Tre Bicchieri 2015

 

 Tre Bicchieri is Gambero Rosso's annual Wine Tasting, where they show wine that got the "Tre Bicchieri" that year. Tre Bicchieri is the highest award. 
I went last year, but this year it was much better. Probably because I knew more about wine and I knew more people. And of course, Luca Currado was here this time!

Luca Currado, the winemaker of Vietti, won the Wine of the Year from Gambero Rosso, and so he was there this year. As you may know, I have worked for Vietti two summers in a row, and so it felt natural to help out. I spent the majority of the event behind the table, helping to pour the wine while telling the people about it. Luca brought with him the 2011 Barolo Castiglione, 2011 Barolo Brunate and of course the 2007 Villero, which was the Wine of the Year. You can read more about the Villero on the Vietti Website.

Although I spent most of my time behind the Vietti table, I also got to taste some wine. Among the wines I tasted was the Oddero Barolo. I was sad that Isobel was not there, but maybe I'll get to meet her next time!

New Year 2014: Felice Anno Nuovo

It's been a good year, with lots of good wine, great food and incredible people.
I've tried more new wines this year than the year before, met new people in the wine industry and tried different types of winery work. Safe to say it's been an amazing year "wine wise". 

Hopefully next year will be equally great or perhaps even better. Maybe I'll get to try Harvest, something I always miss due to school. Since I graduate in May, I hope that I'll be able to go to Harvest, even though I'll have to go to the gym everyday if I want to be any help at all. 

 

Thank you to everyone who made this year great! Especially my friends in Italy! I miss you guys and hope to see you soon!

Felice Anno Nuovo!

La Morra - Brookline

I found La Morra - in Brookline.

Looking for restaurant choices on Open Table, La Morra came up. Since I frequent the city of La Morra, and love Italian food,  I thought it would be interesting to check it out. As soon as I got in the door, I was greeted by a giant Vietti poster. The funny thing is, I spent a few hours rolling those posters together, so it brought back fond memories.

We had to ask about their connection with Vietti, and it turned out the owners, Josh and Jennifer Ziskin, have lived in La Morra in Piemonte, and worked at a restaurant there. What are the chances?! They are also familiar with the Vietti family and their wines, and have most of their wines on their wine list. It was nice to be surrounded by people familiar with La Morra, the people of Barolo and of course, the wine.

The food was good, the staff was friendly and the wine amazing. It's nice to know a little piece of La Morra is close by. 

Check out the website here.
Their wine list online is not comprehensive, but the wine list in the restaurant is quite impressive. 

New York Wine Experience

I have never been to the New York Wine Experience, but it's on my Barrel List. 

This year, my "boss" Elena Penna with Vietti will be there, and I am sad to miss her.

You can read more about the event here. 

The Wine Spectator hosts the Wine Experience, and the event consist of seminars and tasting. There is a program with sit down tastings, lunches with wine parings and a Grand Award Banquet. 

Father and Daughter Wine Makers

This summer, my Dad joined me at Vietti for a day and Altare for a day.

 

When we worked for Vietti, we went to their Vineyard near Asti, where they have some Dolcetto and Barbera. We did what is called de-leafing, where we cut off the leaves to expose the grapes to the sun. Due to the wet weather this year, the grapes need to be exposed to the sun more than if it had been a dry year. Working so close to the grapes is amazing. You actually feel like you are making a difference, even though we may not have made any difference.

At Altare's, we did some labeling and packaging, preparing a shipment. Working with Silvia is always fun, and we played music and had some fun.
Labeling involves putting the full bottles onto the machine that labels for you, the packaging the bottles. Everything is done by hand, other than the actual labeling. It may not sound that way, but it is hard work. But we had some fun too!

Vietti

Vietti has made wine since the 19th century, but it was not until the 20th century the winery really started to produce wine for the market. 
Today Luca Currado and his wife, Elena, run the day to day, Luca in the vineyard overseeing the grapes, and Elena the marketing and public aspect.
They have over 35 hectares today, but even though they are quite large, theu are still a family winery, taking excellent care of their grapes, producing high quality, natural wines.
For more information about Vietti, check out their website. 

Castiglione Falletto

My family, and maybe especcially myself, LOVE the Vietti family. Luca and Elena are fun, passionate poeple, and their love for their wines is contagious. A visit with Elena is fun and educational, and the tasting that follows is fantastic. If you are ever in Piemonte, Vietti is a place to stop by. Located in Castiglione Falletto, a beautiful town in the Barolo region. 

Luca Currado                            

I have even worked with Vietti. First with Luca in the vineyards, then with Elena in the cellar (wine visit mostly). The whole wine thing is rather new to me, but it was fun being part of the process, while learning more and more about how the wine actually gets into the bottle. 

Vietti makes a variety of wines, a Moscato, a white Roero Arneis, and of course Dolcetto, Barbera and Barolo. To learn more about their wines, look here.

DIY Gift: Cork Key Chain

When visiting someone, I try to bring something. This time, I brought Key Chains for everybody. Easy and simple, yet a nice gesture. You can see how to make them here.

Off I Go!

Last summer, I had the pleasure of working at Vietti Winery in their vineyards. Now I am off again! I don't know what I will be doing, but I know it will be great! 

The main task last year was Green Harvest, where we reduced the number of clusters of grapes per vine. The reason behind this is to maximize the quality for the remaining grapes, and to get rid of any ruined or underdeveloped grapes. 

