🎶You Can’t Spell “Awesome” Without “Me”🎶

M
Le Bazar 2021
Sparkling Orange
Trebbiano, Clairette, Vermentino
VDF
Natural wine, no sulfites
Provence, France
Jean Luc Lametrie (also founder of Wine Mc2)

Deep golden orange with and pink bubbles. Sniffing and there’s oranges, kumquats, a little Cherry Twizzlers, a childhood memory of Circus Peanuts, then very light raspberries along with lemon/lime spritz, smidge of toasted coriander & fresh baked baguettes. Going in for the taste and here comes a blend of orange, lemon-lime, kumquats, light pomelo, young raspberries with seltzer & salt, tarty yellow cherries, bit of quince & pear combo pie, smidge of smoke, and as it opens a little toast but mostly sharpens everything.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER IT

MOOA is pronounced “Moi” which as we all know means “Me”, so I guess Jean Luc decided to embark on this project purely for himself and we’re just lucky to get to share a taste of it. The first time I picked one of your wines “Ground Control To Major Tom”, it was the label that lured me in, but when I popped that cap, what was living in the bottle was even better. With this orange I was already betting I’d totally be in for a fun & sparky bubbly and you did not disappoint. My question is why the name “Le Bazar”? This is definitely not “a mess” but a bottle of pure awesome natural joy.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #sparklingwine #instawine #pairswithcheezits #cheezit #winelover #winetasting  #wineislove #orangewine #winetime #worldbyglass #provence #france #taylorswift #naturalwine #docwinebar #docwineshop #Mooawine #winemc2 @mooawine @winemc2 @docwinebar @docwineshop

Enchanted Reality

Fattoria Corzano e Paterno
Il Corzanello 2021
Toscana IGT Bianco
Chardonnay 26% Sauvignon Blanc 20% Trebbiano 20%, Petit Manseng 13%, Verdicchio 15%, Semillon 6%
Organic, hand harvested
San Casciano, Firenze, Italy
Founded by Wendel Gelpke; now run by the extended Gelpke & Goldschmidt families

The lightest yellow green pale starlight. At first breathing in a little good floral funk that morphs into a little headiness and then lightens up into mellow pears, apples, a light blend of orange, lemon, grapefruit…citrus mix, and lychee. Sipping and all the scents are right there with a mineral conglomerate lick, along with ripe Kirbys (skins and all) green, a touch of light honeydew, honeysuckle, and a shake of salt.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: sharpens everything

This is a story of friendship and families. The Niccolini family held the farm for generations but when it became time to sell… the Marchese wanted his friend Wendel to get first dibs. Now that is a good buddy in my books. Over time he & his sister (Katerina Goldschmidt)’s family took up house, brought in Sardinian sheep (fab for their vineyards & cheese), restored accommodations (perfect for an architect like Wendel), and most importantly began producing wine. Their original aim was to not bounce off in many differing venues but to create the best possible product & be self-sufficient. Look at them now with their acclaimed cheeses & award winning wines. Btw if you want to read a very detailed history of this land’s past-future, please read Susan Gepke-Doran’s tale of going from art historian to farmer’s wife. I love one of her early perceptions, “The estate seemed under an enchantment, a romantic ruin”. It’s a start to not a fairytale but the reality of a  beautiful life.

#wine #vin #vino #vinho #wein #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #instawine #Italy #organic #winetime #Firenze #Tuscany #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #fleetstreetwine @corzanoepaterno @docwineshop @docwinebar

Alchemy, Anarchy & Hope

Agricola Cirelli
Wines of Anarchy
Vino Bianco Frizzante
100% Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
Organic, biodynamic, hand harvested, indigenous yeasts, unfiltered
Abruzzo, Italy
Winemakers: Francesco and Michela Cirelli

Golden with a touch of haze. Well, that’s a welcome nose tingle of pear, pineapples, lemon zest, green apples (touch of cider), allspice, and a mix of a little fresh cut grass (but not that much) & herbal flowers. Sipping those crisp pears and green apples again, with lemon fizzy, young apricots, a pinch of that pineapple, a fresh grassy springiness like a little of my homegrown sorrel, a touch of spice (think pear pie), and roasted almond slivers that just lightly hangs in the back a bit. This stuff rocks!

