Category Archives: HOT NEWS

2017 Ornellaia harvest

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“Here at Ornellaia 2017 has been an unusually early year dominated by a long lasting drought period, which has forced us to startharvest two weeks earlier than usual. It is certainly a challenging year with a very small crop and very concentrated fruit. The Merlot have been harvested from last week of August to first week of September. The Cabernets have benefitted from some rain in mid September and could be picked in perfect conditions in the last decade of the month.”

“In the cellar it was crucial to drastically sort out any dehydrated and dried fruit and go through very gentle extraction with moderate maceration times. The quality of the red wines is definitely a nice surprise, they are certainly ripe and concentrated, with intense and dark colour, abundant but ripe and silky tannins and, luckily, healthy acidities to balance out the alcohol levels. The whites are equally beautiful for all varieties, they are concentrated with bright aromatics and excellent acidities.” Axel Heinz, winemaker and Estate Director

Barolo Castle, “Food & Wine Experiences”

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The “Food & Wine Experiences” will be part of the new “permanent project” of Collisioni

Every weekend, from October 7th to November 26th 2017, in the Barolo Castle, tastings of the wines of prestigious wine producing companies of Langhe paired with top quality food products.

 

 

Strada del Barolo e grandi vini di Langa and Collisioni have sealed a deal to include the Food & Wine Experiences in the new permanent project launched last May at Castello Comunale Falletti di Barolo and entirely addressed to the promotion of the best territories of Piedmont in a tourist perspective.

Aim of the new permanent project of Collisioni is to amaze the thousands of tourists that come here every year so that they will fall in love with Piedmont. In other words, the goal is to better tell the wonderful places they can visit, as well as the great wines and top quality food production they can find and discover.

The project Wine Tasting Experience® fully expresses the soul of this initiative: and here stands the reason of this partnership. On schedule there is a calendar with 16 Food & Wine Experiences, some special Wine Tasting Experiences® paired with top quality food productions of Piedmont. Exclusive tastings addressed to a public of international wine lovers during which the great wines of Langhe e Roero will meet D.O.P. cheeses and cold cuts and other culinary delicacies of the region in an extraordinary explosion of flavours!

The events will be from October 7th to November 26th 2017, every Saturday (in English) and Sunday (in Italian) at 11.30 in the courtyard of the Barolo Castle, know as Castello Comunale Falletti di Barolo.

The topics, that will rotate, are “The taste of the hills” and “The Crus of Barolo”: the first is an introductive journey among the most peculiar productions of Piedmont, with the tasting of four different wines among Arneis, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Barolo and Moscato; the second is a travel marked by the tasting of three different Barolo labels. The tastings last 1.5 hours and include the tasting of 3 or 4 wines, according to the topic, and 3 or 4 tastings of food products.

It will be possible to buy the tickets online on www.winetastingexperience.it or directly on site at a cost of 30 euros per person.

Beside these appointments, the agreement with Collisioni also includes the use of the spaces in the courtyard of the castle for on demand Wine Tasting Experiences®. There will also be a promotional corner with the wines of the members of Strada del Barolo inside the Wine Bar, which will be located in the courtyard of the Barolo Castle.

www.winetastingexperience.it

2017 Eu wine grape harvest: the lowest in 36 years

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2017 seems the poorest wine grape harvest in 36 years, this caused by heavy hailstorms, late frosts in spring and a hot, dry summer.

According to the European Commission, production of pressed juice, or must, in Spain was set to be down 16 percent from 2015/2016 volumes. In France it would be 17 percent lower and in Italy down by 21 percent. Wine must production across the 28 members of the EU is seen at 145.1 million hectoliters, down 14 percent from the 2015/2016 level.

Alta Langa, sparkling wine of the Alba Truffle Show

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Alta Langa azienda Bera

From the 7th of October to the 26th of November, lots of opportunities to try out the pairing between the white truffle and Piedmont’s finest sparkling wine

The sparkle of Alta Langa and white truffle: Alta Langa is the Official Sparkling Wine of the Alba Truffle Show for this 87th edition of the event.

