Saturday, November 23, 2013

Campo al Noce - Bolgheri - Tuscany - Italy

Campo al Noce is a boutique producer of very good wines from Bolgheri in North western Tuscany.

Just near the famous San Guido winery, Pier Luigi and his team make some wonderful Bolgheri red wine.

Here is a snapshot of their winery. Their wines are now available for the first time in Australia at www.italianwineimporters.com.au





 





Monday, November 11, 2013

 


Le Chiuse - First time in Australia
One of the great Brunello producers with a long history and heritage

 






The origin of Le Chiuse is very old. It has been part of the estate of the Biondi Santi family since the first Brunello clone was grown.

The land was brought into the family as a dowry by the end of 1700 with the marriage of Mary Tamanti Clemente Santi. Her daughter Catherine married Jacopo Biondi and their son Ferruccio, great-grandfather of Simon Valiani (owner of Le Chiuse) respecting the wishes of the mother added the surname of the mother "Santi" to his. It was he who, after having fought alongside Garibaldi continued the work of his grandfather Clemente valuing and selecting the grapes to reach this particular clone of Sangiovese Grosso. This was on the Le Chiuse vineyard.

Tancredi , Ferruccio's son , bequeathed Le Chiuse and other two estates to his daughter Fiona, however, urging her to never sell this company because it was here that the famouse Brunello was born. From that moment Fiorella rented the farm to her brother Franco owner of the farm " Il Greppo which has cultivated vineyards and vinified the grapes until 1990. On the death in 1986 of Fiona Fiorella Simonetta Valiani who inherited from her grandfather Tancredi 's love for this land and the passion for wine, began producing their own Brunello at Le Chiuse. The commitment was big. With her husband Nicholas Magnelli and their son Lorenzo they restored the farm, the Chapel , built an underground cellar and planted new vineyards.

 Le Chiuse stands on the slopes of Montalcino and is renowned for its location. It enjoys an excellent microclimate. The extension of 15 hectares, the area planted is 6 acres, 5 of which are planted with Brunello. Despite being a young company, its origins are ancient, in fact part of his works is made up of very old vines. Inherited from Simonetta Valiani and further enhanced, confirmed the excellent wine production due not only to its favorable location, the careful processing of the vineyard and the use of advanced technologies in the cellar, focusing on the quality of the production.
 
 
 
 
   The wines of Le Chiuse will arrive in Australia for the first time in December 2013.
  
   These are highly rated wines with ratings including 3/3 bicchieri from Gambero Rosso,
   5/5 Gappoli     from 2000 Vini, Chiocciola from Slow Wine and 18/20 from L'Espresso 

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Val Delle Corti Chianti Classico Harvest 2013 - Radda in Chianti


Val delle Corti is one of the great winemakers of Chianti Classico. A regular three glasses recipient from Gambero Rosso it is superbly located just under the township of Radda in Chianti.

The grapes are ready and waiting. Beautiful sangiovese.




All hands on deck for the harvest.



Done it before many times.


The grapes are ready



And only the best will do



Grapes arrive for crushing


Relaxing with Val Delle Corti owner, Roberto



 Fun with il Gatto 




Monday, November 4, 2013

Villa le Prata - Brunello harvest 2013


Bright sunny weather helped make the Villa le Prata harvest an enjoyable but hardworking job. The outcome were grapes that will produce a wonderful Brunello for the 2013 vintage.


The vines ready for the harvest 



Hard work, so essential to have a good pranzo (lunch)

This doesn't look too hard
 

The end of the day....waiting for tomorrow 

 
Villa le Prata available in Australia at www.italianwineimporters.com.au

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Italian food and wine matchings - Valdipiatta