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: darn, darn good

If you have a moment, please go to Agricola Cirelli’s site. Francesco’s eloquent writings that weave images of his beautiful home, vineyard, farm, family, and childhood memories are… how should I put it…he paints with his words. They’re genuine, natural, and beautiful just like the wines. Yeah, yeah there’s a big ol’ tat on the bottle, but just read his words, “When I make wine, I imagine I am an alchemist preparing a magic potion. An antidote to misery, a balm for healing old wounds, a drink that makes us forgive but not forget.” An existential declaration, a message of unconditional love.” This is an elixir we need right now. This is a bottle of revolutionary love, but not just that…this grounds us and gives us hope.

#wine #vin #vino #葡萄酒 #ワイン #winestagram #organic #instawine #worldbyglass #cheezit #pairswithcheezits #italy #Abruzzo #Trebbiano #zevrovineselections @docwineshop @docwinebar @cirelliwines @cheezit

Ancient Ways & New History

Pietro Beconcini Agricola
Antiche Vie 2020
Chianti DOCG
Sangiovese 80%, Malvasia 10%, and Trebbiano 10%
Organic
Grown in San Miniato, Tuscany, Italy
Wine Couple: Pietro Beconcini and Eva Bellagamba

Shining ruby that should be decanted for about an hour. I tried a couple different time frames and it seems to be the sweet spot. At first there’s a mellow morphing caramel scent, dark cherries, irises, forest earthiness, black pepper, and as it opens it’s more perfume. Tasting delicious cherries and dried cherries, plums, raspberry, boysenberry, blackberry, orange peel, white and black pepper, and digging in the dirt (earth)…yeah I have that Peter Gabriel song stuck in my head again. There’s also a small bite of rosemary and sage. All of this is joyfully light (that grows as it opens into medium) and lively with a seductive backbone, and this wine makes me smile and I feel like it’s winking back at me. 😘

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

Antiche Vie has ties all the way back to Pietro’s grandfather who back in the 50s bought their farmland, which is really important because it broke the cycle of being a sharecropper. Pietro’s Chianti celebrates the ways of old, the region’s indigenous grapes, and also his father who was a “pioneer in the cultivation of the vine in this area.” He also has written a new history with his San Miniato fed Sangiovese which was his 1st project and the grapes he is working with today in his “Wines of the Tradition”.  “Wines of Innovation” is the other route he has taken. They are the only ones growing Tempranillo in Italy, and their IXE will knock your socks off. As I keep repeating, it’s like Spain and Italy had a beautiful baby, and just like Antiche Vie it will be love at first taste.

#wine #winelover #vino #vin #winelife #葡萄酒 #ワイン #Chianti #Tuscany #Italy #SanMiniato #Sangiovese #Malvasia #Trebbiano #cheezit #organic @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #winestagram #pietrobeconcini @pietrobeconciniwines @soilairselection @cheezits

Giving Your All, and Getting It Back

Ampeleia
Bianco di Ampeleia 2019
Toscana Bianco IGT
Trebbiano, Ansonica, and Malvasia Bianca
Biodynamic, organic
Roccatederighi, Maremma, Toscana, Italy
Original founders: Elisabetta Foradori, and her friends Giovanni Podini and Thomas Widmann
Winemaker and company manager: Marco Tait
And there’s a different sort of family behind the scenes

Warm orange golden “morning is breaking” sunlight. Easy breezy scents of oranges and orange blossoms, apples, and a little toasted brioche with a pinch of ginger. Once it touches your lips, here comes orange/lemony/tangerine zest, apples and crabapples, pears, a hint of allspice and a lick of limestone. Very vibrant and alive and a joyful moment frozen in time…or should I say I wish I was frozen. Seriously this summer heat is killing me.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: just makes it a little more tart, so I could go either way

