Metro Wines Blog - Metro Wines Asheville

 

        The next morning, after a few hours of sleep, we rose and went down into the lobby for breakfast. We consumed a reckless amount of espresso and cappuccino, along with delicious pastries, fruit, eggs and bacon. Our driver Dominico, explained to us that Cappuccino is fine for breakfast, but you shouldn’t order it after 11:00, or everyone will think you are German. Only espresso after 11:00. I find these little cultural details so interesting.

        We drove to Emilia Romagna from Tuscany, it took about 3 hours, leaving the land of Sangiovese behind and heading into the land of Balsamic Vinegar, Parma ham and Lambrusco. I’ve never been the biggest fan of Lambrusco, so I wasn’t overly excited about this visit. Don’t get me wrong, I have tremendous respect for Lambrusco, but it just has never really been my thing. The rolling hills of Tuscany eventually gave way to the flat, sun drenched vineyards of Emilia Romagna, our bus eventually stopping at Cleto Chiarli, the oldest winery in Lambrusco. 
       

       After meeting Tomasso, the export manager and member of the current generation of owners of Cleto Chiarli, he took us on a tour of the winery. It is located in an old Villa, and one of Italy’s most famous generals lived on the property. He showed us the vineyards, which were so hot, and the fermentation tanks. I got to see a Charmat Method tank, which I have explained to my students in my classes, but have never actually seen. We asked him so many questions about winemaking and he patiently answered them all for us.

        Next, we went upstairs in the Villa for a tasting of his wines. They were actually very good and not really what I expected Lambrusco to be. There are two kinds of Lambrusco grapes, technically there are more but without getting exhaustingly technical, let’s just focus on two; Lambrusco Sorbara and Lambrusco Grasparossa. The wines made from Sorbarra were delicate and light, almost rosé in color, with high acidity and flavors of strawberries, sour cherries and an almost Muscadine-like spiciness in the finish. The Grasparossa wines were darker in color and more muscular, with more tannin, and more of a cooked blackberry flavor. 

        Only one in the tasting had any residual sugar, the rest being Brut. The Amabile, a medium dry style, was lovely. The little bit of residual sugar seemed like a shock to my taste buds after so much scorchingly dry, high acid Lambrusco. It was nice, emphasizing the fruit and balancing out the acid a bit. Instead of a bitterly acidic blackberry, it was more like a blackberry pie that you forgot to add enough sugar to. 

        After our tasting, we were treated to a fantastic lunch, full of Parma ham, balsamic vinegar and homemade cheese ravioli. The rumor is true, in Italy they will keep filling up your plate, and you are expected to eat it. I was painfully full when I left Cleto Chiarli. After lunch, we left for Piemonte, probably my favorite wine region in the world. I have read about this place for so long, studied maps, read about soil types and climate, but I haven’t never been there. It was a magical feeling driving towards it, the promise of Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Gavi di Gavi exciting me. 

        That night we had a free night in Asti, we walked around, shopped and had a wonderful dinner outside in the city. It was nice to cut loose again after so much intense, studious wine tasting. When I arrived at the hotel, I resisted the urge to go out partying in the city of Alba. Tomorrow we visit Barolo, and I want to be at my best for that!

 

      

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We got to the hotel around midnight and were dressed, fed and back on the bus at 8:30 the following morning. The informal name for this trip among the staff at the importer is the “Death March,” because of the extreme amount of regions and wineries visited in such a short time. I was aware of this before I agreed to go, my wine rep friend told me he went on it 5 or 6 years ago. He said it was amazing and life changing, but very difficult. 

 

  Our trip to Marche was lovely, the landscape similar to the rolling green hills of Abruzzo. Garofoli is located directly on the main thoroughfare, the winery is over 100 years old and the road in front of it leads to an ancient holy site, reportedly the site of Mary’s birth and supposedly transported to Marche from Palestine by angels. While I doubt angels actually transported the gigantic building that overlooks the winery from the mountain above us, the stones were apparently actually from Palestine, our hosts claimed.

   The wine tasting at Garofoli was the best I have ever experienced in my life, and believe me when I say that in that I have been to a lot of wine tastings is a gigantic understatement! It is run by Daria and Gianluca Garofoli, a mother and son, and they were two of the funniest and warmest human beings I have ever met. We were joined by David, their intergalactic director of sales, and he and Gianluca were basically a comedy duo. The wines were amazing and extremely well priced from start to finish. They specialize in whites from Verdicchio di Castillo di Jesi, and reds made from Montepulciano (the grape, not the place. More on that later), from the areas of Rosso Conero and Rosso Piceno. We have carried the “Piancarta” Rosso Conero nearly since we opened our doors at Metro Wines. It is one of my favorites to recommend and as always, it didn’t disappoint.

   After the tasting they took us to the nearby seaside village of Sirolo for lunch. It was a restaurant overlooking the ocean that they knew of. We walked over to the ocean where we could see Monti Conero, where the Rosso Conero is grown, a huge rock jutting dramatically out of the stunningly blue waters of the Adriatic. To say the view was incredible is, again, an understatement. 

   After staring at the incredible views, we had lunch at an authentic seafood restaurant, Trattoria Osteria Sara, where we proceeded to have what is doubtless the craziest meal I have ever had! Incredible seafood kept coming out of the kitchen and the wine kept flowing. 3 kinds of sparkling vermentino with fresh tuna carpaccio, fresh out of the water, seasoned only with black sea salt and local olive oil. Enormous anchovies followed, with Garofoli “Macrina” Verdiccio. Clams, mussels, chopped octopus and snails, served in little whelk shells followed that. Amaro, espresso, and then dessert. The conversation got louder and louder, David and Gianluca sat with us and joked with us. I felt like I knew them forever, like we were family. I felt like an Italian, not a tourist. It was the most amazing dining experience I have ever had. I feel like I’ll be chasing that feeling again for the rest of my life.

