Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries: Bordeaux, Day Three

05 Monday Aug 2013

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Alfio Moriconi, Bordeaux

For day one of the “Bowtie Diaries” click here, for day two click here.

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries – Day Three

Alfred Tesseron and Alfio and Chateau Pontent-Canet

Probably the most familiar quality classification of Bordeaux wines (and one that most people reference) is the Classification of 1855. The Classification of 1855 was requested by Napoleon III at the 1855 World’s Fair in Paris. The classification system ranked the wines according to a château’s reputation and trading price at the time. In total, 60 châteaus from the Left Bank were classified into five categories called growths or Crus, starting with the most prestigious, Premier Cru or First Growth, which was printed on their wine labels. Today, many people critique the Classification of 1855 for numerous reasons, such as not including châteaus from the Right Bank or not acknowledging that the vineyards’ ownership and conditions have changed since the classification. Nonetheless, the 60 chateaus that made this list of “Grand Cru Classé en 1855” are among some of the most highly regarded wine producers in the region. Today, we visited chateaus that were all a part of the 1855 classification, including Château Haut-Bages Libéral where we spent last night.

Since it was our last day in Bordeaux, we were up early and ready to finish exploring the Left Bank. Claire Villars-Lurton made an amazing breakfast which included a typical French spread

of homemade croissant, assorted breads, cheese and fruit preserves. One (or two) croissant later we were off to Château Pontet-Canet in Pauillac, owned by Alfred Tesseron. Monsieur Tesseron comes from a family of esteemed Cognac blenders. Château Pontet-Canet prides itself on being 100% organic and biodynamic. They use all natural farming methods to ensure that they are producing Cabernet grapes exactly as the terrior (soil) requires. After touring their impeccable facilities and getting to feed the vineyard plow horses, we had an opportunity to taste the 2010 vintage that had received 100 points from the Wine Advocate.

The egg vat

Wrapping up our tour of Pauillac, we headed south to Margaux, one of the largest communes in the Left Bank. The soil in Margaux is the thinnest of all the Left Bank communes, producing highly aromatic wines that are refined and well-balanced. We met Alexander van Beek, the General Director of Château Giscours and Château du Tertre, who told us that the wines of Margaux have the most beautiful fragrance, finesse and elegance, and he is right. Recently, both Giscours and du Tertre have started using biodynamic farming techniques like at Château Pontet-Canet. One of these techniques includes using an egg-shaped vat, which generates a natural movement of wine that in turn opens it up to provide more character. The egg vat was modeled after what was used in Mesopotamia, where the earliest origins of wine-making began.

Alfio enjoying Château Giscours ’98 during lunch at Château du Tertre

After a gorgeous poolside lunch at Château du Tertre, we headed back north to the smallest of communes on the Left Bank, Saint-Julien. Though Saint-Julien has no First Growth wines, there are numerous top growths from the 1855 Classification. One of these includes Château Gruaud Larose, where we got to see first-hand the process of soutirage, or racking of wine. Racking is a method of moving wine from one barrel to another to reduce sediment and clarify the wine. This process softens tannins and enhances the wine’s aromatic qualities. Today, there is equipment that filters out this sediment, but there are some producers in Bordeaux that use the original soutirage technique which, though very labor intensive, is believed to produce a higher quality of wine. This technique starts with opening the barrel and pouring the wine out into another barrel. As this occurs, the winemaker will take samples of wine in a wine glass and hold it up to a candle to check for sediment. When the wine glass becomes full of sediment, the winemaker knows to stop pouring the wine into the new barrel and cap it, and to discard the current sediment from the wine.

Soutirage

Finally, our time in Bordeaux and in the Left Bank wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t pay a visit to see Domaines Fabre and Château Lamothe-Cissac, home of former Total Wine & More intern, Jean-Hubert Fabre. Since Jean-Hubert left Total Wine & More as our intern, he has finished school and is starting his career in the wine industry. Château Lamothe-Cissac, where we met up with the Fabres, is in Haut-Médoc and surrounds the communes of Pauillac and Saint-Julien to the left, further in-land from the Gironde estuary. Jean-Hubert’s father, Vincent Fabre, who often travels to Total Wine & More stores along with California Zinfandel producer Paul Sobon to host exclusive tastings, produces wines from Château Lamothe-Cissac, Château Landat and Château La Tonnelle. However, Château Lamothe-Cissac is the flagship property of the Fabre family. Before stopping off at the Fabre’s, Alfio and I made a quick stop to a local florist to pick up some flowers for Madame Fabre, who prepared us dinner. It is here where we left Alfio toasting the end of his trip and another successful Bowtie Diaries with one of his favorite wines, Château Landat 2009.

