Lunch with Francesca Vaira at Terroni DTLA . . . best lunch ever!

Francesca Vaira 

2010 Langhe Freisa Kye` Library 

2006 Langhe Freisa Kye` Library

2014 Luigi Baudana Serralunga d'Alba

Barolo Chinato

N.S. Della Neve Spumante (50% Nebbiolo- 50% Pinot Nero)

2014 GD Vajra Ravera, Luigi Baudana Cerretta and Baudana and GD Vajra Bricco delle Viole

2006, 2010, 2014 (current vintage) GD Vajra Langhe Freisa

GD Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

G.D. Vajra

White Wine

2013 Langhe DOC, Riesling

2015 Langhe DOC, Riesling

Sparkling Wine

NV Metodo Classico Rosé, N.S. Della Neve

2017 Langhe Nebbiolo DOC , Claret JC

Red Wine

2014 Barolo, Ravera

2014 Langhe Freisa DOC, Kye`

2014 Barolo, Bricco delle Viole

NV Barolo Chinato

Luigi Baudana (familia di G.D. Vajra)

Red Wine

2014 Barolo, Baudana DOCG

2014 Barolo, Cerretta DOCG

Library Wines

G.D. Vajra

MYSTERY WINE 

2007 Dolcetto d'Alba Classico

2004 Barolo, Bricco delle Viole

2005 Barolo, Bricco delle Viole

2006 Barolo, Bricco delle Viole

2007 Barolo, Bricco delle Viole

2006 Langhe Freisa Kye` 

2010 Langhe Freisa Kye`

Many thanks to Max Stefanelli and his lovely wife Francesca for being the best hosts ever at Terroni DTLA.  Best lunch ever!

New videos from G.D. Vajra website . . . . this is a little about Milena Vaira, matriarch . . .

Barolo Tasting at Tofino Wines - Tuesday November 3rd

Barolo Tasting November 3rd, 6-8 PM

TOFINO WINES Tuesday Tasting 15:3 On Tuesday, November 3rd, Giuseppe Vajra will pour a selection of 8 wines from his family's estate G.D.Vajra, including outstanding Barolo, Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato d'Asti and several surprise library selections.  G.D.Vajra remains a favorite among wine buyers (including everyone atTOFINO WINES!) and industry insiders for producing wines of incredible finesse and elegance. In fact, Giuseppe and his father Aldo consider themselves "clean traditionalists," working to highlight each vintage's unique characteristics. Aldo began thewinery in 1972, producing small quantities of Piemontese wines from vineyards planted by his father in 1947. The fruit was sold to other producers until Aldo bottled his first vintage in 1978. Today, the family has more than 150 acres of vines spread throughout the region. 8 Wines will be tasted! (until sample bottles run out.)  $20 Tasting Fee, applicable to the purchase of two or more Vajra bottles the night of the tasting. Interest in this tasting is extremely high, and space is limited. Tasting will begin at promptly at 6 PM.

Giuseppe Vajra and his father Aldo Dolcetto grapes, G.D. Vajra vineyard   Giuseppe Vajra celebrates a successful 2012 harvest

Barolo dinner at Terroni with Giuseppe Vaira

BAROLO and TRUFFLES... a match made in heaven!   The Terroni Winemaker Dinner Series continues with:   BAROLO winery G.D. VAJRA   - 5 course menu - *5 wine parings included*     Thursday November 5th, 7pm Terroni Beverly - 7605 Beverly Blvd     Barolo is arguably the most important red wine of northern Italy. These are some of the longest aging and most complex wines in the country. However, there are other important grapes to be discovered here, including the ancient indigenous FREISA that the Vajra family helped put on the map.   Join us and the charismatic Giuseppe Vajra to learn -and taste- more. MENU   - Crochette di Baccala - salt cod croquette - Tortino di Spinaci - traditional Piemontese spinach flan, Parmigiano Reggiano - Agnolotti del Plin - house made pasta filled with veal, black truffle shavings - Brasato al Barolo - braised beef short rib slow-cooked with roasted baby vegetables - Salame Dolce di Ciocolato - bittersweet chocolate, hazelnuts, zabaione sauce     Hosted by: Chef Antonio Giordano Sommelier David Alfano   $95 per person plus tax and gratuity     RSVP: davefano7@gmail.com - seating is limited -

Slow Wine San Francisco . . . good fun was had by all . . .

A whole bunch of wines from my portfolio were selected for the Slow Wine guide this year but it is pretty expensive for the smaller producers to make it over this way and to NY etc so usually it is just G.D. Vajra that decides to make it.  And frankly, it is better for me to just have one of my guys here as it would get really complicated otherwise.  But maybe next year I will have them all come over and we can put them all on one side of the room and see how that works out.  In the meantime, here below are some pictures from before the tasting.

Bringing out the big map!

You are not funny, Justin!

Slow Wine likes G.D. Vajra

2013 Dolcetto Coste e Fossati

2010 Barolo Ravera - first vintage and sold out!

2010 Luigi Baudana "Cerretta" tastes really expensive.

The new single cru Barolo from G.D. Vajra - RAVERA

"It’s a true joy to introduce you to our new single vineyard bottling, Barolo Ravera. Ravera is a superb cru. Located in the southwest quadrant of the Barolo zone, the vineyard runs north to south across Comune di Barolo and Novello. It sits to the west, at the same latitude of Bussia and Ginestra in Monforte d'Alba and Falletto in Serralunga d’Alba. The dominant soil type here is “Arenarie di Diano”: a mix of clay and sands, which is especially rich in iron. This translates into a very vibrant yet dense Barolo that promises a fabulous evolution over time.

