Day Two: September 14th: More Wine, Food and Travel.
"Adventures In Wine Country" with Co-Hosts Chuck Byers and Greg Rist is a new series airing in April 2010 on CHEX Television Channel 12 Durham and the Greater Toronto Area.
Cantina Cesarinisartori!
I am starting to think that they make giants here. Almost every winery owner that I have met is a good three to four inches taller than me. It was no different in this case. Luciano Cesarini was a true native of this region as well as being the President of the Electrical Society. He now is here because he wants to make a difference and because he loves the region. Luciano takes great pride in describing his future plans for his winery and how he is going to implement them. He is interested in making good wine and also agri-tourism. He wants to export and as a matter of fact, some of his wines are presently on general list at the LCBO in Ontario and Vintages in Ontario. He is also interested in the history of the region (he told me that the road running next to the winery was used in the Third Century B.C. by the Romans) and the conservation of the wildlife in it.
Luciano advised me that a document written on lambskin from 1313 AD dedicated the whole area to vineyards and that a book has been written by a local scientist dedicated to the Geographical and Geological change that has happened to the area from 20,000 B.C. to the present.
We went for a ride around his vineyard estate. There were a large selection of wooded areas that surrounded his winery. Luciano had plans to make them into protected areas for native species of animals. He also wanted to develop events around a few of the small lakes that can be found around his property.
His ideas do not just stop at the woods. His plans of renovations have already been put into effect by the construction of a new reception area at the winery as well as a group of guest rooms for tourist visitors to the winery. He plans to go "the whole nine yards" to further the agri-tourist flow to his winery.
Winery
However, his real passion is the winery. His range of fermentation tanks range from the traditional to the ultra modern with computerized equipment. Special systems transport very cold water through pipes surrounding the winery thus reducing the humidity in the air and eliminating the possibility of mould development.
He uses regular barriques to age wine but he also had ultra sized 30 Hectolitre barrels to age his wines in. When asked why, he said that the small barriques cost about 500 to 600 Euros t0 purchase and last about three years or so. The large ones cost about 200 Euros per Hectolitre (about 6000 Euros total) but they last 20 years.
Lunch
First Course Wine Match
Grilled Vegetables : (Aliara)
Guinea Fowl: (Rosso Batardo, Rosso di Montefalco)
Pasta with Sagrantino Sauce: (Rosso di Montefalco)
Beef Steak: (Sagrantino di Montefalco, 2004, 2005)
Salad (Aliara)
Almond Cakes: (Passito di Sagrantino)
The meal was lovely and the selection of wines superb. A description will follow as usual at the end of this entry.
**Cesarinisartori Colpetrone wines are available at the LCBO in Ontario. Batardo is on the general list and is in fact a great introduction to the wines of Umbria and Montefalco. The Sagrantino is at Vintages.
While at the winery, I had the pleasure to do some harvesting by hand of the Merlot. As well, I was "hired" to do some selection of grapes that were on their way to the crusher.
Colpetrone (Salagricola)
The Colpetrone winery is owned by the Salagricola group which also owns a large number of wineries and brands across Italy. At the summit of the hill where Colpetrone is situated is a 14th Century church whose occupants at the moment are a large group of mammoth sized wasps that seem as aggressive as they are large. The group of them must have seen us coming and had a small party awaiting us as if to say "keep your distance!" It wasn't necessary for them to do so since a protective fence around the ruins would have kept us away also. It took the wasps a few minutes but they eventually realized we were no threat (though every few moments one of them would buzz by us just to make sure)! Marco Castignani, (Public Relations Officer) told us that there were plans to renovate the place. Good luck!!!
The winery has an ultra modern computerized system of fermentation and produces some very concentrated Sagrantino wines as well as some excellent blends. The winery shows the unique power of the grape varieties used especially Sagrantino without compromising the integrity and balance of the wine.
Presently, the total farm land is 140 hectares with about 63 hectares under vine for Montefalco Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso. Their premium label is Colpetrone Gold Sagrantino di Montefalco. Marco, shared some of his great wines with us and brought in a Montefalco di Sagrantino Gold which was great. The agent for this company is Lifford Agencies in Ontario.
