 Italian Food Wine Travel topic on Italian sparkling wine. Here are the other participants:

 

Q&A: Anthony Vietri of Va La Vineyards

Mike Madaio Campania, Liguria, Piedmont, _reD 2 Comments
Q&A: Anthony Vietri of Va La Vineyards

As much as I love all things Italy, especially with regards to food & drink, there’s also something abundantly Italian about supporting and utilizing local purveyors, regardless of nationality. The idea of shipping some delicacy halfway across the world, on the other hand, seems to go against the core principles of Italian food culture – local, fresh, seasonal.

This is the circuitous way of saying I support east coast wineries as much as possible, even if my vinous heart lies in Italy. Thankfully, there’s one Southeastern PA vintner – Anthony Vietri – who can offer the best of both worlds. Nestled in the heart of Kennett Square mushroom country (which produces the vast majority of US-grown fungi), Vietri’s Va La Vineyards grows mostly Italian varietals while carrying on the winemaking traditions of his family.

For a more detailed background on the winery, I highly suggest reading Jeff Alexanders wonderful piece, “Grapes and Ghosts of Chester County Wine Country,” which we published here at Undiscovered Italy last week. (Seriously, go. I’ll wait.)

As for now – we recently caught up with Vietri to ask him a little more about his Italian heritage, and how it influences his winemaking and beyond. His responses follow:

Where is your family from in Italy?
My maternal family is from Liguria & Piemonte (Giusvalla+ Malvicino). My paternal family is from Campania (Vietri sul Mare).

What are some of your favorite characteristics of each area?
The food is just wonderful. Wild mushrooms, truffles, chestnuts, and wild game in the north, and the fish, incredible fruits, vegetables, and crystal clear waters in Campania.

What are some of the traditions you still honor from this area and your family?
All of our cooking, although we lean toward the northern influences. Our farming is heavily focused on Piedmontese varieties, chestnuts, etc.

Describe an undiscovered Italian wine region you love.
I lived for a while in a village called Riomaggiore, in Liguria, before there was a road for cars, and I very much loved it there. At the time (1980s), it was still the 19th century. Folks hung from ropes to pick some of the grapes on the cliff terraces. Every morning women would scale the steep hillsides with baskets balanced on their heads, filled with fruit, wine, cheeses, and bread for the men tending to the vines on the terraces.

How about some undiscovered Italian foods ?
Strangely enough, my maternal family was big into Mate, because some of our folk had migrated to Argentina and brought this custom back with them. They foraged wild greens to make it. They also made a sheep cheese called formagiatto, which I remember hanging in a bag over the sink whenever I washed my hands. Also, as farmers, the family foraged a lot, and ate a lot of small wild birds on polenta. To this day, we love to pick a wild green in the spring called poke, which we serve scrambled into eggs or in omelets.

What’s a favorite food pairing with one of your wines?
I love to have La Prima Donna with wild local goose, and oyster mushrooms. Silk with prosciutto crudo, or fresh warm bread dipped in sauce cooking on the stove. Mahogany with lamb chops from Meadowset Farms in Landenberg, PA. Roasted rabbit, and chestnuts from our yard with Cedar. Sorry, I could go on all day…

You grow many Italian grapes (including some rare ones). Were you inspired to do this because of your heritage or because you felt they were best suited to this climate?
Both I suppose, but that is a very long story!

Which grape has surprised you most?
I love all of our babies, but to be honest I would have to say that out of all the varieties that we have grown, Nebbiolo is the one that truly haunts me.

Photos by Jeff Alexander

Grapes and Ghosts of Chester County

Mike Madaio Campania, Liguria, Piedmont 1 Comment
Grapes and Ghosts of Chester County

This article, written by fellow wine writer and friend Jeff Alexander, was originally posted September 28, 2011 on the now-defunct Examiner.com. As I am currently working on an updated interview with Va La’s Anthony Vietri, it seemed a good time to resurrect this wonderful piece from failed website purgatory. Some of the details have changed but the essence remains the same… Enjoy! ~ MM

The email message is simple. It makes me smile. Still does. The note is a response to an inquiry – my request to visit a Chester County winery I’d heard the good word on, repeatedly. It is brief, honest and bereft of showbiz.

“My name is Anthony and I farm the wines here. We’re not really comfortable talking about ourselves, but I would like to meet you and say hello. I am unfortunately chained to my tractors most every day.”

Already, I like this winemaker. It is what he didn’t say in those three sentences. This guy is no absentee owner with a gilded checkbook. He’s about action and dirt.

I am thankful to find that, in person, Anthony Vietri is willing to talk about himself, his family and his history with the farm-vineyard tucked into a residential area of Avondale. He appears in the upstairs tasting room of the charming, homey barn that houses the public space of the winery, covered in black: Long sleeves, pants and broad rim hat despite the late summer heat. The infrequent breeze through the door offers a thick notion of manure from an adjacent lot. Welcome to mushroom country, home of Va La Vineyards.