Thanks for following Alfio’s adventures! Next time you’re in your local Total Wine & More, check out the section named “Alfio Moriconi Selections” for many of the wines mentioned in these posts along with many others Alfio has hand-picked during his travels. You can also find some Alfio favorites on our website here.

Until next time, Ciao!

Alfio bringing our gracious dinner hosts flowers at Château Lamothe-Cissac

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries: Bordeaux, Day Two

31 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Alfio Moriconi, Bordeaux, Wine

For day one of the “Bowtie Diaries” click here.

Château la Louvière

It would be remiss if we didn’t see André Lurton and Lucien Lurton’s properties while in Bordeaux. So, we dedicated our second day of travel to doing just that. The Lurton family name is synonymous with excellent Bordeaux wines. Siblings André, Lucien, Simone and Dominque have all been a part of the wine business since their parents, François and Denise Lurton, first started Château Bonnet in the early 1900s. On this trip we focused on the properties of the two brothers, André and Lucien. André still runs most of his properties along with his children, while Lucien stepped out of the wine business some years ago and his 10 children manage and operate all of his properties today.

Alfio in conversation with Veronique Bouffard

One of André Lurton’s most famous properties is Château La Louvière, which he purchased in 1965 and is located on the Left Bank. The Left Bank is made up of three main regions: Médoc, Haut- Médoc and Graves. Château La Louvière is located in the southern part of the Left Bank in the region of Graves, Pessac-Léognan. In the Left Bank, the grape that is most commonly grown is Cabernet Sauvignon. Château La Louvière produces highly rated Cabernets (90+ from Wine Spectator) on a beautiful estate that dates back to the 16th century. So beautiful, in fact, that the estate is listed on France’s Inventory of Historical Monuments.

La Louvière’s marble tub

We spent the morning taking a tour of the chateau with Veronique Bouffard, who is head of communications at La Louvière. Here, even the bathroom is a work of art. Check out the marble tub from 1791 that is still in use today!

Before making our way north from Graves into the larger region of the Left Bank, known as the Médoc, we were off to one of Lucien Lurton’s properties, Château de Camarsac, in Entre-deux-Mers. Entre-deux-Mers (literally “Between Two Seas”) is located between the Garonne and Dordogne Rivers that lead into the Gironde estuary. With one of the largest appellations in Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers has 7,400 acres of vineyards that produce white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle) and red wine (mostly Merlot, which is sold under the name Bordeaux Supérieur AC).

Château de Camarsac

At Château de Camarsac, we met up with François Villars, who works for La Passion des Terriors, one of the top négociants in Bordeaux for selling and distributing Lucien Lurton wines, as well as Thierry Lurton, who owns and lives at the château with his wife and two children. Thierry is one of the six sons of Lucien Lurton who purchased the 12th century château in 1973. When not focusing on producing their signature wine, Château de Camarsac Bordeaux Supérieur, Thierry and his family spend their time slowly renovating the back half of the castle that was damaged after it caught fire in the 18th century (yes, it’s still under construction). One interesting observation about Château de Camarsac is that some of the windows in the front of the château are bricked in. While one may think that this has something to do with the fire, it actually dates back to the 18th century when there was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. To avoid the tax, some châteaux in Bordeaux, like Château de Camarsac, bricked-up the window spaces.

The countryside of Entre-deux-Mers from Château de Camarsac

Back on the D2 – or Route des Châteaux, the main road that runs through the majority of the wine country along the Gironde estuary – we were on our way to our final stop of the day, Château Haut-Bages Libéral in Pauillac. Pauillac (pronounced POY-yac) is considered the wine capital of the Left Bank. It is the world’s benchmark for the Cabernet Sauvignon grape; the gravelly soils here provide the optimal drainage needed for the grapevines. Some of the most exclusive châteaux are in Pauillac and neighboring Château Haut-Bages Libéral, including Château Latour and Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron. Thus, the location of Château Haut-Bages Libéral makes the wines that they produce one of the best kept secrets in the Left Bank, as they are often a fraction of the price (though still north of $70) of their famous neighbors. The proprietor of Château Haut-Bages Liberal is Claire Villars-Lurton, Gonzague Lurton’s (son of Lucien Lurton) wife and sister to François Villars. The name of the property originates from its geographic location — virtually atop the Bages plateau between Pauillac and Saint-Julien, a commune north of Pauillac — and the first owners of the estate, the Libéral family. Claire was a very gracious host, as we spent the remaining evenings of our trip staying at her château.

