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Magical Mixture

Bràulio
Amaro Alpino
Lombardy Region
Bormio, Italy
Invented by pharmacist Francesco Peloni
Rested in Slavonian oak barrels
Acquired at D.O.C. Wine Bar after an amazing dinner outside

Served neat. Dark amber more reddish brown color. Take a deep breath in and it’s all sorts of herbs, piney, juniper berries, orange peel, cloves, and the whole forest floor with a touch of briney. Going in for the sip and it’s sweet and bitter at same time. Also tastes just like all of the above listed for scents. It’s better than a ricola and much more healthy. This will cure what ails ya!

Thank you Francesco Peloni for being so into herbs and creating this robust concoction back in 1875. From what I’m reading some of the herbs, plants and berries still used in this magical mixture are gathered on Monte Bràulio in Stelvio National Park, and are dried in the crisp mountain air and then ground before being added to the alcohol. Post mixture they hang out in stainless steel tanks for a few weeks and near the end some mountain water is added. I can’t imagine how strong that must smell. After extraction here’s where the Slavonian oak barrels come in. 15 months later, you have the perfect “secret” recipe and masterpiece.

Oh and obviously, no “Pairs with Cheez-It’s” since I was dining out, but I can pretty much guarantee it would be a big fat NO!

Cheers!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @amarobraulio.official @cheezits #cheezit #wine #spirits #amaro #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #braulioamaro #bormio #lombardy #Italy #bitter #liqueur #digestif

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A Liquid Postcard

Cantine Chessa
C’era Una Volta 2017
Vermentino di Sardegna DOC
Usini, Sardegna, Italy
100% Vermentino
Sustainable farming, indigenous yeasts
Winemaker: Giovanna Chessa

Deep gold skin-contact orangey. Breathing in honey and honeysuckles, smoke, melon, pear, and hazelnut. This is definitely an invitation to an enchanted evening of wonder. Tasting and again honey, smoke/a touch of oak, melon, and ripe pear. There’s also something mineral that I believe is white pepper. This is glorious! We need a choir hallelujah here!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: bright melon and pear and lighter honey

Giovanna Chessa has woven a delightful dream with “C’era Una Volta” which translates to “Once Upon a Time”. She is truly such an amazing winemaker. Loving the four day skin-contact and also that she lets the spontaneous indigenous yeasts work their magic at first in stainless steel and then later in used French barrels, so it lets the grapes sing. Or as Giovanna says, “The bottle is a liquid postcard” that can transport you to Sardegna, and learn the history of the land, the grapes and her story. Also the label captures the beauty and fairytale of this wine. It even won a silver medal at the MUSE Design Awards for Redfish Adv and Sara Pilloni. If you’re inspired and want to find out more about Sara’s art, check it out here.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @Cantine.Chessa @steephillwine @sarapilloni86 @cheezits #GiovannaChessa  #steephillwine #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #italy #Usini #Sardegna #Sardinia #Vermentino #sarapilloni

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Strawberry Swing

Gulfi
Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG 2018
Chiaramonte Gulfi, Ragusa, Sicily, Italy
50% Frappato, 50% Nero d’Avola
Organic and dry farmed
Winemaker: Vito Catania

Deep reddish purple yet glistening light sparkles. Beautiful berry fragrance, cherries, prunes, and delicate tiny flowers. Sipping strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries (ok this is a lot of berries), prune which is more rich as it warms, and some tart yet becomes more velvety. There’s some earth, but also keeps stays light with a dry tingle. Oh, and this is also a wine you can give a little chill.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: berry goodness

The depiction of the passion that Eros and Psyche found in the end of their mythical soap opera tale, is found on almost all of Gulfi’s bottles and branded on their barrels. That same passion comes out in Vito Catania’s wines and his love and dedication to the land. Started with inheriting land from his father, and then over time further expanding. Vito invested a lot of research into the history and vines, and started working with Salvo Foti to sort which would be the best soils for his dream. Now Gulfi has grown to (from what I am finding) 70 hectares. I would so love to find out more about the winery, but their site is undergoing a revamp. Looking forward to when it’s back up, and I can learn more. In the meanwhile, let’s enjoy another modern mythical strawberry romance tale.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @gulficantina @selectedestatesofeurope @cheezits #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Chiaramonte #Gulfi #Ragusa #Sicily #Italy #organic #coldplay

