Out and about yesterday and these were some of the wines that were tasting amazing . . .

Domaine Courbet Cotes de Jura Chardonnay 2015, Paul Chapelle Santenay "Gravieres" 1er Cru 2007,
Davide Carlone Boca 2012

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

Favaro ROS

"La vigna è a 400 mt su terreno ripido e con tanti sassi di granito."
The vineyard is at 1200 feet on steep terrain and with lots of stones of granite.

"La vinificazione è fatta in tonneaux aperto e macerato per 3 settimane. Solo follature delicate e nessun rimontaggio."
The vinification is in open topped wooden fermenters and macerated on the skins for three weeks.   only delicate punch downs and no pumpovers.

"Poi rimane 14 mesi in barrique di 3 o 4 passaggi, nessun travaso."
Then it remains 14 months in three or four year old barrels, no racking.

"Messo in bottiglia senza stabilizzazione e filtrazione."
Bottled without filtration and cold stabilization.

"Un vino dove cerco eleganza e purezza."
A wine where I am searching for elegance and purity.

"Spero piacerà anche in California!"
I hope they like it also in California!

300 bottles made 

Camillo Favaro

Waiting for the action to start at The Wine Country in Signal Hill

G.D. Vajra Barbera d'Alba 2010
G.D. Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba Coste & Fossati 2011
G.D. Vajra Langhe Nebbiolo 2010
G.D. Vajra Barolo Albe 2008
G.D.Vajra Moscato d'Asti 2011

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 . . . 

Wine Dinner with Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra next week . . .

&

Wine Dinner with Giuseppe Vaira of G.D. Vajra and Luigi Baudana

Wineries, Barolo

Wednesday, February 8^th 7pm

@ 3 Square Café, Venice

White Bean Crostini & Parmigiano

“N.S.Delle Neve” Sparkling Langhe

Taleggio & Pear Risotto

2010 Chardonnay Luigi Baudana, Langhe

Wild Boar Stew with Mushrooms over Polenta

2009 Barbera Vajra & 2009 Nebbiolo Langhe Vajra

Cheese selection from Piemonte

2006 Barolo Albe Vajra

69.50 per person + tax and tip

Limitied seating , please call for reservation # 310 399 6504

Vajra's harvest: Fact Sheet- Barbera d'Alba DOC SUPERIORE

Fact Sheet- Barbera d'Alba DOC SUPERIORE

The Wine


Designation: Barbera d'Alba DOC
Wine type: red dry wine
Variety: Barbera 100%
Bottle size: 750 mL


The Vineyard

An expression of the terroir, our Barbera comes from an exceptional vineyard. Bricco delle Viole is in the Comune of Barolo, our oldest vineyard and a great Barolo cru, with soils rich in magnesium and manganese and very low in iron. Back in the days, farmers used to plant multiple varieties in each hillside. So called progress drove most of the people to focus on one variety per block. Here, we preserve a small piece of history by saving these old vines.

The Farming


Farming: sustainable
Pruning: Guyot mixed system
Ground: natural turfing
Irrigation: no
Green harvest: yes, according to vigor and climate of the season


The Harvest


Harvest: secon half of September to first decade of October
Picking: by hand
Sorting: manual


The Vinification


Vinification: 20-day maceration at free temperature < 32°C.
Method: traditional, punch-down
M.L.F.: during first year of ageing
Ageing: 20-24 months in Slavonian oak casks








TASTING NOTES 2007:

A violet red color followed by great concentration in the nose and mouth classify this 2007 Barbera vintage. Dark fruits, dried herbs, flowers, and liquorice easily coalesce into light mineral notes. Our 2007 vintage Barbera Superiore has a richness and depth that lasts all the way from the nose to the tremendous finish.

“Una Barbera che baroleggia”. This was said to express a terroir driven Barbera with structure and complexity. Somehow, a Barbera that tasted like a Barolo. That’s what we ask to our Superiore: to give us as many facets and emotions of our Barolos, with all the crisp character of its variety.

Vajra's harvest: The King in his kingdom

Vajra's harvest: The King in his kingdom

Fact Sheet- Barbera d'Alba DOC

The Wine


Designation: Barbera d'Alba DOC
Wine type: red dry wine
Variety: Barbera 100%
Bottle size: 750 mL


The Vineyard

This Barbera is a harmony of six vineyards expressing both the ancient Helvetian and Tortonian soil types of the Piemonte. The vines planted in calcareous soils (Tortonian soil type) produce much more delicate, aromatic wines with bright acidity and tones of wild berries. These are characterised by the sweetness in the mouth and their smooth texture. Helvetian soils offer instead wines full of perfumes of ripe black fruits that differ for their soothing aromas, bold tannic structure and minerality. These characteristics, mixed with a soil high in iron develops a wine with a fleshy richness.

The Farming


Farming: sustainable
Pruning: Guyot mixed system
Ground: natural turfing
Irrigation: no
Green harvest: yes, according to vigor and climate of the season


The Harvest


Harvest: second half of September, but this year we will start during the second week of September
Picking: by hand
Sorting: manual


The Vinification


Vinification: 15-day long fermentation at free temperature <31°C.
Method: traditional, with punch-down
M.L.F.: following alcoholic fermentation
Ageing: 14-16 months in French and Slavonian oak casks

Bottling according to evolution and moon cycle, usually at the beginning of the summer of the second year after harvest.

TASTING NOTES 2009: A violet red color alludes to the sweet, dark fruits which make for a distinctive fragrance and rarefied elegance. The powerful nose leads to a rich, concentrated and smooth mouth. The black fruits melt into mineral and graphite notes, leaving a sublime finish. We classify the Barbera as rich and long-lasting, yet intriguing and complex.