We ended our day having duck confit for dinner with the Villars at Café Lavinal in the Village of Bages, next to Château Haut-Bages Libéral, and drinking their ’05 vintage, which received 93 points from Wine Spectator. What a great way to end our second day in Bordeaux!.

Check back tomorrow for Alfio’s final day of adventures in Bordeaux …

For more photos from the trip, visit our Flickr page!

We have lots of Alfio Moriconi selections on our website, here are a few favorites.

Café Lavinal

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries: Bordeaux, Day One

29 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by totalwineandmore in Bow Tie Diaries, Wine

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Alfio Moriconi, Bordeaux, France, Wine

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries: Vive la France!

Bonjour! In honor of Total Wine & More’s 2013 Tour de Vin, we met up with Alfio Moriconi, Vice President of European Imports and Sales, on his recent trip to Bordeaux. Alfio was in town to visit with some of Total Wine & More’s French producers prior to attending VinExpo 2013. As you may remember from last year’s Bowtie Diaries in Tuscany, Alfio has been in the wine business for over four decades — first as a retailer, then as an importer—and has traveled frequently and extensively to Europe in search of small, family-owned wine producers. You can find Alfio’s gems at your local Total Wine under the “Alfio Moriconi Selection” section and on the labels of some of his specialty selection wines. Alfio’s signature look is his bowtie, hence the Alfio Bowtie Diaries. Over the next few days, we will follow Alfio as he travels through Bordeaux, bringing you some of the highlights from his trip so that you can learn more about this famous wine region and its producers.

We found Alfio getting ready to board Air France Flight 39. Next stop, Paris! Seven and a half hours, one croissant, and a quick connection in Charles de Gaulle Airport later, we were on our way to Bordeaux.

Boarding the plane

Bordeaux is naturally divided into two sections, the Right Bank and the Left Bank, by the Gironde estuary. We headed to the Right Bank first, where the most common grape found is Merlot. The two prestigious regions of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol are both found in the Right Bank. Wines in the Right Bank are generally less tannic and more fruit-driven in flavor than those of the Left Bank. Our first stop was Château de Ferrand in Saint-Émilion, which is owned by the family of Baron Bich, of Bic pen family fame.

Château de Ferrand

In 1955, the wines of Saint-Émilion were classified by the French government into two groups, Premier Grand Cru Classé and Grand Cru Classé, to identify the quality of the wines. Each Saint-Émilion wine’s classification must be updated every 10 years, thus these vineyards have to continuously prove the quality of their wines in an attempt to achieve Grand Cru Classé status. At Château de Ferrand, we met up with the Managing Director, Thomas Guibert, who (like most producers in Bordeaux) was concerned by the delay of the grapevine flowering. Because of the number of cold and rainy days this past spring, pollination did not occur until much later, and subsequently fewer grapes grew on each vine. Ideally, the warmer and drier the temperature, the more berries that grow, determining the ultimate yield of the crop.

Flowering on the grapevines

We helped assemble a few wooden crates for Total Wine & More’s order of the next vintage of Château de Ferrand and we were on our way to see good friends of Alfio’s, Florence and Henri-Louis Fagard, at Château de Cornemps. However, before we left, we tried the ’05 and ’08 vintages that received 90 and 91 points from Wine Spectator, respectively – delicious!!!

Wooden crates being prepared for Total Wine & More order at Château de Ferrand

Château de Cornemps’ wine cellar and facilities are located underneath an 11th century Roman church in the small village of Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps, a small commune within Saint-Émilion. Alfio coincidentally met the Fagards and their wines back when he first started in the wine business. As Madame Fagard recalls, Alfio came into a restaurant one night where they were eating dinner. Alfio had been traveling from Bordeaux on his way to the Champagne region of France, and he asked the waiter for the best local wine. The Fagards overheard Alfio’s conversation and brought over their wine, Château de Cornemps. Thirty years later, the quality and affordability still remain and Château de Cornemps is one of Total Wine & More’s best valued Bordeaux wines! The quality of Cornemps begins with the Fagard’s efforts in the vineyards, and it continues as the wine is aged in cement vats underneath the church, which is a perfect climate for aging as the temperature of the wine remains cool and consistent. The use of cement vats in Bordeaux is one of the things that is noticeably different from Tuscany – nowadays almost all winemakers in Bordeaux use cement vats for part of the aging process verses oak or stainless steel.