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A Tale of Love and Wine

Parés Baltà
Indigena 2015
Penedès, Spain
100% Garnatxa
Organic and biodynamic, indigenous grape
Winemakers: Maria Elena Jiménez and Marta Casas (sisters-in-law)

Deep glistening garnet. Oooo there’s cherry cola with a hint of vanilla or maybe just something creamy hitting my nose. Next are raspberries, Canadian strawberries, the teeny tiny ones I have mentioned in the past. Best bought on the side of the road or just pull over and pick your own. Something floral yet woodsy. How I miss nature. Back to this glass and taking first sip…damn! This is all the berries! What an explosion! Cherry follows, woodsy again, earthy, toasted almonds, black pepper, smooth, graceful and just full on romantic.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: makes it very fruity

Parés Baltà has roots back to 1790, and the current generation is Joan and Josep Cusiné (and their father Joan still helps out). The winemakers are their wives, Maria Elena Jiménez and Marta Casas. Marta did have a bit of history in wine through her grandfather taking her as a child to view his vineyard where he would make a small amount just for the family. As she grew up and went to the University of Barcelona for pharmacy, she met Josep and well…love for him and for wine grew. She did end up getting that degree in pharmacy, but she took it a step further and enrolled in winemaking courses at the University of Tarragona. And then after all that, they got married and still travel the world to experience more wines, or in her own words, “We are wine lovers and so we think we have to keep learning”. Maria, also went to University of Barcelona but for chemical engineering, and after graduating and working in the field, she met Joan. And from what I am reading, it was love at first sight. Much like Marta, she dived into oenology studies, received a second degree from Tarragona, and went on her own world wine experience travels. Imagine if these couples never met. These are wines of love.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @paresbalta @cheezits #cheezit #wine #worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #organic #biodynamic #garnatxa #Penedès #Penedes #Spain #paresbalta #usawineimports

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Let’s Take a Joy Ride!

Terra di Briganti
Sciascinoso 2019
Sannio DOP
Casalduni Campania Italy
Sciascinoso 100%
Organic, biodynamic, vegan, and indigenous yeasts
Winemakers: Toni and Romeo De Cicco

It’s a glass of deep ruby purple Ring Pop. Letting you know, I tried this wine at two different temps. First was from my red wine fridge. Taking a sniff and it’s cherry with funk…spicy funk, dark berry, and earthy. Sipping and there’s pucker up tart cherry, blackberries, light and tangy. Second try was nicely chilled, and what a different wine! Breathing in sweet cherry, something floral, beautiful strawberries, and it’s still a little earthy. Tasting bright cherries, blackberry, plums, smooth fruit with a little tangy tingle zingy. There’s that touch of earth again and a dash of white pepper. Super fresh and soooooooo good chilled. For some reason my lips feel like they are vibrating. Do it! Chill it! You’ll be so happy.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: both tries and I come up with the same result of no changes

Out of the four Briganti wines I’ve tried, this is the most playful and carefree. Fits their fun label of two people on a motorcycle with a sidecar taking a sunny joyride. Let’s hit the road with them and Hendrix.

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A Day Under the Trees

Cantina Marilina
‘Fedelie’ Bianco Frizzante NV
Ancestral Method
Terre Siciliane IGP
Noto, Sicily, Italy
100% Moscato
Organic, indigenous yeasts, no fining or filtration
Winemakers: Marilina, Federica and Angelo Paternò

Orange gold with tiny natural bubbles. Starts with tiny toasty scents but ditches out and turns into orange soda (not Orangina), citrus peel, lemon, and that candy called something like ginger chews. Mmmm sipping orange fizz, honeysuckle, and pear cider-esque, with a dash of salt, tingly bubbles and a hint at the finish bitter. Fabulous pét-nat.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: pairs deliciously well and brings out the pear cider

