Pira

pira view

My first visit to Pira was a few years ago, and the visit was hilarious. My family and Pira together. We spoke little italian and he claimed to speak very little English. He was either being modest or he got better over the years because he spoke English very well this year. He was accompanied by his daughter this time; he was teaching her to do visits and tours. So while we were tasting it was the daugther that presented the wines, and Pira would add on if needed.

pira lineup

We tasted the 2012’s as well as 2014 Barbera and Nebbiolo and 2015 Dolcetto.  I really like the 2012’s, although they will be way better in a few years, they are quite drinkable now. 2014 was a difficult vintage so the wines are not the best compared to the year before or the year after. All in all, a very nice visit! I hope be back very soon!

pira wall

Wine of the Week

Marengo Barolo Bricco Delle Viole

IMG_7464Wine: Barolo Bricco Delle Viole

Producer: Marengo

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Nebbiolo

Vintage: 2009

 

Eye: ruby red

Nose: rose, dark berry, spice

Mouth: black cherry, cinnamon, vanilla

Price Point: $32

Available at Vinmonopolet: not yet

Nadia Curto

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When you visit with Nadia it’s more like a casual aperitivo than a wine tasting. She offers some salami and cheese, opens a few wines and you just sit around and drink together. I always love coming here, I just have the best time. Nadia is wonderful, extremely funny and very kind. It was a while since I’d been there, and one thing that was very different from last time was her labels! She completely changed them, as you see above. Below are her old labels.

curto ask

My brother enjoying the wine and salami

The 2012’s are looking really good, it was a treat to taste her 2012 Arborina. She brought out a 2007 so we could compare them, which is always fascinating. The 2007 is showing well. Nadia also makes a Freisa, which is a lesser known wine, but quite a few producers make it. Sometimes it’s fizzy and sometimes not, some make it one way on purpose and others make it so it’s fizzy one year and not fizzy another. Anyways, it was an excellent visit and I hope to be back soon!

curto arborina

New label vs Old label

Joseph Voillot

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During my visit to Beaune this summer, Joseph Voillot was my first visit. It was funny because I emailed them thinking I would probably get the same response as I’d been getting from all other producers saying: “we are closed, we do not take visits”, etc etc. However, he replied that we were welcome to visit and voila: he was penciled in.

I walked around Volnay looking for him, first at what looked like the wine cellar and then at what looked like his house. I rang the bell and a woman (I think maybe his mother) opened. In my terribly limited french I tried to explain I had an appointment. She disappeared into the house and a few minutes later Mr. Voillot was there!

He came directly from the vineyards in his tractor. He lead the way through this very tiny door into a small tasting room. There I tasted through his wines while we had a strange conversation in french/english/gibberish. It’s not easy carrying on a conversation when neither speaks the others language. But we managed and I actually learned a little more about wine. It was a truly fantastic experience and I hope to meet him again soon.

 

Wine of the Week

Barolo Vigna Giachini by Giovanni Corino

corino

 

Wine: Barolo Vigna Giachini

Producer: Giovanni Corino

Region/Appellation: Barolo, Piemonte

Grape varieties: Nebbiolo

Vintage: 2006

 Eye: bright ruby red

Nose: fruity, cherry and raspberry, some licorice, roses,

Mouth: silky tannins, easy to drink, fruity, balanced with firm structure

 

Price Point:  $71

Available at Vinmonopolet: Not yet…

Wine of the Week

IMG_6577Freisa Bartolo Mascarello

Wine: Langhe Freisa

Producer: Bartolo Mascarello

Region/Appellation: Italy, Barolo

Grape varieties: Freisa

Vintage: 2013

Eye: opaque, purple crimson hue

Nose: raspberry, cherry, red fruit, tea

Mouth: fruit, some yeast, slightly fizzy

 

 

Price point: $23

Available at Vinmonopolet: NO

Michel Lafarge

yes

It’s not as easy to get visits with winemakers in Beaune as it is in Barolo, but I was lucky enough to get us in at Michel Lafarge. Personally I do not have a lot of experience with the wines, but I follow the family and winery on social media and know a little about them through there. We were greeted by Frédéric Lafarge, who along with his father now runs the winery. The first thing he did was take us into the vineyards, which has to be one of my favorite things to do when I visit a winery.

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yes While in the vineyard he explained the idea of the Clos, as he has his own Clos “Clos du Château des Ducs”. For those who do not know, it just means that it’s a “monopoly” vineyard that is fenced in. He also tried to show us some mildew, as it is a problem in certain years, but luckily for him and his wines he could not find any.

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Inside the winery in the cellar we tasted quite a few wines, both from barrel and bottle. What I find interesting about wine tasting in Bourgogne is that you stand up the whole time. In Barolo, you almost always sit down, at least for part of the tasting. In honesty I don’t remember all the wines we tasted, as I forgot to write it down and was unable to take pictures because we tasted directly from the barrel, but the wines were very good! And I hope to come back and visit again!

Wine of the Week

Vietti La Crena 2011

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Wine: La Crena

Producer: Vietti

Region/Appellation: Piemonte, Italy

Grape varieties: Barbera

Vintage: 2011

 

Eye: Rich ruby purple color

Nose: Raspberry, cherry, some vanilla and spices

Mouth: dark fruits, balanced acidity

 

 

Price Point: $40

Available at Vinmonopolet: Yes