   We were hours late for our next appointment when we stumbled back to our bus. We loaded up and drove through the tunnels cut into the Apenine Mountains, through Umbria and into Tuscany. The craggy, Alp-like mountains gave way to the familiar rolling hills and cypress trees of Tuscany. I napped on the way after getting completely drunk at lunch.

   That evening we met with Poliziano, just outside the famous Medieval city of Montepulciano (the place, not the grape). They are famous for their Vino Nobile de Montepulciano made from the Prugnolo Gentile grape, a thick skinned clone of Sangiovese. Our still lightly toasted group did our best to listen as we took a tour of the marvelous winery. 

   This place was run by Federico Carletti and his son Francesco. While we toured their palatial estate, they explained their winemaking philosophy and how they were dealing with the dramatic effects of climate change. The two butted heads occasionally on how they thought the wine should be made, Federico preferring to keep things traditional; heavy, ageable, oaked wines while Francesco suggested going for a lighter, newer style, ready to drink with minimal aging and no oak. It was very interesting to hear them politely debating each other.

   After the tour, we tasted through the wines they make; rich, velvety reds made from Sangiovese and also some newer wines made from Merlot and Cabernet. They were all extremely good!

   Dinner followed, a huge display of antipasti, put together by Fabio, their chef. After I had eaten my fill, Fabio took away our plates as if the meal was over. But it wasn’t. A huge plate of homemade bolognese followed, not resembling what I make back home in the slightest, and then a fig torte and Vin Santo. The Vin Santo was almost overwhelmingly complex; flavors of espresso, apricot, salted caramel, and old furniture. It was one of the most gorgeous flavors I have ever had in my life and my first Vin Santo experience.

   We left Poliziano around midnight, all of us were exhausted from so much drinking and lack of sleep the night before. There was some talk about going out on the town which was immediately shut down almost unanimously. We needed sleep, we had another big day of tasting tomorrow. Tomorrow we head into Chianti.

 

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    The drive from Puglia to Abruzzo was lovely. It was incredible to watch the landscape change as we headed North. The flat, yellow/brown landscape gave way to lush, green hills with the Adriatic Sea set dramatically out the right side of our bus.
       We journeyed to the seaside town of Pescara, where La Valentina is located. To say the vineyard was different from Li Veli’s is an understatement. La Valentina is set atop a hill with a grand view of Abruzzo’s mountains, hills and valleys. The landscape was gorgeous and green and seemed completely covered by grapevines, the mountains in the background were topped with snow. Abruzzo has some decent skiing, apparently.
       La Valentina does not produce your usual Trebbiano and Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. Sabatino, the owner, told us that he wants his wines to be of exceptional quality and unique! His wines were certainly far from the usual plonk I often expect from this area, they were lovely, powerful wines that reminded me of the wines from the Northern Rhone Valley. The Trebbianos he makes were crisp and mineral driven, with a white peach fragrance that reminded me of good Viognier. The Montepulcianos, were deeply pigmented and tannic. 
      He showed us a few very expensive Montepulcianos which aren’t imported into the US yet, that were extremely tannic and powerful, reminding me of good, Northern Rhone Syrah. One, a 2017 vintage, pulled the moisture out of my mouth and tugged at my teeth. It was as unforgiving as a young Cote Rotie, but I could tell it would be a showstopper in another 10 years or so. My suspicions were confirmed at dinner a few hours later when they opened up a 2009 vintage of the same wine, it showed layers of dried black cherry, tobacco and a slight smokiness reminiscent of bacon fat.
        Overall, the wines here were not inexpensive, but they showed me the potential that fine wines from Abruzzo can have.
      After a little sleep and a quick walk to the Adriatic, we set off to Marche to see one of my favorite wineries, Garofoli. I have excitedly sold these wines for more than a decade and I have been so excited to see this vineyard. I’m so excited to see what adventures await me there.

  

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News Release: Monday, June 3rd, 2024

 

"After getting what seemed to be an excessive amount of sleep, nearly 7 hours, we headed to Masseria Liveli to taste their wines.
The group I’m with is exceptional, wine professionals from all across the country; many wine reps who sell the wines from this importer, but also sommeliers and wine buyers from retail establishments and restaurants. Everyone is extremely knowledgeable and wickedly funny, it’s an honor to be along with them. There is a summer camp-like vibe to the group, I’ve started calling our trip “Sommercamp” and that term seems to have stuck with my companions.
Masseria Liveli was an incredible experience. The oppressive heat of Puglia was alleviated here, as there was a strong breeze coming off of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, the vineyards are located almost equidistant between the two, which kept this area cool and pleasant. You can smell the ocean in the breeze.
Walking through the vineyards, I was surprised to see large chunks of white limestone and ancient seashells mixed in with the reddish dirt. It reminded me of photos I’ve seen from Burgundy.

After touring the vineyard, we walked into the Masseria, an ancient Puglian word for farm, the building made from white stones, the same limestone found in the vineyard. We were escorted into a white stone room with lovely medieval style vaulted ceilings for the tasting. The wines were exceptional from start to finish, showing lovely balance between fruit and acidity. All of the wines displayed a chalky minerality, an effect of the limestone in the subsoil of this area, as well as a slight sea-breeze like salinity. They were fruit forward, as expected, but the acidity, minerality and an almost savory quality from the sea salt kept them so balanced. I was impressed.
We left Liveli, almost reluctantly, to continue our trip up the “boot.” Next for us, a five hour drive up the Adriatic Road to Abruzzo, where we will be dining at La Valentina this evening. I’m excited to see Abruzzo, a place I have read about for so long, but have never seen. Ciao a tutti!"

 

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