Thanksgiving Feast with Umbrian Madrevite Gamay del Trasimeno

As we are quickly approaching the Thanksgiving holiday it is a time for not only celebrating our family and friends, but also for enjoying a delicious meal while doing so.  While there are a variety of traditional dishes prepared for Thanksgiving, knowing which wine to serve with the Thanksgiving feast is always a question on everyone’s mind this time of year.   

From the appetizers to side dishes to the main feast followed by dessert how can one decide which wines are the best?  Personally, I drink what I like. Plain and simple.  Although, something is to be said for finding that perfect pairing to marry the flavors of the dishes with the wine.  I find it easier to break it up by course.  I always go for a sparkling wine or white wine for the appetizers, red for the main course, and a dessert wine to end the meal.  Although with so many pies to dig into, the dessert wine selection sometimes gets left by the wayside.  Can you blame me? 

This week I prepared a mini-Thanksgiving feast to enjoy a wine that I was reminded of at a recent class on Umbrian wines in Boston last month.  I also had a bottle on hand at home and it seemed it would pair lovely with a Thanksgiving meal preview.  This bottle is the 2020 Madrevite C’osa Gamay del Trasimeno Riserva DOC.  You may recall I have featured Madrevite previously with their 2019 vintage of C’osa. 

The Madrevite Winery 

The Madrevite winery is located in northern Umbria, bordering Tuscany, within the Perugia province in the town of Castiglione del Lago.  The name of the winery, Madrevite, comes from an ancient name for the piece that corked the barrels.    

Winemaking on the property began with Tino Chiucchiurlotto in the 70’s, whom is the grandfather to the current owner and winemaker, Nicola Chiucchiurlotto.  It wasn’t until 2003 when Madrevite was officially established by Nicola.   

Nicola reintroduced a clone of Gamay from old Gamay vines that he discovered on the property of Madrevite and planted new vines.  The Gamay grape was brought to the Trasimeno area in the 1600’s by the Spanish.  Eleonora Alarcon y Mendoza, whom was the wife of Duke Fulvio della Corgna whose family ruled Castiglione, was a fan of Gamay for its aromatics, structure, roundness and alcohol levels.

Nicola Chiucchiurlotto and the future of Madrevite

 Madrevite Wine 

The 2020 Madrevite C’osa Gamay del Trasimeno Riserva DOC is a wine made from 100% Gamay del Trasimeno.  This wine was given the name C’osa to represent whom is daring to try this wine.  The eye-catching artwork on the label from artist Jean-Michel Basquiat seems to capture that essence of boldness. 

Nicola’s grandfather, Zino, grafted these ancient Gamay cuttings in the 70’s to 100+ year old vines at the small vineyard on top of the hill at the estate. The grapes were manually harvested and spent 6 months in concrete with 12 months in large barrel with an additional 6 months in the bottle.  Deeper ruby colored the aromas of this wine are lovely.  Ripe and dried blackberries, plums and black cherry with a little bit of spice.  Juicy acidity on the palate with smooth, fine tannin and a round mouthfeel.   

Thanksgiving wine pairing  

I found this wine to go rather nicely with this mini selection of a pre-Thanksgiving meal.  Medium bodied with ample fruit, good acidity along with smooth tannins helped complement the turkey and sides.  Although this was just a small selection of some of the typical sides to be enjoyed on Thanksgiving, I feel this wine will stand up well to many of the options for your Thanksgiving meal.   

Join my fellow Italian food and wine lovers as they share some other Italian wines to consider for your Thanksgiving feast!

• Wine Predator... Gwendolyn Alley serves up 4 Italian Wines for Thanksgiving: Prosecco, Chardonnay, Barolo, Passito with a coursed meal 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm is Celebrating an American Thanksgiving with an Italian Antipasti Platter and a Sparkling Wine from Italy that is not Prosecco 
• Culinary CamNAME says Grazie Mille: Veg-Forward Sides and Villa Dora's 'Vigna del Vulcano' Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 
• Our Good Life shares Wine pairings and Pumpkin Pie
• Wineivore is serving an Italian Thanksgiving with Coppo Wines

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*This wine was received as a sample, but opinions are always my own. 

A Perfect Value Wine Pick with Famiglia Cotarella

Although I love to share the lesser known grapes and wine regions throughout Italy, I also can’t pass up sharing wines I come across in tastings with a fantastic QPR, the quality relative to the wine's price.  This week that wine is the 2019 Falesco Tenuta Vitiano Rosso under Famiglia Cotarella.   