It’s a field blend party where Trebbiano, Ansonica, and Malvasia Bianca get to hang out and in the vineyard together and then be co-harvested and co-fermented. It’s a new blended family, much like Ampeleia, only the grapes didn’t get to chose their new kin. Marco Tait already had his birth family before being invited to Ampeleia by Elisabetta Foradori to join a new type that he got to pick. For around the past 20 years, Marco and his now chosen wine family have all grown together and added new people, animals, farming choices, and experiences. Having Roccatederighi as home must be such a beautiful feeling. I’ll end with a quote from Marco, “I am giving my all to Ampeleia, but she is giving me back even more.”

#italianwine #organicwine #skincontact #tuscany #Italy #ampeleia #winelife #wine #vino #vin #葡萄酒 #ワイン #cheezit #organic @worldbyglass #pairswithcheezits #wineinfluencer #winestagram #Trebbiano #Ansonica #Malvasia #Roccatederighi #Maremma #Toscana @docwineshop @docwinebar @ampeleia @bowlerwine @cheezits

 

A Wine of Two Songs

United Colors of Wine
Luci Rosse 2019
Field blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rondinella with some white grapes (15%) like Garganega and Trebbiano
Mantova, Lombardia (near Garda’s Lake), Italy
Chemical free, organic, Guyot training, indigenous yeasts, unfined, and unfiltered
Winemakers: Andrea Marchetti and Antonio “Billy” Camazzola (Vigne del Pellagroso)

Light bright reddish glass. Tart cherries and young hay tickle my nose. Next there’s smoke, raspberries, and orange zest. Oh and I forgot to add before getting on in there chill it, chill it good. Here comes the fun tastes of tart tingling cherries, strawberries (fresh and jammed), plum cobbler, smoke and some sizzle. Then lemons, tangerine, cloves, and a black and white pepper zing. Light, refreshing, so good chilled and has me longing for warmer climes and sun tan lines.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: smooth sizzle with no hay

Yesterday, I wrote about this dream team, having fun with their collaboration in United Colors of Wine – “G-Ray”, and their very varied backgrounds so for that please go to https://worldbyglass.com/a-little-natural-fun-experimentation/ bc I wrote whole lot that got edited to death on IG. I love that Luci is a big blend of native grapes (red and white) from the area. In a way they’re taking a chance but on the other hand they are so knowledgable and have a groove with the grapes they have it under control. It’s kind of freestyle meets punk, yet with a classically trained hand. Yeah, this is definitely a wine that sings and makes it’s presence and emotion known. There are so many songs that flit through my head to this wine, but there’s two that stand out and show how Luci grows over time. Both are Nick Cave, and It starts as Grinderman – “Bellringer Blues” and in the end is Nick Cave and Warren Ellis – “Push the Sky Away”. Such a beautiful wondrous wine.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @andrea_marchetti @VigneDelPellagroso @steephillwine @antosicurezza #unitedcolorsofwine @steephillwine @Antonio @cheezits #wine #cheezit #winestagram #instawine #worldbyglass @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #Italy #Mantova #Lombardi #biodynamic #organic #Merlot #CabernetSauvignon #Rondinella #Garganega #Trebbiano #nickcave #grinderman #warrenellis

Guided by the Stars

Antica Tenuta Pietramore
Methode Ancestrale
Pét Nat 2019
100% Trebbiano d’Abruzzo
Colli Aprutini IGT
Abruzzo Italy
Organic, biodynamic, hand-harvested, and indigenous yeasts
Winemakers: Maria Pia Leone & Massimiliano Bartolomei

Light straw yellow with seriously active bubbles and some sediment, and the final pour is dark gold orange with crystal sediment. After popping the cap off, wow! Hadn’t even poured it yet. There’s exotic flowers, a whiff of hay/yeast that comes and goes but this is the first glass and later it has drifted away. Next comes pears, honey, lemon zest, salt, and something herby like a pinch of some oregano and rosemary and oddly a hint of cinnamon. Sipping and exciting tingling on my tongue. Those bubbles keep rocking. Again pears, golden apples, Valencia oranges, a good squeeze of lemon, light honey, salt, and a faint Italian herbal shaker mix. There’s also dryness and at end a bit of ginger. Whoof that’s a whole lot, but is such a delicious song when you drink and don’t dissect, it’s just amazing. I really enjoyed Vanita but this is a whole different beast.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Bring’s on the zest!

