Slow Wine US Tour 2022

Slow Wine presented its Slow Wine Guide 2022 at Eataly Downtown in NYC with a tasting of wines from over 100 producers that are included in the guide.

The following is the Slow Wine statement of what they represent:

The Slow Wine Guide evaluates over 400 different wineries and treats each with the utmost respect and attention. The Slow Wine team prides itself on the human contact it has with all producers, which is essential to the guide’s evaluations. While other guides limit their relationship to a blind tasting and brief write up, Slow Wine takes the time to get personal with each winery in order to create a well-informed, detailed review of the wines themselves and the people behind the production. Slow Wine selects wineries that respect and reflect their local terroir and practice sustainable methods that benefit the environment. And for the first time ever, those wineries that receive the snail or the official Slow Wine seal are 100% free of chemical herbicides, a quality that the Slow Wine Guide continues to passionately support.

As I was walking around the tasting area, I was called over by Davide Acerra from the Consorzio Tutela Vini D’Abruzzo. I had met Davide on a press trip to Abruzzo 3 years ago. He invited me to taste some of the wine. We started with Trebbiano di Abruzzo.

The Wine

Trebbiano D’Abruzzo “Costalupo” 2019 Illuminati made from 100% Trebbiano from vineyards at 270 meters. The training system is pergola trellis and rows. Harvest takes place by hand at the end of September. The grapes are destemmed and gently crushed. Fermentation takes place in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks.  This is a fruit forward wine with hints of citrus, stone fruit and a touch of white flowers and crisp acidity. The wine remains in bottle for a time before release. It is an easy drinking wine. $16

Trebbiano D’ Abruzzo  DOC 2019 “Anfora” Francesco Cirelli made from 100% Trebbiano from their own vineyards and some from rented vineyards. The soil is limestone and clay. Harvest is by hand. The grapes are destemmed and gently crushed and then transferred into clay amphoras for 24 hours maceration. The skins are separated from the juice and softly pressed before the indigenous yeasts take over and the fermentation process takes place for 20 days.The resulting wine then rest and refines in the amphoras for 12 months. There is no fining. There is filtration before bottling with 1 micron carbides. The wine has hints of stone fruit, citrus, hay, peach with a touch of honey and good acidity. $28  This is a bargain for the price.

Trebbiano D’Abruzzo  2019 Tiberio made from a massal selection of Trebbiano with average age of 60 years. The vineyard is 2.5 hectares and is at 380 meters. The soil is mainly limestone with a gravel sandy subsoil and the training system is tendone (canopy). There are 2,500 wines per hectare. The grapes are hand harvested at the end of September. The grapes are not pressed and only the free run juice is used. Alcoholic fermentation is in stainless steel takes and malolactic fermentation does not take place. The wine has hints of apricot, jasmine, anise and green apple with a note of almonds in the aftertaste. $20. I have had wines by this producer and have always been impressed.

Trebbiano D”Abruzzo 2019  Amorotti, Gaetano Caboni made from 100% Trebbiano. The soil is limestone clay and the vineyard is at 300 meters with a south east exposure. Spontaneous fermentation takes place with native yeasts. The wine is filtered but not fined.  Aging is in untoasted tonneaux for one year. The wine has hints of chamomile, yellow plums, lemon peel, white flowers and flinty minerality. This a a very impressive wine and well worth the money. $38

Montepulciano D’Abruzzo Riserva 2015 “Casauria”  Podere Castorani made from 100% Montepulciano. The training system is the traditional overhead “pergola” trellis system of the Abruzzo region. The soil is deep clay with many underground rocks. Harvest is by hand the beginning of November with grape selection. Fermentation is in concrete tanks with manual pump over and delestages and extended maceration. Malolactic fermentation is completed during skin maceration. The wines ages on the lees in oak barrels and then for 6 months in concrete tanks. Finally the wine remains in bottle for 15 months before release. The wine has hints of cherry, cranberries, licorice, a touch of spice and a note of tobacco. $31

Just before I left, I tasted a favorite Vernaccia di San Gimignano

Vernaccia di San Gimignano 2019 Campo della Pieve IL Colombaio di Santa Chiara made from 100% Vernaccia. The 1.5 hectare vineyard is at 360 to 400 meters and there are 5,500 vines per hectare. The soil is old Pilocene, which is sand and clay, and the training system is spurred cordon. Harvest by hand is the end of September and beginning of October. There is a soft pressing of the grapes and fermentation takes place with indigenous yeasts at a controlled temperature. Maturation is on the lees in cement vats with periodic batonnage for 18/20 months. This is a complex and aromatic wine with hints of ripe yellow stone fruit, citrus, white flowers and toasted almonds and a very nice finish. $21

Another time, more about the Slow Wine event.

