“Orange wines kick ass!”

Ageno recieves positive review on Vinography

“Orange wines kick ass!” So says Alder Yarrow in a glowing review of La Stoppa’s Ageno on San Francisco-based wine blog Vinography. The Emilian producer’s so-called orange wine is the creation of Elena Pantaleoni, and is actually a blend of Malvasia, Trebbiano, and a rare local variety called Ortrugo. According to Yarrow, the wine achieves its orange hue thanks to a lengthier contact with the grape skins and resulting oxidization process. Yarrow’s luscious tasting notes for Ageno is one of the most entertaining descriptions of a drinking experience I’ve read in a long time:

“A gorgeous medium amber-orange color in the glass, with a distinct haze of cloudiness, this wine has a phenomenal, almost otherworldly nose of exotic flowers, saffron, and orange creamsicle. On the palate it is weighty, with a texture that is almost tannic in quality, gripping the tongue like a velvet glove. From a flavor standpoint it is nearly indescribable — brown sugar, honeysuckle, saffron, cream soda, and unbelievably, the distinct flavor of coffee and cream on a finish that can be measured in minutes.”

Alder Yarrow, vinographer.

Vinography was born in 2004 as a personal project for founding editor Alder Yarrow, and has since grown into one of the most influential blogs for non-mainstream writing. San Francisco Magazine hailed Yarrow as “The Wine World’s Brightest Cyberstar”, yet for the Stanford University graduate, Vinography remains an evening hobby: by day Yarrow is founder and principal of the interactive design and strategy consulting firm, HYDRANT.

La Stoppa’s 2004 vintage Ageno is available now at Vino.

Change has come…

…even to Italian winemaking. Try these two certified-organic natural wines at Vino this Friday!

Italy's front pages this morning were dedicated to Barack Obama's historic election win last night.

Dolcetto di Dogliani 2006 Cascina Corte
Try Cascina Corte’s 2006 Dolcetto di Dogliani! This organically-produced offering has a charming cherry, earth and herb aromatic character and a full-bodied, firmly tannic palate. We drank it last week in a great little osteria in Belvedere Langhe. It was wonderful with carne cruda and agnolotti plin. Cascina Corte is a husband-and-wife team, Amalia Battaglia, a doctor, and Sandro Barosi, a devoted advocate and veteran of the Slow Food movement. Their winery is one of a growing number of producers who use organic viticultural principles to make limited amounts of “natural” wine.

Cascina Corte is one of three organic producers of the newly minted, dolcetto-based Dogliani DOCG. Producers in Dogliani like to remind us that while in Asti and Alba the best growing sites are reserved for Barbera and Nebbiolo, in their slice of the Langhe the best vineyards are planted almost exclusively to Dolcetto. Cascina Corte’s Dolcetto vineyards were planted in the 1940s high on Dogliani’s famed San Luigi Hill. Over the past seven years they have been tended using organic methods and, beginning with the ’06 vintage, have been ICEA certified.

Vinum 2007 Guido Gualandi
Located in the Montespertoli subzone of Chianti, Guido Gualandi is among the most interesting and exciting producers to emerge from the appellation in recent memory. Gualandi names his white “Vinum,” the latin word for wine, as it is made following a Roman recipe. Like many of Guido’s wines, Vinum is made with historical Tuscan varieties: it is a blend of Malvasia Lunga della Chianti, the local clone of Malvasia, and smaller amounts of Coda di Cavallo, the local clone of Trebbiano. He lets the grapes macerate for 10 days in traditional chestnut vats to give the wine structure and character. Only 1,000 bottles are produced.

FREE Certified Organic Tasting
Friday, November 7
5:30-7:30pm

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information please call 212-725-6516 or email contact@vinosite.com. Further details are available at vinosite.com.

The world may be changing, but this gentleman remains unfazed.

Italy has voted.

What is organic wine?

Discover the truth behind non-interventionist winemaking in Italy at our Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wines class

Can you...

Questions from clients about organic and biodynamic winemaking have become common over the last couple years, joining concerns about taste, price and region of origin as primary considerations in many purchases. As people become increasingly concerned with the methods used to make their food it is no surprise that wine, often the most expensive element of a meal, has come under greater scrutiny.

...tell...

At Vino we embrace the movement towards more natural production methods and seek producers who do their best to make as pure a wine as possible. We also have learned that nothing is simple when it comes to understanding the thicket of certifications and regulations that have emerged from the myriad bureaucracies, here and in Europe, that attempt to control what we drink.

...the difference?

Please join us this Wednesday for a tasting and discussion designed to provide insight into an emerging element in Italian and international winemaking that has already permanently changed the way we view both the enjoyment and business of wine.

Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wines
with Jim Hutchinson, DWS, and Kayt Mathers

Wednesday, November 5
6:30-8:30pm
$75
SPACE IS LIMITED!

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information please call 212-725-6516 or email register@vinosite.com.