2018 Slow Wine "Snail" producers . . .

Every year, the Slow Wine Guide awards the symbol of the snail to wineries that are aligned with Slow Food values and that manage their vineyards without any herbicides or pesticides while also maintaining exceptional quality at affordable prices.  Here are the awardees for 2018 in the new guide from my portfolio of wines.  Congratulations to all of them for their hard work and dedication and for making great wine.

Abruzzo

Cirelli

Praesidium

Friuli Venezia Giulia e Slovenia

Ronco Severo

Piemonte

G.D. Vajra

Trentino

Pojer & Sandri

Veneto

Montesantoccio – Nicola Ferrari

 

Francesco Cirelli at work . . . clay pot style . . .

Francesco Cirelli in Top 100 from Wine & Spirits Magazine!

Hi,

We have all of these in stock and in good quantity.  So glad that the wines are loved.  

​

Francesco Cirelli 2013 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 94 points (06/15)

This trebbiano, from an organic farm in Atri, gains its deep golden color and luscious texture during eight hours of skin maceration. When it’s first opened, it has an oxidative richness, with orange notes—both citrus and carrot—and a creamy, expansive minerality. It’s fresher a day later, warm and cool at the same time, still rooty, with crispness to balance the open, yielding texture. Fans of Emidio Pepe’s long-lived trebbianos should take note.

Francesco Cirelli 2013 Trebbiano d'Abruzzo Amphora Aged 93 points (06/15)

Decant this and its rough, rooty edges begin to integrate with the initially raw scents of vanilla bean and rosemary. The toasty flavors of lees aging align with tangy, citrusy fruit into the layered, delicate richness of a millefeuille. It lasts, tingling with mineral acidity and freshness. Cirelli makes this from a parcel of 30-year-old vines, the oldest that he farms.

Francesco Cirelli 2013 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Amphora Aged 92 points (06/15)

When Francesco Cirelli established his 54-acre organic farm near Atri in 2003, these vines were already in place; one-third of the farm is now in vineyards, the balance in mixed agriculture, including geese, garlic and olives. He produces a burly montepulciano, this vintage youthfully concentrated with dark fruit and brisk, intense tannins that give it a rich, tarry, impacted feel. There’s plenty of energy in the fruit to keep it fresh as those tannins mellow. For the cellar.

Call or email me for your order or to taste some wine.

And the new container has arrived . . .

Praesidium Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva 2010

Vettori Valdobbiadene Prosecco Brut

Masiero Verdugo 2011 (100% Merlot from the Veneto)

G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2011

G.D. Vajra Barbera d'Alba 2012

G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba 2014

G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole 2011

Tre Monti Petrignone Sangiovese Riserva 2011

Love the new package!

Tells you everything you need to know.

Favaro Rosacherosanonsei Rosato of Nebbiolo 2014

Cirelli Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo 2014

G.D. Vajra Barolo Chinato

Vettori Valdobbiadene Prosecco Extra-Dry

Tre Monti Thea Sangiovese Riserva Superiore 2011


And that is just the beginning.

What I learned at VinItaly this year . . .

New wines from Abbazia di Propezzano arriving May 15th 

Hi,

Back from VinItaly.  I go every year and every year I have some sort of sickness that prevents me from fully enjoying the week but this year, I was good, and it was amazing to be (almost) in full form for the fair.  I was sick the week before so was still recovering a little but it turned out great.  The only thing that I didn't like was that I missed my family very much this year.  A week away is rough on my lovely wife and a week away is a long time for the children, who grow so fast and change so fast.  It is tough to leave them, but hopefully worth it so I can try to make a good living and give them a great environment of love and security as they grow and mature.

Things I learned this year:

1. Doing my research before arriving is key to having a successful fair.  I pinpointed a few needs in the portfolio and went out and found them after researching beforehand.  I picked up four new producers that will be arriving in the fall.
2. Don't trust other importers to be as honorable as you are or do what you would do in a given situation.  It is a competitive marketplace out there and good wineries of a certain size and style are actually not that easy to come by.  All is fair in love and wine importing but I guess I am a little old fashioned and try to not cross certain lines.  Others importers may not see the same line in the same place as I do.  
3. Use the resources I have in the country to my best advantage.  With some of the hottest producers in Italy in my portfolio, I need to use them to find and attract other talented winemakers to my portfolio.  And it works.  
4. Always stay the whole fair.  I confirmed two of the four deals I made at the fair on the last day. The crowds are gone and people are relaxed and the masks come off and you can really talk with people and connect.
5. Remember why I go in the first place.  I love the Italians, I love the food, and I love how I feel when I am in Italy.  I feel like I am nineteen years old again and having the experiences of a lifetime ahead of me.
6. Lastly, I need to remember to trust my gut.  Whatever my first instinct of a brand is usually the best and most clear picture of them I am going to get, before I get influenced by them, by others, by the urge to do right by people and to be nice and to be seen as a nice guy.  That doesn't make for good decisions.  And this year, I think I avoided most of that.

