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Ronco Severo, the master of the Schioppettino in Friuli

Aitor Trabado
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Ronco Severo, the master of the Schioppettino in Friuli

Stefano Novello is another or those winemakers who truly believe they are not here to own the land but rather to protect it and accompany the grapes in their journey from the vineyard to the bottle while they become wine. He also believes in biodynamic agriculture, hand-picking harvesting and always bottling under a waning moon. His winery, Ronco Severo, inherited from his father Severo Novello back in 1998, is located in the Italian paradise of the white wines, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, but the small area in which we can finds it is Prepotto (Udine), a subzone of the Colli Orientali DOC. known by its wonderful red wines produced with the local variety Schioppettino. Thus, the name of the wines coming from this area: Schioppettino di Prepotto.

The white wines of Stefano are well recognized, especially among those of us with a passion for Orange wines or wines with longer periods of maceration in contact with the skins. In this, he works very well, extending this period to up to 48 days for his white blend, Severo Bianco, an IGT Venezia Giulia blend of Chardonnay, Friulano, Picolit and Ribolla Gialla.

If you’ve been reading our series about wineries in the Friuli area we are sure you are an expert now on the characteristics we can find here: the protection of the Pre-Julian Alps in the back, the cool breeze and the Bora wind from the Adriatic Sea in the front and the Ponca or Flysch sandstone rock soil giving so much structure and personality to the wines. Stefano adds to this a high density in his vineyards for making the vines fight for nurturing while keeping a low amount of fruit per vine, because as he says, ‘as many people do, vines perform at their best when they experience some stress.’

We are in love with Ribolla Gialla, either dry, macerated or sparkling, and Stefano produces it macerated. We were attracted to this wine, always wanting to enjoy more Ribolla Gialla wines, but what called more for our attention was that he believes his red wines are his best, especially one of them, Artiûl, a Colli Orientali Del Friuli DOC 100% Merlot. And if we love red wines, Merlot is our preferred one too. And if our senses were not just overflowing, or better said, our tasting buds, Stefano makes a Schioppettino people talk wonders about. And we have found that the Schioppettino grape makes luscious wines in this area. So we needed to talk to Stefano.

The Schioppettino (also known as Ribolla Nera) is a local red variety of the Friuli and nearby Slovenia region and where it shows its best character is in the Prepotto area. Records shown that it was already known back in the XIII Century. The Schioppettino is one of the three most important local red varieties, along with the Pignolo and the Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso.

Stefano’s production is four white wines and three red ones, all but the aforementioned Severo Bianco are single varietals.

Ronco Severo Pinot Grigio. IGT Venezia Giulia Pinot Grigio 100%. After harvest the grapes are left to ferment on the skins for about a month in truncated cone shaped oak vats, without any temperature control, and without adding selected yeasts. Once pressed the wine remains on the lees for 23 months in 20-hectoliter Slavonian oak barrels.

Ronco Severo Friulano. DOC Colli Orientali Del Friuli. Friulano 100%. This wine stays on its lees for 11 months in 30-hectoliter Slavonian oak barrels, and undergoes bâtonnage every 3 days. The wine then ages in the same barrels for about another 12 months.

Ronco Severo Ribolla Gialla Delle Venezie. Ribolla Gialla 100% The fermentation is on the skins in 10-hectoliter truncated cone shaped oak vats. After pressing the wine remains on the lees for 11 months in 30- hectoliter Slavonian oak barrels and then ages in the same barrels for another 12 months.

Severo Bianco IGT Venezia Giulia. A white blend of Chardonnay, Friulano, Picolit and Ribolla Gialla. After a long period of maceration with the skins, the wine remains on the lees for about 23 months in Slavonian oak barrels.

The three red wines are:

Ronco Severo Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. DOC Colli Orientali Del Friuli. Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso 100%. The grapes undergo long maceration on the skins with frequent punch-downs of the cap. No temperature control and no extra yeasts and lactic bacteria added. The wine remains on the lees for 2 years in 20-hectoliter Slavonian oak barrels.

Ronco Severo Artiûl. DOC Colli Orientali Del Friuli. Merlot 100%. Stefano calls this wine perhaps his best one. Artïûl is the name, in Friulano, given to the newly born grass that grows in the fields after the hay has been collected. This was the first new wine he produced when the management of the estate was handed down from his father Severo. The grapes are left to ferment for a long period of time on the skins in truncated cone shaped oak vats, without any temperature control, and without adding selected yeasts or enzymes. After fermentation, the wine is lightly pressed and racked into 225-liter French oak barrel where it ages for 3 years. A great Bordelaise-style wine, it seems to be set for a long life and freshness.

Ronco Severo Schioppettino. DOC Colli Orientali Del Friuli. Schioppettino di Prepotto 100%.

The exact description according to the DOC regulations reads: Schioppettino di Prepotto a Subzone of the Colli Orientali D.O.C. area. The grapes undergo long maceration with frequent cap push-downs; the pomace is then pressed and the wine racked into oak barrels. The wine remains on the lees for 30 months in 20-hectoliter Slavonian oak barrels and is bottled without filtration.

Soon we will talk to Stefano about his wines and his winemaking philosophy.

Photos (C) Ronco Severo

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Elisa Scavino: ‘The beauty of Barolo stands in the diversity that it offers’

Aitor Trabado
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Elisa Scavino: ‘The beauty of Barolo stands in the diversity that it offers’

Originally published in miamigoelvino.com 22/07/2017.

Recently we talked about Barolo winery Paolo Scavino. We had pending talking to winemaker Elisa Scavino and here is our conversation with her.

Buongiorno Elisa, and thank you very much for your collaboration. In our article, we talked about the Barolo wars in regards to the use of oak for ageing wines. What was the position of Scavino family?

I would like to say that my family and I are not interested in this “oak controversy” which is much more felt and endorsed by other producers. The ageing of wines in oak is one of the countless aspects of the winemaker work. The Barolo region and wines are appreciated because of our indigenous grapes, particularly Nebbiolo, and a unique and hilly territory made of different microclimates and soils, which come through the wines.

What kind of barrels do you prefer for your wines?

It really depends on the grape, on the wine. For our white wine, the Langhe BiancoSorriso, we choose and like stainless steel as well as for our Vino Rosso, Dolcettod’Alba and one of our Barbera d’Alba. We age for six – ten months in used oak-barrels our Barbera d’Alba “affinato in carati” and Langhe Nebbiolo then they both spend approximately six months in stainless steel before the bottling. For our Barolo we use 225-liter barrels (barriques), larger barrels (cask) of 25-50 HL and stainless steel before the bottling.

How do you balance the use of new and used barrels?

We season the new oak since we do not desire extraction from oak. However, before that it is important that the oak be of excellent quality so that it interferes as least as possible with the delicate and complex aromatic profile of Nebbiolo.

How are your vineyards located in Castiglione Falletto?

