In Lombardy in the town of Rovascala resides the winery of Martilde. Martilde is the combined effort of husband and wife team Antonella Tacci and Raimondo Lombardi. The wines of Antonella and Raimondo are a perfect reflection of the rustic and charming countryside where they are produced and of the couple themselves. They left behind great careers in Milan and immersed themselves in the world of vines and wines. Raimondo and Antonella quickly learned the good and the bad of being in the wine making business; to quote Antonella, “Our initial inexperience made us sitting ducks for a crowd of bad counselors, but paying dearly, we tried to learn fast…conscious that a radical change of life requires courage and some upsetting experiences”. This past January I was able to visit with Antonella and Raimondo at their home atop the vineyards of Martilde. The visit was a reminder that any good (or even great) wine is an expression of the land and (maybe more important) the people behind them. All the wines are labeled with Antonella’s artwork, and all the artwork is of their beloved pets and family members. Once opened you can taste the generous and artistic nature of the people behind the wines they create. Read the rest of this entry »

Barbera is a wonderful grape; its hallmark are its acidity and minerality, (let’s not forget the lush red fruit) which make for a very gastronomic wine. The wines we discuss today are perfect for a lingering meal; cuts of semi-rare steaks and chops, risotto, and fresh vegatables. Whatever your favorites are, I think you will find these wines to be a great fit.

The 2010 Migliavacca Barbera del Monferrato is a wonder to taste; it rears its head with minerality right out of the bottle; give it some time to rest to bring a greater balance to the wine and to reveal the wonderful red fruit in this bottle.

Cascina del Santuario makes the 2008 Barbera d’Alba in our Four Pack; soaring notes of red fruit, full and rich, with a great (and little bit savoury) finish. Alba produces beautiful things.

The 2010 Martilde Barbera is a store and customer favorite; hailing from the Oltrepò Pavese area, this is beautiful. Great acidity/alcohol balance, with spicy notes of deep red fruit means a wonderful bottle.

Now we come to the 2010 Spaventapasseri La Mota Barbera d’Asti; just a beautiful wine, rich in red fruit, balanced acidity, with enough punch in the mouth to cause you to sit back and savor the glass a little bit longer than you might normally.

Cheers!

2010 Migliavacca Barbera del Monferrato $14

2008 Cascina del Santuario Barbera d’Alba $16

2010 Martilde Barbera $15

2010 Spaventapasseri La Mota Barbera d’Asti $23

Regular retail purchase price for all four bottles $68

The “Friday Four Pack” price $55

Elisabetta Foradori is one of Italy’s best talents and finds herself amongst the great wine producers of the world. Her success is born of tireless dedication, hard work, and a belief in working with the land. While you might expect a winemaker of this status to work with familiar grapes like Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or even Chardonnay, Elisabetta instead has spent the last 28 years focused on the native varietals of Trentino: Teroldego, Nosiola, and Manzino Bianco. Along with this focused approach to working with a select few varietals, Elisabetta is committed to Bio-Dynamic farming methods and to aging her wines in Amphora (Very Large Clay Pots). Amphora is a vessel which imparts no flavors to the wine thus resulting in a wine that is a pure expression of the grape. Elisabetta is among few winemakers in the world who have decided to take this step (Gravner in Friuili & COS in Sicily) in part because of the expense and also the time it takes to make an amphora this size(two years just to allow the clay cure before it can be baked). But for Elisabetta it has always been about the long game and her wines are proof that her approach is a sound one. Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend (starting Friday and running all the way through Valentine’s Day) we are going to make a really sweet offer by holding a Huge Wine Sale. So if you need a Valentine’s Day gift or that perfect bottle for a candlelit dinner at home or if you just want to treat yourself, here’s the perfect chance to do so. Starting Friday morning (the 10th) and lasting through close on Tuesday (the 14th), you can save big. Buy three or more bottles and receive a 15% discount, pick up 6 or more and save yourself 20%, or if you want to stock up or if you have a hard time narrowing your choices down, buy 12 or more bottles and save 25%. Read the rest of this entry »

From Castigliole overlooking the Po River in Piedmont, Tenuta Migliavacca (owned by the Brezza family) was the first certified biodynamic winemaker in the region dating back to 1964. This was way ahead of the organic movement and certainly eons before it was cool to be sustainable, but that is the way it has always been done at Tenuta Migliavacca. From raising cattle to composting everything, this self-sustaining winery is very much the real deal. All of this hard work is seen to by the family patriarch, Francesco Brezza. Francesco’s no nonsense hard work ethic in his vineyards produces wines that are traditional, expressive, and incredibly enjoyable. Migliavacca’s wines are marked with excellent structure: a balance of minerality, acidity, and lush (but not heavy) red fruits. All of the wines produced by Francesco at Migliavacca offer unique character. These wines may not be for everyone, but if you don’t give them a try you’re really missing out. Read the rest of this entry »

If only I could take credit for the title of this Friday 4 Pack; however, Robert Louis Stevenson was the one who said “Wine is bottled poetry”. Barbera, whose trademarks are its high acidity and red fruit, is thought to have been grown in Italy since the 13th century, where it was first known as “de bonis vitibus barbexinis”. No matter the name, if you have not yet been able to try it, these wines are the perfect introduction. While not all of these are purely Barbera, all are fantastic. The Cascina Roera Barbera d’Asti is structured yet light, with rich black fruits and a little bit of spice. Braida Montebruna Barbera d’Asti, is supple and full in the mouth, with black and red fruits. We have the Martilde Barbera from Oltrepo Pavese, where some believe Barbera to have originated; it is a younger Barbera, with gobs of red fruit, acidity, and great flavor. The last, the Cascina Ballarin Langhe Rosso, is a Nebbiolo and Barbera blend. This wine is just beautiful; great flavor, nice acidity, and a great example of how Barbera can blend with other grapes and help bring the wine to its full potential.