When I started this five years ago, only one of my wines was imported by other importers in the U.S.  Now, almost all of them are in NY/NJ and some others are in multiple states.  I am proud of them and hope that their success continues to expand.  Producers like Cirelli went from being totally unknown to being one of the producers with the most "buzz" at the fair.  It is thrilling to see a producer grow and change and become something prized in the market.

The wines of Francesco Cirelli.

A birthday gift for Francesco Cirelli

Around Italy in 6 days . . . can I make it?

A little love for Cirelli's Anfora Montepulciano . . .

I ran into this woman at the Wine House in Los Angeles by chance.  She was asking Lance, the wine buyer if he knew where she could find this "great wine a friend of mine brought to dinner last night" and on her phone was a picture of the Cirelli Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2011 Anfora!  Turns out it was out of her usual price range, but she bought it anyway!  She was so excited about it that I had to get a video of her for Francesco.

Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Anfora love from Do Bianchi!

Jeremy Parzen has a great blog called Do Bianchi and recently wrote up the Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo Anfora wines from Francesco Cirelli.

Below is a link to the post.  Enjoy.

from Jeremy Parzen's blog, Do Bianchi

http://dobianchi.com/2012/10/03/amphora-aged-cerasuolo-dabruzzo-almost-as-good-as-sex-cc-sottola/

Rinascimento - Harvest Update from Az. Ag. Cirelli in Abruzzo!

From Francesco Cirelli . . .

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

"Ciao!

Here I am with a short update concerning vintage 2012 @AgricolaCirelli.
On sept the 26th I harvested the montepulciano grapes for making the cerasuolo amphora. Outside temperature 25 degrees C, nice and fresh with a morning fog which has been blown away too soon unfortunately.

Going into the anfora (amphora)

Grapes were is a good shape and health; 20 babo grades. The colour of the must is simply charming and I felt in Provence for a while… I used the free-run must only.

On sept 27th and 28th I harvested the grapes for the montepulciano amphora instead. Outside temperatures went up to 29 degrees (S#]t!)  Again: healthy with a well balance; 20 babo grades as well and free-run must only.

Free run juice

During the night of the 27th the cerasuolo and the montepulciano musts have naturally started the fermentation;

Fermenting must

great emotion this early morning to see the bubbles bubbling within the amphoras…" Un abbraccio, Francesco

Looks fun.  Wish I could be there.  A huge hug to Francesco and Michela from the West Coast!

Harvest Update - Az.Ag. Cirelli - Day One

Hello!

Here I am with  some notes from day 1.

Trebbiano d'Abruzzo

June and july were terribly dry but fortunately I carefully green harvested this year leaving leaves enough to shade the grapes and prevent any extreme warm during the day.

Also, Sunday a benefical rain came together with a cold wind from the north which both helped to calm the temperature down.

Cirelli basket press creating a starter cuvee

Today it was Trebbiano: 15 quintals of hand selected and harvested grapes for creating the piede de cuve.

18 BABO, nice and fresh acidity, good tannin maturation. From 15 quintals of grapes we had 10 quintals or must which is now decanting for 24 hours. The fermentation will start naturally and we are going to use these 10 quintals to start the fermentation of the rest of the trebbiano musts.

Soon with other updates.
Cheers,
Francesco

2012 Garlic Harvest at Agricola Cirelli

As I am sure I have let you know many times, Agricola Cirelli does not only make wine. They grow garlic, figs, wheat, geese and olives.  It is one thing after another from now until the end of the year.  Strangely enough, or maybe not so strange, but Francesco doesn't even eat garlic as it doesn't sit well with his stomach.  So proud to be representing Agricola Cirelli.

Raw garlic: così è dopo la raccolta e l’esiccamento di circa 10 giorni 
This is how it is after the harvest and drying for around 10 days.

Per un prodotto eccellente occorre pulire e selezionare l’aglio migliore!
For an excellent product, you need to clean and select the best garlic!

Dopo la pulizia, le teste dell’aglio vengono immesse nella macchina “calibratrice” che serve a dividere le teste dell’aglio a seconda della loro dimensione.
After the cleaning, the heads of garlic are put into the calibrating machine that serves to divide the heads of garlic by their size.

The final result: nearly 100 quintals (100kg) of beautiful, organic garlic.

Si festeggia la fine della raccolta! Michela con i nostri cari collaboratori
Celebrating the end of harvest.  Michela, Francesco's new wife, with their dear collaborators.