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 . . . 

The vineyards of San Polino in May . . .

Great video of Luigi Fabbro of San Polino in Montalcino talking about how he farms his grapes and makes wine . . .

Terroir and Vineyards

South-east of Montalcino, near Castelnuovo dell’Abate, between Montalcino and Monte Amiata, in the Val d’Orcia. South-facing over the valley of the Ribusuoli river. Height above sea level 400-450 metros. The soils of San Polino range in their texture from sandy-loam to clay-loam with a rich scheleton presence. Interspersed throughout the fields are large areas of galestro (shale) and red earth. The soil is well drained and has a good water permeability and, at the same time, good water retention. A satisfactory natural presence of the essential nutrients necessary for healthy vine growth means that only a minimal quantity of fertilizers are ever used. In many years they are not used at all. The vineyards face south and slope downhill at a gradient of 22%.

Sun all day due to its south-facing slopes. An almost constant southern breeze coming from Monte Amiata maintains a fresh and healthy climate where the need for fungicide spray is reduced. San Polino is surrounded by shrubland and woods. 25% of its area comprises a maintained wilderness in order to promote the rich presence of indigenous biodiversity, maintain a self-regulating balance in its environment and reduce the need for anti-fungicides

Taking a drive with Aldo Vaira to check on the progress of flowering in the vineyards . . .

Aldo Vaira

Looking from the Baudana vineyard in Serralunga towards Castiglione Falleto and way in the back towards the Castle La Volta in Barolo.

Just the beginning of flowering on a nebbiolo vine

Some haven't even opened up yet.

And more . . . 

Giuseppe Vaira

Steep vineyards in Sinnio (right outside the Barolo confines near Serralunga)

In the old days, these Sinnio vineyards used to be able to be labeled as Barolo and from what I have heard, lots of the older producers sourced grapes here.

Looking down the hill from the top of the Sinnio vineyard.

Verona by night . . .

Found some pictures of Verona I took in April while wandering around the city at night.  After downloading them from the camera, I just forgot I had them and moved on but I looked again and found something in them that I had passed by when immediately home from my trip.  I love cities, especially medieval cities, at night; there is a stillness to them and silence to them you don't find in modern cities.

 I stopped at this square and then realized that underneath all the arches were homeless people sleeping.

Crossing the bridge and looking towards the Ponte Pietra . . . 

 And moving the camera a little too much . . . but I like it . . .

 

Drink of the Week Profile - Part 1

skyler-brown  Wednesday, February 15, 2012
http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/2012/02/visit-the-hills-of-abruzzo-italy-without-leaving-home-part-1/

This week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Justin Gallen, an Italian importer and one of his producers, Francesco Cirelli, a winemaker from the eastern Italian region of Abruzzo. In the first part of this interview series, Gallen discusses his passion for wine and the qualities it must possess before he brings it to the United States.

Drink of the Week (DOTW): You’re a sommelier and Italian importer of fine wines. How did this all come about and have you always had a passion for wine?
Justin Gallen (JG): I’ve been in the wine business for about 20 years. I was the kid who wasn’t interested in getting beer. I always wanted a gallon of Burgundy or Bartles & Jaymes or wine coolers or whatever else it happened to be. I’ve always been fascinated by wine.

DOTW: How do you find your producers?
JG:  I’lI go to the organic and biodynamic fairs that take place in Italy a couple times a year and meet the producer and taste their wine. I met Francesco by chance. He was given a list of importers and sent out a blind email with his contact information and website. The website looked professional and the wines looked good. When we met, I tasted the wines, looked at the package, and said “yes,” right away.

DOTW: What do you look for in a wine?
JG: The wine has to be very, very good and at a really good price point. I’m looking for wines that are food-friendly. Wines that have a little less alcohol and a little more acidity, so that it pairs well with a different range of food and won’t overwhelm. I’m also looking for wines that will age well, because it’s important to drink wine at many different times of its life. In its youth, when it’s got a lot of fruit and it’s beautiful and exciting and vibrant, and then at its middle-age, when it’s gained a little bit of sophistication and it’s turned into something a little bit more interesting, and of course, in its older age, when it’s gained a sort of delicacy and wisdom for a wine that you won’t find in a wine that’s youthful.

DOTW: You chose the word renascimento for the name of your business. Why?
JG: Renascimento means renaissance in Italian. It represents the rebirth and revival of the types of wines I would like to find in the market. Hopefully the wines that I’m importing are providing a rebirth or revival or renascimento for the people who taste them, so they discover a new world of wine that they never knew they had.

Visit Rinascimento Wine Company.
Visit Cirelli to learn more about their wine and other products.

