THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE CHANNELS.
W.R. Tish: "Perhaps even more important, concept wines are providing a fresh edge of marketability. After two decades of passively allowing wine ratings to infiltrate the retail tier of the industry, sellers and shoppers alike now have a new way to think about the inherently fun, interesting product that wine is."
make no doubt: what's in the bottle counts.
100% genuine, top-quality, vintage dated, terroir driven, lot-selected, estate-bottled, hand-crafted, non-manipulated (NO importer's cuvees, marketing blends or bulk wines masquerading as 'fine wine') wines and spirits from small family producers.
(levante) vermentino.
one of the greatest ligurian oenologists.
our ligurian love affair started on a rainy day very late at night in 1992.
to be specific, in a tiny mountain town right in the middle of liguria's ponente, a stretch of coastal land that's responsible for the very best ligurian pigatos.
as you get further away from this particular zone, pigato's style, body and flavor starts to change: turn east and it becomes thinner, harsher. go west and it takes on vermentino-like qualities.
as a matter of fact, pigato and vermentino share up to 98% of the same dna. BUT, and this is a very important point, the 2% dna difference plays a very important role when pigato is matched with the right micro-climate, altitude, soil and is vinified in the hands of a skillful wine maker. it won't smell or taste like vermentino. and yes, we've tasted pigatos that could have easily been passed off as vermentinos.
the same can be said about ligurian vermentino. the most elegant and perfectly balanced vermentinos come from certain parts of the 'levante' which is the coastal area south of genova. '
inexpensive ligurian vermentinos or pigatos do not exist. why? most of the vineyards in liguria are very tiny parcels of land right off the coast high up in the mountains and therefore not easily accessible and very difficult to work.
in the current issue (december, 2012) of the decanter magazine, jancis robinsons lists "10 grape varieties every wine lover should try." It doesn't surprise us that one of these happens to be vermentino / pigato / favorita'.
she writes: "this fashionable grape, responsible for scented, dry, zesty whites of corsica, sardinia and increasingly throughout Italy, southern france and beyond, provides on object lesson on just how much dna analysies has to teach even wine professionals. the grape growers of liguria have traditionally raised and sold their vermentino and pigato as though they were distinct varieties, wheras their dna has now shown them to be genetically identical - and identical also to the variety the piemontese call favorita."
almost.
we've sampled probably every ligurian pigato and vermentino made over the last 20 years and it has given us a great inside into these two fascinating, underappreciated Italian white grape varieties.
even today, only a handful or so of ligurian white wines reach a quality level that can really compete with the very best whites made in other italian regions and countries.
we can proudly say that we carry one of the very best pigatos (vinissimo selection) and three of the very best ligurian vermentinos from three different producers in our portfolios.
'groppolo' is also an extraordinary value.
to be specific, in a tiny mountain town right in the middle of liguria's ponente, a stretch of coastal land that's responsible for the very best ligurian pigatos.
as you get further away from this particular zone, pigato's style, body and flavor starts to change: turn east and it becomes thinner, harsher. go west and it takes on vermentino-like qualities.
as a matter of fact, pigato and vermentino share up to 98% of the same dna. BUT, and this is a very important point, the 2% dna difference plays a very important role when pigato is matched with the right micro-climate, altitude, soil and is vinified in the hands of a skillful wine maker. it won't smell or taste like vermentino. and yes, we've tasted pigatos that could have easily been passed off as vermentinos.
the same can be said about ligurian vermentino. the most elegant and perfectly balanced vermentinos come from certain parts of the 'levante' which is the coastal area south of genova. '
inexpensive ligurian vermentinos or pigatos do not exist. why? most of the vineyards in liguria are very tiny parcels of land right off the coast high up in the mountains and therefore not easily accessible and very difficult to work.
in the current issue (december, 2012) of the decanter magazine, jancis robinsons lists "10 grape varieties every wine lover should try." It doesn't surprise us that one of these happens to be vermentino / pigato / favorita'.