Pietramore’s wines have the most beautiful bottles, with a different stone and constellation on each bottle. Andrea Castelletti (art and creative director) took the name of the winery: Pietra – stone and amore – love; then brought in their biodynamic aspects of cultivation and winemaking which I’ve mentioned before, including the pass of the moon, the connection of the earth and sky,…. and is also represented through these ancient constellations. Many constellations have a mythic tale, but Chamaeleon was designated by Dutch navigators who often chose exotic creatures to help them traverse the seas at night. This little lizard combined by the slice of stone on the label holds a little secret too…it glows in the dark! Leave the bottle out in the light for a while, then find the darkest spot in your home, and you’ll get to enjoy this little surprise too.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @Pietramore @communalbrands @andreacastelletti @cheezits #wine @worldbyglass #cheezit #needmorewine #winestagram #instawine #pairswithcheezits #sustainable #biodynamic #organic #vegan #abruzzo #italy #ColliAprutini #trebbiano #PétNat #petnat #Chamaeleon #chameleon #constellation

Loved By God

Buli
Amidei 2015
Toscana Rosso IGT
Trequanda, Siena, Italy
Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Sangiovese 40%, Merlot 20%
Organic, hand harvested, and 70% Unilateral Cordon-spur trained (cane pruned) and 30% Guyot
Founder and owner: Robert Buly
Enologist: Diego Ciurletti
Agronomist: Alessandro Gemini
Cantina Chief: Stefano Censini

Sparkling ruby fit for a ring *knock knock you know who…Valentine’s Day is coming up! Inhaling cherries, a dozen roses, strawberries, lilies, pleasant oak with anise, and spice. Can’t wait to get to the taste and it’s full of strawberries, fine oak, cherries, and blueberries thrown into the batch. There’s dark deep depth and rustic earth, yet I’m still drinking those beautiful roses…majestic.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: Darker, deeper, richer and funkier and sweeter

Amidei (which means “Loved by God”) is the name of Robert Buly’s grandmother’s family. They were also wine and olive oil merchants from Florence. As I’ve written about before, Robert was drawn back to the romantic history and his family in Italy and also to these same delicious ways. Buli’s Amidei “Super Tuscan” blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Merlot ages for 2 years, but doesn’t get permission to hang out all together. 40% get the new French oak and 60% used. Hey, what’s wrong with vintage clothes when they’re couture? Then they get to play together for one month before bottling. This swirl then gets to age in a bottle for a year, and then it’s up to you when to open. I ask, why wait for 2022, Mr. Suckling? Life is short, and last year totally showed us this more than anything. Seize the moment, open the good bottle and live a little! Bring over a charcuterie board, along with some grilled lamb chops, put a record on to spin and let’s get down tonight.

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Beauty on a High Hill

Buli
515 S.L.M. 2019
Toscano Bianco IGT
Trequanda, Siena, Italy
Chardonnay 70%, Trebbiano 30%
Organic, guyot, and hand harvested
Founder and owner: Robert Buly
Enologist: Diego Ciurletti
Agronomist: Alessandro Gemini
Cantina Chief: Stefano Censini

Pale shining gold. Scents pop out of cantaloupes, honeydew, a little smoky/peat but seriously delicate, Red Delicious apples and a faint whiff of their blossoms. Also smidge of salt and something mineral or the more I think of it if you have ever stripped a fresh apple branch, it’s that smell. Its green, clean, and grounding. First sip and there’s a small squeeze of lemon like one wedge hanging on the side of your glass, muskmelon, honeydew, peaches, Red and Golden delicious apples, and honey that tastes like it had a walnut aging in it for a while…Mmmm. A little oak warmth that turns to smoke with a lick of salt but nothing overpowering. I read someone mention harsh at the end, but there is nothing harsh unless you think a basic tiny lemon squeeze harsh. All I know is I want some west coast oysters with mignonette right now.