This is my second wine by Cantina Marilina, and I’m just as impressed as the first (Sikelé 2017). This time though, I’m taking more time to look into the family behind the vines. Angelo Paternò worked for many years in the wine industry until he settled in Noto (a very sunny and windy area) and built his own cellar and vineyard. Working alongside him were also his daughters Marilina and Federica Paternò. As you can see from this sweet video on their site, the next generation is already pitching in too. They’re also very into keeping everything organic and natural. Keeping the fruit trees within the vineyard, using recycled paper for their labels, recyclable glass bottles, and real corks. Staying sustainable, the old fashioned way. Would love to one day visit and sit under their olive trees. You can relax with either their basket of a bottle of wine, pane cunzato, some of their jam, cheese and a Sicilian salad; or you can opt for a tasting of 4 wines, homemade bread and their olive oil, cheeses and salami, their homemade jams, Sicilian salad and scacce. Absolutely mouthwatering delicious!

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @cantinamarilina @zevrovineselections @cheezits #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #organic #italy #sicily #noto #moscato #petnat #pétnat #terresiciliane

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A Delicate Harmony

Ampeleia
Unlitro 2019
Toscana Rosso IGT
Roccatederighi, Maremma, Toscana, Italy
40% Alicante Nero (aka Grenache), 25% Mourvedre, 15% Carignano, 15% Sangiovese, 5% Alicante Bouschet
Biodynamic, unfined, and unfiltered
Founders: Elisabetta Foradori, and her friends Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann
Winemaker: Marco Tait

Bright ruby garnet. As expected cherry is the first thing that hits your nose. Next is smoke, plum, salt some tiny flowers with a kick of funk. As it opens throw in a dash of spice and singed orange peel. When it hits your tongue you already know first thing is again cherry. Again smoke and some bio funk is still lingering. After letting it settle a bit there’s tangy fruit and definitely orange. It’s a natural light red, that you’re happy it comes in a liter format, because you’re going to want more than one glass. My second visit with this bottle, ok I chilled it. Don’t be insulted. It’s bleeping hot. It’s much the same but a little more body. I love it and it’s still  an easy picnic or pizza wine, but just elevated. Less tang and more velvet

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Tangy and smoky

You might remember the incredible winemaker Elisabetta Foradori, from a previous post about her family’s winery Agricola Foradori and her devotion to natural/biodynamic wine. She and her friends Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann, started Ampeleia back in 2002. From what I am reading on their site, Thomas Widmann left them in 2009, and there is a “it takes a village” style team that help with all the aspects of how a winery runs. Also not to be left out is Marco Tait who has been their winemaker from day one. He has a beautiful section on their site I just discovered. It’s a personal blog of sorts with musings on the passion and hardwork put into this biodynamic winery, the vineyards, learning to listen to the earth, trust the grapes, and more. At the end of one of the entries, this Goethe quote sums it all up: “It is so pleasant to explore nature and ourselves at the same time, without causing violence neither to Nature nor to our spirit, bringing us both, together, to a balance, to a delicate harmony”.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @ampeleia @bowlerwine @cheezits #cheezit #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #italy #toscano #tuscany #maremma #roccatederighi #organic #biodynamic #ampeleia #AlicanteNero #Mourvedre #Carignano #Sangiovese #AlicanteBouschet #ElisabettaForadori #MarcoTait

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A Wine of Mystery

Azienda Agricola Crivelli
Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOC 2018
Ruchè 100%
Castagnole Monferrato, Asti, Italy
No herbicide or pesticide used, hand harvested, indigenous grape
Winemakers: Marco Maria Crivelli and his son Jonathan

Shining ruby and purple. It’s buttery at first…just a little bit. Next it’s fragrant warm spice, deep cherries, plumminess, and a touch of Twizzler. Sipping in spiced cherry, plum, prune and other dried fruit richness, and some cola. There’s also twinge of bitter like an olive pit or maybe an almond and some black pepper. Medium body and lovely and easy to drink.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Juicy, juicy, juicy, fruit

