An Interview with Celestino Vacca
June 9th, 2010 by Catherine Meng
Archive Page 2
Tasting Notes: La Stoppa
June 7th, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
One of the best parts of my job is planning out the wines to serve for the variety of special dinners we host throughout the year. However, several weeks ago I was stumped trying to finalize the list of wines to offer during our Balsamico Dinners. Usually, I have some pre-conceived notion of the types of wines I’m looking for; the best choices for the Oceanic, Truffle, and Whole Hog dinners come easily. Yet, wines that seemed like an intuitive fit with Balsamico weren’t obvious to me. I decided to go with the idea that wines from the area where Balsamico comes from might be a natural match. Unfortunately, other than Lambrusco, most of the top wines of Emilia-Romagna didn’t exactly role off my tongue… Continue reading ‘Tasting Notes: La Stoppa’
Aldo Vacca’s Vineyard Update – Fruit Set 2010
June 5th, 2010 by Catherine Meng
Since January, Aldo Vacca of Produttori del Barbaresco has been periodically visiting his vineyard with a video camera & recording what’s going on there. We saw the vines’ first pruning of 2010, and then bud break in April. And finally this week we get fruit set.
Oliveto welcomes Cristiano Garella of Tenuta Sella
May 21st, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
Thursday May 27, 2010
Please join us for a wonderful evening of fine Piemontese wines when Cristiano Garella of the historic Tenuta Sella joins us on Thursday, May 27th. Lovers of Barbaresco, Barolo, and all things Nebbiolo will not want to miss this chance to taste the fascinating expressions of the grape produced in the northern Piedmont zones of Lessona and Bramaterra. The cooler climate, higher altitude, and unique soils of these two areas all combine to create elegant, pure expressions of Nebbiolo.
510-547-5356
or reserve online
Cristiano’s visit will be a celebration of both old and new. The Sella estate has produced wine from its own vineyards in Lessona since 1671, and their cellars hold vintages dating back to 1881. In contrast, Cristiano is a Continue reading ‘Oliveto welcomes Cristiano Garella of Tenuta Sella’
Aldo Vacca’s Vineyard Update – Bud Break 2010
April 23rd, 2010 by Catherine Meng
Tasting Notes: Fattoria Le Terrazze – Le Marche
April 13th, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
I had the pleasure recently of meeting Antonio Terni, the owner of Fattoria Le Terrazze, one of the leading estates of the Marche. Terni is quite a personality. An avid Bob Dylan fan and yachtsman, he was born in Argentina and worked as a nuclear scientist before returning to his family’s estate in the foothills of Monte Conero on the beautiful Adriatic coast. The estate has belonged to his family since 1882 and under the direction of Terni and his wife, currently produces about 7500 cases of wine each year.
The Le Terrazze wine I was most familiar with from the past is “Chaos,” a blend of Montepulciano, Syrah, and Merlot named in honor of Terni’s physics background. “Chaos” is a full-blown, rich, modern-style, jammy wine. It was nice during this visit to taste Le Terrazze’s more traditional wines. In contrast to “Chaos,” and “Planet Waves,” which are both blends, the basic Rosso Continue reading ‘Tasting Notes: Fattoria Le Terrazze – Le Marche’
Tasting Notes: Los Bermejos
March 24th, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
Los Bermejos, Listan Negro Tinto Maceración Carbónica,
Lanzarote – Canary Islands, Spain 2008
There is always something fun and interesting in the bag when Keven from Farm Wine Imports stops by. Today, as usual, he brought an assortment of great wines, but the one that stood out as the most unique and truly memorable was a red wine from the island of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
As you can see from the picture above, this special place is one of the most picturesque grape-growing regions in the world. Each individual vine is planted in crater-like holes in the black volcanic soil and surrounded by a semi-circle stone wall to protect it from the wind. Not exactly the vineyard scene most people who have visited Tuscany or Napa Valley might expect, but grapes have been grown here for centuries and it is a true oenological and ecological treasure.
The tiny Bodega Los Bermejos was founded in 2001 and produces only 500 cases of wine annually. This particular cuveé, made from an indigenous grape called Listan Negro, has both fantastic complexity and a delightful freshness. Pure, bright cherry and strawberry fruit (accentuated by the use of carbonic maceration) are complimented by a fantastic herbal note and a distinctive smoky, ashy tone surely derived from the unique soils mentioned above. Light-bodied, but with nice intensity and a great, long finish, this will be fantastic heading into the warmer weather and will be featured during the 2010 Oceanic Dinners in June!
Tasting Notes: Castello di Verduno
March 8th, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
Our string of fantastic visiting winemakers continued this week when Mario Andrion of Castello di Verduno stopped by on Wednesday night accompanied by Marcella Bianco (daughter of the estate owners). Other than the Produttori del Barbaresco, we have more wines in our cellars from Castello di Verduno than any other producer, so their visit was a great opportunity to sample current releases along with older wines from our list.
My overall impression of the line-up was of wines that are traditionally made, strive for perfect balance, can easily stand the test of time, and seem to be getting better and better under Andrion’s stewardship. He took over as of the 2001 vintage, so it was interesting to Continue reading ‘Tasting Notes: Castello di Verduno’
Tasting Notes: Canalicchio di Sopra
March 5th, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
It was a pleasure to have Francesco Ripaccioli from Canalicchio di Sopra visit us last week, and an even greater pleasure to enjoy three older vintages of their Brunello di Montalcino together over dinner…
In addition to their recent Tre Bicchieri-winning 2004 Brunello and their 2007 Rosso di Montalcino, we also featured the 1998, 1999, and 2000 vintages of Brunello from our “Wine In Time” program. All three showed very well and it is great to see such fantastic results from the efforts of our owner and my predecessors holding back vintages of traditionally made wines for enjoyment when they are actually showing their best, ten or more years down the line. Continue reading ‘Tasting Notes: Canalicchio di Sopra’
Dinner for Castello di Verduno
February 26th, 2010 by Chris Ryerson
Wednesday, March 3rd
Gabriella Burlotto
The Castello di Verduno, owned by Gabriella Burlotto and Franco Bianco, is a beautiful old building at the top of the village of Verduno, on the edge of the Barolo zone. Virtually unknown outside of Italy, Castello di Verduno produces a variety of Piedmontese wines in a classic style. The label unites two cellars, one under the castle in the Barolo zone and the other near the famous ‘cru’ Rabajà, in the Barbaresco area. Wines are produced in Barbaresco and bottled and stored in Verduno. The vineyards owned by Verduno are the Barbaresco crus, Faset and Rabajà, the last being one of the best vineyards in Barbaresco, and the Barolo crus Monvigliero and Massara. All wines are vinified traditionally by Mario Andrion, the talented young enologist who took over the cellar in 2000. The estate also produces a small amount of delicious Langhe Nebbiolo, and an excellent example of the variety indigenous to Verduno, Pelaverga.
Wine maker Mario Andrion will be with us in the restaurant for dinner Wednesday, March 3, 2010. The menu will be à la carte as usual and the following wines will be served by-the-glass and in flights: Continue reading ‘Dinner for Castello di Verduno’