Lots of different events will be taking place from the 7th of October to the 26th November, offering visitors the chance to explore all the nuances of the pairing between Alta Langa and white truffle, celebrating the strong link between the unison of flavours and tradition, and the excellences of the local Langa produce.

Last Tuesday, 26 September, Piedmont’s finest sparkling wine was used for the opening toast at De Truffle. Alessi Design meets the Alba White Truffle and during the lunch that followed at Guido Ristorante Villa Reale Tenuta di Fontanafredda (chef Ugo Alciati). And it will be served again on the 3rd of October, for the toast at the press conference to present the event at the Foreign Press Association in Rome.

Alta Langa will be present at the official opening of the show on Friday the 6th of October, at the Teatro Sociale Busca di Alba, and at the Gala Dinner held at the Fondazione Ferrero.

During the Show, a space will be dedicated to tasting Alta Langa in the Grande Enoteca and an Alta Langa corner will be set up in the Sala Beppe Fenoglio, Cortile della Maddalena.

From cooking demonstrations by acclaimed chefs (Pasquale Laera, Luca Zecchin, Andrea Berton, Andrea Larossa, Michelangelo Mammoliti, Eugenio Boer, Cristina Bowerman, Stefano Paganini, Federico Gallo, Marco Giacosa, Marco Stabile, Ugo Alciati, Giampiero Vento, Luigi Taglienti, Mariuccia Roggero, Damiano Nigro, Davide Palluda, Christian Milone, Flavio Costa, Massimiliano Musso, Walter Ferretto, Francesco Oberto, Andrea Ribaldone, Davide Oldani, Massimo Camia, Marc Lanteri and Andrea Larossa) to meetings with guests, all the appointments of the Alba Truffle Show will be accompanied by Alta Langa.

And there will be an Alta Langa Lounge in the Salotto dei Gusti e dei Profumi (piazza Risorgimento).

MASSETO 2014

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This year will enter the record books as one of the longest seasons and latest harvests ever, in which the unique qualities of the Masseto terroir played a crucial role.

 

 The 2014 vintage will remain one of the most unusual in Masseto’s history. A warm, rainy winter yielded to a mild, dry spring that encouraged normal vegetative development with a timely, even flowering. After normal conditions in July, August turned rainy and cold, making it difficult for the grapes to ripen and significantly increasing the risk of fungal diseases. However, meticulous work carried out in the vineyard throughout August, including leaf-pulling and anti-fungal treatments, allowed the grapes to remain healthy and arrive in excellent condition at harvest in September and October, when the weather was mostly sunny and dry. As always, great terroirs reveal their qualities, and in 2014 the blue clays of Masseto proved their enviable powers, swelling and making the soils impermeable, thus avoiding excessive accumulation of water and consequent dilution of the grapes. During the harvest, the painstaking selection of clusters was essential and some individual vineyard blocks were harvested in up to three separate passes. A rigorousquality-selection was also carried out on sorting tables, so that only sound, perfectly-ripe grapes went into the tanks. .

“Stylistically, the wine displays outstanding balance, with supple, velvety tannins and remarkably complex aromatics,” noted Alex Heinz, Winemaker and Estate Director. “This Masseto expresses a refined sensuality and silk-smooth seductiveness, all in its own distinctively classic, elegant fashion. The 2014 vintage is testimony to the incredible ability of Masseto to cope with adverse weather conditions, thanks as well to the crucial role played by the clay and by the overall natural balance of these vines. All of which amounts a harmonious combination of terroir and human interpretation.”

“This year has been an auspicious one for Masseto,” explained Alex Belson, Director of Masseto. “We have just started excavations into the heart of the Masseto hill to lay the foundations for a dedicated wine production facility that will be ready in time for the 2018 harvest. It has been incredibly exciting to see these blue clays emerge, impermeable and so distinctive, with their mysterious secrets of millions of years”

To offer some specifics regarding processing, the clusters, harvested by hand into 15kg boxes, were selected by hand on a double sorting tables before and after de-stemming, and then gently pressed. A full eight individual vineyard blocks were picked and vinified separately. Fermentations took place in tanks of both steel and wood, followed by a maceration of 15-20 days at a temperature between 25 and 30°C. Malolactic fermentation started in 100% new oak barrels, and the different lots were kept separate for the first 12 months of maturation. The wine was then assembled and reintroduced into the barrels for another year. After bottling, the wine was aged for an additional 12 months prior to release.