Castiglione Falletto is the village to whom we belong and where our winery is located since 1921. We own seven vineyards in this commune from the “menzioni geografiche aggiuntive” Fiasco, Altenasso, Vignolo, Solanotto on the western side of the village and Rocche Monriondino, Rocche di Castiglione, Pernanno on the eastern side of the village. Castiglione Falletto is in the heart of the Barolo region and from this commune we have Barolo wines with quite diversified personalities, one vineyard from the other.

And those in La Morra and Verduno?

The vineyards that we own in La Morra are from the “menzioni geografiche aggiuntive” Rocche dell’Annunziata, Bricco Manescotto and Annunziata purchased in 1990, 1992 and 1997. Among those, Rocche dell’Annunziata is the highest in elevation, approximately at 340 mt. The vineyard is split in two plots both exposed to Southeast with a frank-silty soil, very light in color and with a very fine texture. The Barolo from this vineyard is detailed and complex in the aromatics with a layered structure and quite elegant tannins.

In Verduno village, we own a little less then one hectare from the Monvigliero vineyard, which can be considered the township’s Grand Cru. Here we are on the Northern edge of the Barolo growing area on a hill Southeast exposed approximately at 300 meters above sea level. The soil is light-colored and pretty loose-textured. The proximity to the Tanaro River, running about 1 mile away, determines a particular microclimate in this vineyard. This hill, though well sunny during the day, is always caressed by a cool evening breeze that reduce the temperature contributing to the aromatic finesse and charm.

Do you have a favorite vineyard to work?

I like to be exposed to the diversity that each vineyard offers. Their rhythm is different, so are their needs. Working with each vineyard gives me a way to have a better understanding of our territory.

Which of these vineyards best show the true character of a Barolo wine?

Each vineyard gives a different Barolo. There is not one vineyard that shows most Barolo character then another one, in my opinion, because they all are true expression of the territory. The beauty of our region stands in the diversity that it offers and also any vintage is the same.

Different vineyards make different wines. How the character of each plot is shown in the wines?

Each vineyard has unique pedological profile, chemical-physical qualities, biodiversity, microclimate. In fact even just observing the morphological profile of our territory it is perceptible the level of complexity. This means that each vineyard gives Barolo with unique aromatic and texture profile, unique personality.

How do you want your wines to show their character?

I’d like each of our Barolo to show purely the Nebbiolo grape character that is recognizable and distinctive from any other grape. Then, of course, the characteristics of the vineyard where it comes from and the vintage.

What makes a Paolo Scavino Barolo different from the others?

I heard several times customers saying that they recognize producers in blind tastings. The contribution, the influence of the winegrower is a fact and it is essential. I usually find in our wines intensity and complexity in the structure, cleanness, precision in the aromatics and elegance. The Barolo develops well overtime.

Three of your Barolo Cru wines, Bric dël Fiasc 2010, Bricco Ambrogio 2010 and Bricco Cannubi 2010 were chosen among the best Barolos of that vintage, including a perfect score for Bric dël Fiasc. How is this level of excellence reached for a family winery?

We believe that to make the greatest wines it takes the greatest grapes and a sensitive winegrower able to valorize what he has been given from Nature.

Which of your Barolo wines are you most proud of?

I’m proud of all our Barolo. To me, they all have a special value for different reasons. Of course the Barolo Bric dël Fiasc is the connection to our family’s origins and not only I love its qualities, its elegance and force, but also it’s particularly dear to me for all what it means and the memories it recalls to me.

What’s your winemaking philosophy?

It’s a continuous learning process and my father Enrico is a great teacher. He inspires and he spurs me all the time. I think that working with Nebbiolo in Langhe imposes a certain rigor. It demands to vinify in the most pure way, without dispensable interferences, in order to show into the wines the truest expression, the beautiful grape’s nuances and finesse. The road is marked.

What kind of wines you do drink when you are not working?

I am curious and I like to try different wines from different region. I enjoy a lot Champagne and recently I am learning about the beautiful wines from Loire region.

Grazie mille, Elisa!!

Photos (c) Paolo Scavino

Randall Grahm, a Rhône Ranger in California

Aitor Trabado
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Randall Grahm, a Rhône Ranger in California

Originally published in miamigoelvino.com 20/07/2017

Today we are publishing a joint venture with fellow wine writer Kimberly Zambrello. Kimberly is a Boston-based wine marketing professional who runs a wine blog named The Insatiable Vine (www.insatiablevine.com). She believes in “wine being a powerful beverage, rich in history and storytelling, a product of mother earth, sensual yet sophisticated, deeply rooted in our culture, and delicious and unexpected.” For this project, we decided to talk about a special winery and a special winemaker. Thus, we asked Randall Grahm, the man behind Bonny Doom Vineyards in Santa Cruz Mountains, California. Kimberly and I decided to talk about the winery, talk about one of its wines and throw some questions to Randall. This is the result.

In the aftermath of Woodstock and the Vietnam War, California, maybe the most hippie state in the USA, was living a wine revolution. In 1976, a few red and white wines from Napa Valley were selected as the best in a blind tasting in Paris, over some of the most famous wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. Local wineries were starting to produce outstanding wines. In 1979 Randall Grahm graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Viticulture and started his wine business purchasing property in the Santa Cruz Mountains, one of the best areas for winemaking in California, in an area known as Bonny Doon that became the name of his winery. His first objective was to produce the best American Pinot Noir, but this turned into making wines using Rhône varieties. Soon his wines became widely recognized and he turned into the champion of this style of wines and being a member of a group of winemakers known as the Rhône Rangers.

Bonny Doon was conceived by Randall Grahm during his early days of attempting to replicate Burgundy style Rhone in central coast California. This endeavor did not succeed, but when one door closes another will surely open, and with this new door swung off its hinges he created a movement, a wine revolution.

Present day Bonny Doon Vineyards has achieved many firsts and continues to restructure and reshape the way wine comes to be. From the introduction to screw caps to using Biodynamics practices, harnessing the powers of the sun and moon to create wines that unlock secrets of unachievable vibrancy. It is only fitting that the Vin Gris de Cigare’s label and name are inspired by a 1954 visit from extraterrestrials.

The science and extensive power behind leveraging biodynamics during the agricultural process are far more complicated and robust to accurately define during this review. However, in short, the practice strives to create a balance of purity and impurity between man and earth. It is about harnessing the universe and aligning the growing season to the astronomical calendar and unseen rhythmic pulses of the earth. The earth is no longer viewed as a vineyard or a vine but an entire ecosystem of life, death, rotation, and evolution; where plant, earth, animal, and universe co-conspire to live in perfect harmony.

“A Biodynamic grower is linked to his farm in a much more intimate way. One learns how to cultivate ones intuition and powers of observation, to be able to see one’s farm with fresh eyes, and to feel the great power of Nature at ones back, rather than as a formidable adversary.”

For this article, Kimberly chose Vin Gris De Cigare 2016.