Arts & Crafts
We later went back to the city of Bevagna and toured the various craft shops in it. One was a reproducer of antique and Medieval paintings. Greg tried his hand at doing gold leaf. The next was a candle maker who dressed in full "candle making gown" showed us the ancient way of making this art. The last was the most interesting in my estimate, we went to visit a person who made special paper out of old clothes. He showed us how he cut the clothes into bits and then pulverised them via an ancient medieval water powered mechanism run by a massive water wheel and of course flowing water which he controlled by a lever. He then put the mass into several processes which finally came up with-------paper.
Wines Tasted
Cantina Cesarinisartori
Aliara: Pleasant nose of citrus and melon with same on palate. Lingering finish and great mouth feel.
Rosso Bastardo: From the village with the unique name, this wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. Nice forward wine with soft tannins and a nose of cherries, cassis, black currants and prunes. Nice on the palate with a round but firm taste.
Motefalco di Rosso: Another blend of Sangiovese (65%), Merlot, Cabernet and Sagrantino.On the nose it is full of red and black fruit with some cassis. On the palate, the Merlot exhibits a softness with the Cabernet adding some herbal qualities but it is Sagrantinio that punches its way to the top to be heard.
Sagrantino di Montefalco 2004: Nose has stewed fruit, dark cherries and mushroom with a palate of black fruit, mild vanilla and some chocolate.
Sagrantino di Montefalco 2005: Nose of dark fruit such as black berry and currants with pepper spice. On the palate, dark/red fruit with firm tannins and long liquorice finish. Nice roundness in the mouth and at least another three years of development if not more.
Colpetrone
Rosso di Montefalco: Nice red fruit and spice on the nose with nice berry flavours and roundness on the palate. Long berry finish.
Sagrantino 2006: A bit young with a still somewhat closed nose though some hard black fruit and damp violets come through. The palate still shows aggressive tannins especially on the finish. Powerful and concentrated. Sagrantino when young.
Sagrantino Gold 2005: On the nose, mounds of blueberry, currant and violets.Full on the palate with black berry, currant and plum with a nice long spice finish. Chocolate on the mid term.
Sagrantino Gold 2001: A terrific vintage as per the wine maker. The wine has layers of fruit on the nose with leather, mushroom and spice. On the palate, round with integrity. Nice flavours of black fruit and softer tannins with another several years left though the tannins are way down.
Cantina Cesarinisartori!
I am starting to think that they make giants here. Almost every winery owner that I have met is a good three to four inches taller than me. It was no different in this case. Luciano Cesarini was a true native of this region as well as being the President of the Electrical Society. He now is here because he wants to make a difference and because he loves the region. Luciano takes great pride in describing his future plans for his winery and how he is going to implement them. He is interested in making good wine and also agri-tourism. He wants to export and as a matter of fact, some of his wines are presently on general list at the LCBO in Ontario and Vintages in Ontario. He is also interested in the history of the region (he told me that the road running next to the winery was used in the Third Century B.C. by the Romans) and the conservation of the wildlife in it.
Luciano advised me that a document written on lambskin from 1313 AD dedicated the whole area to vineyards and that a book has been written by a local scientist dedicated to the Geographical and Geological change that has happened to the area from 20,000 B.C. to the present.
We went for a ride around his vineyard estate. There were a large selection of wooded areas that surrounded his winery. Luciano had plans to make them into protected areas for native species of animals. He also wanted to develop events around a few of the small lakes that can be found around his property.
His ideas do not just stop at the woods. His plans of renovations have already been put into effect by the construction of a new reception area at the winery as well as a group of guest rooms for tourist visitors to the winery. He plans to go "the whole nine yards" to further the agri-tourist flow to his winery.
Winery
However, his real passion is the winery. His range of fermentation tanks range from the traditional to the ultra modern with computerized equipment. Special systems transport very cold water through pipes surrounding the winery thus reducing the humidity in the air and eliminating the possibility of mould development.
He uses regular barriques to age wine but he also had ultra sized 30 Hectolitre barrels to age his wines in. When asked why, he said that the small barriques cost about 500 to 600 Euros t0 purchase and last about three years or so. The large ones cost about 200 Euros per Hectolitre (about 6000 Euros total) but they last 20 years.