Château de Cornemps

Cement vats built into the wall of the church at Château de Cornemps.

After a great visit with the Fagards we were on our way to Pomerol. The elegant and refined wines of Pomerol fetch some of the highest prices in Bordeaux. For example, Château Pétrus 2005 retails for $5,499.99! Just a few feet up the road from Château Pétrus, we met up with François Estager and his mother, Michele Estager, at Château La Cabanne. François took over the family vineyard after his late father, Jean Pierre Estager, passed away in 2002. At Château La Cabanne, François showed us remnants of a fire that destroyed their property a couple of years ago, and how he has rebuilt a new state-of-the art facility that produces wines from their family vineyards – Château La Cabanne, Château Haut-Maillet, and Château Plincette. If you are looking for an excellent wine from Pomerol, but don’t want to pay the Pétrus price, you should look no further than Château La Cabanne!

Besides the three family vineyards in Pomerol, the Estager family also owns and operates Château La Papeterie in Montage-Saint-Émilion (the crossroads of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol).

Alfio wishing everyone good night from his room at Château La Papeterie

It is at Château La Papeterie where we finally ended our day of touring the Right Bank, and we enjoyed a delicious five course meal with Madame Estager including some French favorites: pâté, escargot, and the table de formage for dessert!

We’ll have part two of Alfio’s adventures tomorrow, stay tuned!

For more great photos of Alfio’s travels, check out our Flickr page here.

Alfio’s Bow Tie Diaries – DAY 4

04 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Bowtie Diaries – DAY 4: Chianti

Cypress Trees at Trecciano

We probably should have spent the night at Cantina Gattavecchi, as 5:30am rolled around very quickly when we left dinner at midnight and then had to drive an hour back to our hotel. We had a 6:30am departure time from our hotel, as we had a lot of ground to cover on our last day in Tuscany. With seven Chianti producers visits scheduled we were up for the challenge! While everything in Tuscany seems relatively close, in reality it takes twice as long to get to where you are going as there are no straight roads in the Tuscan countryside. Our first stop was Tenuta di Trecciano, just outside of Siena. As we pulled up to Trecciano, we were greeted by majestic Cypress trees leading up to the estate, a quintessential scene in the Tuscan landscape. Trecciano is located in one of the smaller Chianti regions in Tuscany, Chianti Senesi. So, if you are in our store looking for a Trecciano Chianti, you will see that it says “Chianti Colli Senesi” on the label, which means the Chianti was produced near the city of Siena.

Chianti Classico Black Rooster Label

A majority of the Chiantis though found in our Tuscan section at Total Wine are from the region Chianti Classico, and often identified as the wine with the black rooster. The black rooster, or gallo nero, is the emblem of the Chianti Classico producers association. Chianti Classico producers aren’t required to have the rooster on the DOCG label, but if you pay your member fees to the trade association, you can display the rooster as a seal of authenticity of Chianti Classico per DOCG rules. Chianti Classico may be produced from 100% Sangiovese grapes or the wine maker may substitute other red grapes, but any substitutions may not exceed 20% of the wine.

After visiting with Marco Rosati at Trecciano, we drove north up the mountains to Castellina in Chianti. Castellina is a small but charming city on top of the mountains, overlooking the scenic Chianti Classico region. Here we met up with two producers, Tommaso Bojola of La Castellina and Jacopo di Battista of Querceto di Castellina. When you are in Chianti Classico, you will find that the wine is sometimes bottled in a bottle called a fiasco, which is usually a glass vessel with a round body and bottom that sits in a close-fitting straw basket. Though most American believe this to be what makes a Chianti Classico authentic, often times the fiasco bottle isn’t exported to the U.S. as it is harder to ship overseas.

La Castellina Chianti Classico in a Fiasco Bottle

Querceto di Castellina Estate

Labels from the 2004 and 1872 Vintage

Our fourth stop of the day was at Castello della Paneretta near the small village of Monsanto to visit with Patricia and Enrico Albisetti. Castello della Paneretta has been producing wine for more than 400 years and has had the same label since first production. Patricia and Enrico’s wines are only composed of traditional grapes found within the region, Sangiovese and Canaiolo, making their wines as original and established as their label.

