Barolo vs. Barbaresco

 by ANGNESE GINTERE

Angnese Gintere

BAROLO vs. BARBARESCO 

by Agnese Gintere

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Love the Pio Cesare BAROLO 2018 Piedmonte

 

PIO CEARE BAROLO

2018

I drank this wonderful wine the other night at Monte's Trattoria in Greenwich Village. `it was a pleasant surprise, because I didn't know if it would be over-oaked, as a few years back, Pio Cesare was doing (over oak-ing their wines with too much aging in new oak barrels) a few years back.

Yes, the wine was a absolute surprise, and I absolutely loved it. The wine had just the right weight to it. Not too heavy, nor to light, but just right. The wine was just about as right as could be, perfectly balanced, and quite tasty, with wonderful flavors of Girone Cherry, and a tad Earthiness. The Barolo was an absolute Joy to drink, and I did just that "Enjoyed"

A classic style Barolo. Excellent structure, harmony and elegance. Soft tannins and balanced fruit. Approachable, but with a very long ageing potential. Barolo is a great wine, which should not be described as a “basic” or “regular” Barolo, simply because it does not have any additional indication on the label.

Rated No. 21 of WINE ENTHUSIAST Top 100 WINES of The YEAR

2022

"We agree. This wine is Wonderful"

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Villa Calcinaia - Chianti Classico

 

Villa Calcinaia

Greve

VILLA CALCINAIA

Greve

VILLA CALCINAIA

GREVE in CHIANTI

ITALY

SANGIOVESE

VILLA CALCINAIA

GREVE in CHIANTI

CHIANTI CONTI CAPPONI

VILLA CACINAIA

GREVE

One fine example of  the connections that give me  special  inside entry to private tours, tastings, parties lunches and dinners with the winemakeror the proprietors of wine estates around the world would be a fabulously

memorable lunch I had with Conti  Sebastiani  Capponi  and his brother 

Conti Nicolo  Capponi  at  their families estate Greve, Italy,  the Villa Calcinaia

which  was purchased by the  noble Capponi  family  in  1524.

Villa Calcinaia was once a Florentine outpost on the medieval road of Greve.

The Capponi’s have been producing wonderful wine, olive oil, and vinegars

since the Renaissance. I  will  always  remember  the lunch I shared with Conti Sebastiani and Nicolo Capponi one beautiful Spring  day  a few  years back. Nicolo gave us a whimsical  tour  of  the vineyards  and  its cellars. We first started in the beautiful old kitchen of the villa which apart  from the gas stove looks  almost  exactly as it has for over 500 years, incredible. Before we started on our sojourn of the cellars of Villa Calcinaia, Niccolo  treated  us to  some the extraordinary  Salami and  Prosciutto that they make on the estate, soley for the Capponi family consumption, along with any guest who are lucky enough to partake as well.

It was quite an especially unique treat, eating the private artisnal Capponi Family Salumi while sipping their superb Chianti in the medieval kitchen as the house cook was grilling veal in the ancient fireplace, the veal that would be the main-course of our glorious lunch.

Nicolo then took us through the labyrinth of the Calcinaia Cellars and into a room where the Capponi's have a 300 year old mother. Yes that's right, a "300 Year Old Mother." 

A Mother is the starting process of making vinegar and it can be kept alive for hundreds of years, thus in this case, a 300 year old one, so they say. The vinegar it produces is exceptional.

Nicolo then led us into the adjacent room and proclaimed, "These are from Ali Baba." 

What Nicolo was referring to, were large terra cotta vessels where the estates fine Tuscan Olive Oil are stored before bottling, and by the way, they do look as they may very well 

come from the caves of Ali Baba himself.

The Count (Conti) then led the way to the fermentation room where the pressed Sangiovese grapes make the estates fine Chianti, as well as their amazing Vino Santo made from Trebbiano of Calcinaaia. 
   
From the fermentation room we went into the cellars where Chianti was being aged in large Slovenian Oak Cask. We took barrel samples out of the 1994 Chianti Reserva and the Chianti Classico 1995 as well. And yes, they were quite tasty to say the least.

   

The Road to Calcinaia

   After barrel-tasting  the Chianti, Niccolo brought  us  into  the room  where

thousands  of  bunches of  Trebbiano grapes were hanging from nails on beams

so  they could  dry out  before being turned  into the  lush nectar of  Tuscan

Vin  Santo which  we  would  be drinking later  on to finish off our unforgettable lunch.

Conti Niccolo then led us  outside to the Capponi vineyards  and to their herb

and vegetable garden in back of the castle.

After seeing the garden and walking through the vines of  Sangiovese  we joined

up  with  Niccolo’s brother Conti Sebastiano Capponi in a beautiful little dining

room for our incredible lunch to come. 

The dining room was decorated in the perfect combination of country elegance of

which was unchanged for some 500 years.

   

We started this wonderful meal with an antipasto misto  of  Crostini  Toscano, 

Prosciutto,  and  roast peppers. The antipasto was followed by a simple but tasty 

Rigatoni Pomodoro.

We were served the Veal that we had observed being roasted by the cook previously, 

along with some sautéed  escarole from the garden.

We  then  followed  the Veal with some Pecorino Toscano while enjoying the

Capponi’s great Chianti throughout the meal.

 For desert we ate succulent Oranges while sipping on  the  extraordinary 

Calcinaia Vin Santo which to me is the best expression of  this  famous Tuscan

dessert  wine that I have ever tasted, ever better than the superb Avognesi Vin Santo 

1990  which received the highest score possible for  any wine,  a  100 from the

Wine Spectator. The Vin Santo from Villa Calcinaia is  perfectly balanced  with 

the sweetness of ripe Pears and Apricots,  with hints of  Wild Flowers and Walnuts

and at the finish, utterly Perfecto!

