Monthly Archives: May 2024

May 31, 2024 · 5:13 am

Azienda Agricola Vallarom: Certified Organic Vegan

In March Federica Schir (federica@federicaschir-pr.com) invited Michele and I to a wine tasting in Rome of wine made by 4 producers that she represents.  The producer from the Vallarom Winery was not present but Federica told us about the wines.

The winery is located in the municipality of Avio, south of Trento, in the Italian wine-growing region of Trentino-Alto Adige.  It occupies a special place in Trentino,at a narrowing of the valley in the southern part of the Vallagarina, and north of Lake Garda. There are 7 hectares of vines.  The name Vallarom derives from an old place name.

Ezio Scienza and his wife Giuseppina took over the winery in 1998 after the death of his grandparents. Their son Riccardo has joined them in the business.

Since 2011, Vallarom has been certified as a producer of organic wines. They cultivate to produce an organic and authentic wine and only natural yeasts are used.

The family have always liked to experience new production techniques, both in the vineyards and in the cellar. At the same time they are committed to environmentally friendly viticulture.  Beginning in 1999, they abolished the use of chemical pesticides and decided not to use any chemical products for phytosanitary defense. From 2004, they only use copper and sulphur.  The winery is also Certified Organic Vegan.

The wines

Vò Millesimato made from 100% Chardonnay.  The soil is limestone from the Dolomites and there are 4,500 vines per hectare. The training system is simple  pergola Trentino. Grapes are harvested by hand and softly pressed. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature with 20% in barriques  Aging takes place on the lees for 30 months. It is disgorged without dosage.

Vallarom 72 Rosé de Saignée Vino Spumante Di Qualita’ Dosaggio Zero  made from 100% Pinot Nero.. Soil is limestone from the Dolomites There are 4,r00 vines per hectare. The training system is simple pergola.Grapes are harvested by hand and subjected to soft pressing. Maceration of the grapes for 18 hours before fermentation and then fermentation with indigenous yeast at a controlled temperature . The wine remains on the lees for 72 months  and the wine is disgorged without dosage. This is an elegant Metodo Classico Spumante with hints of red fruit strawberry and raspberry with a very pleasant after taste

Chardonnay made from 100% Chardonnay from vineyards in the province of Levine. The exposure is south, south/west at 200/230 meters.  There are 5,200 plants per hectare and the training system is simple pergola Trentino or pruned spur cordon. The soil is limestone from the Dolomites. Grapes are harvested by hand  the first week of September. After a soft pressing, the must is racked into barrels for the fermentation and an aging period that lasts 11 months. This is a full-bodied and fresh wine, with a fragrance of green apple and vanilla, hints of white flowers with a touch of dried fruits.

Syrah in Rosato Anfora made from 100% Syrah.  There are 6,500 grapes per hectare. The training system is espalier with guyot pruning. Grapes are harvested by hand and after a soft pressing, fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts in Tava amphora with no temperature control. After aging for 8 months in the same amphora it is then put in bottle for 3 months before release.  Full-bodied and structured thanks to the variety, elegant, fresh, scent of black fruits and spices. Very savory.

Pinot Nero made from 100% Pinot Nero. The soil is limestone from the Dolomites and there are 4,500 vines per hectare. The training system is guyot and simple pergola Trentino. Grapes are hand harvested and carefully destemmed. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks with no temperature control and the wine is in contact with the skins for 12/15 days. The wine is aged in used barriques for 12/14 months and 6 months in bottle before release.   It has hints of red  berries, cherry, spice, blackberry,  a touch of chocolate and a note of almonds in the finish. This is a wine that will age.

Fuflus made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Syrah. The soil is limestone from the Dolomites and there are 6,500 vines per hectare. The training system is guyot and simple pergola Trentino. Grapes are harvested by hand and carefully destemmed. Fermentation is in truncated cone barrels without temperature control with skin contact for 15/18 months. The wine is aged in barriques for about 18 months and in large barrels for 6 months and then 6 months in bottle before release. It has hints of green pepper, blackberry, cherry,  bell pepper, coffee and chocolate. The wine will age for a number of years.

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May 23, 2024 · 2:10 am

The Legacy of Mario Schiopetto

The wines of the legendary producer Mario Schiopetto have been a special favorite of mine since Michele and I visited Friuli in the 1980’s.  So I was very happy when I was invited to a tasting of the wines by their distributor, Nunzio Castaldo of Panebianco Wines.