Vajra's harvest: Picking

Vajra's harvest: Picking

G.D. Vajra 2009 vintage report with photos

G.D. VAJRA

2009 vintage report / part 1

OTTOBRATE!

Barolo, martedì 13 ottobre 2009

Cari amici,

As you all know, I am quite allergic to any kind of newsletter or “news from the winery” and always try to avoid any communication, even if asked a few times. Blame it on me.

But Sunday morning something happened. Something so unexpected that made us all happy and thankful and I couldn’t but write to share this happiness with you all.

We woke up at 6am, not too early for a harvest day at Vajra, but early enough to see the last part of the night fading away and letting space to the dawn. The sky was bright, no clouds, and plenty of stars, with a crispy wind and a temperature of 11°C (52°F, roughly 9 Celsius degrees less than the previous day!). So, when finally the sun came, we could see the glory of a perfect Nebbiolo day: no clouds ( we have had a foggy, very Piemontese weather for the previous two weeks, which culminated on a light rain in the night between Friday and Saturday), no humidity, a strong wind from the Alps that dried the night dew and the residues of the week-end rain in a bunch of hours. And –oh yes- I could finally see the Monviso (that tall and lonely mountain that you see in the distance, in the picture above, sorry for the poor quality of the image). Monviso is the first mountain I see every day from my window, and to see it again after days and days of Nebbia, you can’t imagine the pleasure of that moment!

My father said these days are called OTTOBRATE, let’s say “the October days”, when the last sunshine comes to Piemonte, the sun is warm, but the cold continental winds already fight and ram the Alps to overcome them and conquer Italy. It’s a perfect combination of climatic factors for a rough variety such as Nebbiolo, and you can feel it, just by standing in the wind.

So, where is the point? We left some of our Nebbiolo grapes still ripening on the vines. We risked, as usual, and left some of the fruit behind to wait for a perfect phenolic ripening, despite the alert of rain for the week-end. As always, our risk is a move of hope: we look the sky and simply ask for some more days of good weather. What if we were unheard? Well, we would use that fruit for some table wine. But with that genius of my father, hazard is quite safe and there we are.

We have been harvesting yesterday and today but only picking two or three bunches per plant. The others won’t ripen until next week. Max temperature today was a quite chilly 18°C (64°F) and will drop down to a very cool 7°C (44°F) tonight, for the second time in a row. The daily sunshine and wind are drying the fruit, with a maximum increase of approx. 1°Babo = 0,6 Beaumé a day. The night cold is helping the synthesis of the aromatic compounds, which I imagine will be terrific. And when I look the skins, still thick and strong, and the stems, and see the pedicello (the portion that connect the berry to the stem) is red, I freak out.

Ok, got to go back to cellar now. Sometimes during the night I will complete my thesis report, since I am getting my degree on the 23^rd. Anyhow, I promise I will be diligent and write you more about the 2009 vintage in a bunch of weeks. Here a few pictures taken in the last days.

A presto

Giuseppe per Aldo, Milena, Francesca e Isidoro Vaira.

Barolo village and castle, from La Volta vineyard where we harvested today. Exposure: south-south-east, around 12am.

Nebbiolo from a CVT-142 clone.

Average data for the 142 clone (one of the 6 planted in La Volta Vineyard):

Mosto: concentrazione zuccherina elevata (22,6 %), acidità pronunciata ma equilibrata (pH 3,02 - ac. tartarico 9,20 g/l - ac. malico 3,10 g/l).

Vino (da microvinificazione): rosso rubino molto intenso (antociani tot. 88 mg/l); intenso profumo florale e speziato, etereo; gradazione alcolica elevata (13,3 %), acidità sostenuta ma equilibrata (pH 3,30 - acidità tot. 6,29 g/l), tannicità moderata (polifenoli tot. 1,60 g/l); particolarmente adatto all' invecchiamento.

Gabri, il braccio destro di Aldo. He has been with us for almost 20 years, and he is still one of the few in short-sleeve today… look at the blue sky above, no clouds on the horizon.

A picture of some days ago: Aldo with Federico, Maria Jose ( a young Chilean winemaker) and Claudio on the sorting table.

Vajra Elvino Tasting, Venice, CA

Wine Tasting with Giuseppe Vajra of G.D. Vajra ~ Barolo

photo of Giuseppe Vajra courtesy of David McDuff
McDuff's Food & Wine Trail

http://mcduffwine.blogspot.com

Date:	Thursday, March 12, 2009
Time:	6:00pm - 9:00pm
Location:	Elvino Wines
Street:	1142 Abbot Kinney Blvd
City/Town:	Venice, CA

Phone:

3103969705

Description

Next Thursday, March 12th, Elvino Wines in Venice, CA will have the pleasure of welcoming Giuseppe Vajra, scion of the famous G.D. Vajra winery of Piemonte, Italy,
into Elvino.

Giuseppe will be pouring a special tasting of G.D. Vajra wines alongside me, your good friend, importer and sommelier Justin Gallen of Rinascimento Wine Company.

Join us for this special event, Thursday, March 12th, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

We will taste the five wines below with fresh baked bread provided by Three Square Café & Bakery and cheeses from Market Gourmet.

$20.00 per person (an incredible value!)

2007 Langhe Bianco DOC (Riesling) $45.00 (Retail)
2007 Dolcetto D’Alba DOC $23.00 (Retail)
2006 Barbera D’Alba DOC $30.00 (Retail)
2005 Langhe Kyè DOC (Freisa) $45.00 (Retail)
2004 Barolo, Brico delle Viole DOCG $75.00 (Retail)


“I try to make wines that give people joy. In the past wine was a food, it was necessary for sustenance. Today that is not the case; we choose to drink for pleasure. I want to make wines that bring people happiness.” ~ Aldo Vajra