Save 20% on organic wines from Lazio by Castel de Paolis

Vino’s December sale continues, this week featuring some of our favorite “natural” winemakers. Today: Lazio’s Castel de Paolis.

Though Lazio may not be as revered in winemaking terms as Tuscany, Piedmont or Veneto, wines from the region’s Frascati DOC have long been legend in Rome, and are still favorites among visitors to the Eternal City. Now, a handful of producers in Lazio are reshaping the image of wines from the Castelli Romani, producing bottles to perhaps rival those from Italy’s more celebrated winemaking regions.

Among these producers is Castel de Paolis, whose estate is located 270 meters above sea level in the hills of Grottaferrata, just south of Rome. The vineyards have been in the Santarelli family since the 1960s, although it wasn’t until 1985, when Giulio Santarelli met Attilio Scienza, a professor at Milan University and director of the prestigious Agricultural Institute of San Michele all’Adige, that the modern Castel de Paolis winery began to evolve.

Following close inspection of Santarelli’s hilly, volcanic terrain, Scienza suggested a complete overhaul of its 13 hectares. Underperforming vines were uprooted and replaced with rare, out-of-favor local grapes, including Malvasia Puntinata del Lazio, Bombino Bianco, Cacchione, Bellone, Passerina, Pecorino, Grechetto and Romanesca. After these varieties gave positive results, Santarelli extended the experiment to include successful international varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier, Sémillon, Pink Muscat, Golden Muscat, Roussanne, Merlot and Petit Verdot.

Equipped with the most advanced winemaking technology, Castel de Paolis was certified organic in 1992. Though the winery gave up this certification in 2007 due to bureaucratic issues, current owner Fabrizio Santarelli (Giulio’s son) still operates under the strictest organic principles. In addition to producing delicious wines under the Castel de Paolis label, Fabrizio (discussing his wines below during a visit to I Trulli in 2008) also acts as president of Le Vigne del Lazio, a consortium of the region’s winemakers. Having already reimagined his own winery, with this new position comes the task of reshaping the winemaking image of the entire region of Lazio, and promoting wines its wines to an international market.

Today you can save 20% on Castel de Paolis’ famed white and red blends, plus two dessert wines: the Moscato Rosa Rosathea and Muffa Nobile, made from Sauvignon Blanc.

Campo Vecchio Bianco 2007
was $20, now $16

Frascati Superiore 2007
was $22, now $17.60

Donna Adriana 2007
was $26, now $20.80

Campo Vecchio Rosso 2005
was $22, now $17.60

I Quattro Mori 2004
was $42, now $33.60

Rosathea 2007
was $32, now $25.60

Muffa Nobile 2007
was $42, now $33.60

Remember, this offer is valid TODAY ONLY, while stocks last!

Visit our website for a full list of December’s featured producers and tastings*. Look for your favorite producers and be sure to plan ahead: 20% sales are for one day only! As usual, we’ll be hosting our free tastings every Friday from 5:30pm, continuing this week with some of our favorite “natural” wines!