Day Three Continued: DiFilippo Organic Winery
"Adventures In Wine Country" with Chuck Byers and Greg Rist is a new series airing on April 2010 on CHEX Television Channel 12 and the Greater Toronto Area.
DiFilippo Organic Winery
Roberto DiFillipo and his wife are very nice people. They run a small winery not far from the little town of Assisi. Yes! I said Assisi! The same town that is the birthplace of St. Francis and several other saints. A little town that is virtually unchanged since the medieval times and certainly a town that has some 1000 years of history behind it.
The winery is traditionally run. It was started in 1971 in Canara near Torgiano and Montefalco. The winery was an organic one which meant that diseases where controlled by using the traditional Bordeaux mixture and sulphur and all fertilizers were organic. Thus no chemical fertilizers or weed killers are used. Harvesting is done by hand. The DiFilippo family also has a Bed and Breakfast which is available for clientele.
While there is a mix of old and new traditions here and while the winery has modern equipment, Roberto's philosophy is that technology is in the mind and that in the past, there were times that more technology was used than at present. He still uses the concrete tanks for carbonic maceration but also has stainless steel tanks and the modern amenities.
We had lunch at his winery while a friend of his who comes from some phenomenal chefs, cooked.
Lunch
Bruschetta:(Lard/Truffles,Prosciutto) matched with Grechetto Colli Martani, 2008
Pasta with Canara Onions: matched with Poggio Madrigale (40% Merlot/60% Sagrantino).
Beef Steak:Rosso di Montefalco, Properzio (Sangiovese Reserva), Sagrantino.
Anise Buns: Vernaccia di Cannara(Cornetta)
The luncheon was great and the wines were terrific.
Roberto then drove us home after a delicious and fruitful meeting.
About Montefalco Grape Vines!
The grape varieties of Montefalco make welcoming wines (though Sagrantino needs to be tamed a bit by aging first). The one thing I like about these grapes are that no matter which grape you pick, there is concentration and flavour-----not just a nice pleasantness but actual character and levels of flavour that exceed other areas. Take Trebbiano Spolentino, it is a variety that is as far removed from the actual Trebbiano Grape as Cabernet Sauvignon is to Cabernet Franc for example. The Trebbiano Spolentino has concentration, aromas, development that is very different from the mild Trebbiano di Romagna variety. I can't figure out why they do not just call it Spolentino.
Regardless, the wines of Montefalco: Grechetto, Sangiovese, Barbara, Trebbiano Spolentino, Cornetta and Sagrantino are simply some of the most enduring and delicious grapes anywhere.
Wines Tasted
Grechetto: Delicate on the nose and palate with nice fruit sweetness and a bitter almond finish. The wine excellent with dishes that contain onions, tomatoes with olive oil and pork cheek prosciutto.
Rosso di Montefalco: On the nose: herbal tea, light plum and cherry. On the palate: Cranberry, cherry with a hint of raspberry. A mid length finish of sour cherry and vanilla.
Properzio: Nose: Cherry, with tobacco smoke and leather Palate: black cherry, aggressive tannin and vanilla.
Poggio Madrigal: Nose: Cassis, black currant, plum and pepper spice. Palate: Very strong tannins, black berry and black cherry with plum. Long tannic finish that is lasting and appreciable as compared to difficult.
Sagrantino: The usual ripe red berry flavours with a touch of black fruit as a booster. On the nose it had the unique flint smokiness maybe from the clay soil. On the palate: the wine was its usual intense and tannic self though this is in no way to criticize it since the wine tasted great. It has great character and concentration and that is what I like.
Vernachia di Cannara: A wine that is made from the Cornetta grape. This is a Passito wine (Passito wines are made from grapes that have been stacked and dried in a protected area of the winery prior to vinification) which usually is served at Easter and is made from the dark Cornetta vine which is native to Montefalco. Great with biscuits, anise cookies and like.
END OF DAY THREE
DiFilippo Organic Winery
Roberto DiFillipo and his wife are very nice people. They run a small winery not far from the little town of Assisi. Yes! I said Assisi! The same town that is the birthplace of St. Francis and several other saints. A little town that is virtually unchanged since the medieval times and certainly a town that has some 1000 years of history behind it.
The winery is traditionally run. It was started in 1971 in Canara near Torgiano and Montefalco. The winery was an organic one which meant that diseases where controlled by using the traditional Bordeaux mixture and sulphur and all fertilizers were organic. Thus no chemical fertilizers or weed killers are used. Harvesting is done by hand. The DiFilippo family also has a Bed and Breakfast which is available for clientele.
While there is a mix of old and new traditions here and while the winery has modern equipment, Roberto's philosophy is that technology is in the mind and that in the past, there were times that more technology was used than at present. He still uses the concrete tanks for carbonic maceration but also has stainless steel tanks and the modern amenities.
We had lunch at his winery while a friend of his who comes from some phenomenal chefs, cooked.
Lunch
Bruschetta:(Lard/Truffles,Prosciutto) matched with Grechetto Colli Martani, 2008
Pasta with Canara Onions: matched with Poggio Madrigale (40% Merlot/60% Sagrantino).
Beef Steak:Rosso di Montefalco, Properzio (Sangiovese Reserva), Sagrantino.
Anise Buns: Vernaccia di Cannara(Cornetta)
The luncheon was great and the wines were terrific.
Roberto then drove us home after a delicious and fruitful meeting.
About Montefalco Grape Vines!
The grape varieties of Montefalco make welcoming wines (though Sagrantino needs to be tamed a bit by aging first). The one thing I like about these grapes are that no matter which grape you pick, there is concentration and flavour-----not just a nice pleasantness but actual character and levels of flavour that exceed other areas. Take Trebbiano Spolentino, it is a variety that is as far removed from the actual Trebbiano Grape as Cabernet Sauvignon is to Cabernet Franc for example. The Trebbiano Spolentino has concentration, aromas, development that is very different from the mild Trebbiano di Romagna variety. I can't figure out why they do not just call it Spolentino.
Regardless, the wines of Montefalco: Grechetto, Sangiovese, Barbara, Trebbiano Spolentino, Cornetta and Sagrantino are simply some of the most enduring and delicious grapes anywhere.
Wines Tasted
Grechetto: Delicate on the nose and palate with nice fruit sweetness and a bitter almond finish. The wine excellent with dishes that contain onions, tomatoes with olive oil and pork cheek prosciutto.
Rosso di Montefalco: On the nose: herbal tea, light plum and cherry. On the palate: Cranberry, cherry with a hint of raspberry. A mid length finish of sour cherry and vanilla.
Properzio: Nose: Cherry, with tobacco smoke and leather Palate: black cherry, aggressive tannin and vanilla.
Poggio Madrigal: Nose: Cassis, black currant, plum and pepper spice. Palate: Very strong tannins, black berry and black cherry with plum. Long tannic finish that is lasting and appreciable as compared to difficult.
Sagrantino: The usual ripe red berry flavours with a touch of black fruit as a booster. On the nose it had the unique flint smokiness maybe from the clay soil. On the palate: the wine was its usual intense and tannic self though this is in no way to criticize it since the wine tasted great. It has great character and concentration and that is what I like.
Vernachia di Cannara: A wine that is made from the Cornetta grape. This is a Passito wine (Passito wines are made from grapes that have been stacked and dried in a protected area of the winery prior to vinification) which usually is served at Easter and is made from the dark Cornetta vine which is native to Montefalco. Great with biscuits, anise cookies and like.
END OF DAY THREE
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 8:36 AM
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