Bonny Doon Vineyard caught my attention the moment I first set eyes upon “A Proper Claret”. The art was eye-catching and thought-provoking, the wine was phenomenal, but their story was truly captivating. I have spent weeks researching and reading about their great history, the winemaker’s methodologies, and their core values that set them apart from other vineyards. Through my experience with Bonny Doon, I have only brushed my fingertips a top of something monumental. Welcome to my take on Bonny Doon Vineyard.

For my journey with Bonny Doon Vineyard I chose to immerse myself into the “Pink Wine of the Earth”, their Vin Gris De Cigare 2016.

“Pink Wine of the Earth” a unique blend (49% Grenache, 19% Grenache Blanc, 13% Mourvèdre, 12% Carignane, 4% Cinsault, 3% Roussanne) concocted by the original Rhone Ranger and industry pioneer, Randall Grahm. To understand the beauty and complexity of the Vin Gris De Cigare 2016 you must dive deeper into the mind of its creator and understand the history and core principles of Bonny Doon Vineyard. Without their story, you cannot fully taste the fruits of their land.

At first glance, you will be drawn to bottle for its creative and outwardly obvious tribute to UFOs and alien invasions. The art, created by artist Chuck House, plays tribute to the 1954 story of Marius Dewilde who spotted a cigar-shaped alien craft landing on his property. An event that triggered such an uproar in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, the mayor passed a law to protect their precious vines. You will also notice another reference as an alien face stares directly into your eyes from the top of the bottle.

Visually the wine calms your presence with a pink hue that sparkles like an ocean’s sunset. The ambiance dances from the bottle with soothing tinges of peach and an array of faint oranges. The sunlight shines in adoration as it cradles the bottle in its arms like a birthed young. Sweet smells of pure air and hints of salt whisk me off on coastal adventures. The faintest memory of beach air and seashells swirls my nostrils and brings a smile to my face. All sense provoked and invigorated. Drops of watermelon and cherry and childhood summers keep me motivated to continue my journey through this wine. Honesty, integrity and earthly perfection.

The wine tastes deeply and ethically, the care and attention to the farm and grapes reach through to your final sip. The wine is nicely balanced and perfectly rounded. There are no overpowering flavors and your palate will remain pleased and poised. Dim hints of citrus tapped into my senses with fresh morning grapefruits. Dabs of plum flavors and a minimal tang or marmalade. The overall flavors are perfectly paired with each other. The wine is fluid and tranquil. It is calming and sensual. An experience in itself.

For this article, Aitor chose Le Cigare Volant Reserve 2009.

Nowadays Randall produces a wide array of wines but maybe of his best ones is Le Cigare Volant, a Rhône-variety blend that uses the principal grapes of Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Cinsault. This blend goes against his belief of using mainly Syrah in a wine instead of Grenache or Mourvèdre. Recently we had the opportunity of enjoying a bottle of the 2009 Le Cigare Volant Réserve, a vintage that Randall considers “the most elegant and complete Cigare we have produced to date; it is literally a dream, and dare I say, a very strange synthesis of the sensibilities of southern Rhône and Burgundy.” The wine goes through a short period of élèvage in oak puncheons and then it stays for 23 months in 20-liter glass demijohns on its lees.

When we face the bottle, one thing caught our attention: the screwcap. It is a current misapprehension that screwcaps are only used in young wines, most of the times in white ones, and produced for being consumed young. Screwcaps, notwithstanding, enables wines to live approximately 50% longer than the same wine were it sealed in cork. The maturation of wine in screwcap is a bit different than the same wine in cork. The wine in screwcap is often more closed in or even reduced in its youth, but will truly remain a lot fresher over time, as compared to the same wine sealed with a cork.

We knew the wine we had in front of us was a special one; it was a 2009 so we knew Randall’s opinion about it. All our senses were on alert. We were absolutely taken by this wine. Smoothly perfumed, black fruit aromas, especially dark cherry, silky palate and a perfectly balanced structure. It was indeed a great wine that we enjoyed till the last drops of the bottle.

Some questions for Randall Grahm

Southern Rhône is known by its Grenache, Northern Rhône by Syrah. How do you manage to balance this wine using almost the same proportion of each variety?

Bear in mind that the 2009 was a fairly singular vintage for us. In general, we very seldom use such a high percentage of Syrah in our Cigare; it is generally Mourvèdre or Grenache which will play the starring role. The reason for this is that (proper) Syrah is so pungent that it will often aromatically dominate a blend and the wine will be more “Syrah” than “Cigare.” I accidentally found that if we used a high percentage of Cinsault in the blend, we could largely tame the aggressiveness of the Syrah. Cinsault has a very strong benzaldehyde component – wild cherry, if you will, and it seems to aromatically sit on top of the peppery aspect of the Syrah, affording the wine a real sense of elegance, almost recalling a Burgundian aspect.

Why screwcap for a wine made for ageing?

The wines almost age more slowly (and predictably) in screwcap, of course dependent on the type of liner that one uses. We use the Saratin (most oxygen-exclusionary) liner for white and pink wines as well as for vins de garde, i.e. wines intended for extended ageing. The maturation of the wine in screwcap (with a tight liner) is a bit different than the same wine sealed with cork. The screwcap wine will often be a bit more backward in its youth, but my estimation is that it will live 50% longer than the same wine sealed in cork. Again, I think this is a function of the fact that there is less oxygen permeation than you find with a cork. One of the benefits of the screwcap is that one is not obliged to use as much SO2 to achieve microbial control.

What do you find in using demijohns for ageing your wines?

We have used demijohns for ageing Le Cigare Volant, Le Cigare Blanc, and Vin Gris de Cigare, and in every wine they contribute something a bit different. But in general, we like the oxygen-exclusionary aspect of the demijohns – again, this helps to charge the battery of the wine, if you will. There also seems to be a greater degree of polysaccharides through yeast autolysis; this seems to contribute greatly to an improved textural element in the wine – length and suavity. Lastly, there is a non-trivial amount of glutamate released by the lees, which imparts a savory of umami character. The élevage in demijohn gives us generally a favorable result – increased complexity, better integration and certainly improved texture. The only potential Doon-side, if you will, is that sometimes the individual aromatic elements of the wine might tend to become a bit muddled. Thankfully, this does not appear to be the case with the 2009 Cigare.

You said 2009 was your best Le Cigare Volant vintage. What was so special about this year?

Nothing really special about the year frankly. We just seem to have accidentally really nailed the blend.

When you blend different varieties, what do you look for in each of them to bring into the wine, and how do you determine the right percentage of each one?

