Picture the rolling hills of southern Tuscany in medieval village of Montepulciano on a beautiful day with all your friends and family and the woman you love…This was the long time dream that we realized on June 25th. Getting married in Italy was easily the happiest and most memorable moment of my life! The wedding itself was over two years in the making, filled with lots of intercontinental communication, stress and ultimate joy that made it all worthwhile. After the wedding the family and friends (all 60 of us) slowly dispersed into the Italian countryside to complete our travels; Adriana and I were off to Greece for 3 weeks! Read on for more and tonight’s lineup…In our travels we visited 5 islands including Crete, Thira, Naxos, Mykonos, and Lesvos finishing things up in Athens. It was the first time that we have relaxed since we decided to get married in Italy! The food and wine mixed well with the unbelievable scenery and endless Aegean vistas. Tonight we celebrate my return to The Wine Bottega (which I truly missed and looked forward to returning to!) with some of my favorite selections. Some bring back great memories of our fantastic journey and others are simply things my WIFE and I love!
2005 Adanti, Arquata, Montefalco Rosso, Umbria, Italy
Adanti is located in the hills of Bevagna, the area known for the production of Sagrantino di Montefalco. Over the last thirty+ years, the Adanti brothers Domenico and Pietro have made their mark on Umbrian winemaking. In 1974 they started the Adanti winery, with its headquarters located on the hill of Arquata, where they recovered and restored an ancient convent that belonged to the congregation of Fillipini monks, built on rests dated back to Roman times. From the late 1970’s up until a few years ago, the cellar was run by Alvaro Palini, who was responsible for lowering yields in the vineyards and modifying the vinification techniques to promote better balance and quality from the famed sagrantino varietal. Montefalco Rosso is a local DOC wine appellation that must contain at least 15% Sagrantino but can be blended with other varietals as is done here: 65% sangiovese, 15% sagrantino, 10% barbera, 5% merlot, and 5% cabernet sauvignon. The wine is barrel aged in large traditional botti for up to a year before bottling. To me this represents real Italian wine. Adriana and I lived together in the nearby capital city of Perugia and have since been in love with Umbria, the lesser known, more rustic region just south and east of the picture perfect Tuscany. The head table drank sagrantino on the wedding night so it was an easy choice to include one of my personal favorites!
2006 Cantine Gulfi, Rossojbleo, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Sicily
Founded in 1995 by Vito Catania, the Gulfi estate has quickly gained the reputation as one of the finest Sicilian producers of Nero d’Avola and Carricante. They have stunning old vine Alberello trained, dry-farmed vineyards in the historical sites of Monti Iblei and Pachino in southeast Sicily. Shortly after the winery began production it was expanded to encompass two unique winemaking zones, the Monti Iblei property which features high altitude vineyards that rest on compact marl soils rich in limestone and the older vineyards in the Val di Noto, famed for its Nero d’Avola. The “Rossojbleo” means “rosso of the Ibleo mountains” and is a young, fresh styled 100% nero d’avola that comes from slopes 450metres above sea level. The incredibly high vine density (8900 vines per ha) produce low yields of this bright and vibrant nectar that is very reminiscent of the similarly styled Cerasuolo di Vittoria wines so typical of this tiny, but very important, micro-region. We have been very eager to introduce these unique wines from Gulfi, who to us represents the forefront of Sicilian wineries. All his wines are organic/biodynamic so be sure to try his other wines that we have worked hard to seek out including his powerful and nervy white wine made from 100% carricante!
2008 Az. Agr. Trerè da Ra, Pagadebit di Romagna Frizzante, Faenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
In the late 1960’s Valeriano Trerè founded the small Azienda Agricola Trerè with the purchase of some 14 ha of vineyards in the low-lying hills of Faenza, a historical town in the Emilia-Romagna countryside. The Trerè family had always worked the land in the typical Italian fashion, producing enough to sell and support the family, while making a little extra for their own consumption! As her father aged and his daughter Morena grew up and started a family of her own she had a revelation that she would love to continue the work of her father in the field and in the winery. Today the family run estate has 35 ha under vine with local varietals such as albano, cagnina, and this little surprise mostosa, locally called “pagadebit zantil” because years ago this fast growing, high yielding varietal was used to pay off debts to land owners. In the typical style of north-central Italy this wine is quite dry but has a characteristic “fizz” making it light and refreshing and perfect for summer…in Greece that is!
2008 Scholium Project Naucratis Lost Slough Vineyard, Siusun Valley, California $30/$27/$24
Hmmm… Where to begin to describe these wines. I think it is important to start with the fact that Abe Schoener prefers no to think of this as a winery at this stage, but rather still a project. Given his background as a professor of Greek philosophy, he aptly chose the name Scholium, which signifies “a modest project, not a preeminent one, undertaken for the sake of learning and understanding”. He caught the winemaking bug while on sabbatical in 1998 and was interning at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. By 2000, he was making micro-cuvees and starting to create a ruckus in the wine world. He fully admits that many of his “experiments” are undrinkable, but he has also achieved some remarkable feats. The wines are always intriguing, unexpected and complex. Abe considers this release of Naucratis, which is 100 % verdelho, to be his best yet and we were thoroughly impressed. The good news is that his prices have come down from the peak of the crazy curiosity surrounding the wines over the past few years. Now it is where is should be and an exciting journey for your palate and mind!
2007 Tenuta Farneta, Chianti Colli Senesi, Farneta Italy $14/$12.60/$11.20
Drive down the winding roads from the towering village of Montepulciano and across the fertile Valdichiana and the roads will again start to gently rise towards Farneta. This little hamlet is known primarily for its early Romanesque Abbazia di Farneta, which was built by Benedictine monks in the early years of the 1st millennium AD. Today this beautiful abbey has been brought back to its original glory and is surrounded by endless fields of sunflowers and vines that are just a stone’s throw away from Villa Petrischio (the Villa where our reception was). Tenuta Farneta is a small Chianti producer with its winery in the nearby town of Sinalunga. The focus of the winery is simple and traditional high quality Chianti from the hills surrounding Farneta, so this means sangiovese! Here the grapes are hand harvested and sorted before vinification in stainless steel to retain freshness. The wine is then aged for 6 months in large “botti” which are common in the area. Here is a chance to essentially taste the wine that all 60+ of our friends and family enjoyed over the many, many course wedding feast!
2007 Gaia Wines “14-18h” Rose of Agiorgitiko, Nemea, Greece
The Gaia winery was founded in 1994 through a partnership between agronomist Leon Karatsolas and one of Greece’s leading wine figures, Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, who happened to be at The Wine Bottega recently! In our conversation with Yiannis we learned much about his revolutionary wines. Why revolutionary? Well Yiannis is arguably the country’s most prolific, well-respected and influential winemakers and he is determined to solidify Greece as a terroir-driven wine region, something that hasn’t happened since the end of the Hellenistic Era! Hailing from the northern Peloponessos in the province of Carinthia, Nemea is known for its local agiorgitiko grape varietal, which creates wines of great color and flavor in the sandy limestone hills. The rose offering from this winery is an absolute delight, perfect for grilled vegetables, salads and grilled fish. The 14-18h refers to the amount of time they allow the skins to be on contact with the juice, yielding its vibrant hue. This is currently featured at one of our favorite places in the North End, Neptune Oyster Bar.