 

 

DIY: Wine Cork Key Chain

I have had the same key chain since I was in middle school, a pink heart with a flower inside. I thought it was time to get a new one. And what could be better than a wine cork key chain?!

All you need is:
Your key
A key ring
A screw eye
And a cork

 

You take the cork you want, and screw the Screw Eye into the top, as far as it will go. Then you thread the key ring on, and of course your key, and VOILA!

 

Summer 2014

The calendar is filling up, mostly with wine visits. Earlier, Italy has been the only place on the agenda, but this year I am expanding my horizons, and the adventure continues in France. The whole family is renting an apartment in Beaune, allowing me to experience wine there as well. 

I believe we are visiting Louis-Michel Liger-Belair, and attempting to visit a few others. One of my favorites, Matrot, is high on my list of wineries to visit. 

foto: piemontegirl

elio altare, summer 2012

And, of course, Piemonte is on the agenda. As previous years, Altare is first on the list. Bartolo Mascarello, Vietti, Cavallotto and Ettore Germano are also on the schedule. We are trying to add some new wineries to the list, since we rarely visit new ones, but I love seeing old friends again. 

With the vacation fast approaching, the excitement is growing and growing. I can't wait!!

#tbt: Dalla Terra Wine Tasting

May 9th I experienced my first official wine tasting. The event was closed to the public, but since my Dad has some connections, I was able to attend. I brought a friend, and the two of us had no idea what we were doing. So, we dove in head first. Glass in hand, with our booklets, we started tasting under the pretense of working for a restaurant. The first two stations were Adami and Cleto Chiarli. My friend and I made the mistakes of drinking a little too much at the firsttwo tables, so by the time we reached the third, Aia Vecchia, I had to respectfully declinetasting the red wines. 

We ended up staying at Aia Vecchia for a while. We learned the representative. Elia Pelligrini, used to be a professional soccer player, for Livorno. He was taken out of the game due to an injury to his leg, and he is now in the wine business with his family. Elia was a wonderful person, so passionate about the wine, and excited to tell us about his family and their wines.

The next visit was with Casanova di Neri and the representative Luigi Bonari. There is a funny story attached to this particular wine, a story I did not know until after I had met with Luigi and tasted the wines, which were phenomenal by the way. I learned the story once my Dad arrived. Many years earlier, on a wine trip in Italy, my Dad had been 4 meters away from visiting and tasting Casanova di Neri wines, but due to the large number of people, my Dad decided to get back in the car and go. It was not until later my Dad realized he had made a huge mistake, because the wines, as you may know, are superb. So at this wine tasting in Boston, my Dad told the story to Luigi, and added that he would never again make the same mistake: never judge a vineyard by the number of tourists. You never know what you may be missing.

The second to last wine we tasted was Marchesi di Gresy. It’s maker, Alberto di Gresy, is commonly known as the count. This visit can best be described as hilarious. The count and his younger family member were wonderful. The younger representative, whom we dubbed Count Jr. was engaging, passionate and full of energy. My friend accompanying me told him he was graduating, and it turned out so was Count Jr. A special connection was formed as we talked about wine, about Italy and about family, and at the end we were invited to visit this summer. And I think we just might.

Last, but not least, we have Vietti. Previously I have met Elena, or should I say Mrs. Vietti. She was not there at the tasting, but her husband, Luca or Mr. Vietti was. And let me tell you, they are both incredible. Luca showed deep passion whilst «promoting» his wine. I use quotation marks because he was not really promoting. He was simply talking about his wine. However, interestingly enough, Mr. Vietti spent more time discussing his children and his love of beer and burgundy wine. We talked about his daughter’s success with skiing, how he makes his own beer, and how be prefers putting that beer in glass bottles (so he can open them with a knife like you would a bottle of champagne). It was truly amazing. His passion for what he does was inspiring to watch.

To sum it up: wine tasting rocks.

Rejoice.

The Beginning

Summer 2011, I went to Cinque Terre, Italy, with my family. There I met Elio Altare, the winemaker behind Altare wines, and it was one of the most memorable moments in my life. Señor Altare showed me the love he has for his wine, and it sparked something in me. Interest, curiosity, passion, love; call it what you want, but this initial meeting has started me on a sort of journey, a journey that evolved the next summer.

Cinque Terre

Summer, 2012, I had the pleasure of experiencing a wine tasting for the first time, in Piemonte, Italiy. My Dad has long been interested in wine, and finally I had the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. Because to me, wine was just wine. Alcohol. Some tasted good, some tasted not so good. But in the end, to me, it was just a bottle with alcoholic content. After last summer, I no longer see it that way. And I will tell you why.

I am not sure where to begin. But I soon figured out that the bottle sitting in front of me had more to it than first meets the eye. The people I met, the farmer who produce the wine, they are some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. Their passion for what they do is contagious. They tell their story, using their whole bodies, explaining and elaborating on the long process behind the bottle sitting in your home. These people care for their grapes, they care for their wine, and they treat the whole process with lots and lots of love. They light up when talking about their wines, and it is clear they really love what they do.

After meeting some of the winemakers in person, it makes all the difference, at least to me. When I open a Vietti wine, not only do I enjoy the taste, but I recall all those incredible moments I had with Elena, one of makers of Vietti wine. And I think maybe that for me, that is the point. I’m not that interested in all the details of the actual process of making wine. I am interested in the people, the story, and the passion.

Rejoice.