Invite an Italian — wine, that is — to your Thanksgiving dinner! Here are some of the wines that I have enjoyed in the past year that would go perfectly with the holiday meal.
Otto Uve, Gragnano della Penisola Sorrentina DOC Made from 60% Piedirosso, Aglianico, and Sciascinoso, and 40% Suppezza, Castagnara, Serbegna, Olivella and Sauca. The eight grape varieties in the blend give this wine its name. It is a tribute to the lesser known grapes of the area. The training system is espalier. The vineyard is at 300 meters. Harvest began on September 24th and ended on October 8th. The grapes were hand harvested into boxes of 20 kg. After destemming and crushing, maceration with the skins lasted for 5 days, soft pressing of the grapes in a pneumatic press and fermentation in temperature controlled tanks at about 20C. The wine was bottled in the beginning of December. It should be served chilled and drunk within two years after bottling. $15
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce IGP ‘RossoViola’ (ruby red in color) 2020 Luciano Saetti made from 100% Salamino di Santa Croce. The vines are 40 years old and the training system is guyot and spalliera. Soil is deep grey clay, sand and silt. Harvest is manual. Grapes are crushed and the resulting spontaneous fermented must goes into steel tanks at a controlled temperature. The alcoholic fermentation process is concluded without the grapes being pressed. The sediment falls spontaneously to the bottom of the tank, avoiding any micro-filtering. The spring after a second fermentation takes place in the bottle initiated by the addition of grape must at a controlled pressure and temperature. It is fermented to dryness. After refinement that takes at least four months, the bottles are hand riddled and disgorged. The date of this operation is shown on the back label (complete with day, month and year). The wine has hints of violets and red berries with sweet spice notes and a touch of plums. Organic certified. No sulfur is added to the wines. $21
Cerasuolo D’Abruzzo DOC Malandrino 2024 Cataldi Madonna made from 100% Monepulciano D’Abruzzo. The soil is clay rich in calcareous skeleton and the exposure is northeast. The training system is Pergola and the vineyards are at 1,250 ft. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks for 30 days at 15 to 17 degrees C. The wine then remains in stainless steel tanks until release. It has hints of strawberry and raspberry with a touch of red currants and a hint of rosewater. $23
ll Frappato, Vittoria Frappato Sicily DOC 2020 Valle Dell’ Acate (southeast corner of Sicily) made from 100% Frappato. There are 80 hectares of organically cultivated vineyards. The vineyards are at 100 meters and the soil is black, relatively compact and riddled with white stones. The soil structure makes it possible for plant roots to oxygenate freely, extending down deep into the ground. There are 5,000 plants per hectare and the training system is espalier. Harvest takes place the first week of September. The wine is aged in steel vats for 6 months and in bottle for at least 3 months before release. This is a fresh aromatic wine with hints of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, with a hint of violets and a touch of sage. $18
Barbera D’Alba Superiore 2021 Tenuta Cucco (Piedmont) made from 100 % Barbara from the 1.7 Roddi “Elia”vineyard which is 200/250 meters with a south-southeast exposure. There are 4,200 plants per hectare. The soil is chalky/clay and the training system is guyot. Harvest takes place the second week of September. The freshly harvested grapes are destemmed, pressed, and placed in vats at a temperature of 18°C for 3 days to bring out their varietal aromas. Fermentation takes place at a temperature of 26 °C, followed by a 6/8-day period of maceration and then the drawing-off. Once the malolactic fermentation takes place, the wine ages for 12 months in 25 HL barrels. The wine has hints of red roses, raspberries, black cherries, blackberries and a hint of red plum. $18
Tenuta Perano (Frescobaldi) Chianti Classico 2021 made from Sangiovese and complementary varieties. Grapes are harvested by hand. Vinification is in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. Then maceration on the skins with a controlled and careful pumping over. The different grapes were aged separately in wood, then further aging in bottle until the wine is ready for release. The wine has hints of red berries, cherries, plums, violets, floral notes and a touch of spice. $27