Drink of the Week Profile Part 2

skyler-brown     Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Justin Gallen, an Italian importer and one of his producers, Francesco Cirelli, a winemaker from the eastern Italian region of Abruzzo. This week Cirelli emphasizes the importance of organic and biodiversity farming, a concept he puts into practice back home in Italy.

Drink of the Week (DOTW): What types of wine does Cirelli produce?
Francesco Cirelli (FC): First of all, we are respectful of the sense of place. They have to be wines that are showing the characteristics of the place where the wines are being produced. Second, they have to be as natural as possible meaning that, yes, we are certified organic.

DOTW: Where does your wine come from?
FC: We acquired an estate in 2003 in Abruzzo. It’s an eastern Italian region of Italy on the same latitude as Rome. Whereas Rome is on the west, we are on the east. We don’t have any background in agriculture, but we really wanted to experience something new. We really wanted to change our life and try to focus on different values. Since the beginning, we wanted to have a full farm concept and organic, so we decided to plant the new vineyards, but at the same time we planted the fig trees, we planted garlic, we planted olive trees. This is extremely important if you want to be a real, organic farm. It’s rather better to have different cultivations instead of being a monocultural kind of farm. We also started breeding geese. Now, we have 300 geese going around the farm naturally feeding the soil and controlling the weeds.

DOTW: What are some of your other products?
FC: We produce wines, extra-virgin organic olive oils, fig marmalades, fresh garlic. We also produce hams and salamis from the goose meat and a very nice marmalade from the Montepulciano grapes. We have about ten different products.

DOTW: Can you talk a little bit about the winemaking process?
FC: It really depends on the style of wine. Now we are producing two different styles. The first is a little bit more of a daily wine. A little bit easier, great drinkability and low in acidity. Those wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks. The second style is a little bit more, I would say, philosophical or a little more complicated. We decided to use a very old container for fermentations which is clay. They are 800-liter clay vessels. Two different winemaking processes, two different styles.

DOTW: Can you choose a favorite?
FC: The favorite is the amphora-fermented wines. They are the more artisanal containers. Those are the containers where you are obliged to intervene manually and you can use nothing except for your body. If you have to clean, you have to go inside with your swimming suit and clean the vessel. You cannot use anything else. This makes for a more emotional process. It’s the one that requires more effort. It’s you and the clay vessel, that is all.

DOTW: Mr. Gallen, on your website you’ve said something very beautiful, “Every time I open a bottle, I want to be taken on an adventure of the mind. I want to be transported to another place and another time… another world.” Where does Cirelli’s wine take you?
JG: The reason why people are fascinated by wine is that it does transport you. When you taste the Montepulciano, the Cerasuolo, the Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, you can feel yourself being taken to the Italian countryside. You smell the flowers, you smell the herbs in the soil, you smell the flavors that are coming from the grapes and you can feel the sun on the grapes and the sun that, then, is on your shoulders as you are transported into that environment. It truly is the one alcoholic beverage that provides you with a sense of place and a sense of history and a sense of being in the moment… and Francesco’s wines definitely do that.

http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/2012/02/visit-the-hills-of-abruzzo-italy-without-leaving-home-part-2/#.Tz9K_NTRqbI.blogger


Visit Rinascimento Wine Company.
Visit Cirelli to learn more about their wine and other products.

http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/2012/02/visit-the-hills-of-abruzzo-italy-without-leaving-home-part-2/

De Montille 2005 Beaune Sizies tasted (in French) . . .

Tasted way too young, but she seems to like it.  "Superbon!"

A preview of the 2009 vintage from Etienne de Montille at Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet . . .

Turns out that 2009 was a fantastic vintage for reds and whites from Burgundy.  Chapeau!

G.D. Vajra 1/2 bottles make great stocking stuffers . . .

Moscato d'Asti is the essence of summer in a glass. With aromas of peaches, apple, apricot, and pineapple and flavors to match, this wine, if you can call it a wine, is the perfect antidote for the winter blues.

Harvested the first week of September, this is usually the first wine out of the gate to consumers providing some quick cash so that the other wines that will be in barrel for many months to come have a safe home. But don't let it fool you. A good Moscato can last for years, especially in those vintages with high acidity.

The Vajra Moscato is a little hidden gem of a wine. Only a few hundred cases are made and only recently has it been offered here in the states.

I have 1/2 bottles and full bottles for sale of the 2009, but I would go for the 1/2 bottles as they will fit nicely in the stocking.

Cheers.

Looking for a new name for my import company . . .

. . . and I want your help!