According to Azienda Agricola Crivelli, ”If someone in Castagnole Monferrato offers to you a Ruchè, it’s because he cares of you”. Now, that makes me feel pretty special to have a bottle of this grape with mysterious origins. In the past there were tales that monks may have brought it from Burgundy, but that got a big fat no with a DNA test. It appears to be an indigenous grape that has been around at least from the Middle Ages, and was revitalized by a local priest, who has been said to have wished he had more time to spend with the vines than people.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny #aziendaagricolacrivelli #jandamorewines @cheezits #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #italy #ruche #ruchèdicastagnolemonferrato #CastagnoleMonferrato #asti #MarcoMariaCrivelli

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The Lion, the Vigneron, and the Castle

Società Agricola Bussoletti Leonardo S.S.
Ciliegiolo di Narni “0535” 2018
Umbria IGT
Narni, Umbria, Italy
100% Ciliegiolo di Narni
Organic and spontaneous fermentation
Winemaker and Ambassador of Ciliegiolo: Leonardo Bussoletti

Deep ruby color but shining like a piece of stained glass window. Scents of cherry, roses, a mellow berry, and a pinch of cola. Flavors of dark and sweet cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries with their seeds included to give a little good bitter kick

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: deeper, darker, and sweeter

Chill it a little, it’s really good that way. This is your summer red.

When I first looked at the label with the lion and the name of the town being Narni, I immediately thought of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia. Even if C.S. Lewis never set foot in Narni (previously named Narnia), he did discover it in an atlas, underlined it, and told his biographer (Walter Hooper) that the name had inspired his magical realm. In 2009, Walter sent the same atlas to Narni’s local historian (Giuseppe Fortunati), so it all comes full circle. How cool is that! Narnia was a place I spent many hours in my childhood visiting through the pages of his wonderful series, and now I get to travel there by glass.

Another image on the label is Narni’s square fortress Rocca Albornoziana. It looks like it could have fallen out of C.S. Lewis’ world or even GOT. There’s four towers, a moat, and a second wall of protection. You would seriously need a dragon to get past all that. It’s also been a home to popes (one holed up in there to escape a plague), military officials, and in 1906 a Russian prince, when he bought it for a song. Now it’s back in the hands of Narni.

Narni also has secret below known as “The Underground”. Back in 1979, six young men who loved exploring caves, stumbled upon quite the discovery of an underground chapel, frescos, tunnels, and many other closed off rooms. Over the years, research (some also from Vatican documents) and preservation continued and it turns out that this hidden treasure was part of the Papal Inquisition. No one ever expects the Papal Inquisition! There are scratch marks on the walls from tools of torture. There’s a cell where prisoners left their mark, one of them is in a code that no one has been able to crack. Chilling to think of these poor people being forced to confess to heresy.

Ok, I can’t leave this wonderful city on such a dark note. Each year, from July through part of August, Narni has the Narnia Festival of music, dance, theater, exhibitions, workshops, etc. Check out their site  and here.

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Rosato, Rosè and Roses

Tenuta I Fauri
Baldovino 2018
Rosato
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo DOC
Chieti, Abruzzo, Italy
Montepulciano 100%
Sustainable farming
Winemaking family: Luigi and Valentina Di Camillo (brother and sister)

This is a cherry red Rosè. Elegant fresh breath of flowers and more specifically roses. Cherry and strawberries start to pop in too, the more it warms. Delicious swig that has my tastebuds dancing. Definitely cherry, plummy and strawberry sweetness. It’s fruity but not overwhelming. It’s more refreshing, oh and something floral in the taste too. Wait something woody nutshell emerges, but not bad. The more I think about it, it’s almond and not the shell. Been eating quite a few when we were locked down. Yes, I do eat other things than just Cheez-It’s.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: say goodbye to the almond and hello to a gush of fruit

Tenuta I Fauri was founded in 1978 by Domenico Di Camillo (Luigi and Valentina’s dad). This is another lovely story, of a family falling in love with wine and passing it down the generations. Also brother and sister both studied oenology and then came aboard the family business. Quite the power team with some great PR. They were picked by Forbes back in 2019 as one of five small wine producers to watch. From this bottle alone, I can definitely see why.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @tenuta.ifauri @wineberry.newyork @cheezits #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #italy #chieti #abruzzo #rosè #rosato #rose #montepulciano #tenutaifauri