Silvery rain for Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco Superiore Brut Fagher

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The Decanter WWA and Concours Mondial de Bruxelles medals

It’s time to update Le Colture summer palmarès! This time the attention is focused on the Valdobbiadene DOCG Prosecco Superiore Sparkling Brut ‘Fagher’ protagonist of an excellent placement at two of the most acclaimed international wine competitions, being awarded with two Silver Medals at the DWWA – Decanter World Wine Award and the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2017.

“The brut ‘Fagher’ is the most modern version of the sparkling wines produced by our company and the most internationally successful – explains the marketing manager and co-owner Alberto Ruggeri – It is the result of a blend of Glera grapes coming from the vineyards located in Valdobbiadene and Ogliano hills. Thanks to its low residual sugar, 9 gr/liter, a pleasant acidity, good minerality and sapidity, this wine is an excellent interpreter of our philosophy’s distinctive features regarding the Prosecco Superiore.”

It is a fresh, young and characterful wine. Its most attractive aspects are enclosed in the inviting sweetness of the scents rich in citrus and fresh vegetable notes, which often combine with a pleasant note of bread and a lively tasting energy. It has a thin perlage that ensures good persistence in the mouth and cleansing of the palate as well as being an additional weapon in food matching. You will appreciate it with fish appetizers and processed vegetables, first courses with seafood and baked fish, or throughout the meal as is usual in the production area,.

Behind every single success there is a united family, a solid team in which everybody has a specific role, each of them working hard with a strong, remarkable passion, showing unchanged respect for a unique territory of inestimable value, which can reward all efforts and sacrifices with an undisputed high quality level.

Maison Lavau – Château Maucoil

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Grape varieties:

Grenache noir (50%), Syrah (40%), Mourvèdre (10%)

Tasting notes:

This wine is deep on the nose with pronounced spicy aromas (peper, nutmeg), typical of the appellation and which accentuate the aromas of blackcurrants and raspberry jam. On the palate, the wine shows a solid yet nicely coated structure , volume and superb length

Serving and food pairings: 

Serve at 17-18°C allow the wine to express its full complexity. Decanting before serving would also be beneficial. This Gigondas can be paired with guinea fowl, coq au vin, a beef stew or casserole, and other prepared dishes, even if spicy or highly seasoned

VINNATUR: PRODUCERS ELIMINATE PESTICIDES

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Analysis on 80 samples of VinNatur wines confirm the complete absence of pesticides. In the meantime, pilot projects on biodiversity continue.

A great result has been recently reached by VinNatur. None of the 80 samples analysed in order to check wine quality contained traces of pesticides, thus confirming that VinNatur offers consumers real guarantees and not simply declarations. First, research was carried out to identify 188 different pesticides and none of these were found, thereby guaranteeing the wines’ authenticity and coherence with VinNatur’s principles.

VinNatur represents 187 producers from 9 countries and has made this guarantee a point of honour for wine lovers. Angiolino Maule, President of VinNatur, explains: “We wanted to go beyond a simple self-certification. It is important that VinNatur wine consumers will drink wines which have been officially certified by external laboratories”.

All the producers who have joined VinNatur association in the last 5 years have been checked. Sulphur analysis reveal that 35 samples were below 50 mg/l ‒ as stated by the Guideline Procedure ‒ and 45 samples contained even less less than 10 mg/l (the limit for organic wines in Europe is 150 mg/l for white wines and 100 mg/l for red wines).