So much seems to depend on the vintage, and perhaps the diligence of the particular grower from whom we’ve purchased the fruit. But as I’ve mentioned, we usually intend to identify the real “star” of the vintage, be in Grenache or Mourvèdre, and then attempt to build the wine around that star. Generally, we are pretty successful in identifying the “A” lots, i.e. the batches that we’re absolutely certain will be included in the blend, and then we just go through a painful, iterative process of trying out differing percentages of the secondary lots to get closer to the final blend. At the end, we are just playing around, tweaking small percentages a bit to get precisely the balance we’re looking for. We try to get as close to the final blend as early in the process as we can, but it is not unheard of for us to sometimes make some last minute adjustments if the wine has moved in an unexpected direction. Obviously, it’s very important to taste the blend over and over to make sure that we’re happy with it; one’s own taste does seem to vary from day to day, I’ve observed. Bear in mind, we always try to work with the same grape varieties, but the percentages may vary enormously from year to year. In near future, when we are working exclusively with our own grapes for Cigare, these percentages will not vary nearly so much.

What is more appealing for you in Rhône varieties rather than other more “American” varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel?

I can’t really say with precision why Rhône varieties have proven to be the most appealing to me. I’m not a big Zinfandel fan, as I generally have little patience for high alcohol wines. Cabernet as a grape has very little allure for me; mostly because I feel that it is a bit simple, but also, I don’t really think I have much to contribute to the world-wide conversation about Cabernet. In a sort of perfect world, I would be making Burgundy, truth be told, but this would necessitate me living in Burgundy, and I’m not sure exactly how that would work. With Rhône varieties (especially when blended), I think I’ve been able to achieve a modicum of elegance and complexity, which is what I look for in serious wines. I am still a bit unhappy that we in the New World have yet to find our own voice, our own distinctive style that is not derivative of the Old World. I am hopeful that I will live long enough to help breed some new varieties, which (perhaps in combination) will allow us to find individual biotypes that are perhaps more congruent to our unique conditions.

Header photo (c) Alex Krause

Marjan Simčič, family winemaking tradition in Slovenia

Aitor Trabado
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Marjan Simčič, family winemaking tradition in Slovenia

The Northeast part of Italy, where the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region rests, is part of a wider area known as Istria, which includes parts of Friuli, Slovenia and Croatia. Here the production of wine is almost a religion, where you can find so many great producers with long family traditions, some of them going back to the XIX century.

Such is the case of the Slovenian winemaking family we will talk today about. It was in 1860 when the great-great-grandfather of Marjan Simčič bought a farm in Medana and began vine growing and winemaking. Over the years, the reigns of the family business were passing down from one generation to the next, along with the knowledge and tradition until he took care of the vineyards. The year was 1988 and it took him nine more years to build a new wine cellar, five meters underground, surrounded by olive trees and vineyards in the village of Ceglo. In the next few years, Marjan developed his ancestors’ winemaking tradition until reaching what the winery is today: 20 hectares of land, in the very heart of Goriška -Brda area, vineyards spreading over the Slovenian and Italian border, where the Collio DOC is located. These 20 hectares produce 100,000 bottles a year, which is a big amount among local wineries.

The Brda terroir is very special. In this side of the order, in Brda jargon Opoka means marl of Aeolian sediment very poor in organic structure, whereas very rich with mineral salts. The area offers ideal climatic conditions for winegrowing. With the protection of the Pre-Julian Alps and the Trnovska Plateau in the back and the warm breeze coming from the Adriatic Sea, the soil of Brda is ideal for growing vines.

A major change came when Marjan decide to go natural in the vineyards. The work in the vineyard (cutting, multiple cleaning of vines, picking of grapes), is done exclusively by hand, which results in increased quality of the wines. No chemical compounds nor were additives used anymore. As Marjan says: “We decided several years ago that our vines would be grown using only natural methods, without any chemical fertilizers or insecticides. Experience has taught us that this allows for the preservation of the natural cycle of living organisms in the vineyard and enables the soil and the vines to respond naturally, spontaneously, and to become even more harmonious by overcoming certain problems.”

In 2008 the winery released their top end line of wines, Opoka Cru, marking a milestone in the family. The winery portfolio includes three lines, and we will stop at the Opoka one.

The first line is named Brda Classic. The wines are all single-varietal: Ribolla, Sauvignonasse, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Grigio. They age in steel tanks for one year.

The second line is Cru Selection (Selekcija). The wines are single-varietal: Ribolla Selection, Sauvignon Blanc Selection, Chardonnay Selection and Pinot Noir Selection. Thenwe have the two blends: Teodor White Selection and Teodor Red Selection. Finally, a Passito wine: Leonardo. These are complex wines made exclusively from the best grapes and matured slowly for a period between two and four years in casks and wooden barrels of different sizes. None of these wines undergo filtration.

The Cru Selection white wines undergo maceration with the skins for a few days: four days for the Sauvignon Blanc and the Chardonnay and six days for the Ribolla. The grapes of the Teodor White Selection undergo two days of maceration with the skins for the Sauvignonasse and the Pinot Grigio and six days for the Ribolla.

Then we arrive to the top end line: Opoka Cru, the most prestigious line of wines, with the signature of Marjan Simčič. Here we have three single-varietal white wines and a single-varietal red. Opoka Cru Sauvignon Blanc and Opoka Cru Chardonnay undergo a skin-maceration period of four days in 4,000-liter troncoconical oak tanks.

Opoka Cru Ribolla is a very special wine as it cannot be otherwise with this variety. Marjan uses concrete eggs for the Rebula Opoka grapes. First for the long maceration, which lasts for two weeks. The alcohol fermentation is done in contact with the skins. Then, after soft pressing the Ribolla Opoka wine spends one year in concrete egg barrels and another year in 500l oak barrels. The concrete eggs enable better micro-oxygenation and allow the tanins to mature faster.

The Opoka Cru Merlot ages for 48 months in oak.

The Opoka Cru line is the special feature of the cellar. They are the best of the best. They are produced only with the most exceptional harvests, in extremely small quantities and without filtration. They are released into the market after seven months of bottle.

“I produce unique natural wines with recognizable character of our terroir and I believe in traditional winemaking methods. All our wines are made exclusively from our own grapes, which are organically – farmed and hand –picked.” Marjan Simčič

Soon we will talk to Marjan Simčič about his wines and his winemaking philosophy.

Photos (c) Marjan Simčič

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Movia Wines, Orange magic in Slovenia

Aitor Trabado
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Movia Wines, Orange magic in Slovenia

Slovenia. Yes, they do produce wine in Slovenia. You might think it is not a good wine, as nobody knows about wine being produced in Slovenia, yet they do produce high quality wine here. There are a few DOs in this small country and you can find really important wineries and winemakers doing very interesting things. Of course you need to investigate, but hey, ain’t what being a winelover is all about?

Slovenia is divided into three main wine regions, which are as well subdivided: Prodavje, with two areas: Ŝtajerska Slovenija and Prekmurje; Posavje, with three areas: Bizeljsko Sremič, Bela Kajina and Dolenjska; Finally, Primorska, subdivided into Goriška Brda, Vipavska Dolina, Slovenska Istra and Kras. We will go over them sometime soon in the future, as the producers we will find here are really worthy of detailed conversations.