Lunch
First Course Wine Match
Grilled Vegetables : (Aliara)
Guinea Fowl: (Rosso Batardo, Rosso di Montefalco)
Pasta with Sagrantino Sauce: (Rosso di Montefalco)
Beef Steak: (Sagrantino di Montefalco, 2004, 2005)
Salad (Aliara)
Almond Cakes: (Passito di Sagrantino)
The meal was lovely and the selection of wines superb. A description will follow as usual at the end of this entry.
**Cesarinisartori Colpetrone wines are available at the LCBO in Ontario. Batardo is on the general list and is in fact a great introduction to the wines of Umbria and Montefalco. The Sagrantino is at Vintages.
While at the winery, I had the pleasure to do some harvesting by hand of the Merlot. As well, I was "hired" to do some selection of grapes that were on their way to the crusher.
Colpetrone (Salagricola)
The Colpetrone winery is owned by the Salagricola group which also owns a large number of wineries and brands across Italy. At the summit of the hill where Colpetrone is situated is a 14th Century church whose occupants at the moment are a large group of mammoth sized wasps that seem as aggressive as they are large. The group of them must have seen us coming and had a small party awaiting us as if to say "keep your distance!" It wasn't necessary for them to do so since a protective fence around the ruins would have kept us away also. It took the wasps a few minutes but they eventually realized we were no threat (though every few moments one of them would buzz by us just to make sure)! Marco Castignani, (Public Relations Officer) told us that there were plans to renovate the place. Good luck!!!
The winery has an ultra modern computerized system of fermentation and produces some very concentrated Sagrantino wines as well as some excellent blends. The winery shows the unique power of the grape varieties used especially Sagrantino without compromising the integrity and balance of the wine.
Presently, the total farm land is 140 hectares with about 63 hectares under vine for Montefalco Sagrantino and Montefalco Rosso. Their premium label is Colpetrone Gold Sagrantino di Montefalco. Marco, shared some of his great wines with us and brought in a Montefalco di Sagrantino Gold which was great. The agent for this company is Lifford Agencies in Ontario.
Arts & Crafts
We later went back to the city of Bevagna and toured the various craft shops in it. One was a reproducer of antique and Medieval paintings. Greg tried his hand at doing gold leaf. The next was a candle maker who dressed in full "candle making gown" showed us the ancient way of making this art. The last was the most interesting in my estimate, we went to visit a person who made special paper out of old clothes. He showed us how he cut the clothes into bits and then pulverised them via an ancient medieval water powered mechanism run by a massive water wheel and of course flowing water which he controlled by a lever. He then put the mass into several processes which finally came up with-------paper.
Wines Tasted
Cantina Cesarinisartori
Aliara: Pleasant nose of citrus and melon with same on palate. Lingering finish and great mouth feel.
Rosso Bastardo: From the village with the unique name, this wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. Nice forward wine with soft tannins and a nose of cherries, cassis, black currants and prunes. Nice on the palate with a round but firm taste.
Motefalco di Rosso: Another blend of Sangiovese (65%), Merlot, Cabernet and Sagrantino.On the nose it is full of red and black fruit with some cassis. On the palate, the Merlot exhibits a softness with the Cabernet adding some herbal qualities but it is Sagrantinio that punches its way to the top to be heard.
Sagrantino di Montefalco 2004: Nose has stewed fruit, dark cherries and mushroom with a palate of black fruit, mild vanilla and some chocolate.
Sagrantino di Montefalco 2005: Nose of dark fruit such as black berry and currants with pepper spice. On the palate, dark/red fruit with firm tannins and long liquorice finish. Nice roundness in the mouth and at least another three years of development if not more.
Colpetrone
Rosso di Montefalco: Nice red fruit and spice on the nose with nice berry flavours and roundness on the palate. Long berry finish.
Sagrantino 2006: A bit young with a still somewhat closed nose though some hard black fruit and damp violets come through. The palate still shows aggressive tannins especially on the finish. Powerful and concentrated. Sagrantino when young.
Sagrantino Gold 2005: On the nose, mounds of blueberry, currant and violets.Full on the palate with black berry, currant and plum with a nice long spice finish. Chocolate on the mid term.
Sagrantino Gold 2001: A terrific vintage as per the wine maker. The wine has layers of fruit on the nose with leather, mushroom and spice. On the palate, round with integrity. Nice flavours of black fruit and softer tannins with another several years left though the tannins are way down.
END OF DAY 2
posted by Chuck Byers - Wine Consultant | 9:30 AM
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