Capers Growing Out of the Castle Walls at Paneretta

After a delicious lunch at one of Patricia and Enrico’s favorite restaurants, we continued north to the city of Greve, one of the most prestigious grape growing areas of the Chianti Classico region. It was in Greve where we met up Alessandro Landini and his daughter Beatrice, who are the fifth and sixth generations of Landinis to run Fattoria Viticcio. Alessandro and Beatrice produce both Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva, which has been aged for a longer period of time. With little rest for the weary, we were back in the car and headed to our second to last stop, Luiano Palombo’s self-named property, Luiano. At Luiano, we met with son and second generation winemaker Antonio Palombo, who has been in the wine business for over 53 years. Antonio shared with us his passion for wine making and crafting S. Andrea Chianti Classico, sold exclusively at Total Wine & More.

Alfio with Allessandro and Beatrice Landini

Alfio in Luiano Cellar

Finally, we ended our day and the bow-tie diaries just 4 miles outside the city of Florence, where we began our journey four days ago at Massanera. Carlo Cataneo has managed the vineyard for the past 40 years, however the Massanera estate has been in the family since 1789 and during WWII served as headquarters for both German and American armies. When not making wine, Carlo helps raise baby Cinta Senese, or wild boar, and he safeguards them from foxes and wolves until they are old enough to be “wild” on their own and protect themselves. Massanera produces both Chianti Classico and Chianti Classico Riserva, as well as a few “Super Tuscans” which are a blend of Sangiovese and more than 20% of another red grape.

View of Piazza del Duomo from Massanera

Cinta Senese (Wild Boar)

It is here that we left Alfio after our journey through Tuscany. We hope you have enjoyed learning about Tuscany as much as we did, and that you got to learn more about Alfio and his fantastic Tuscan producers. Until next bow-tie diaries, check out Alfio and the Alfio Moriconi Selections at your local Total Wine & More. If you are interested in tasting some of the wines from the Bowtie diaries, check out our “Tantalizing Wine of Tuscany” wine class at your local Total Wine on Sept 6th and 8th.

Ciao a tutti!

Ciao, for now!

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries – DAY 3

01 Saturday Sep 2012

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Alfio Moriconi, Brunello, Italy, Morellino di Scansano, Wine

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries – DAY 3: Maremma and Montepulciano

Andrea Bonacchi’s Guest House

Southern Tuscany and Montepulciano were on the agenda for today, but before we got on the A1 (the main interstate that runs from Florence down to Rome) we made a quick visit to Andrea Bonacchi’s Montalcino property, Molino della Suga. Andrea showed us the recent renovations he made to his estate, including a new guest house overlooking the winery from its kitchen – I wouldn’t mind making a meal in here! Since it was 7:30am and I had just ordered a doppio from the roadside gas station, we figured it would be best to take a rain check on tasting Casalino Brunello di Montalcino, another great Brunello that we carry in our Tuscan section.

The View of Southern Tuscany from Mantellassi

Back on the road, we headed south to Mantellassi vineyards in the southwest region of Tuscany, Maremma. For those of you not familiar with the area, we were about two and a half hours south of Florence, or so we thought. The car’s GPS couldn’t find our next destination (perhaps it had too much Brunello from the day before?) and we found ourselves on top of a mountain at a local grocery store that sure enough sold Mantellassi wines, but was not the family estate nor our next appointment. All was not lost, we befriended a local man who was able to lead us in the right direction, which was back down the mountain and to the town of Scansano, 45 miles away. Mantellassi is operated by Giuseppe Mantelassi and produces a type of wine called Morellino di Scansano – you guessed it, another name for Sangiovese grapes! The Mantellassi family played a key role in obtaining a DOC appellation status for Morellino di Scansano wines, as Mantellasi is considered one of the most prestigious Morellino producers.

The peaceful grounds at Montebelli

Trying to make up some ground from the previous GPS debacle, Alfio took the helm and we were off to the Montebelli estates in Caldana near the southern province of Grosseto for lunch and a visit with the Tosi family. The Montebelli estates, owned by Carla and Lorenzo Tosi, has a full agriturismo, a country hotel. Carla and Lorenzo’s son Alessandro (along with winemaker Claudio Gori) run the operations for Fabula wine, which is produced on the property. Claudio is a well known enologist in Tuscany and has worked with many Tuscan producers to refine their art of wine making. Alessandro and the Tosi family pride themselves on producing wine without using chemicals and as they say, “not playing around with wine or the soil, but only using what the land gives us.” The Tosi mantra of using no pesticides and maintaining an organic estate creates a serene and relaxing retreat in nature for all of their guests to enjoy.

