Bastianich-The Buzz

SLOWINE, here in Italia, has just posted a comprehensive tasting of Friulano, and they have some very nice things to say about our Friulano and PLUS...

http://slowine.it/pagine/ita/degustazione.lasso

Lidia talks about Bastianich Wines!

Lidia on Bastianich Wines | Good Taste with Tanji.

An opportunity to meet Joe and Lidia Bastianich...

If you want a real idea of the philosophy behind our wines, what better way than to meet the people who created and live that philosophy?

You can have that possibility if you're around New York City this Thursday, November 19th, because Joe and Lidia Bastianich will be at Morrell Wine Shop (Rockefeller Plaza and 49th Street) from 6 - 8 pm. They'll be pouring wine and Lidia will be selling signed copies of her new cookbook.

This is an awesome opportunity to not only meet Joe and Lidia, but also to taste Bastianich wines and actually speak to the people who make these wines what they are and ask them about it. They can give you tons more insight into the wines than I can.

They also just happen to be really awesome people who I personally look up to and admire.

Go here for more info:

Lidia and Joe at Morrell

Scenes from San Martino

You learn something new every day...

Today is November 11th, which, in Italia, is the Festa di San Martino.

San Martino is the official end (end therefore also beginning) of the agricultural year. Traditionally it is the day when you pay your debts from last year... your rent for land, your harvester's wages... and the day when you renew your contracts for next year. There are a lot of harvest festivals and various celebrations. I'm sure it's no coincidence that it's so near the American Thanksgiving...

Also common is the the phrase L'estate di San Martino, which is like our Indian Summer, but has the stipulation that the lovely warm weather (like we are having in these days) comes after the first frost...

In celebration of San Martino, and the beautiful weather, here are a few scenes...

Beginning Pruning

Changing colors.

Monte Matajur (1641m, 5384ft) looking over our vineyards. The Proximity to these pre-Alpine mountains in the Valle di Natisone is the source of our evening breezes and cooler microclimate in Cividale.

Mountains and birds

Just a couple of things I wanted to share...

The weather has been cold and rainy for about a week, but once the clouds clear a little, I can safely say that I have a beautiful morning commute...

 

And then I have this little guy constantly flitting and chirping outside my office window:

 

In the winery, we've started pressing some of the appassimento grapes. We use the basket press for these because there simply isn't enough volume to fill a pneumatic press. Unfortunately the guys in the cellar got the grapes in the press before I even arrived at the winery today, but I'll catch them later on and post a few pictures.

Quick note on eMail subscriptions

Unfortunately I've had to move everyone's email subscriptions to a new service.

Don't worry... I've done all the dirty work (I literally entered all email subscribers BY HAND)

You're welcome!

Just expect a confirm email and click on the link inside. I promise, it's legit.

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Sun sets on Vintage 2009

The sunsets have become early and golden, like every Fall in Friuli. And the last grapes have come in. Friday October 9th marked the official last day of harvest. It was a long season this year that saw a little of everything, heat, cool, dry, rain... but the drawn-out harvest made for a low-stress vintage with humane rhythm and timing. The generally accepted judgment for '09 is EXCELLENT.

I'm going to close with just a few images for now. It's been so long since the last blog, but that doesn't mean my camera's been idle...

Christian feeding the destemmer...

Chris and Davide makin' it happen...

 

I thought this one kinda looked like the moon...(?)

...but it's just crushed grapes going in here:

 

2009 Vintage Update - RAIN!

Don't Panic.

We harvested some Tocai and some Merlot before the weather turned bad Last Sunday. Everything looks great.

Rain is actually welcomed at this point because it had been SO DRY that maturation wasn't advancing as quickly as it should have been considering the great weather. The vines were a little stressed from lack of water, and when vines stress, they go into a "survival mode" where available energy is diverted from maturation and the grapes are actually used as a source of energy themselves. Under severe conditions, the vine can use the grapes as a source of water, causing the berries to shrink...

We didn't get that far, thank goodness.

2009 is still shaping up to be a great vintage. This rain is just what the doctor ordered. For the later whites and the rest of the reds to come in perfectly, the rain will have to stop and we'll need just a little more warmth and sun.

A taste of what it takes...

Luke (left) and Paul are sommeliers visiting from Carnevino and Enoteca San Marco (both in Las Vegas) to get a little taste of what it takes to make good wine...

 

Here they are getting their hands dirty and picking some Chardonnay. I was worried because Gigi came into the office at about 11 am saying the Americans weren't going to last until noon. When I got out to the vineyard to photograph their distress, they were fresh as daisies... 

Way to make me proud guys...

 

Grapes coming in!

You can't believe the weather here. Absolutely stunning. Warm, sunny days and cool evenings. Harvest 2009 is shaping up to be a beauty.

SO.. Here's a look at the work involved in receiving grapes.

Step 1: You get a trailerload of beautiful Sauvignon Blanc, freshly picked...

 

You could send these grapes through a crusher/destemmer (More on that later...) or you can toss them in the press in whole bunches, which is a nice way of really getting to the pure flavor of the grapes. This is best used only on perfect fruit. Since these grapes will probably go into Vespa Bianco, we'll press them whole. (Stems also act as a sort of "drainage mesh" allowing juice to drain more easily.)

Step 2: Into the press!

Andrea is up on the trailer putting the grapes into the press. On the ground you have Ettore and Cristian waiting to rinse the grape cassettes with our home-made, hi-tech, semi-automatic hi-pressure cassette washer (TM).

Step 3: Toss the empty cassette to Ettore...

 

... And Ettore runs it through the washer...

 

and the rinsed cassettes are stacked into 3-packs...

 

...and then the clean cassettes are taken back out to the vineyards to be refilled by the pickers...