“It is the first time all samples analysed reveal negative test results. In 2016 on 150 samples analysed, 4 (3 Italian and 1 French) contained pesticides. For us it is a very important outcome. It confirms that we are moving in the right direction. It is not our final goal but it is certainly an important stage in the growth process we are doing as VinNatur association. We are focusing on how to replace copper and sulphur with vegetable extracts that help the vine building up resistance. But our most major project is on biodiversity”.

The biodiversity project ‒ supervised by agronomist Stefano Zaninotti from Vitenova – Vine Wellness in collaboration with biologist Irene Franco Fernandez, botanist Cristiano Francescato and entomologist Costanza Uboni, has involved 17 wineries for this year. Data deriving from surveys on soil, flora and fauna will allow to develop an appropriate scientific model enabling wineries to understand which are the most suitable plants that can be used for preserving soil microbiological fertility and helping vines develop properly. This will lead to a higher resistance of the vine itself, further reducing human intervention and getting closer to VinNatur aim: a healthy viticulture as naturally-driven as possible.

Association of Natural Wine Producers – VinNatur
VinNatur was established in 2006 in order to reunite small producers of natural wines, both Italian and European, and provide them with a proper tool for promotion and growth. The Association aims at promoting natural wines from a commercial point of view and at the same time developing specific knowledge of natural viticulture and natural wine making amongst both producers themselves and consumers.
“Natural wine” is the name given to a product derived from a healthy agriculture which rejects the use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical soil and foliar fertilizers. Great attention is given to soil and soil natural balance. VinNatur is carrying out researches in order to get rid of copper and sulphur, traditionally used for treating vines diseases, and replace them with natural extracts which help the vine building up resistance. Natural approach is not limited to the vineyard, but extends also to the cellar. Selected yeasts are not allowed, neither are additives (of any kind) or invasive techniques which do not respect the raw material. The aim is that of reducing and, if possible, eliminating the use of sulphur dioxide, whose side effects on human health are well known worldwide. This is possible thanks to a constant improvement of spontaneous fermentation, with indigenous yeasts, which are already available in nature and which give a distinctive value to wine as far as personality and uniqueness. Over the years, VinNatur has steeply increased the number of associates, from 65 wineries up to present-day 187 members belonging to nine different countries: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. 

CLAYVER, THE INTELLIGENT WINE POT LANDS IN US

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Suitable for both vinification and ageing, Clayver has surprised more than a few.
With a 2017 growth rate of +78%, the porcelain stoneware pot is ready to conquer US wine producers

Created in 2014, Clayver has made a big hit in the market. After having conquered producers such as Veuve-Clicquot and Tarlant with impressive results during comparative ageing trials, Clayver lands in US where it will be used for wine and even cosmetic products.

Clayver is an innovative stoneware round egg conceived for fermentation, vinification and wine ageing. Inspired by clay amphoras, Clayver inventors wanted to go beyond as far as mechanical resistance and impermeability. What makes a difference with traditional amphoras is shape and material.

Along with being aesthetically enjoyable, the round shape allows to keep the grape cap moist during fermentation, helping colour extraction. Convective movements contribute in reshuffling fine lees, thus improving wine structure and ageing potential. Wall thickness guarantees thermal inertia and a uniform, three-dimensional oxygen exchange concerning the smallest possible surface area. Stoneware is a resistant, isolating and easy to sterilize material, in addition to being safe when handling food – Clayver is certified for use in foodstuffs.

Maison Veuve-Clicquot and Tarlant – who is using it for ageing its Chardonnay, Château Les Carmes Haut–Brion and Château de Beaucastel, Guido Berlucchi, Livio Felluga, Le Macchiole are but a few names of producers who have been pleasantly surprised by results reached during comparative ageing trials and are now using Clayver.

Clayver has now 150 customers all over the world, with a +37% growth rate in the numbers of customers and a +78% in the amount of pieces ordered from 2016. It is now available in 2 different sizes: 250 and 400 litres.

If wine is Clayver intended use, it is not the only one. Cosmetics companies too have become interested in Clayver for the production of natural body and face lotions. Clayver in particular will be used for the maceration process being an inert material and therefore preventing any loss of matter from the container.

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