After lunch with the Tosi family, we headed back north with better GPS coordinates to the noble city of Montepulciano and to Palazzo Ricci. Montepulciano is located directly east of Montalcino (for those of you keeping track of our geographical location) and like Montalcino, is a medieval hill town and commune. Montepulciano produces two very classic wines, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montepulciano, both made from the iconic Tuscan grape, Sangiovese. In the center of Montepulciano is Palazzo Ricci, a Renaissance palace and home of Cantina Del Redi. Antonio Gaudosio, export manager for Redi, set us up with an incredible tour of the cantina whose architecture has remained untouched for over 500 years. The name Redi, comes from the 17th-century poet and scientist Francesco Redi, who immortalized the excellence of wine from Montepulciano in his famous poem Bacco in Toscanawhere he states that “Montepulciano is the king of every wine.”

After tasting some excellent wines and a brief history lesson at Palazzo Ricci, we met up with Luca Gattavecchi at Poggio alla Sala, an estate that he and his family purchased over 15 years ago. Luca’s philosophy to making wine is quite simple and eloquently put, “Our concept of wine is very traditional; we are not quick to follow new trends; we try to produce wine according to tradition, thinking of it not merely as a drink but as an important part of our lives: a glass of wine always marks important occasions in our lives.” And Luca is right – any of his wines would help you celebrate a special occasion, especially the Poggio alla Sala Vino Nobile Riserva!

Alfio and Luca Gattavecchi Overlooking the Vineyards at Poggio alla Sala

Luca and family also make wine that carries the family name, Gattavecchi, which they store in a 7th or 8th-century B.C. cellar just up the road from the Montepulciano clock tower at Cantina Gattavecchi.

Cantina Gattavecchi also serves as their family restaurant and it is here where we ended our third day with a fabulous feast of food, wine, and music with Luca’s friends and family.

Cantina Gattavecchi

Antipasto at Cantina Cattavecchi

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries – DAY 2

01 Saturday Sep 2012

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Alfio Moriconi, Italy, Wine

For Day 1 of the “Bow Tie Diaries” click here

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries – DAY 2: Montalcino
After grabbing a panafoccacia and a cappucino for breakfast, we were off to visit Montalcino, a region southwest of the province of Siena. Montalcino produces two wines that are regarded as the best red wines in Italy: Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, both made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. Though they taste relatively similar, they differ in production from the age at which the grapes are harvested; Rosso grapes are from younger vines and sit for less time in the barrel. The DOCG (which in Italian stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita – or the quality assurance/legal standards for Italian wines) regulations require Brunello di Montalcino to be aged for five years, two and a half of which must be in wooden barrels to make the Brunello more elegant and full-bodied.

Alfio & Maria Budzon of Podere Paganico

Tuscan native Giorgio Carratelli, who has collaborated with Alfio in finding some of the greatest Montalcino wines for our stores, joined us for our visit to producer Anna Maria Budzon at Podere Paganico. During our visit, Anna Maria assured us that big hand gestures where a part of Italian colloquialism and that she wasn’t intentionally trying to hit us.

After tasting Anna Maria’s delicious 2010 Rosso di Montalcino, we then headed to our next vineyard, Casisano Colombaio, where we saw them getting ready to bottle their Brunello Riserva. When in Rome (or in our case Montalcino), it would have been ungracious if we didn’t sample some of the different vintages of Casisano’s Brunellos, and the 2004 was absolutely fantastic!

Alfio & The Ciolfis

Next stop was Podere San Lorenzo, where we had an opportunity to sit (finally) and speak with three generations of Ciolfi men who have run their winery from atop the scenic hill sides of Montalcino for over 60 years. Even though the youngest Ciolfi, Luciano, runs the winery, his father and grandfather still come to work every day to maintain the vines and oversee the land.

