Puglia Wine World hosted a number of events in NYC last month.
These included events at the Italian Consulate, The Fancy Food Show, an event on a boat, and the last a wine tasting and lunch at IL Gattopado restaurant in NYC. I was invited to the final event by Regione Puglia and Gruppo-Italiano
We started with a stand up tasting of five wines:
“Sissy Pop” Extra Brut Classic Method Masseria del Sole (Foggia) made from 100% Nero di Troia. The soil is clay/calcareous. There is a manual harvest and fermentation is in steel tanks at a controlled temperature. The wine has hints of dried almonds, hazelnut, blood orange, plum and fig.
Mela Rosa Extra Dry Sparkling Wine NV Due Palme (Brindisi) made from 100% Negroamaro. There are mineral deposits in the soil. A careful selection of grapes is harvested at the end of August to preserve the freshness and acidity. There is a brief period of skin contact to get the desired light pink color of Rose. Then the Charmat method is used to create the sparkling wine. The wine has hints of red fruit, strawberry and raspberry with floral notes.
Puglia IGT Rosato BIO “Tre Tomoli Rosa” Vigna Flora (Bari) made from 100% Susumaniello. The soil is loamy and clayey. There is a manual harvest of the grapes followed by destemming and a soft crushing. Maceration in contact with the skin for 3 to 5 hours to get a peachy-pink color. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature for 15 days. Malolactic fermentation is not carried out. The wine remains in steel and bottle for 15 days before release. The wine has hints of white peach, pink grapefruit and citrus tones.
Primitivo di Manduria DOC “Lirica” 2017 Produttori di Manduria Manduria. Made from 100% Primitivo. The soil is of a medium texture with calcareous tufa. Red wine vinification with thermo-conditioning of the fermentation process. The wine is in contact with the skins for 1 week and is aged for a minimum of 6 months in large barrels. This is an intense and elegant wine with hints of dark fruit, cherry, plum a hint of spice and a touch of ginger. This was a very impressive Primitivo.
Primitivo di Manduria DOC “Raccontami” Vespa Vignaioli (Manduria) made from 100% Primitivo. The soil is limestone-clayey. The skins fermentation is for 15 days, malolactic fermentation is in barriques and and the wine is aged for 12 months in barrel. The wine has hints of black and red fruits, with a touch of tobacco and a hint of vanilla.
For lunch there were 5 wines
The place mat had the name of the wines and information about each of the wines.
For lunch we began with a refreshing salad Acquasale Di Frisella, Cipolle, Cetriolini E Peperoni. Toasted bread with onions, cucumbers and bell peppers.
Tiella Pugliese Tradizionale Di Riso, Patate E Cozze is a typical Pugliese casserole with rice, potatoes and mussels.
Rose — Botromagno is one of my favorite producers in Puglia
Red Wine #1
Agnello Al Sugo Alla Salentina Con Patate was a savory lamb stew with potatoes to go with the red wines.
Red Wine #2
Red Wine #3 SoliAir is an importer and distributor that carries an excellent line of wines.
Dolce Torta Di Albicocche Con Salsa Al Cioccolato E Mandorle Tostate is a delicate almond cake with apricots and chocolate sauce.
It is always a pleasure to have the wines of Puglia with the southern Italian food of IL Gattopardo.
Charles Scicolone on Wine 