In Italy the matching of food and wine is so important.
It is rare to have dinner (cena) without a glass of wine.
So we have decided to share with you what winemakers feel are perfect matchings for their wines.
The second in the series is Tenuta Valdipiatta in Montepulciano.
tenuta valdipiatta
Father and daughter Giuilio and Miriam owners of Valdipiatta.
They make superb wines including a Nobile di Montepulciano, a Cru Nobile, a Riserva and a Rosso di Montepulciano. Renowned wine writers have heaped praise on the families winemaking skills with Antonio Galloni describing the 2009 Nobile as the best for that year and James Suckling describing Valdipiatta as the best winemakers in Montepulciano.
Wine:
valdipiatt50x70-1 logo
Rosso di Montepulciano
DSC01528
Made from Sangiovese (Prugnolo gentile) 90%, Canaiolo nero 5% and Mammolo 5%.
The Rosso is a drk ruby red colour with medium to high intensity and clarity. Aromas are fresh, youthful with ripe aromas of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries with subtle notes of flowers and spices.
It is elegant and smooth on the palate, with silky with balanced tannins and lively acidity that persist over a long finish
Food:
Noble Spaghetti
Spaghetti with Vino Rosso di Montepulciano
Noble Spaghetti is a flavourful pasta dish, prepared with a sauce with a Vino Rosso di Montepulciano wine base.
There exists numerous ways to flavour your pasta; one of these ways is by using wine to enrich your sauce which can be an original and fanciful variation that enhances flavour and gives a more decisive colour to your pasta.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
For 4 persons
Ingredients:
45gr of butter
400gr of spaghetti
200gr of speck or pancetta (bacon)
1 medium-sized leek
20gr of Parmigiamo Reggiano cheese (or Grana Padano)
250ml of Vino Rosso di Montepulciano wine
Salt and pepper as needed
1 pinch of nutmeg
Preparation:
Clean, wash and finely slice the leek, removing the tough outer leaves. Set aside some leek slices for decoration and put the rest in a pan with 30gr of butter to lightly fry on low heat.
When the leeks are soft, add the Vino Rosso di Montepulciano wine, a grating of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Simmer to reduce it all for a few minutes over medium heat until the alcohol of the wine has completely evaporated. At this point, put the mixture in a food processor and blend together until creamy; add salt and pepper to your liking.
Cut the speck/pancetta (bacon) into strips and let it stir-fry with the remaining butter for a few minutes, until it becomes crispy. Bring salted water to a boil, blanch the leeks you kept aside for garnishing, for a few seconds, strain and set aside.
In the same salt water, cook the spaghetti and drain it al dente, keeping aside a ladle of cooking water. Add the spaghetti to the bacon and sauté together for a couple of minutes. Add the ladle of cooking water to the wine cream, and stir and add the sauce to the pasta.
Mix all the ingredients very well, sprinkle with grated cheese and decorate with slices of leek. The Noble spaghetti are ready to be served and enjoyed right now!
Suggestions:
If the wine and leeks cream should result too thick, you can add cooking water as needed to reach desired consistency.
Buon appetito

Monday, October 21, 2013

Tenuta Valdipiatta, Montepulciano - Food and wine series

In Italy the matching of food and wine is so important.
It is rare to have dinner (cena) without a glass of wine.
So we have decided to share with you what winemakers feel are perfect matchings for their wines.
The first in the series is Tenuta Valdipiatta in Montepulciano.
tenuta valdipiatta
Father and daughter Giuilio and Miriam owners of Valdipiatta.
They make superb wines including a Nobile di Montepulciano, a Cru Nobile, a Riserva and a Rosso di Montepulciano. Renowned wine writers have heaped praise on the families winemaking skills with Antonio Galloni describing the 2009 Nobile as the best for that year and James Suckling describing Valdipiatta as the best winemakers in Montepulciano.
Wine:
valdipiatt50x70-1 logo
Nobile di Montepulciano
DSC01534
Made from Sangiovese (Prugnolo gentile) 85%, Canaiolo nero 15% the wine is a dark ruby red colour with medium to high intensity and clarity. It has aromas of cherry, chocolate, leather and licorice.
Combined with quality fruit, the tannins and acidity are impeccably balanced with a long finish. This is an outstanding example of a top flight Nobile di Montepulciano.
 Food:
Lamb with Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine
Lamb is a classic dish of Italian tradition that we find on tables especially around Easter time, but it is a great dish that you can prepare in all periods of the year and with different recipes. This is a simple but tasty way to prepare this type of meat. We recommend you to accompany this dish with baked potatoes flavored with rosemary.
Total preparation and cooking time: about 2 hours
For 4-6 persons
Ingredients:
800/1000gr of lamb
2 glasses of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine
1 carrot
1 celery stalk
2 small sprigs of fresh rosemary (one for cooking and the other for garnishing)
2 garlic cloves
4/5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper as needed
A few fresh mint leaves
Preparation:
To make this dish we recommend you use the part of the thigh or the shoulder, which is best suited to the recipe. Take your lamb and cut it into medium-sized pieces, then wash it with care. Clean and cut the carrot and celery (cubes are fine) and finely chop 1 clove of garlic.
Place the lamb in a bowl and season with salt and pepper and add the other ingredients previously cut. At this point, add the 2 glasses of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wine and let marinate for about an hour. After this time, drain the meat and strain the resulting liquid which you will use to finish the cooking.
Now you can proceed to the cooking of the meat. In a low, wide pan, sauté the remaining chopped garlic, and rosemary (possibly tied in such a way as not to lose the leaves during this operation) in the olive oil. Add the pieces of drained lamb and sauté for about ten minutes until it reaches a uniform color. Reduce heat and continue cooking while gradually adding the marinade liquid that you have kept aside.
Meanwhile, gently stir the pieces of lamb, without making them stick to the bottom of your pot. The lamb is ready when the cooking liquid will be reduced by half and the meat, piercing it with a fork, is tender.
Now you can serve: place the lamb, still warm in a serving dish and serve at the table with the reduced red wine sauce that is on the bottom of cooking pan. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and mint leaves.
Buon appetito