The speaker was Alessandro Rotolo, representing the Rotolo Family who now manage the Mario Schiopetto legacy. The estate passed into the hands of the Rotolo family in April of 2014.

The Mario Schiopetto winery is located in Captiva del Friuli in the province of Gorizia. The DOC is Collio. They also have vineyards in the Colli Orientali in the Province of Udine.

Alessandro said it all began in 1965 when Mario produced his Tocai, the first modern white wine of Friuli, and brought international recognition to the region. In the 1970’s, he travelled across Europe with noted Italian wine and food writer, Luigi Veronelli, and even visited California with other prominent  Italian producers.

Ponca, the typical Friuli terrain composed mainly of clay and limestone, is the unique terroir that defines Schiopotto wines.  Alessandro said that all the wines are vinified and aged in stainless steel. Malolactic fermentation does not take place

Friulano, formerly known as Tocai,  is indigenous to Friuli. Alessandro said the name was changed from Tocai to Friulano (a much harder name to pronounce) after a long EU dispute with Hungary.  Today it is the most popular white wine in Friuli and if you ask for a glass of white wine they will give you Friulano.

The Wines:

Collio DOC Friulano 2021 Magnum made from 100% Tocai Friulano first produced in 1965.  The soil is mainly clay and limestone and the training system is guyot and double overturn. Manual harvest is the last week of August and the first week of September. Fermentation is for 10/12 days in steel tanks at a controlled temperature.There is an additional pied de cuvee at the start of fermentation. The wine is aged in steel tanks for 8 months and a minimum of 8 months in bottle before release. This is a complex wine with hints of pear, apricot, wildflowers,  a touch of grapefruit and a note of almond. Note:  This rare magnum came from Alessandro’s personal cellar. He asked that we taste the wine and then taste it again later to see how it evolved in the glass. $ 30

Collio Friulano 2018 Made from 100% Friulano (Tocai). This is a complex wine with hints of pear, apricot, citrus fruit and a hint of almonds and touch of flint.

Alessandro then spoke about Pinot Grigio.  The vines ares grown in medium marly soil and produce small bunches with round grey berries.  Like Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio  derives from the bud mutation of Pinot Noir.

All of the wines are made from 100% Pinot Grigio and are Collio DOC  The training system is guyot and the grapes are hand picked the second and third weeks of September. There is a soft pressing of the grapes and the a brief period of decantation in the total absence of sulphur dioxide. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature for 10/12 days. The wine is aged in stainless steel tanks for 8 months and a minimum of 5 months in bottle before release.

Collio Pinot Grigio 2022.  Flavors of  banana, passion fruit, lemon, peaches, and citrus fruit $28.

Next we tasted the following older vintages of this wine.  As the wines got older, the flavors and aromas became much deeper and more pronounced with more honeysuckle and tropical fruits.  None of the wines showed any sign of age.  The 1999, a 25 year wineThe, was more than amazing.

Collio Pinot Grigio 2018 $28

Collio Pinot Grigio 2015 $49

Collio Pinot Grigio 1999. $?

After tasting the wines I was very happy to see that the Rotolo family have been true to the legacy of Mario Schiopetto.

Schiopetto also produces another line with the label which was first used by Mario Schiopetto back in 1965, known as Del Pompiere “to the fireman.” These wines were not included in the tasting.  The historic label was introduced with the 2019 vintage.  Mario’s family owned Osteria al Pompieri, and at one time, he was a fireman and truck driver and he used his fire truck to deliver his wines.

For more information on the wines and where to by them contact

Panebianco Wine. (212) 685-7560. 1140 Broadway NY, NY

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May 16, 2024 · 1:34 am

Three Wines with Dinner

Last week friends came over the dinner and I opened 3 bottles of wine that I had gotten as samples.  Our meal consisted of 3 courses.