   This meal was one of the most memorable of my life,  dining  with  the

Capponi’s in a lovely dining room in the Castel

  which dates back to the Renaissance,  at the Villa Calcinaia in  the

heart Chianti Classico, drinking their fabulous wine with our meal,

it  was an  experience that  not many  people ever get the chance to do,

simply extraordinary.

On the third day in Panzano we went to visit the stunning  wine estate of 

Vignamaggio.

This estate has  quite a history  behind it. La Gioconda (Mona Lisa) was

born at this  stately  villa, and the painting  is  believed to been painted by

DaVinci on the grounds of Vignamaggio.

    The estate  is  absolutely beautiful. If you look at the background  of

the painting Mona Lisa you will get  an idea of the beauty of the estate and

the panoramas  you  see from  its various vantage points, they are spectacular.

Villa Calcinaia

Conti Cappono

Greve in Chianti

Italy

Lunch with Conti Capponi

1997

Villa Calcinaia

Greve

La TAVOLA

Read About the Conti Capponi

Villa Calcinaia, Chianti

and More ...

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VILLA CALCINAIA _ Accomadations

With Conti Sebastiano Capponi

And Joseph Macari Jr.

New York, 2009

.

Chianti

 

CHIANTI GALLO NERO

The BLACK ROOSTER

There are eight Chianti zones in Tuscany. The biggest, oldest, and the one that may produce the best wine is the Chianti Classico zone. It is called Classico because of it is the oldest zone of the region and it is in the center of the region.  The Chianti Classico zone, a very large area between Florence and Siena, includes all the territories of the communes of Castellina in Chianti, Gaiole, Greve, and Radda in Chianti and parts of Barberino Val d'Elsa, Castlenuovo Berardegna, Poggibonsi, San Casciano Val di Pesa and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa.

            In 1924, 33 producers get together in Radda in Chianti and founded a consortium to defend and promote Chianti Classico wine and its symbol of origin, the black rooster.

          This symbol has always appeared on the bottles of Chianti Classico produced by consortium members. Not all of the producers of Chianti Classico belonged to the consortium and only members were able to use the black rooster on their bottles. In 2005, however, the black rooster became the emblem of the entire Chianti Classical zone.

            The Chianti Classico Consortium had the words Gallo Nero printed over the head of the rooster on the neck label of all of its bottles. A few years ago the Gallo winery in California sued the Consortium and won the case. The words were removed from the label.

            The black rooster symbol has origins in both the history and legends of Chianti.  It was depicted in a painting by Giorgio Vasari on the ceiling of the Salone del Cinquecento in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence to indicate the military league of Chianti. There is also the legend of the Black Rooster.  Florence and Siena in the Middle Ages were always fighting each another over land. The leaders of the rival cities decided to have a horse race to determine the boundary lines.  A rider would depart from the capital of each republic and the border would be drawn at the point where the horsemen met. They would set out at dawn by the crowing of a rooster. Siena picked a white rooster and Florence a black rooster. The night before, the black rooster was not fed.  It awoke early and the Florentine rider almost reached the gates of Siena before encountering the other rider.  The rest is history.

            Baron Bettino Ricasoli in the middle of 19 century devised the formula for making Chianti Classico:   Sangiovese with such native varieties as Canaiolo and Colorino.  Two white grapes had to be included, Trebbiano and Malvasia.  It could not be 100% Sangiovese. Many producers back then used the governo method.  Ten percent of the grapes (Canaiolo) were dried and then added to the wine. I believe that there is only one producer today, Querciavalle, that still uses this method.

            Over the years the percentages and the grapes have changed.  Currently, the percentage of Sangiovese is 80% to 100%.  Native varieties such as Canaioio and Colorino or foreign ones including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot can be added up to 20%. As of the 2006 vintage, the white grapes are no longer allowed.

            Chianti Classico can be aged in wood, steel tanks or glass lined cement tanks; the normale is aged for one year before it is released. The riserva must be aged at least two years and an additional three months in bottle and have an alcohol content of at least 12.5% before it can be released. The riserva is a wine that can age for a number of years. The riserva  had  a gold circle around the black rooster but that stopped in 2005.

"I LOVE CHIANTI" !!!

CHIANTI "GALLO NERO" T-SHIRT

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Chianti Brunello Italian Wine

   

TUSCAN COUNTRYSIDE

Just Beautiful

A Scene in TUSCANY

Toscano

Tuscany

Girasole

A FIELD of SUNFLOWERS in TUSCANY

The RAGU BOLOGNESE COOKBOOK

DANNY BOLOGNESE

A Bridge

Tuscan CountrySide

Vines of Castel Verrazano

Greve in Chianti

A CAT & CHIANTI

Castello Verrazzano

Greve, ITALY

Italian Cookbook Author Daniel Bellino "Z"

with good friend CAVELIERE LUIGI CAPPELLINI

the owner of CASTELLO VERRAZZANO

Greve ITALY

The CELLARS

CASTELLO VERRAZZANO

"There's a lot of Tasty CHIANTI in those BARRELS" !!!

Large Slovenian Oak Cask in the Cellars of CASTELLO VERRAZZANO

My Favorite BRUNELLO of ALL

BRUNELLO Di MONTALCINO FATTORIA Dei BARBI

In the Cellars of FATTERIA Dei BARBI

"Drink some Brunello" !!!

SUNDAY SAUCE

When Italian-Americans Cook

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke

AVAILABLE on AMAZON.com

SATRIALE'SPORK STORE

SOPRANOS

TOTE BAG

"AZZURI"

The ITALIAN NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM

TEE SHIRT

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