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What Do You Do In Your Spare Time?

Poggio di Cicignano – Vanempo
Aura 2017
Bianco Toscana IGT
Trebbiano Toscano 45%, San Colombano 35%, Malvasia Bianca 20%
Biodynamic, organic, hand harvested, indigenous yeasts, 5 days skin contact
Montemurlo, Italy
Michele Sacchetti & Laura Fabbri

Deep prehistoric amber sans the mosquito. Give it a bit of time to breathe, and out pour scents of a blend of apples & pears and a bit of their cider, citrus zest, a hint of candied orange peels, dried apricots, tangelos, and a bit of that smell when you roll down a grassy hill. Wheeee! Take a swig and ooh there’s oranges, lemon squeeze, all sorts of citrus zest, tart apple cider, dried apricots, what I first thought was a memory of circus peanuts but actually as it warmed, morphed into one of my favorites of childhood…the taste of Original Pop Rocks without the popping (oh I loved that feeling!), and at last a touch of oregano. Fun, lively and btw is really good with bacon.

I had been wondering where the name “Vanempo” came from (btw it’s a well designed logo), and turns out it comes from a combo of two words, “Avanza and Tempo” which pretty much means “spare time”. Well, Michele & Laura originally started this wine adventure in their “extra time” as a passion project. As Michele says, “I’ve always believed in beautiful things, and beautiful things arise from a child’s dreams.” They launched those youthful dreams, and turned them into a full fledged bio certified winery reality, filled with “hands off” celebrated wines. Now, that’s so much more then a side gig. Been working my way through their line up, and all the ones I’ve tried so far have been pure natural magic. ✨

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #orangewine #worldbyglass #organic #Toscana #Italy @steephillwines @antosicurezza @vanempo @docwineshop @docwinebar

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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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Italy and Spain Had a Baby

Pietro Beconcini
Ixe Tempranillo 2016
Toscana IGT 

Beautiful ruby color. Take a breath. Cherry, warm spice that envelops you, plum, mineral/slate and a hint of leather. Time for sipping. Again there’s the cherry, plummy goodness. It’s tart and cola with peppercorns and yes my favorite granite. Opens up so smooth. Day two, it’s a juicy sweet (not like a sugar bomb but delicious sweet ) fruit friendly 

Pietro Beconcini is the only Tempranillo wine grower in Italy. He found some old vines on his land and with a bit of investigation, discovered they may have been dropped off by ancient travelers. Maybe they were on a pilgrimage or on a trade route. Either way, I’m sure glad they did! It’s like Italy and Spain had a baby. Each sip makes me want to be sitting outside in a bar in Spain, but then also reminds me of long ago when I was studying in Cortona, Italy. Man, how my drinking days have changed. Back in the early 90s in Cortona, between classes we would grab a bite and as students do, grab a cheap beer, known as Splügen. Ah for the simpler days.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: It makes the wine have a darker feel. It’s delicious yet I can feel the good funk. Oh this is so good in bed with the cats snuggled near.

@pietrobeconciniwines @docwineshop @docwinebarny @worldbyglass @cheezits #wine #workingfromhome #pandemic #covid19 #worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #needmorewine #italy #spain #Tempranillo #Toscana #Tuscany #beer #cortona