Vietri is a benevolently intense grower whose passion for the business is palpable – as any observer to his 10-minute ramble about specialized row tractors can validate. Trailing his gently modulated voice, he walks among ranks of grapes and recalls the multiple generations of family who worked the farm, purchased in 1928, after immigrating from the tiny Italian village called Giusvalla (which is Liguria, northwest of Genoa near the Piedmont border). They were laborers who landed in the greater Wilmington area to risk their lives manufacturing gunpowder and, later, transitioned to mushroom farming, a heritage they imported from the homeland.

The tale of his teenage winery is one of trial and error. The first 15 years were dedicated to planting, cultivating and sussing out which vines were happy in specific areas of the vineyard. “The difficult part about this is it will never be finished in my lifetime,” Vietri laments when describing his experiments with a variety of grape clones, root stocks and approaches to planting. “You just keep getting better and better and refining it.”

Va La has six-plus acres of vines yielding about 25 different varieties including some uncommon grapes like Charbono, Malvasia and Lagrein. More than a couple staffers tout the terroir of the site that draws from the mineral riches and micro-climates blessing the plot. At the highest point, a hilly nob, the land drops off in four directions to constitute a geological booty of rock-filled clay soils well suited for grapes.

Another factor is the steamy fog that emanates from a compost lot next door and drifts over the vineyard. Dubbed “the ghost” by the Va La crew, Vietri claims immeasurable benefit from its temperature-leveling effect. Case in point: The Nebbiolo grape, a lover of slopes and fog, thrives at Va La. “Nebbiolo is planted all over the world and it fails everywhere. It doesn’t even work in Italy,” said Vietri. Almost disbelievingly, he confirmed, “It loves this soil, it loves [the manure-induced phantasm].”

vala anthony

Stopping occasionally to clap away thieving birds that plague his vines, Vietri expounds on the winery’s portfolio. “We essentially make four wines [Silk, Prima Donna, Cedar and Mahogany]… they’re made in different amounts, which makes it difficult because we didn’t just divide the vineyard up four ways and say, ‘OK, equal parts.’ It’s about the soils, the declination to the sun, how the vines grow… They’re separate personalities and they make four completely different wines.”

The serious, painstakingly honed wines are the primary draw at Va La, though the supporting touches shouldn’t be overlooked. Expect a cheery and knowledgeable staff with a flair for cheekiness (a once-over of the website illustrates this point). Food is a central theme and tastings are complimented by locally produced cheeses and chocolate. The Wood Fired Pizza Truck is a regular on site, with customized pies to match the wines. Overall, the apparent intention is to make the visitor feel welcome to relax with good eats, friends and the surroundings – even past closing time if there’s a sunset to ooh over or a bottle to tap. As a bonus, the winery steers busloads of bachelorette partiers – and others of that stripe – elsewhere.

Va La’s bottlings, available solely at the winery, are micro-produced – less than 750 cases annually – and made for food. I sampled them all and have chosen a couple to spotlight here. I’ll also note that my friend and I enjoyed the Cedar and Mahogany selections with our truck-fired pizza wedges, and I purchased a bottle of the latter to cellar at home – which I expect to enhance the payoff.

2009 La Prima Donna “White Label” I loved this zingy, delicious white. During fermentation, Vietri kept the skins – which are red – in the juice for about three weeks, which imbued a golden, almost orange hue he referred to as vin orange. “Makes a much more rich wine,” noted Vietri. “I grew up making whites that way…I don’t care that it’s not clear and white and all that.” This is a standout, an alive and invigorating wine that should appeal to anyone who appreciates a racier style or is looking to take a walk away from the mild side. A blend of Fruliano, Malvasia Bianco, Petit Manseng, Pinot Grigio and Viognier.

2008 Silk This barely tannic lovely is the beneficiary of a gentle process. The grapes – Barbera, Corvina, Carmine, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Nebbiolo – aren’t pressed. Rather, they’re allowed to crush under their own weight in order to minimize tannic infusion from seed and stem damage. The result is a complex wine with a rich aroma, spice and a slight, pleasant funk that will blow off with some air. Aged in stainless steel then briefly kept in oak, it’s smooth as advertised, light and nearly pink. Silk is best when slightly chilled and decanted for an hour or two. Its gentle acidity would fare well with a Thanksgiving spread, fried chicken or fish in a pan.

In spirit, Va La is about “passing it on.” It’s word of mouth, generation to generation. As the wine farmer said, “Everything’s just a constant improvement.” He bottles that notion, year over year, and the staff hand sells it, one on one, taking time to explain the off-color white and the esoteric grapes. Visitors can buy into it or not. It hardly seems to matter as demand outpaces supply. Anthony Vietri will continue to work his land, obsessing over the leaf canopy, fiddling with petite, jerry-rigged tractors and pacing the lanes between his vines. Look closely and you’ll spot him, the optimist man in black, lording over the grapes he knows are meant for Chester County.

vala vineyards

Photos via Va La’s Facebook Page