Barbera can stand alone and Barbera can blend. Either way, it’s going to be a good bottle! Cheers!

2008 Cascina Roera, Barbera d’Asti DOCG, Piedmont, Italy $20

2008 Braida, Montebruna Barbera d’Asti DOC, Piedmont, Italy $26

2010 Martilde Oltrepo Pavese Barbera DOC, Lombardy, Italy $15

2009 Cascina Ballarin, Cino Langhe Rosso DOC, Piedmont, Italy $15

Regular retail purchase price for all four bottles – $76

The “Friday Four Pack” price – $65

Puglia, Italy is one of the lesser-traveled regions of Italy, and honestly we don’t know why. The scenery is stunning, the food and wine are outstanding, and like any other region in Italy it is abundant with its own unique charm. Long known for its outstanding olive oil production and formidable baking skills (the land of focaccia), Puglia has enjoyed good status among foodies. More recently (with a renewed passion for marketing itself as a prominent region for quality wine), Puglia is starting to garner attention from all over the globe. With an affordable and very drinkable blended red like Salice Salentino (malvasia nera & negroamaro) and the more fruit forward primitivo, Puglia is quickly becoming more popular amongst wine enthusiasts. Typical foods of this region are: lamb (stewed roasted or fried), sautéed broccoli rabe, orecchiette pasta, and abundant seafood dishes like oysters, cuttlefish, and octopus. Read the rest of this entry »

In the past when it came to the world of wine, “cooperative” was considered a four letter word. Why? Well for the most part, many offerings from cooperatives were poor. Quite a few factors contributed to the lower quality wine associated with cooperatives; amongst them (and the most important) was the lack of focus on quality. There was more of a focus on growing as many grapes as possible and paying farmers for quantity rather than quality, but times have changed and so has the market for wine. With many more consumers seeking high value wines rather than cheap slickly-marketed vino, cooperatives have found their second chance. However, there are sterling examples of success to be found. One such example would be Cantina Frentana. The Frentana winery praises itself for having one of the most efficiently operated wine growing cooperatives in Abruzzo. Frentana began in the late fifties with a few small selected vineyards and wine growers and in the last forty years has grown to more than 400 members. These growers are assisted throughout the entire grape-growing season (right up to harvest) by the highly qualified Frentana staff (which includes an agronomist and enologist) in an approach aimed at very specific grape yields considered worthy of wines with the traditional Frentana standard of quality. All the latest most up-to-date winemaking equipment and techniques are used together with a wealth of collective historical winemaking knowledge to produce high quality wines. The focus of working to the highest standard has resulted in Cantina Frentana providing wines that are honest, traditional, and thoroughly enjoyable.

2010 Terre Valse, Cantina Frentana, Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, DOC $12

2009 Cantina Frentana, Terre Valse Montepulciano d’Abruzzo D.O.C., Abruzzo, Italy $13

2010 Cantina Frentana, Cococciola Terre di Chieti IGT, Abruzzo, Italy $19

2006 Cantina Frentana, Panarda Montepulciano d’Abruzzo D.O.C., Abruzzo, Italy $29

Regular retail purchase price for all four bottles – $73

The “Friday Four Pack” price – $60

The settings in the northern province of Trentino-Alto Adige are so spectacular you can see the motivation to produce something as close to “natural” as is humanly possible. While this is what all of the wine makers we have decided to feature this week are focused on, it’s apparent they are achieving their goals and quietly becoming the next group of great winemakers of the world. By focusing on this region, we wanted to work through and showcase a wide variety of styles: light to heavy, rustic and traditional, esoteric and beautiful. Read the rest of this entry »

While calling a couple of these bottles “Baby Amarone” wouldn’t quite be accurate the experience is similar and one perfect for this time of year.

Amarone is typically bold and full bodied noted by brawny tannins, intense dried red fruit followed by autumnal spices on the finish. Amarone is delicious and memorable, and once you’ve had one its a wine you will crave. However the making of Amarone is an incredibly laborious and costly to produce. Naturally they are fairly pricey and as a result most of us hold off on indulging and reserve Amarone for a special occasion. This is where a good Valpolicella or Ripasso comes in real handy. While typical Valpolicella’s are far lighter than Amarone the aromatics and flavors are very similar, and Ripasso is such a close second to Amarone that unless you have a well trained palate it can be difficult to tell the difference the two. On that note if you are intrigued(and you should be), come by and pick up this week’s “Friday Four Pack” and explore the glories of “a Poor Man’s Amarone”.

2010 Brigaldara, San Floriano Valpolicella DOC, Veneto, Italy $15

2009 Alla Costiera, Cabernet Franc Colli Euganei DOC, Veneto, Italy $17

2009 Brigaldara, Il Vegro Ripasso della Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC, Veneto, Italy $35

2007 Le Ragose, Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superiore DOC, Veneto, Italy $29

Regular retail purchase price for all four bottles – $96

The “Friday Four Pack” price – $76