Oliver’s Groovy Italian Wine Blog

Photo Journal - Northern Italy trip, December 2011 Day 2 - Asti, Barbaresco, Barolo

Thu, 1 Mar 2012 11:25:20 -0800

Our next stop was a visit to the Pavia family winery in Agliano Terme. Run by Agostino Pavia and his sons, Mauro and Pino, this winery is another long time standby in Oliver’s portfolio. The Pavia brothers are some of the most genial genuine people you will come across and the delight they exude when showing you their property and their wines make for a particularly fantastic visit. The winery is set in the rolling hills of Asti, where the vineyards are less dense than in neighboring Barolo and the vibe is more relaxed. The family recently built an agriturismo, Italy’s equivalent of a farmhouse bed and breakfast, perched atop a hill in the midst of their vineyards and I would highly recommend staying there if you are looking for a relaxing few days on your next tour of the Piemonte region.
We were served a light lunch of salumi and carne cruda, a typical raw meat dish, that was melt in your mouth delicious and paired beautifully with the Barbera ‘Moliss’. The mainstay of the family’s production is Barbera, of which we carry two of their selections: the Barbera ‘Blina’ is done entirely in stainless steel and the Barbera ‘Moliss’ is made from older vines and is aged for a few months in large Slavonian oak barrels, both wines are from single sites. New to us and to our portfolio this year was the Grignolino d’Asti, a lighter style red wine which served as the perfect pairing to our salumi platter.

Photo Journal - Northern Italy trip, December 2011 Day 1 - Northern Piedmont

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 12:41:32 -0800

These photos accompany the notes from day 1 of our trip to Northern Italy last December. Photos taken at Tenute Sella and Cascina Gilli.

Northern Italy Trip, December 2011 Day 1 - Northern Piedmont

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 09:47:27 -0800

A few of us here at Oliver McCrum Wines were fortunate enough to take a quick tour of Northern Italy in early December 2011, entering through the Vallee d’Aosta and travelling all the way to Carso in Friuli, visiting 15 producers in 6 days. The accompanying photo journal is a collection of snapshots from our trip. Each entry will chronicle a single day.
Day 1: our trip began with a visit to Sella Winery in Northern Piedmont, about an hour and a half north of the Barolo Zone. Sella farms vineyards in both the appellations of Lessona and Bramaterra, making Nebbiolo based wines with the addition of the other local varieties, Vespolina and Croatina. What I found most striking about the wines from Sella that evening was their delicacy, which makes sense considering the vineyards are farther north in a cooler climate than the vineyards of the Langa.
Even though Lessona and Bramaterra are in close proximity, the soil compositions are quite different: the soil in Lessona is comprised of an ancient marine sand (I think Cristiano said some 800,000 years old) and in Bramaterra it is porphyric crumbly rock. The high iron content in the porphyric soils is said to give the wines a bloody mineral twang, and this becomes clear when you taste the wines from the two appellations side by side. Also contributing to the difference between the wines from Lessona and Bramaterra is the grape blend. Croatina, only used in Bramaterra, contributes notes of plum, chocolate, and coffee, is darker in color and adds structure to the wines. The other local variety traditionally blended in both the wines of Lessona and Bramaterra is Vespolina, which is more similar to Nebbiolo: lighter in color with notes of berries, flowers, and spices.
Sella was our first stop after spending several days in Burgundy where we tasted some killer wine. It is worth noting that Sella stood up to the quality of wine we tasted in Burgundy. I have to say, they served us some of the very best wines of our trip, proving that Sella needs to be taken more seriously! Cristiano Garella, the young & talented winemaker, opened up a bottle of Travaglini Gattinara Riserva 2005 as well as a Giacosa Barbaresco 2005 to show alongside the Sella Lessona ‘Ommaggio a Quintino Sella’ 2005. All the wines showed well but the Ommaggio truly shined and we were impressed that Cristiano did not hesitate to put his wine up against some legendary wines, including one from Bruno Giacosa, undisputedly one of the great masters of Nebbiolo.
Our second visit on day 1 was to a prospesctive winery, Cascina Gilli. Gilli is set in the rolling hills of the Basso Monferrato, about 45 minutes from Alba, close to the town of Castelnuovo Don Bosco. The estate was started in 1983 by Gianni Vergnano, who worked hard to bring recognition to the local grape varieties: Freisa, Bonarda, and Malvasia. The wines are made by a humble young enologist named Bruno Tamagnone and the granddaughter of Gianni, Chiara Martinotti, has taken over much of the operations and marketing for the winery.
Freisa, a genetic relative of Nebbiolo, is rich in color and tannin. Freisa is often made in a lighter, slightly effervescent style from a second fermentation in tank that the Italians call ‘Vivace’, but make no mistake, Freisa is also a wine that can be made as a more serious still red. Cascina Gilli makes a very good still Freisa that we are excited to import this Spring. Mid-weight with pretty fruit and a well balanced structure, this wine paired well with the salumi and other antipasti we were served. One of the highlights of the delicious lunch was the pairing of sweets with the Malvasia di Castelnuovo Don Bosco, a slightly sweet sparkling wine similar in character to Moscato d’Asti, however red. The Malvasia is super fun and we can’t wait to drink a lot of this!
visit Photo Journal - Day 1

Aperol Spritz

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:36:31 -0800

I don't usually add anything to good wine, but I make an exception for Aperol Spritz. Max Stefanelli at Terroni in LA has given me their recipe:
2/3 Aperol
1/3 Prosecco
splash of soda
capful of Cynar
slice of orange
Bet you can't drink just one. For more information about the origin of the ‘Spritz’,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spritz_(alcoholic_beverage)

Thanksgiving Selections

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:10:31 -0800

I like to drink medium-weight fruit-forward red wines with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey or ham. From our selection I'd recommend the bright, berryish Bardolino from Le Fraghe; the smoky, raspberryish Piedirosso from La Sibilla; or for a treat, Ciro Biondi's complex and intriguing Etna Rosso. Whites with sufficient weight might include the Weissburgunders from Erste & Neue or Niedrist, or even the dry Rieslings from Germano or Kuenhof.
There is, however, only one choice for the traditional holiday desserts: Moscato d'Asti. The pit-fruit/citrus flavors of Muscat work very well with pumpkin or apple pie, including the spices, and the wine is refreshingly low in alcohol, ensuring that you will bound energetically from bed Friday morning. Romano Dogliotti of La Caudrina is the original artisan bottler of this wine, and still the master.
Have a great Holiday!