Taste wines from Lazio in the first of Vino’s producer tastings this Friday!

Over the last eight years the staff of Vino has spent months away from home traveling the backroads of Italy in search of the best, most representative, regional Italian wines. We are proud of our efforts and happy that so many of our customers have come to trust our judgment and recognize the high quality of our selections. This fall, our free Friday tastings will be devoted to those wines that we have sourced ourselves. Many of the producers that will be featured have garnered plenty of accolades from their European clients but are virtually unknown here in the United States. A number of them are unique to Vino. So, please join us we embark on our fabulous Fall tasting series.

A spectacular view of some of the vineyards belonging to the Castel de Paolis estate.

Though Lazio may not be as revered in winemaking terms as Tuscany, Piedmont or Veneto, wines from the region’s Frascati DOC have long been legend in Rome, and are still favorites among visitors to the Eternal City. Now, a handful of producers in Lazio are reshaping the image of wines from the Castelli Romani, producing bottles to perhaps rival those from Italy’s more celebrated winemaking regions.

Husband-and-wife winemakers Giulio Santarelli and Adriana Croce at the Castel de Paolis winery.

Among these producers is Castel de Paolis, whose estate is located 270 meters above sea level in the hills of Grottaferrata, just south of Rome. The vineyards have been in the Santarelli family since the 1960s, although it wasn’t until 1985, when Giulio Santarelli met Attilio Scienza, a professor at Milan University and director of the prestigious Agricultural Institute of San Michele all’Adige, that the modern Castel de Paolis winery began to evolve.

Following close inspection of Santarelli’s hilly, volcanic terrain, Scienza suggested a complete overhaul of its 13 hectares, uprooting underperforming vines and replacing them with both out-of-favor local grapes and successful international varieties. This long period of experimentation resulted in a superior crop, the commercial rebirth of the winery in 1993, and the start of a re-evaluation of Lazio’s wines.

This week’s tasting
This Friday afternoon at Vino sample four wines from Castel de Paolis. Vino will be pouring the following bottles from 5:30pm.

Campovecchio Bianco 2007
A blend of seven varieties all indigenous to the region of Lazio: Malvasia del Lazio, Bellone, Romanesca, Bonvino, Passerina, Grechetto,Trebbiano Giallo.

Donna Adriana 2007
In Lazio, they call the Malvasia puntinata, meaning “speckled”, because of its distinctive reddish spots. Named after Giulio Santarelli’s wife Adriana Croce, this wine is made from local clones of the grape with the addition of some Viognier and Sauvignon.

Campovecchio Rosso 2005
Castel de Paolis’ red Campovecchio is a blend made predominantly from Shiraz, with smaller quantities of Cesanese d’Affile, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and Sangiovese.

I Quattro Mori 2001
A blend of Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, aged in new and old oak before bottling.

FREE Castel de Paolis Tasting
Friday, September 12
5:30-7:30pm

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information call (212) 725-6516 or visit our website, Vinosite.com.

Join Molinari representative Francesco Superchi for a Sambuca sampling this Friday at Vino

A vintage Molinari poster advertising Sambuca Extra.

Sambuca is one of Italy’s most popular liqueurs, made from the anise plant’s aromatic seeds (aniseed). Though star anise seeds were highly regarded by herbalists in ancient Egypt, Babylon and China (the Italian name Sambuca derives from an Arab word), the modern Sambuca we know today was born in Civitavecchia, a busy port 60 miles north of Rome. Ships bearing goods from the ancient world would arrive in Civitavecchia, and by the 1800s the town’s citizens had become aware of the healing powers of anise.

Company founder Angelo Molinari (left) and Molinari's Civitavecchia headquarters in 1960 (right).

In the early 20th century, a young man named Angelo Molinari decided to create his own Sambuca. Molinari was in the business of perfumes and fortified wines, so was ideally prepared to turn his sensory talents to this aromatic liqueur. The success of Molinari’s Sambuca soon evolved into a modern business, allowing the drink to be produced and distributed on a large scale. Popular with the young crowd and traditionalists alike, today Molinari is the best-selling Sambuca in the world. No surprise that for generations of Italians “La Sambuca è solo Molinari,” or “Sambuca is Molinari.”

Modern trends have not diminished Molinari's popularity, and today nearly 9 million bottles are distributed worldwide per year.

This Friday afternoon join Molinari representative Francesco Superchi at Vino, for a unique tasting and insight into this historic brand and its renowned liqueurs. Francesco will be serving both Sambuca Extra and Sambuca al Caffè.

Sambuca Extra Molinari
The classic Sambuca is made using aniseed and a well-guarded secret formula of spices. Unlike other Sambuca producers, who use a variety of herbs to achieve a licorice taste, Molinari Sambuca still derives 95% of its flavor exclusively from anise seeds. In 1968 Molinari’s Sambuca was granted its “Extra” designation for “characteristics which distinguish Molinari from its competitors.” Today Sambuca is typically served at the end of a meal often with coffee, after Molinari himself noticed the drink’s licorice flavor complemented the bitter taste of espresso. Soon many Italians took to drinking Sambuca with their after-dinner coffee (some even add it to coffee in place of sugar). A Roman bartender had the idea of floating three roasted coffee beans “for extra luck” in each glass he served, a practice still common today.

Sambuca al Caffè Molinari
A favorite with coffee lovers the world over, Sambuca al Caffè obtains its rich color only from the most carefully selected Italian espresso beans, which are blended with precise quantities of Molinari Sambuca. The production process is overseen by Angelo Molinari, son of Molinari CEO Angelo Molinari and grandson of founder Angelo Molinari, who first created this drink in the 1950s.

FREE Molinari Sambuca Tasting
with Francesco Superchi
Friday, September 5
5:30-7:30pm

Vino
121 East 27th Street
New York, NY 10016

For more information call (212) 725-6516 or visit our website, VinoSite.com.