Vino Noble di Montepulciano 2020 Boscarelli made from 85% Sangiovese and 15% Canaiolo. Alluvial and sandy lime soil with a good percentage of silt, clay and stony structure that varies between layers according to altitude. There are about 6,500 vines per hectare. Vineyards are at least 10 years old. The grapes are picked manually and transported in crates. After de-stemming and soft pressing, they are fermented in oak vats filled to no more than two-thirds of their capacity. Indigenous yeast is used in the fermentation process that lasts about a week at controlled temperatures from 28 to 30 degrees. Short manual re-passing of the must and pomace is completed in the initial phase. Pumping continues, where possible, for another 5 to 8 days after fermentation. This wine is aged in Allier or Slavonian oak casks of capacity ranging from 5 to 35 hectoliters, where malolactic fermentation occurs. Maturation takes from 18 to 24 months. Before release, the wine ages in the bottle for several months. The wine has hints of strawberry, violets, sage and a note of blueberry. Drink within 8 years. I have always been a fan of this winery. $43
Brunello Di Montalcino 2019 Fanti made from 100% Sangiovese from a 10 hectare vineyard with 21 to 31 year-old vines at 150 to 420 meters. The soil is rich is schist and galestro. Manual harvest from the middle of September to the first week of October. Fermentation is in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature. The wine is aged for 24 months, 50% in barriques of 225 liters and in big oak barrels of 30 hl. After 4 months of aging in the bottle the wine is released. The wine has hints cherries, currants, plum a touch of cedar and a note of violets. The wine was very enjoyable but it will improve with a few more years of aging. $41
Südtirol-Alto Adige DOC Select Lagrein Gries Riserva 2021 Rottensteiner made from 100% Lagrein which grows in three vineyards in the center of Bolzano Gries where there are deep sedimentary soils with more than 30 year-old grapevines. The training system is guyot. Vinification is in French barriques. This is a full bodied red wine hints of violets, chocolate, blackberries and a touch of tobacco. The owner told me that the tradition and modernity of the Rottensteiner family finds its clearest expression in this wine. $ 30
Venegazzú Della Casa DOC Montello Venegazzu 2019. Cabernet Sauvignon 60% is always predominant and combined with a good part of Merlot 25%, and a small amount of Cabernet Franc 10% and Malbec 5%. The vineyards are at 150 to 400 meters and the soil is red, clayey and rich in minerals. Grapes are hand-picked. Maceration with skin contact for 8 days and fermentation in steel tanks for about 10 days at controlled temperature. Malolactic fermentation takes place. The wine is aged for 18 months in large 25hl large Slavonian oak barrels before being bottled and placed on the market. The wine drinks like a Bordeaux with hints of black cherry, plum, cassis, tobacco, licorice, herbs, and mushrooms. The wine continues the blending tradition of the Gasparini Estate. When introduced in 1951 it was one of the first Cabernet and Merlot blends in Italy. This is a wine that can age and a real bargain for the price at $25.
Valpolicella Superiore DOC 2012 I Saltari made from 60% Corvina, 20% Rondinella, 10% Croatina and 10% Corvinone. The grapes are grown in the Mezzane Valley in the region of the Veneto on terraced hillside vineyards in calcareous and alkaline soil. After a careful collection of the grapes, vinification takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks. After racking, the wine is transferred to different size barrels for malolactic fermentation. For 12 to 14 months, the wine goes through regular racking and topping up of the barrels until blending. The wine is unfiltered. It has hints of small berries like currants and blackberry with tobacco and leather and a touch of cherry. $35. This winery also produces an excellent Amarone.
Amarone della Valpolicella Mai Dire Mai (never say never) 2015 Pasqua made from Corvina 65%, Corvinone 15%, Rondinella 10% and Oseleta 10% from the Montevegro vineyard in Val d’Illasi. Soil is basalt and calcareous in origin, with optimal mineral content. The grapes are hand-picked and carefully selected and then placed in crates to dry for 4 months to achieve a higher sugar concentration. After pressing, pre-fermentation cold maceration is performed, then malolactic fermentation takes place in steel vats at a controlled temperature of 22-25°C for 40 days. Ageing takes place in French oak casks (70% barrels of 225 litres and 30% in barrels of 500 litres, all new barrels) for 24 months. The wine has hints of cherry, black fruitI, cinnamon, dark chocolate and a touch of tobacco.This is a wine that will age. $75
Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!