After experiencing the pride the Ciolfi’s have in their family business, we made our way through the winding gravel roads of Montalcino to visit another family owned vineyard, Vasco Sassetti. Like San Lorenzo, Vasco Sassetti sits on a hilltop and is managed by Massimo Lanzini. It was a good thing that Vasco Sassetti (who also makes grappa, a brandy distilled from the fermented pressed grapes) was close by and our next stop. As it turns out, fertile Tuscan soil is fantastic for Sangiovese grapes, but not good for your car or Alfio’s clothes. The dust from the gravel roads left a thick cake batter like substance on our car and with low windshield washer fluid, we were unable to see out of our car. Santo cielo! A word of advice – when you rent a car in Tuscany, don’t get a black one – it will ALWAYS be dirty! Not good conditions for arriving in style with your cravatta. It was lunch time and it was great to see how all workers (regardless if you were a family member or not) stopped what they were doing and sat down together for a home cooked meal. We felt like I was on the movie set of Eat Pray Love, where the food kept on flowing – though Julia Roberts was nowhere in sight.

Vasco Sassetti Grappa

Terralsole Brunello Riserva 2004 Label Painting

With a newly washed car (grazie, Massimo Lanzini!) we were on our way to our final stop for the day, Terralsole. At Terralsole we met up with Mario Bollag and his wife, Athena Tergis, a professional Irish fiddle player. Not only do Mario and Athena make excellent wine (their Brunello Riserva 2004 converted me to becoming a Brunello drinker for life), but they also have altruistic hearts and started a foundation in Haiti, Te Soley. Te Soley’s main objective is to support needy children and families with education and agricultural development projects. All of Terrasole’s labels are inspired by Haitain artists’ paintings, which they have displayed throughout their villa.

Though we were tired from our long day in Montalcino, we enjoyed meeting all of the people behind the wines and learning more about the Sangiovese (Brunello) grape. Next time we’re having a cookout, we are heading straight for a Brunello di Montalcino at Total Wine!

More Terralsole Labels inspired from Haiti, with a special edition label (far right) designed by renowned Tuscan Artist Vivienne, Mario & Athena’s 5 year old daughter.

Alfio’s Bowtie Diaries – DAY 1

30 Thursday Aug 2012

Posted by totalwineandmore in Bow Tie Diaries

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Alfio Moriconi, Chianti, Italy, Tuscany, Wine

Alfio Moriconi is Total Wine & More’s Vice President of European Imports and Sales, and he has been in the wine business for over half a century – first as a retailer, then as an importer. Alfio has traveled frequently and extensively to Europe in search of small, family-owned wine producers in France and Italy. You can find Alfio’s gems at your local Total Wine under the “Alfio Moriconi Selection” section, and you can also find his name on the labels of some of the wines we carry. The Alfio Moriconi Selection represents the top picks of over 40 years of Alfio tasting thousands of wines, selected and presented as nothing but the finest.

We caught up with Alfio recently during a business trip to Tuscany. Over the next few days, we will follow Alfio as he travels through Tuscany, bringing you some of the highlights from his trip so that you can learn more about this famous wine region and its producers. As Alfio would say “if you’re not drinking wine at least once a day – you’re not living life!”

And with this, Total Wine is proud to present the Alfio “Bowtie Diaries”!

Bowtie Diaries – DAY 1: Chianti Rufina

We met up with Alfio at the Florence International Airport with his briefcase in hand ready to take on Tuscany. Usually seen with his signature fashion trademark, a bowtie or cravatta, he surprised us with his casual look, sans bowtie. With the 40°C heat wave (that’s over 100°F) in Tuscany, apparently fashion doesn’t always come first – but don’t worry, he still had on his sports coat!

Our first stop was Castello del Trebbio in Chianti Rufina,a small region just northeast of Florence. Anna Mira Baj-Macario, the owner of Castello del Trebbio (known to locals as “Anna with the Castle”), welcomed us to her beautiful 12th-century estate with an amazing Tuscan feast! Anna Mira and her family have dedicated years to refurbishing the castle where they currently live and to producing an amazing Chianti on the grounds in the surrounding valleys. For lunch we had a saffron and peach risotto, followed by a chicken roulade (chicken, prosciutto, egg and sage) and tiramisu for dessert.

We ended the day visiting Maurizio Masi at Cantina Bellini, to check-up on an order that was just put together to ship to our stores. Maurizio is the latest generation of Bellini family members to run Cantina Bellini, which makes the Bellini Chianti and Il Pozzo Chianti found in our Tuscany section. After our long travel day from the States to Florence, we were ready for bed and resting up for our trip tomorrow to Montalcino! Buona Notte!