Rinascimento Wine Co. has served me well. It was truly a rebirth when I created this company three years ago. That said, since no one can pronounce the company name (except the Italians) and no one knows what it means (except the Italians), it is time to move on.

Thus, a contest is born. A case of my finest wine to the winner!

What is in a name? What makes it resonate with customers and clients?

So here are some helpful hints:

1. This is an Italian wine import company but I represent other importer portfolios, too.
2. Must not already be taken!
3. Latin is good but somewhat rough for some. No Bacchus, please.

That is about it.

Let's get the press some grapes and see what kind of juice comes out!

J

Giuseppe Vaira at the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills

Giuseppe pouring wines from behind the counter.

The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills was nice enough to have Giuseppe come in and run through a series of his wines for about 30 people in the store, after hours, paired with various cheeses and meats selected by Tony Princiotta. The wines were a huge hit (except for the little Japanese lady who vomited into her hand after the tasting . . . but we think that was from the cheese!) and everyone loved Giuseppe's warm and relaxed attitude.

The Cheese Store is packed.

The menu for the evening.

Giuseppe talking about Barbera d'Alba.

Me, Tony P, Giuseppe, and Erik Kelley having a good time.

Visit to Macea by Erik Kelley of Cheese Store of Beverly Hills - Part 5

Antonio and Erik

Some local cheese for the folks.

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.

Harvest notes (in Italian) from Castel Noarna in Trentino . . .

Ricomincia la vendemmia

August 25th, 2009

Il caldo straordinario della settimana scorsa ha portato ad una maturazione anticipata. L'uva è bellissima molto sana e con gusto pieno, come annata assomiglia al 2007.

Nel frattempo in cantina l'uva da base spumante vendemmiata la settimana scorsa sta gia fermentando.
Eccovi alcune foto prese stamattina a Castel Noarna.

Tullio alla pressa

August 25th, 2009

Giulio in vendemmia

Eccoci alla fine della giornata a riempire la pressa. L'uva è veramente splendida !

L’ultimo chardonnay …

September 3rd, 2009

Ieri abbiamo vendemmiato l'ultimo chardonnay del 2009. Il 'pergola doppia' che di solito è il nostro migliore, quello che normalmente viene selezionato per le riserve come il Campogrande e l'Emotional Wine. Anche quest'anno la qualità sembra ottima.

Oggi Gewurztraminer !

September 9th, 2009

Ecco. un'altra foto delle nostre uve del 2009

Nosiola

September 10th, 2009

Oggi è il turno della Nosiola ...

Lagrein e Merlot

September 11th, 2009

Visto che il tempo è bello e l'uva matura abbiamo vendemmiato anche i rossi. Uve dolcissime molto sane. Per i rossi potrebbe essere un'annata eccezionale !

Riesling e l’ultima Nosiola

September 25th, 2009

Questa vendemmia è senz'altro eccezionale. In 20 anni che facciamo vino a Castel Noarna non è mai successo che il tempo in vendemmia sia così favorevole.

(This harvest is without a doubt exceptional. In the 20 years that we are making wine at Castel Noarna the weahter has never been this favorable during harvest.)

Ieri e l'altro ieri abbiamo terminato la vendemmia delle uve bianche.

(Yesterday and the day before we finished the harvest of white grapes.)

Abbiamo raccolto una bellissima Nosiola (sua sorella ha già finito di fermentare ...). L'uva si presenta ancora sanissima ma più matura e con aromi più evoluti. Questo ci permetterà di fare un vino ancora più complesso formato dal blend delle due vendemmie. Anche questa come la sua sorellina sarà fermentata spontaneamente con i suoi lieviti indigeni.

Nosiola 2009

Nosiola 2009 e la Vallagarina

Abbiamo raccolto anche il Riesling Renano. L'uva aveva caratteristiche straordinarie per questa varietà: 19 babo e 6.5 per mille di acidità. Per molti questi dati non vorranno dire molto. In pratica significa circa 13 gradi di alcool naturale con una buona acidità (che da freschezza al vino). Il Riesling contribuirà al Bianco di Castelnuovo 2009.

Riesling Renano 2009

Cabernet Sauvignon - la vendemmia è finita !

September 30th, 2009

Lunedì 28 e martedì 29 abbiamo vendemmiato il Cabernet Sauvignon. Il nostro storico vigneto (ormai ha 20 anni, uno dei primi vigneti a spalliera in Trentino !) quest'anno ci ha donato un uva straordinaria.

Assaggiare i chicchi del Cabernet Sauvignon quest'anno era una vera delizia: frutto, acidità, croccantezza della buccia, sanità .... Una vendemmia eccezionale !

Cabernet Sauvignon

Il castello

I filari di Cabernet