Pairs with Cheez-It’s: a little more dark nightshade, some grass and a little more rich and round

Sea level means so much in cooking, baking, and farming. While 515 meters S.L.M. is not good for cooking grits (you seriously have to have the right sea level for southern certified grits), it is fabulous for these grapes. Robert Buly enlisted his cousin Giulio to help in the search for the perfect place for him to get back to his family’s “deep roots”, in 2006, Podere Collalto (farm on a high hill) came up for sale. What’s even better it was only 6 miles from his cousin’s place. It has it all…great sunlight. beautiful summer breeze, rugged good soil and plenty of room for a vineyard and olive trees. Check out the site for images from their enchanting little part of the world, it will brighten your day.

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Caterpillar Caterpillar

Cantina San Biagio Vecchio
Cacciabruco 2018
Ravenna Bianco IGT
Faenza Emilia-Romagna Italy
Chardonnay 80%, Malvasia di Candia Aromatica 15%, Trebbiano 5%
Winemaker Andrea Balducci
Organic and indigenous yeasts

Color deep rich orange tinted gold due to the 8 days of skin contact. After admiring this gorgeous glass, breathe in orange zest, a little ginger like a gingerbread cookie, honeysuckle, flowers, and apricots. First sip and it’s very floral and then there’s melon, honeysuckle and downright honey. There’s also again delicious apricots and something a little bitter like an almond. This wine has such a heady enchanting mystical fairy-kissed richness.

Pairs with Cheez-Its: Weeds out any almond or bitter. Just an explosion of flowers.

As I read about Cantina San Biagio Vecchio, Andrea Balducci named Cacciabruco after his daughter’s favorite song (well, it was her favorite song when she was 3). I have to say, it’s a whole lot better than Baby Shark. Let’s all dance and hunt that caterpillar.

Andrea and Lucia Balducci’s Cantina San Biagio Vecchio (from what I’m finding) is not just an organic winery, but they also grow the wheat Gentil Rosso. Gentil Rosso is an ancient grain that’s a soft wheat, which is great for cakes and pastries. The vineyards are situated in beautiful hills near the medieval Torre di Oriolo. The tower started out as an old castle that was transformed into a hexagonal military fortress in the late 1400s. Over the years it had been pillaged then restored, used as a dwelling for sharecroppers, in WW2 it became a place of for the citizens of Faenza to ride out bombings, and now restored again, it is a public place where you can a enjoy wine tasting, a night of music under the stars, or the wedding of your dreams.

Branching out to the Emilia-Romagna region. A 30ish minute drive from Faenza is Dozza, a town well known for their murals. The last Biennale del Muro Dipinto was in September 2019, and the town walls are the artists’ canvas. The works, new and old are so diverse in styles and content, but each has their own form of beauty.

Another 35 to 45 minute drive from Faenza is Ravenna. Ravenna is not so far from the Adriatic Sea and has eight monuments that are UNESCO Heritage sites. Each are spectacular, but the one that grabs me is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The mosaics are breathtaking. I just get lost in the arrays of blues and a sense of peace from the ceiling mosaic “The Garden of Eden”. “The Good Shepherd” is amazing in its own rights too. I have to say the sheep do look a bit pissed off by the shepherd. Ha! Seriously though, I truly have to find a way to get here when we can travel again.

@docwineshop @docwinebarny @CantinaSanBiagioVecchio @visionwinebrands @murodipintodozza @TorreDiOriolo @cheezits #cheezit #wine @worldbyglass #needmorewine #pairswithcheezits #italy #Faenza #EmiliaRomagna #Chardonnay #MalvasiadiCandiaAromatica #Trebbiano #organic