This month’s newsletter, amazingly enough, coincided with the arrival of our Direct Import container. Wines that all have a special place in my heart, some of these friendships I’ve curated over the last 25 years while importing their wines. Italy, for me, is a treasure trove, constantly brimming with new wines, varieties, and styles that, even after a lifetime of trying to learn everything new, come to the surface every week.
Read MoreCall me silly but I always find staying in castles a bit exciting—not that I’m into hanging out over the ramparts, but there’s just something about it. It’s no different at the Castello di Perno except this small castle is poised on a ridge above the village of Monforte d’Alba, one of my favorites in Barolo. It’s an old castle, but the thing that is really interesting is that Giulio Einaudi, one of Italy’s most famous publishers, owned this up until 2012 when Giorgio Gitti purchased it and the estate. They still have Einaudi’s library, and it gave me goosebumps when I visited and walked over the creaking wooden floor and smelled the dusty old manuscripts—it made me feel like I was in a castle!
Read MoreEvery time I write an introduction for one of these newsletters I feel a great weight, like all of Italy is depending on me to explain their wines, because a lot of the wines do take some explaining! Italy’s bountiful wine culture produces a plethora of styles from hundreds of unique varieties—it’s really complicated. It’s not just grape varieties that contribute to the intricacy of the wine culture; it’s the varied terrain of mountains, valleys, cliffs, plus a myriad of different trellising methods—and then there’s diverse winemaking methods such drying the grapes as well. But this month I’ll be talking about Italy’s bread and butter—or maybe focaccia and olive oil—with a focus on Piedmont and Tuscany, new and old.
Read MoreBarale Fratelli is always among our favorites wines from Piedmont, as the balance between elegance and value that each bottle delivers seriously can't be matched. In their 2016 Barolo, they've truly made something special.
Read MoreEleonora and her sister, Gloria, represent the fifth generation to take the reins at Barale Fratelli, a Piedmontese winery whose history in the Barolo region runs 150+-years deep. The fact that they are not fratelli at all, but sorelle (sisters), is as important as the fact that they are still making exceptional, traditionally styled Barolo. They uniquely represent the new generation in Barolo: proud women holding leadership roles in what was once a very male-dominated context, but with ties to the past and great respect for tradition. If they are indeed the future of Barolo, then there’s a beautiful symbiosis of past and present in store.
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