she writes: "this fashionable grape, responsible for scented, dry, zesty whites of corsica, sardinia and increasingly throughout Italy, southern france and beyond, provides on object lesson on just how much dna analysies has to teach even wine professionals. the grape growers of liguria have traditionally raised and sold their vermentino and pigato as though they were distinct varieties, wheras their dna has now shown them to be genetically identical - and identical also to the variety the piemontese call favorita."
almost.
we've sampled probably every ligurian pigato and vermentino made over the last 20 years and it has given us a great inside into these two fascinating, underappreciated Italian white grape varieties.
even today, only a handful or so of ligurian white wines reach a quality level that can really compete with the very best whites made in other italian regions and countries.
we can proudly say that we carry one of the very best pigatos (vinissimo selection) and three of the very best ligurian vermentinos from three different producers in our portfolios.
'groppolo' is also an extraordinary value.
groppolo | $29.99 | producer | twitter
KYLE PHILLIPS (1997): Vermentino is one of Italy's so-called lesser white wines. Quite lesser; Antonio Piccinardi doesn't even mention it in his 650 page Dizionario dei Vini Italiani. This is actually a rather serious oversight on Mr. Piccinardi's part; Vermentino can have tremendous personality and finesse, and offers a refreshing change of pace from the far more common Pinot Grigios, Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs one finds in stores and restaurants.
Unfortunately, if you're in Italy and want to try Vermentino dei Colli di Luni you can either go to one of the est restaurants in town and hope its wine list is ample enough, or drive down to La Spezia, in Liguria -- as I did. You won't be disappointed; though the region is best known for the Cinque Terre (5 very pretty coastal towns just north of La Spezia, and also a white wine) there are many other things to see as well.
Inland there's Tuscany and the Lunigiana region, a wild area with fortresses on almost every hill and enchanting Romanesque churches; there's also the Museo delle Stele (odd prehistoric statues) in Pontremoli and the Museo Etnografico in Villafranca in Lunigiana. To the south, along the Tuscan coast, there's Carrara, with its marble quarries, Massa, with more quarries, and a host of other attractions, including Versilia (an excellent area to work on a tan, with many fine restaurants) and Pietrasanta, where you can visit the studios where artisans transform the ideas of the world's great sculptors into finished pieces."
Unfortunately, if you're in Italy and want to try Vermentino dei Colli di Luni you can either go to one of the est restaurants in town and hope its wine list is ample enough, or drive down to La Spezia, in Liguria -- as I did. You won't be disappointed; though the region is best known for the Cinque Terre (5 very pretty coastal towns just north of La Spezia, and also a white wine) there are many other things to see as well.
Inland there's Tuscany and the Lunigiana region, a wild area with fortresses on almost every hill and enchanting Romanesque churches; there's also the Museo delle Stele (odd prehistoric statues) in Pontremoli and the Museo Etnografico in Villafranca in Lunigiana. To the south, along the Tuscan coast, there's Carrara, with its marble quarries, Massa, with more quarries, and a host of other attractions, including Versilia (an excellent area to work on a tan, with many fine restaurants) and Pietrasanta, where you can visit the studios where artisans transform the ideas of the world's great sculptors into finished pieces."
2009 groppolo: "Medium body. A little saline at first, and lots of lemons and minerality. Nice subtle acidity and a surprisingly long finish. Far above expectations - and delicious!" - reviewed on cellartracker on 4/16/2011
1996 groppolo: "is a pretty pale amber in color and has a crisp, elegant bouquet whose initial reserve gives way to the typical bitter sea tang of Vermentino laced with nice fruit, especially honeydew melon, and white pepper -- an odd but pleasant combination. On the palate it is clean and somewhat bittersweet. It is also zesty, with nice structure and body, and a pleasant tartness with lasting bitter notes on the finish. It will be a good aperitif, but will come into its own with crustaceans or flavorful dishes such as Buridda, a rich Ligurian fish stew. It will also go well with robust vegetarian dishes, and its bitter notes will allow it to stand up to pesto sauce or other garlicky foods; it could be perfect with Korean cuisine."
- kyle phillips,1997
groppolo. vine and wine impressions.
estate. hospitality. argiturismo. tastings. cinque terre. la spezia. sarzana. tuscany. pisa. firenze. vermentino. seafood. sardines.
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