It was very exciting to head to Montreal Science Centre June 21 for the Gambero Rosso event.
I had the opportunity to discover new Italian wines and wineries.
I had a big wow for the wines from Chiara Condello, a young winemaker in Emilia-Romagna. She owns under 5 hectares of Sangiovese vines, which are hand-harvested and with little intervention in the cellar. She had her two wines available at the wine tasting event: Le Lucciole and the Chiara Condello, both really good. You can also see the creativity in her wine labels. The Chiara Condello is available at the SAQ.
I love this quote from Chiara from the 2015 harvest season: "In my wines I seek the authentic expression of my land, its history, its uniqueness. I imagine a wine of light, free from the artifices by which it has been too much often overburdened. For this I have decided to work in a simple way, following the rules of organic viticulture and handcrafted winery management."
I also really enjoyed the rosé from Famiglia Pasqua, a blend created from the most noble native varietals like Corvina and Trebbiano di Lugana and varietals like Syrah and Carmenère. The name 11 MINUTES refers to the duration of the skin contact. And the bottle design is gorgeous. And of course while at the Famiglia Pasqua kiosk, I couldn't resist trying their Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore, a blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Négrette, and available at the SAQ.
I also stopped at the Venturini Baldini kiosk. Since 1976, the brand has been synonymous of highest quality wines made in Emilia - authentic and born in the tradition of Emilian winemaking. Located on the Apennine foothills in Emilia-Romagna, between Parma and Reggio Emilia, the Venturini Baldini family estate is synonymous with elegant sparkling wines from Emilia. Available at the wine tasting was their white Graniers made of Malvasia di Candia Aromatic, their rosé Cadelvento made with Sorbara and Grasparossa, and finally their sparkling red Marchese Manodori with Marani, Maestri, Salamino and Grasparossa.
My final stop was at the Tornatore kiosk where they had their Pietrarizzo which is created with Nerello Mascalese, followed by their Trimarchisa created with Nerello Mascalese and a small part of Nerello Cappuccio. On the white side, they had their Pietrarizzo created with Carricante with a small percentage of Catarratto.
Do you know any of these wines from Italy?