Berlucchi ’61 Rosé Brut NV made from 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from the best vineyards in the 19 municipal areas of Franciacorta. The harvest takes place from the middle ten days of August to the first 10 days of September. There is a gentle, gradual pressing of clusters with fractioning of the must; alcoholic fermentation in steel vats. A few hours’ maceration of the Pinot Noir on the skins (rosé maceration) to emphasize the aromas and hue of the grape assemblage. The assemblage of the cuvée is in the spring following harvest with the contribution of 5% of reserve wine consisting of the previous year’s cuvée aged in stainless steel for one year. Second fermentation takes place in the bottles and maturation sur lie for a minimum of 24 months followed by an additional 2 months after disgorgement. Residual sugar 6.5g/l. The wine has hints of citrus fruit, cherry, strawberry, brioche and a touch of spice. The “61 line is a tribute to the “birth of Franciacorta in 1961 and to the year Berlucchi produced the first method  classico sparkling wine.” $45

Note: In 1955, Guido Berlucchi, the holder of the noble Berlucchi name, called enologist Franco Ziliani to his home in Lombardy to consult with Ziliani on how to improve his unstable white wines. Ziliani suggested instead creating French-style sparkling wines, and thus the Berlucchi wine dynasty was born in 1961 with the release of the winery’s first bottles. Soon after, in 1967, Franciacorta became a recognized designation due to Berlucchi and Ziliani’s experimentation. Today the winery is run by Ziliani’s three children. 

The wine was a perfect combination with crackers topped with smoked salmon and creme fraiche.

Grillo Sicilian DOC 2022 Stemmai made from 100% Grillo. The grape is native to Sicily and is used for the production of Marsala. Grillo prefers sandy terrain that is sloped and gets a lot of sunlight. The  training system is espalier and there are 450 plants per 2.5 acres. Grillo is an average-to late varietal with maturity reached about the second week in September. The collection of the grapes, pressing, and destemming is totally covered in the air (a method of vinification called “reduction”). The natural settling and fermentation take place at a controlled temperature of 18 degrees for 10 days. Maturation on the lees takes 5 months in steel tanks. The wine has hints of tropical fruit, notes of mango and papaya with a touch of jasmine and white flowers. $13. Note: Sustainably farmed.

With this wine, we had pasta con le sarde, pasta with sardines, raisins and fennel.

Nero D’ Avola  Sicilia  DOC “Gazzerotta” 2021 Tenuta di Famiglia-Pellegrino 1880. Made from 100% Nero d’Avola from the Gazzerotta Estate, Mazara del Vallo, Province of Trapani. The soil is clayey rich in minerals and the vineyard is at 20 meters. The vineyard is subject to water stress and at risk of high maximum temperatures due to its distance from the water. Harvest starts in mid-September. There is a long maceration at a controlled temperature until alcoholic fermentation is completed. The wine is then aged at least for 24 months in steel tanks and barriques. This is a soft red wine with good structure.  It has hints of red fruit, violets, sweet spice, cinnamon and a note of chestnut honey.$15

Note: Gazzerotta is the name for the elegant black and white magpies that fly over the bare fields in autumn.

We enjoyed this wine with rack of lamb crusted with Sicilian pistachios.

Everyone appreciated the opportunity to taste these fine wines for the first time.

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May 13, 2024 · 1:27 am

Wine from the Island of Giglio

In March, thanks to Federica Schir (federica@federicaschir-pr.com), Michele and I visited Tenuta Casenuove in  Panzano in Chianti. There we met Alessandro Fonseca  the General Manager of the state and an agronomist.  He told us that the owner is Philippe Austruy, a French entrepreneur, art collector, and wine lover, who also owns prestigious wineries in France and Portugal.

At the end of the tasting of the wines of Tenuta Casenuove,  we saw a short film about another of Mr. Austruy’s wineries located on the island of Giglio, the pearl of the Tuscan archipelago. With the help of Alessandro, Mr. Austruy purchased a vineyard corner of uncontaminated land whose terraced rows are supported by ancient dry stone walls.  The vineyard is 1.2 hectares and it overlooks the sea.

From the beginning, the Tenuta Isola nel Giglio project focussed on Ansonica, a grape variety that has thrived in the terroir of this Mediterranean island over the centuries.  After watching the film, it was easy to  understand why Mr. Austruy was so fascinated by the beauty of the island.

According to tradition the grapes are harvested by hand from the Finoccio vineyard.  The workers carry the boxes of grapes on their shoulders through the holm oak woods to the access point closest to the road.

Careful monitoring of the temperature-controlled fermentation of the must with the pomace encourages the development of a tannic texture without excesses. The wine is refined in porcelain containers – a contemporary evolution of terracotta amphorae – and wooden barrels. A rest in the bottle follows the refinement to give this multifaceted wine time to best express its potential.