Saturday, October 19, 2013

San Carlo Brunello 2013 harvest


San Carlo is a great small family owned producer just south of Montalcino. They make very good wines including Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino.

We would classify this winemaker as a traditional winemaker, respecting nature and tradition.

They are in a very good location surrounded by forests which results in their wines having great layers and structure

Below is Giancarlo. He and his daughter Gemma run the vineyard.

 

SanCarlo is a family run enterprise in the south west side of Montalcino.

They have 3 hectares of Sangiovese grapes making Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino. The harvest of the grapes this year occured in early October.

Fulvio, Giancarlo and Gemma worked in the vineyards, Lucia was in the kitchen making a big lunch but.... this year there was also a new generation with them, Lapo (Gemma's new born son) did his first harvest!!!!!

So,the family had to celebrate the vintage and the new born......”Viva la vita!!!!!”

The quality of the bunches was really very good and the first fermentation commenced and almost finished.

Looks like an excellent vintage.







 
To buy San Carlo in Australia go to www.italianwineimporters.com.au
 

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Querce Bettina Brunello - Harvest 2013


Querce Bettina started to pick on the 28 September. It was the small wineyard called "Le Giuncaie"  about 5.500 square meters for 3600 kg of grapes estimate quantity of Brunello 2400 litres corresponding to 3,200 bottles. Alcohol obtained around 13.4% in line with their objective, strong aromas and perfumes, intensive colours. This will be their first cru.

The other vineyards matured later so the final pickings were on the 2 and 3 October.

The grapes were very healthy and the level of maturation was perfect: ph around 3.3 acidity around 7 mg/lt  sugar  220/235 gr corresponding to be converted in 13.2% alcohol. 

All this means that they will not need to protect their wines with strong quantities of stabilizers (sulphites or tannins).
 
At this moment Querce has finished their first fermentation and have already separated the skins and seeds.  Very good quality !!

Here are some pictures from the harvest


The grapes are ready,,,sangiovese at its best

 
 
 
baskets at the ready

 






They look good


 
The harvest



Roberto looks pained....sorry Roberto they look good to me



 
 
Available in Australia at www.italianwineimporters.com.au
 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Villa i Cipressi Montalcino- The 2013 harvest has finished

Villa I Cipressi is a family run vineyard just outside Montalcino. They make outstanding wines (and also honey), including a Brunello Riserva (Zebras), a Brunello and a Rosso di Montalcino.

Let the harvest begin

 
Federico the winemaker
 
 

 
According to Dario (above), this vintage has produced outstanding fruit which augers well for the 2013 vintage wines.

 
All hands in the vineyard for the harvest
 
 
 
 

 
The last of the grapes hit the sorting table
 
Celebration

 

 

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Il Civettaio Montecucco sangiovese. The 2013 harvest has begun

Il Civettaio is a wonderful organic winemaker in the Maremma area of Tuscany.
 
Finally the sangiovese harvest has begun.
 
They had very bad weather in the last week but for the owner Gregorio, the grapes were not ripe enough, so he took the risk and waited.
Today was a wonderful autumn day, a bit of fog rising on the hills and the sun shining.
The grapes are healthy so everything seems good.
Vermentino and Chiu’ Rosato are fermenting slowly at 15 degrees; very nice nose!
The sangiovese fermentation is starting.