Today, we will go to Goriška Brda, an area that is located so close to our beloved Friuli, right in front of Gorizia. In fact, this area, both the one belonging to Italy and the one belonging to Slovenia, has been shifting in the hands of different countries depending on the outcome of several wars. This area was part of the Austrian empire and then Slovenia and then Italy until the way borders are defined today. For example, the winery we will talk about today is located in Slovenia but some of its vineyards are right across the border in Italy.

Why do we visit Goriška Brda? Well, aren’t we in love with Orange wines? Slovenia is one of countries where you can find great producers of this style of wine. They use all the classical methods developed centuries ago in Georgia: amphora, long periods of maceration of the must with the skins, long ageing periods, etc.

We were intrigued about this region for a while and we were paying attention to their wines, but they were a bit difficult to find in your local wine shop unless you go to online shops. Or, you have a friend like Richard who knows and owns wines from here. So, one day, one bottle came into play. It was a very special sparkling wine. Last produced in 2006. Pure Rosé by Movia. An incredible sparkling wine made with Pinot Noir 100%. The must remain macerating with the skins for one day, thus the wonderful rosé color it shows. Primary fermentation in large tanks on natural yeasts, Secondary fermentation completed in barriques on the lees, four years of maturing in barriques. What also makes this wine so special? Well, contrary to common practice, it is not disgorged. Once you get a bottle, which we strongly recommend you to do, you have to lay it vertically on its cork. This way the sediment goes down and before you enjoy it, you have to open the bottle upside down so all the sediments and natural yeasts pop out when you disgorge it yourself. Once you do it, it is time to enjoy this wonderful sparkling wine like nothing you have tasted before.

Movia is a family estate based in Ceglo, with 22 hectares of vineyards in the border regions of Slovenia (Goriška Brda) and Italy (DOC Collio). The head of the family is Aleš Kristančič, also the wine creator, being the 8th generation winemaking of the family after its history began back in 1820. They produce a wide array of wines, from red to whites to grappa and from local varieties (Sivi Pinot, Rebula…) to international ones (Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Picolit, Sauvignon, Pinot Gris…).

We will focus on two styles, the Puro and Puro Rosé sparkling wines and the Orange wines, whose best example is Movia Lunar.

After Puro Rosé, Puro is the other sparkling wine Aleš produces. Last produced in 2009, its blend is Chardonnay 60% and Ribolla 40%. The elaboration method is the same one as the Puro Rosé we saw before. Wine based on the method can be ageing forever, according to Aleš. It can reach 100 years of age and more and still maturing. It is beautiful clear wine without any use of sulphur.

Lunar is an incredible wine. A true Orange wine. Its aromas and palate captivates you from the very first time. Late harvest, it macerates eight months of skin contact in oak barrels, bottled under a full moon, no added sulphur, no filtration, no pressing and then it ages for 6 months in the bottle. Pure nature in your wineglass. Amber color of medium intensity. Plenty of character and a fine, long aftertaste. An extraordinary wine. Recommendation: leave the bottle standing up for one day before opening it and then decant it, serving the last part of the bottle in another glass. You will be thrilled to check the difference in aspect and taste between the decanted wine and the last serving of the bottle. Totally worth a try.

And you might think: Okay, just another Orange wine. But no, this is not your regular Orange wine for wine freaks like us. Every year, Aleš changes its blend. Sometimes is single varietal as in 2008, when it was 100% Chardonnay. Some other times it is a blend, like in 2013: Chardonnay 50% and Rebula 50%. If you like this style of wines, we are sure you will love Movia’s Lunar.

Soon we will talk to Aleš Kristančič about his passion for wines and his winemaking philosophy.

Photos © by Movia

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What does it mean a wine is Triple A?

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What does it mean a wine is Triple A?

This website is dedicated to Orange wines, to wines made in amphora and also to natural wines. I do not consider myself a fundamentalist of these styles. There are wine enthusiasts who when they read the words Reserva or Gran Reserva in a label they appreciate an instant guarantee of quality. The same happens to me when I see a seal stating the wine comes from Organic Farming, or a Demeter or Triple A certification. Nothing assures me, though, that what is inside the bottle will suit me, but any of those three stamps is a good starting point. It is true that almost all the wines I have tasted with these seals have taken me away, made me really enjoy a glass. These wines do not leave me indifferent. Some fascinate me, some others not so much, some are wines I would not buy again, but above all I like the differential touch they show. What I like about them is that at least they reflect the passion of those who make them, with all that it implies: respect for the land, respect for the fruit, a different way of elaboration, etc. As with traditional winemaking, that one involving harvest, pressing, fermentation, stainless steel and aging or not in wood, natural, organic, biodynamic and orange wines can also offer us many things.

Nowadays there is a stream of thought, so to say, about these wines that criticizes them for being just a fashion, for being wines with many flaws, for being wines that one day are good and another day are bad. They are cloudy wines and full of sediments and they smell of what some call “mice cage”, “mousiness” or “dog breath”. As in everything in life, the balance is in the middle point. Not all natural winemakers elaborate extreme wines. In fact, there are organic wines that many people would never identify them as not their usual style of wine. We cannot affirm that the extremist winemaker is the one making 10,000 bottles a year hidden in a small garage and the winemaker producing 100,000 bottles a year cannot be an organic winemaker. As wine aficionados, the best thing we can do is tasting everything and then making our mental schemes, not before you even taste them.

WineWorld offers many styles, enough so that everyone can find the one more adapted to them. There are many styles that I like but there are also many styles that I do not like. There are many Rioja or Ribera de Duero wines I love and I never get tired of enjoying them, yet I will not leave aside other wines that fascinate me just because I love those I mentioned. There are many fine, elegant and well-structured Orange wines that I love, and I wouldn’t renounce to a good Rioja and drink only Orange wines. I like my wines to grab me, surprise me, convey me something and above all I like tasting new things.

Only in Spain there are over 70 DOs. Bordeaux has over 60, Burgundy has over 100 and in Italy there are more than 1,000 grape varieties. Over 1,000!! There is so much to taste out there. Sometimes I find it hard to understand those who are not interested in tasting something new and who are always faithful to the same label, year in and year out, people who like wines always tasting the same. Despite not sharing their vision, there is nothing to criticize because as I said at the beginning, we all are entitled to choose what we like. I am also aware that there are wine styles, such as Port, Champagne or Jerez among others, in which many winemakers seek the homogenization of their wines no matter the vintage because that is their quality seal. There are many wineries with loyal customers who always want to find the same, knowing that they will not be disappointed with their favorite wine.

In the beginning I mentioned certifying institutions of natural wines. One of them is Tripe A. A number of producers of this style of wine created in Italy an association designed to safeguard their winemaking interests. They called this association Triple A. This partnership encompasses today wineries in Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Georgia and Greece, as well as Italy.