The Wine

IGT Toscana Bianco “Scoglio Nero” 2019 made from 100% Ansonica, Soil is granitic sands dating back to a million years ago. Mediterranean climate characterized by hot and very dry summers, very little rainfall especially during the growing season of the vine. Harvest takes place the first ten days of September.

The grapes, harvested rigorously by hand, are de-stemmed when delivered to the cellar, fermented without pressing and vinified in steel containers at a controlled temperature. The duration of maceration continues throughout the alcoholic fermentation phase and, depending on the degree of maturation, can also continue in the subsequent phase of aging on the lees. Part of the wine obtained is aged in second and third passage barriques, while the remaining part is aged in stoneware containers, to ensure the right degree of micro-oxygenation necessary for the evolution of the tannic matrix extracted during the maceration phase. Aging is for 30 months of which 18 is in the bottle. The wine was bottled on October 6 2020.  The wine is put on the market three years after the harvest after adequate rest in the bottle.

They produce only this one wine and only 800 bottles.

The name Scoglio Nero to a toponym that pays homage to the dark rock formation of the Island.

The wine has hints of ripe yellow peaches, medlar, helichrysum and chamomile, delicately tropical  fruit, notes of thyme and marjoram and a touch of hazelnut. It has a very pleasing aftertaste and a long finish.

I felt very privileged to taste this rare and special white wine that will age.

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May 6, 2024 · 1:56 am

Bill’s Blend

BILL’S BLEND is the name on the label of Bill Whiting’s new line of wines.

Bill is an old friend and though he has been in the wine business for many years, his dream of creating his own wines was only realized when he successfully bid on one ton of Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and a French/American oak barrel while he was attending the Washington Grape Growers Association annual fundraiser.   It was a life-changing experience.  Soon he was able to produce the first vintage of BILL’S BLEND which was released for family and close friends. The wine was a smashing success.

Anyone that knows wine or has been in the wine business knows Bill and his long association with wine. His family has been in the wine business since 1919. America is home but Italian blood flows through his veins.

His grandfather was born in Connecticut in 1895.  At a young age,”Pop” was sent to Italy and placed under the tutelage of his Aunt Teodolinda, who supervised the household staff for Pope Pius XI.  Teodolinda was passionate about hospitality and oversaw the cellar for the Pontiff. “Pop” mirrored her enthusiasm the two passed their knowledge to Bill’s mother Joan, who in turn motivated Bill and his brothers.

Bill’s Blend Rosè Red Mountain AVA 2022 made from 52% Malbec, 50%, Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Petit Verdot all from the Kiona “Heart of  the Hill” single vineyard in the Red Mountain AVA at 784 feet. The soil is 53% Warden silt loam, 45% Finley stony and fine sandy loam and 2% Scooteney silt loam. The training system is bi-lateral cordon. Harvest is from October 14 to November 1.  100% Saignée tank fermentation in stainless steel for 14 days. Only the free run juice which is the highest quality juice is used because it has no contact with the seeds (pips) and skins. The wine is then aged in stainless steel. No malolactic fermentation. The wine was bottled August 14, 2023. This is a Rosè that will age for a few years. $25

Note: All net proceeds for the 2022 Bill’s Blend Rosè were donated to five different  Maui charities to help them rebuild after what has been deemed one of the deadliest wildfires in U. S. history.

Bill’s Blend Red Red Mountain AVA 2020 made from 78% Cabernet Sauvignon Sauvignon, 12% Malbec and 10% Petit Verdot from Kiona “Heart of the Hill”(86%) and Thurtle (14%) vineyards.  Soil same as above as is the training  system. Harvest is from October 6th to 24th.  Each variety was hand sorted  and fermented separately.  The whole berries were destemmed and crushed and fermentation is for 14 days on the skins for 14 days. The wine is aged for 32 months in French oak of which 30% is new with a medium roast. The wine was bottled on August 14, 20023. The wine has hints of red plums, cassis, raspberry, black cherry, a hint of violets and a touch of cocoa. This wine will age for 10 to 15 years. $48

Note: Located on a southwest-facing slope in south central Washington, a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Seattle, Red Mountain is one the smallest, warmest and most sought-after wine growing area in Washington State (and the world).

The samples were delivered  by Bill in person

To find out where you can buy these wines, write to  bill@billsblendwine.com.

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