Our beautiful block is shaped like an amphitheatre. We have been farming it since 2001 and produced Langhe Nebbiolo until 2008. In 2010, fate and nature smiled on us and we decided that this must be our debut vintage. Only 3,000 bottles will be released from this initial harvest.

Antonio Galloni of Vinous, rated Ravera as an “Outstanding” vineyard, which means, “Sites [that] often produce wines of true personality and class.” - G.D. Vajra

I tasted the wine at VinItaly this year and was blown away.  Maybe it was because it was new, maybe because it was Ravera, maybe because it was 2010 . . . I am not sure.  But for whatever reason, this wine tasted fantastic.

It will be arriving in October and I would like to see how it tastes then.

found at Ava Gene's in Portland . . .

2001 G.D. Vajra Barolo Bricco delle Viole

New arrivals of G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba 2011 and Barolo Chinato . . .

The 2011 Dolcetto d'Alba from G.D. Vajra is in stock and tasting great.  From a really warm vintage, even though the stated alcohol is 12.5%, I would definitely say that this wine punches like it is heavier.  That ripeness of the vintage I don't feel in the mouth as much as in the nose, where the wine is unusually spicy, almost like it had seen some oak, but as I know this isn't the case, extremely exotic.  Clove and licorice seed come to mind.  But of course the wine retains that great acidity and sweet fruit of Dolcetto.

The new Barolo Chinato from G.D. Vajra is also in stock and if you haven't ever had a great Barolo Chinato, this is it.  Fashioned in homage to the Capellano Barolo Chinato, great friends of The Vajra's, this Barolo Chinato is a stripped down version, made from only 16 different herbs and spices using the Barolo Albe in any given vintage as the base.  The label depicts the herbs and spices in the wine.  Of course, the most prominent of the botanicals is quinine bark (which is "china" in Italian and, hence, the source of the drink’s name, Chinato).  Quinine is a natural anti-malarial compound and has been used for centuries to protect against that disease.  Quinine is the tonic in tonic water, just FYI.

For our purposes, the G.D. Vajra Barolo Chinato is a perfect digestivo to calm the stomach after a big meal and it is also most widely used as the amaro in cocktails.  My favorite cocktails using the G.D. Vajra is still one whipped up by Erik Adkins of Heaven's Dog  a few years ago.  Or you can add it to any Negroni recipe to make it extra spicy.

The Italian Fog

2 oz Millers Gin
1/2 oz G.D. Vajra Barolo Chinato
1/2 oz Apricot eau de Vie
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup

served shaken, not stirred

The Barolo Chinato can be ordered by the bottle and it comes in 750 ml.

Cheers.

Justin

Aldo and Milena Vaira with their first grandbaby

Aldo Vaira as you have never seen him before . . . with his first grandchild . . . and his lovely wife, Milena . . .

Giuseppe Vaira lunch at Il Moro . . .

So, every once in a while, instead of doing the dog and pony show with a supplier, it is fun to get a group of people together to taste the new vintages of a wine and eat some good food together and look at the wines in the context of how they pair with food.  The modern way of selling wine on the wholesale side is you trot around with open bottles and taste wine buyers at their place of business and gauge their reactions and take orders or don't take orders depending upon how much they liked the wines.  But all of this is done in a pretty shallow fashion as the buyers don't have much time to devote to learning about the wines and the tastings are done fast and without food and there is little or no contemplation.  But if that same buyer can sit down with the producer, relax a little bit and get the chance to taste the wine in the context of a meal and be able to ask questions between sips of wine and bites of food, this changes the dynamic between the wine and the buyer and the winery.

Last week, I had a chance to have a group of buyers join Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra and Luigi Baudana at Il Moro in Los Angeles to share a meal and drink the new vintages of G.D. Vajra and Luigi Baudana wines.

Decanting really brings the young wines to life

Here is the list of wines for the day in the order we tasted them:
NV G.D. Vajra N.S. della Neve Spumante
2011 G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba
2010 G.D. Vajra Barbera d'Alba
2009 G.D. Vajra Barbera Superiore
2009 G.D. Vajra Langhe Freisa "Kye`"
2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo "Albe"
2008 G.D. Vajra Barolo "Bricco delle Viole"
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo "Cerretta"
2008 Luigi Baudana Barolo "Baudana"

Below are some photos of the wines as we decanted them.

The Barolo "Cerretta" is tasting pretty darn sexy right now.

Freisa, Barbera, Barbera Superiore et al.

Freisa, Barbera d'Alba

Barolo Bricco delle Viole, Dolcetto d'Alba

The wine and food were a perfect match.  The Tagliata di Manzo was heavenly but I was one of the only ones to get it.  We must be in L.A.!

A great time was had by all and of course, a huge thanks to Giuseppe Vaira for his friendship and the greatness of his family's wines.

Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra Winery in San Francisco next week . . .

Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra winery will be pouring the 2008 G.D. Vajra Bricco delle Viole Barolo and the 2009 G.D. Vajra Barbera Superiore at the Slow Wine 2013 tasting in San Francisco  Monday, February 4th

12 - 4 pm

Terra Gallery 511 Harrison Street

Members of the trade can register here but there is no public tasting.  :-(

G.D. Vajra vineyards in Winter . . . .

Isidoro Vaira took these pictures the other day around the G.D. Vajra winery.

G.D. Vajra is in the little frazione (township) of Vergne.  

The roses at the end of the rows in the vineyard popping their heads above the snow

Best to stay inside next to the fire and drink some good wine.

Looks like some good wines for a winter's day.

Would be great to taste a  Barolo from Vajra that is this old . . .