Triple A is more a movement that an association and its name refer to the three As representing his philosophy: Agriculture, Artisans and Artists. This movement originated as opposition to the increasing standardization of wine elaboration that can be seen today in WineWorld. Increasingly, techniques used in the vineyard and in the cellar, such as synthetic products and active dry yeasts, tend to eliminate the expression of the footprint and character of the vineyard in addition to the personality of the winegrower.

“A” as in Agriculture referring to the proper relationship between the individual and the vineyard, to get healthy and mature grapes with a natural agronomic intervention, without pesticides, chemicals or added treatments external to wine grapes.

“A” as in Artisans referring to the ability to act on a viticultural and enological process that does not modify the structure of the grape and wine.

“A” as in Artists referring to the artistic sensibility of winemakers upon their own work and ideas, which gives life to a wine reflecting the terroir where it comes from.

In 2003 Luca Gargano created the manifesto representing this group. A Triple A wine comes from as little interventionist winemaking as possible. A manual preparation of the future vine should be made by massal selection, without use of chemical substances. The life cycle of the grape must be respected to obtain its physiological maturation so it becomes completely healthy. Sulfites can be used in minimum quantities only at the time of bottling. Yeasts have to be indigenous and during fermentation process, wine levels such as acidity or sugar cannot be corrected. Nor will the wine be clarified or filtered before bottling it.

We may think that these producers work on their wines hidden in a dark garage, away from prying eyes, but if we pause a bit and look at who are the members of this movement we will see that far from this prejudice there are big and important producers in the mentioned countries. Just to mention few of them, in Italy we have Arianna Occhipinti in Sicily, Denis Muntanar in Friuli, La Stoppa in Emilia-Romagna, Emidio Pepe in Abruzzo and Carlo Viglione in Barolo. In Slovenia we have Cotar  and Movia. Pierre Overnoy (Jura), Château Le Puy (Bordeaux) and Huet  (Loire) are some of the wineries in France. Giorgio Clai in Croatia, Chateau Musar in Lebanon, Our Wine, Zurab Topuridze  and Iago Birarishvili in Georgia, Immich-Batterieberg in Germany, Weninger and Wimmer-Czemy in Austria and Barranco Oscuro and Esencia Rural in Spain.

This is just one of the many movements existing today. We also have many other producers who have adopted, or are in the process of doing so, these processing techniques. Josko Gravner, Il Carpino and Damijan Podversic in Italy, Andreas Tscheppe, Sepp Muster or Roland Tauss in Austria, Daterra Viticultores, Rafa Barnabé, MicroBio Wines, Vinos Ámbiz, Venus La Universal in Spain, Château Renard in Jura or Milan Nestarec in the Czech Republic, just to name a few.

Following the prevailing biodynamic rules in Triple A, organic or ecological agriculture does not guarantee that wine will be good. Stuff like using new barrels or in its sixth year of use, manual harvesting, filtering and clarification or not, longer or smaller bottles, etc., will never guarantee we will like the wine we are going to buy. Everything has a marked influence in the final product, of course, as they are parts of a whole. Following a few steps one year can make a wine good and the same steps the next year may turn wine into a not so good product. In WineWorld nothing is a guarantee of success because there are countless things that influence the final result. There are many ways of elaboration, some are more according to our taste than others are but that does not mean any of them is more or less correct.

In the end, it all comes down to being able to enjoy the wine we have in our glass.

Everything else is just fireworks.

Il Carpino, the true character of the Ribolla Gialla

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Il Carpino, the true character of the Ribolla Gialla

In many occasions, we have been talking about our favorite white varietal, the Italian Ribolla Gialla, because it adapts so well to a wide array of styles: dry, off-dry, sparkling, young dry, sweet and especially skin-macerated or Orange wine. We have enjoyed Orange wines produced with different varieties: Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Traminer, Rkatsiteli, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Albillo Real, Malvasia or Moscatel among others, but the way Ribolla displays in an Orange wines is just wonderful for us. The Ribolla is an autochthonous variety of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia in Italy, especially in the Eastern side of it, where many producers are located. And if there is a special place for producing Ribolla Gialla wines, we have to go to Oslavia (Gorizia), where, as my loyal reader knows, resides the Associazione Produttori Ribolla Di Oslavia, whose objective is promoting the Ribolla di Oslavia (macerated Ribolla Gialla) and make Orange wines known as much as possible. They want to demonstrate that organic and natural winemaking techniques can live with high quality wines. Six wineries form this association and today we will talk about one of them: Il Carpino.

The helms of this Azienda Agricola are held by the Sosol family, and they keep their business tightly inside the family. Parents Ana and Franco and children Naike and Manuel are in charge of everything. Headquarters are just outside Oslavia, in Borgo del Carpino, near the Slovenian border. Their approach to viticulture is not totally organic but they try to keep use of chemical products down to the minimum possible. Quality, and not quantity, is their objective, and to reach it they reduce the quantity of grape harvested by accurate pruning and drastic thinning out the bunches after they have flowered. Yields are kept in check with a guyot pruning that leaves only five or six buds per cane. No chemical fertilizers are used, and spraying against vine diseases is kept to minimum levels using products with a low impact on the environment even if the property has not yet succeeding in utilizing a strictly biological methods.

The Sosols produce two lines of styles. A fresh one, with young wines vinified in steel tanks called Vigna Runc. These wines are natural wines, without any synthetic add-on, no technique and using sulfites as less as possible.

The Riserva or Selection wines are named Il Carpino. Also natural wines, this line includes the skin-macerated or orange wines. As we will see next, they have a particular way of ageing the wines. After fermentation in skin contact, the wine is pressed and then it goes to big Slavonian botti. After this, the wine is transferred into steel tanks and finally, the affinamento takes places in bottle for a period of time that varies with each wine. These wines are the top end of the winery, made in complete balance with the soil and the character of the varieties, looking for leaving the wines as they are, not manipulating them with cellar processes such as clarification, filtering or correcting them.

Il Carpino line has five single varietal wines:

Il Carpino Chardonnay, skin-macerated for seven days with an ageing of 12 months in botti di Slavonia, 11 months in steel tank and 36 months in bottle.

Il Carpino Ribolla Gialla, skin-macerated for forty-five days in tronco-conical oak botti. Ageing takes place 12 months in botti di Slavonia, 11 months in steel tanks and 24 months in bottle. The vintage 2012 had a maceration of 55 days, then it stayed 24 months in oak and 24 months in bottle

Il Carpino Malvasia, skin-macerated for seven days with an ageing of 12 months in botti di Slavonia, 11 months in steel tank and 24 months in bottle.

Il Carpino Vis Uvae, skin-macerated Pinot Grigio for ten days with an ageing of 12 months in botti di Slavonia, 11 months in steel tank and 24 months in bottle.

Il Carpino Exordium, skin-macerated Friulano for ten days with an ageing of 12 months in botti di Slavonia, 11 months in steel tank and 24 months in bottle.