Slow Wine – A New Italian Wine Guide that Looks Beyond the Glass!

For 20 years, Slow Food co-published the Italian Wines Guide with Gambero Rosso, arguably the most famous and influential wine publication in Italy.  The much sought after “three glasses” awards helped to stimulate Italian producers to aim for maximum quality and to change the Italian wine scene and its image abroad.

But Slow Food, which has since split with Gambero Rosso, felt that something more was needed in a wine guide to give a realistic snapshot of the current Italian wine scene and to incorporate the values of the Slow Food movement.  Now Slow Food has its own wine guide “Slow Wine”

Slow Wine 2012 English version

 A Year in the life of Italy’s Vineyards and Wines-400 cellars visited, 3,000 wines reviewed. $25

This new guide was introduced at a press conference, followed by a tasting of the wines in the guide. The speakers at the press conference were Giancarlo Gariglio, one of the creators of the wine guide, of which he is chief editor and Fabio Giavedoni, also chief editor with a particular focus on the regions of eastern Italy.

The guide had a successful debut in Italy, where it is currently in its second edition.  It is now making its international appearance with the first English edition, which is about one-fifth the size of the original.

The book is divided by region from North to South

Mr. Gariglio and Mr. Giavedoni believe there is a need for a new Italian wine guide a number of reasons.  They feel that  wine cannot be judged by scores, symbols or other numerical evaluation, but needs to be assessed in a broader context. In their new format, three sections describe the cellars (producers) in their entirety:

Life (people), the stories of the leading players in the world of winemaking; Vines (vineyards), profiles of vineyards according to their characteristics and the way they are managed;  Wines, straightforward descriptions backed up by comprehensive statistics.

The “cellars” are viewed by 200 wine experts all former employees of Gambero Rosso .  They do not judge the wines in a tasting room but travel all over the Italian peninsula visiting the cellars of the producers.

Three symbols are used to evaluate each winery:

The Snail, the Slow Food symbol, signals a cellar that has distinguished itself through its interpretation of sensorial, territorial, environmental and personal values in harmony with the Slow Food philosophy.

The Bottle, allocated to cellars that show a consistently high quality throughout their range of wines.

The Coin, an indicator of great value.

Three symbols are also used to evaluate each wine.

Slow Wine, bottles of outstanding sensory quality, capable of condensing in the glass territory-related values such as history and identity.

Great Wine, the finest bottles from the sensory point of view.

Everyday Wine, bottles at the standard price level, which are excellent value for the money.

Not every wine has a symbol next to it but we were told at the conference that all the wines in the book are good wines.

In keeping with the Slow Food movement, at the bottom of the page on each winery is another list which rates the winey as to: fertilizers, plant protection, weed control, yeasts, grapes-estate grown or not and if the winery is certified organic.

The authors ended the conference with the following statement, “We are convinced that the battle against the homogenization of taste and the standardization of sensory characteristics may be conducted through knowledge of the land, vineyards and people that combine to form the Italian terroir.”

After the press conference there was a walk around tasting and I tasted a number of wines. Here are some of the wines that I liked:

Bianco Pomice 60% Malvasia della Lipari, 30% Carricante and 10% Moscato Giallo Tenuta Di Castellaro, Sicily 

Bardolino  2010 made from Corvina and Rondinella Le Fraghe, Veneto

Soave Classico” Calvarino” 2009 Made from 100% Garganega Pieropan, Veneto

Langhe Nebbiolo”No Name”2005 Borgogno, Piedmont, they said it is a Barolo of Protest?

Chianti Classico Riserva “Il Poggio” 2007 Made from Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino Monsanto, Tuscany

Chianti Rufina 2009 Made from Sangiovese and Canaiolo Selvapiana, Tuscany

Barolo “Nei Cannubi” 2007 DOCG Luigi Einaudi Piedmont

Barolo “Marcenasco” 2007 DOCG Renato Ratti ,Piedmot

Dolcetto Dogliani bricco Botti DOCG 2008 Pacchenino, Piedmont-They now produce a Barolo San Giuseppe 2007

Barolo “Ravera” 2008 DOCG Elvio Cogno, Piedmont

Roero MompessanoRiserva 2008 DOCG 100% Nebbiolo Cascina Ca’RoSSa, Piedmont

Contrario 2008 100% Sagrantino Antonelli, Umbria

Salento Rosato 2010, Made from Negroamaro and Malvasia Nera Cantina Rosa del Golfo, Puglia

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo” Notári”2008 Nicodemi, Abruzzo

Ciró Rosso Duca San Felice Riserva 2009 made from 100% Gaglioppo Librandi, Calabria

Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi Classico Riserva 2008 made from 100% Verdicchio Villa Bucci, Marche