Industry Meets Artistry: A Tasting of Lombardy

Since the Middle Ages, Lombardy has been the epicenter of big Italian business, be it silk and textile manufacturing around Lake Como, banking in Milan or mining and metallurgy in Brescia.  In terms of a wine region Lombardy’s got it all!  From the refined bubbles of Franciacorta (Italy’s rival to Champagne) to the crisp and full white wines of Lake Garda, not to mention the regional endearing oddities of the Oltrepò Pavese with their unique fizzy fruit and the big boys of the alpine Valtellina, where the local nebbiolo (chiavennasca) creates a sublime counterpart to Barolo. 

Wines from Valle D’Aosta (Italy)

As you turn North from Torino you leave behind the rolling foothills of the Langhe and start to climb towards Europe’s highest peak and border with France: Monte Bianco. Once a colony of Piedmont, the Valle D’Aosta was ruled by the House of Savoy for over a century. The heights of Gran Paradiso Nature Reserve collide with the often swollen banks of the Dora Baltea River where vines, grasping to the steep mountain pistes, thrive. The soils are predominantly glacial moraine so grape choices and wine styles are primarily determined by altitude (300 - 800m). This is Italy’s smallest wine region and many of the wines never make it outside the Valle D’Aosta, never mind overseas. These wines are fresh and bright and would be perfect for a summer picnic, but they are also beautiful with rich game and charcuterie, fitting for the cold New England winter. 

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Selections from the Terry Theise Portfolio with Derek Whitaker

Terry Theise is known as a prophet, a master, a hedonist, a glutton, a dork. He is celebrated for his exceptionally expressive wine descriptions that venture far from the "hints of blackberry and cocoa" that inundate mainstream wine reviews. Sex, drugs, music, religion and just about anything else are fair game for his eloquent and witty tangents which have led many to look at wine in a whole new way. He is also this year’s recipient of the prestigious James Beard Foundation Medal for the Nation’s Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional for his role as a champion of small-producers making "real" wines. We are extremely pleased to have Derek Whitaker with us this evening to guide us through the tasting. Derek works with Atlantic Importing Co. and is one of Boston’s most respected wine experts (and a great guy!). We are sure he will dazzle you with his extensive knowledge of these wines from Austria and Germany.

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