Il Carpino also includes a red blend, Rosso Carpino. As it is very common in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, this blend is based on Merlot, which is an 80% of it while the remaining 20% is Cabernet Sauvignon. As opposed to the other wines, the Merlot ages in big botti for 18 months while the Cabernet ages the same period but in barrels.

Nature and vinification Process

The best vineyards of Il Carpino have a very special characteristic: its soil is Ponka-based. Ponka is a marlstone that can only be found here in Friuli. The top part of the soil is a derivative of limestone with a lot of iron. Underneath it lays solid limestone formations derived from fossilized sealife. Ponka is located deep in the earth. When the ponka reaches the surface, the exposition to sun and rain break it and it returns to earth in the form of a soft soil, rich with microorganisms and very useful to the vines. Ponka has a high percentage of fossil; this allows the roots of the vine to go down searching for nurture assimilating everything the vine needs from the earth.

About Ribolla Gialla

The Ribolla Gialla grape adapts very well to the conditions it finds here. It is a very vigorous variety, especially when it starts to grow and it is capable of keeping its freshness even after 20 years of bottle. The Ponka-soil-born Ribolla offers its best character. After reaching a complete maturation in the vineyard and its harvest, the grapes are destemmed; the period of skin contact begins. It can be as long as fifty-five days depending on vintage.

The skin contact is important to extract the polyphenolic substances from the skin that contribute to give color, tannins, flavor, aromas and longevity to the wine.

During maceration, It is very important to be careful to not cover the variety and the terroir, something that back in the day used to happen with barrels. The character of the grape will be a little bit less fresh but the personality of the variety will not be lost. The maceration process will help protecting the wine because tannins are perfect antioxidant and the use of added sulfites is not necessary until the time of bottling the wine. The macerated wines are kept for one or two years in oak and some precipitation can occur. No filtration during bottling. The wine ages for two years in bottle before releasing in into the market.

The power of Collio is given by the Ribolla Gialla, the most important indigenous variety. Ribolla is the expression of this land, a grape that grows up in San Floriano and Oslavia for the last 1,000 years, even during the World War I when all the vineyards were destroyed. In the 1970s Ribolla was rediscovered and replanted again. San Floriano is a hilly area with a climate suitable for the cultivation of Ribolla Gialla. Not all the areas and all the climates are good for the growing of the Ribolla grape. The best exposition for its growth is South, South-West.

We will talk soon to Franco Sosol about his wines and his winemaking philosophy.

Photos (c) Azienda Agricola Il Carpino

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Eric Nicolas, winemaker of Domaine de Bellivière in the Loire

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Eric Nicolas, winemaker of Domaine de Bellivière in the Loire

Originally published in miamigoelvino.com 29/06/2017.

Recently we were talking about Domaine de Bellivière, a winery located in the Loire Valley specialized in producing incredible white wines using local variety Chenin Blanc. We talk today to Eric Nicolas, co-owner and winemaker.

Bonjour, Eric, and thank you so much for your collaboration. Where your passion for Chenin Blanc comes from?

At the beginning, I was just a wine lover interested in all wines and grape varieties. When I decided to create the Domaine de Bellivière in Jasnières, I had tasted several wines from the Loire valley and especially from Jasnières and I was surprised by the expression of the soil (terroir) in the wine. The Chenin, as Riesling, transcribes the expression of terroir.

You produce six wines under AOC Jasnières and four more under AOC Coteaux Du Loir. Which are the differences we can find in the wines coming from each AOC?

The two AOC are very near and the soils are similar. The main difference is microclimatic because the AOC Jasnières is much more influenced by the Forest ofBercé than the AOC Coteaux du Loir. This influence results in the apparition of botrytis in the grapes of the AOC Jasnières and very often even when the wines are dry, they are rounder in Jasnières and much stricter in Coteaux du Loir wines.

Which AOC do you prefer for working and why?

I love working in both of them but in Coteaux du Loir are the oldest vines of the Domaine and I admire them.

We have tasted some Chenin from South Africa and though they are very good they don’t reach the levels of the local Chenin. What is so special here for the Chenin Blanc?

The complexity of the soil and mainly the special climate totally adapted to the cycle of Chenin are the main explanations.

In Jasnières you have produced Discours de Tuf (2009) and Elixir de Tuf (1997, 2004 and 2005). How come these wines are made so sparingly?

Those vintages offered enough botrytis to sort out. 2005 was a particular vintage. It was not a late harvest. The botrytis appeared very soon, massively and very purely. Since this year, I am waiting for a very pure botrytis to make again wines like that because I am looking for purity and fineness.

We find Les Rosiers simply fantastic. How is the winemaking process of this wine?

Les Rosiers corresponds to our youngest vines in the AOC Jasnières. Manually harvested and pneumatically pressed, then it ages 10 months in oak barrels and then it is bottled.

Which kind of oak barrels you do employ for the ageing?

Recent French oak barrels and 20% of new oak in the wines issued from old vines.

How do you transmit into your wines the terroir we find here in the Loire Valley?

A lot of work in the vines (ploughing, etc.) to obtain the most beautiful grapes and then nothing added into the wines except a little bit of SO2 before bottling.

How is your work in the vineyards? Almost all of your plots are now organic-certified.

All our plots are organic and biodynamic certified. Only when we receive a new parcel, it takes 3 years to convert it to organic.

How is your winemaking philosophy?

Trying to be as closely as possible to the plant to be able to understand it and not to apply ready-made receipt.

What do you like to offer in your wines? Is there an “Eric Nicolas” wine?

Elegance, fineness, purity and I think we have a style due to the aging in barrels in our natural cellars.

How is Les P’tits Vélos, a sparkling wine, produced?

The unique wine we made until now was a test with 2 barrels of Jasnières 2008. It had been harvested to vinify still wine so it was too rich to make a sparkling wine. That is why the wine was semi sweet and very digest because it was a natural refermentation.

We know that wines are felt like own children, but which are the wines you are most proud of? Any particular vintage?

2010 without hesitation. The vintage was so perfect for the vines that we did not make any treatment against diseases. And I am persuaded that the wines are purest. 2017 is starting to be like 2010.

Which wines do you like to drink when you are not working?

I am still a wine lover and I like to discover all kinds of wines.

Thank you so much, Eric!!

Photos (c) Domaine de Bellivière

Albita de Ihuanco, the first Orange wine in Perú

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Albita de Ihuanco, the first Orange wine in Perú

In our routes searching for Orange Wines and wines produced in amphora we have traveled to different countries such as Austria, Italy, Spain, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Greece and Georgia but so far we had stayed in the Old Continent. Now we will take a short leap and cross to South America, where we will find an Orange wine in Peruvian soil made with native grapes that has jumped to the wine lists of some of the best restaurants in the world.

José “Pepe” Moquillaza is the architect of this wine. Pepe is a winegrower since 2003 when he started producing Pisco, the typical Peruvian distillate made from fermented wine produced in Peru since late in the sixteenth century.

