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:
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Rosso di Montepulciano
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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