August News
This August, Barbera receives the star treatment, Passaporto visits Veneto and we spotlight exciting new arrivals to the shop.
9/1 Barbera
Early in my career, I spent about a month in the Asti-Monferatto area of Piemonte living with an old family of barrel coopers. It was a supremely formative experience that shaped my understanding of Italian culture. In Asti, the Barbera grape reins supreme and I made it my business to taste every single one of them! Later in NYC, I discovered the heights Barbera is capable of reaching in the hands of greats like Bologna, Mascarello, Roddolo and Conterno, to name a few. What a grape!
I am elated to finally gather all the greats I have tasted into a single immersive wine experience. On Tuesday, September 1st, I will be pulling corks on what I consider to be the very best Barbera on the market today. If you have ever loved this grape and wondered why, this class is for you.
9/1/26 | 6-8PM | 8 wines + antipasto | $125 per person TICKETS HERE >>
Passaporto: Veneto
For August's wine club, we take a journey to one of Italy's ubiquitous regions, the Veneto. It is home to so many wines we see in restaurants and markets today: Prosecco, Soave, Pinot Grigio, etc... However, this region has been ravaged by merchants and large outfits who've stripped viticultural identity in the name of making a buck. Where do we go from here?
Allow your sommelier to re-introduce the beating heart of Venetian wine, Soave and Valpolicella, as told through the glass of small producers like Secondo Marco from the famous Speri family. Marco makes polished wines from the Fumane Valley like this Valpolicella classico 2020, an easy-drinking red packed with personality. For Soave, we hike to Mount Foscarino to meet one of its badass families, the Inama's. Soave from mountain fruit is a beautiful thing, as is the 2021 Vigneti Carbonare, a muscular expression of Garganega that wont quit. Lastly, a trip the the Mezzane of eastern Valpolicella to meet the Grassi family for their 2019 Valpolicella Superiore, a refined and age-able expression of Mezzane's cracked limestone soils. VAI!
August Arrivals
As promised, I have been writing dispatches on the new arrivals in News Section of my website. Check out the latest gems from Sicilia and Piemonte, two regions I have been spotlighting as of late. Italian wine is about exploring a sense of place in the glass. The following wines pretty much crystallize that notion... they literally scream of place!
Salute🍷
PR