In the town of San Juan de Ihuanco in Cerro Azul, province of Cañete, the vineyards of El Quintanar are located five kilometers from the Ocean Pacific, only five hectares planted with the Albilla, Italy  and Quebranta, traditional grape varieties that are pisqueras. A plot of three hectares is planted on a hillside with ungrafted root stock and another plot of the remaining two hectares is planted with native grafted vines. The soil of the plots is fairly mineralized, with granite and quartz, and have a yield of about 4,000 kilos per hectare.

The Quebranta variety is a gray grape, not a red one, and using it since 2012 Pepe produces a traditional Peruvian claret, Quebrada de Ihuanco, along with his partner Camilo Quintana, with a production of 1,800 bottles per vintage that this year will will raised to 3,600 bottles.

MIMO Wines & Spirits is a new project of Moquillaza along with his other partner, Matías Michelini. La Quilloay winery is in the Valley of Ica, 300 kilometers south of Lima. There is a small vineyard of Italia grapes and an old wine cellar equipped with a copper still and 40 concrete fermenters of 1,800 liters each that got a bit damaged by the 2007 earthquake.

The Quilloay is the epicenter for MIMO wine production (Michelini and Moquillaza). They work together for an oenological connection between the Ica Valley in Peru and the Uco Valley in Argentina and produce three MIMO wines: a red wine of Ica cofermenting Quebranta with Moscato Rosso and two single varietal orange wines using Italia and Torontel. The reds spend eight months in barrels of sixth use and the oranges four months in clay amphora made 80 years ago.

For the Peruvians, the Quebranta grape is the queen of the grapes. Its main characteristic is that it generates a lot of sugar and has large grains in areas with high luminosity like the valley of Ica. It is a very good grape for pisco but not so much for making wine. In Ihuanco, the climatology is quite adequate for the vineyards, being located by the sea, which provides breeze and fog that translate into less luminosity, smaller berry and thicker skin, as well as mineralization and salinity.

The obtained wines are of a young profile without a long aging. They are wines that are ideal to accompany the subtleties of the Peruvian gastronomy.

Pepe also produces a mistela recovering a tradition of the sixteenth century called Old Families with a small production of some 600 bottles a year. His pisco is Inquebrantable and he produces 1,500 liters per year but he only make 990 bottles a year with 10 years of ageing. Peruvian rules allow bottling right after 3 months of ageing.

In 2014 Jose added a new wine to his portfolio, the main character of our article today. Albita de Ihuanco is the first Orange wine coming from Peru, made with Italia and Albilla. The winemaking is as follows: firstly, it ensures that the grapes are not fully matured by advancing the harvest for about 30 days so that the grapes have a lower sugar level and a higher acidity. After the harvest, a third of the grapes are introduced into the deposits to have a little natural carbonic maceration. The rest of the grape is destemmed and broken. The must is then in contact with the skins for 60 days at uncontrolled temperature. Once these 60 days have gone by, the grapes are pressed and the base wine is obtained, that then is divided. One third goes to clay amphora and two thirds go to a Flexitank where it stays for another 90 days, and then it is bottled with the minimum amount of sulfites required.

The 2014 and 2015 harvests hovered over 1,200 bottles. In 2016 a cold wave reduced production and only 300 bottles were obtained. In 2017 the vineyard endured a flood that caused damage and production has reached 600 bottles, all pre-sold to the world’s leading restaurants.

Soon we will talk with José Moquillaza about all his work and wine philosophy.

Photos (c) José Moquillaza

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Clai Winery, Orange wines in Istria, Croatia

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Clai Winery, Orange wines in Istria, Croatia

By the end of the 20th century, Orange wines elaboration was having a rebirth after being forgotten for many years. It was in this region of Istria where they came to life again. Istria is an area including parts of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia and besides many great Orange wines producers, is also home to one grape variety that offers great results: Malvasia Istriana. We’ve been talking about a few producers making brilliant dry wines with this grape, wineries that have vineyards more than 80 years old and they produce Malvasia wines in a wide array of styles: bone dry, aged in steel tanks, oak-aged and with some really vinification processes. Today we will talk about Orange wines made with Malvasia Istriana. And since we are in Istria, we will talk about one producer making this kind of wine. And we will go across the border of Italy and Slovenia to Croatia, where we will find Clai Wines.

The village of Krasica, 40 milometers away from Trieste in Italy, is home to Giorgio Clai’s winery. This winery is a small family business owning eleven hectares of field, three of them are devoted to olive trees and the remaining eight are vineyards. Here Giorgio mostly plants autochthonous varieties, and just a small amount of international ones for his blends. When we talked about Friuli in Italy, we saw that there is a special climate conditions due to the fact that the area is in between the Pre-Julian Alps and the Adriatric Sea. Here in this area of Croatia the Ucka Mountain and the sea air coming up the Mirna River meet creating this special microclimate to cultivate vines and olives.

Clai’s vineyards are planted with Malvasia Istriana, Refosco and Muscat. With these grapes, they produce six different labels either as single varietals or blends.

The fields are worked in an organic way, the fertilization is minimal and when needed, using only organic and natural manures. No use of any systematic treatments: herbicides, insecticides, commercial fertilizers, etc.

Once the grapes have been harvested, the fermentation occurs spontaneously on the skins and without the addition of enzymes, added yeasts or malolactic bacteria. After this, the ageing takes place in wood barrels of different sizes with a long stay on the lees. Around a year later the wines are bottled without any filtering.

Clai produces two single varietal wines. We won’t say which is better, but our heart certainly goes to the Malvasia Istriana. SV. Jakov Malvazija comes from vines giving 1-1,5 kilograms of fruit. Depending on the year, the must stays in contact with the skins a period between two and four months in open vats, without the addition of selected yeasts and enzymes. Then the wine ages in large wooden casks of 25 hectoliters. In 2015 the production was 6,000 bottles. Not a single bottle in 2014 as the harvest was really difficult due to so much rain and a small amount of fruit.

The second single varietal is the Brombonero Refošk, produced with local Refosco grape. Same process and elaboration method as the Malvasia. Brombonero 2014 experienced the same situation as SV. Jakov as well and in 2015 the production was 4,000 bottles.

Then we have two blends: a white one and a red one. The white blend is Ottocento Bijeli, produced using Malvasia Istriana, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Sauvignon. In 2014 they produced around 9,000 bottles increasing this number up to 12,000 in 2015.

Ottocento Crni is the red blend, using Refosco, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2014 they produced around 9,000 bottles bumping up to 10,000 in 2015.

Tasel is their sweet wine based on White Muscat. And finally their sparkling wine PjenuŠavo Vino, elaborated with Malvasia Istriana, Chardonnay and Plavina. This wine is elaborated under the classical method of fermentation in the bottle and it ages 24 months on the lees.

Soon we will talk to Giorgio Clai about his wines and his winemaking philosophy.

Photos (C) Clai Winery

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