The winery – Falesco 

Falesco began 3 generations ago in the 60’s with Antonio and Domenico Cotarella whom wanted to start a winery and make their own wine.  In 1979 the Falesco brand was born under brothers Renzo and Riccardo Cotarella.   You may have heard me speak about Riccardo multiple times here at Vino Travels as he is a well-respected winemaker and consultant for over 80 wineries all throughout Italy.  The initial beginnings under Renzo and Riccardo Cotarella were to recover ancient vineyards and varieties through a multitude of experiments and research over the years.  

In 2016 the Famiglia Cotarella umbrella was established over the family’s 4 brands as Renzo and Riccardo’s daughters, Dominica, Marta and Enrica took over the leadership of the business.  The daughters continue to remember the origins of the winery while also allowing the wines produced today to show “elegance and modernity”. 

The vineyards within the Cotarella family span between both the Umbria and Lazio regions from Lake Bolsena in Lazio up to the hills of Orvieto in Umbria occupying over 740 acres.   

The Wine 

The 2019 Falesco Tenuta Vitiano Rosso Umbria IGP is one of the traditional wines under the Falesco line of wines.  The vineyards are located in the comune of Montecchio in Umbria.    

This wine is made up of equal parts Sangiovese, Merlot and Cabernet.  The wine is fermented in stainless steel and is aged 3 months in neutral oak barrels.  This wine was medium-bodied with firm tannin on the palate, but balanced with fresh acidity.  Ripe cherries with a hint of tobacco.  At only $10 a bottle this wine is a no brainer.  It also seemed to be the hit with the surrounding tasters.   

You can find this wine at Wine.com.

 

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*I may receive commissions if any wines are purchased directly from the above site to support the operations of Vino Travels.  

 

Importer: Trinchero 

Leading the way for Sagrantino with Arnaldo Caprai

When we talk about Italian wine, we talk about some of the respected wines of Italy and those more prevalent in the market.  Surprisingly, the Sagrantino grape doesn't get widespread recognition amongst Italian wines.  Sagrantino is a grape native to the wine region of Umbria and does very well in the terroir in and around the town of Montefalco.  It's a thick-skinned grape that contains high levels of polyphenols creating wines that are rich in antioxidants.  The Sagrantino grape lends a deep, densely ruby color with violet highlights.  It produces full-bodied, robust wines high in tannin, allowing them to be aged for 10-15+ years.  Darker fruits are displayed on the nose and palate, including blackberries, black cherries, plums, spice, and maybe some earthiness.

Sagrantino grapes sourced from Arnaldo Caprai

A few designations in Umbria contain the Sagrantino grape, including Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG, Montefalco Rosso DOC, and Montefalco Sagrantino Passito DOC.  The Sagrantino di Montefalco DOCG wines, created in 1992, are dry-style wines made from 100% Sagrantino.   These wines require 37+ months of age, including 12 months spent in oak with 4+ months in the bottle. The wines of the Montefalco Rosso DOC, established in 1979, are dry wines that blend Sangiovese, a minimum of 60%, along with Sagrantino primarily.  With the Montefalco Sagrantino Passito DOC, the 100% Sagrantino grapes are dried for 2+ months concentrating the juice requiring 37+ months of aging without the requirement of oak usage.

One of the pioneers for Sagrantino and a producer that continues to lead the way for this grape and the appellation is the Arnaldo Caprai winery—established in 1971 by textile entrepreneur Arnaldo Caprai, who first began by purchasing about 7.5 acres.  His son, Marco Caprai, took over in 1988 and has been a massive advocate for the Sagrantino grape, paving the way for worldwide recognition of the capabilities and quality of the Sagrantino grape.  In 1991 he acquired new vineyards, which today stand at 370 acres with about 220 acres in production in Montefalco, Bevagna, and Gualdo Cattaneo.  

Marco Caprai sourced from Arnaldo Caprai

Marco has put tremendous work into multiple projects to promote Sagrantino and to help develop the grape, techniques used to produce these wines and the territory in which it grows.  He has focused on modernizing technology, finding the optimal wood for aging, the best methods for fermentation, trellising systems, pruning methods, and finding the best clonal selections.  

This week I enjoyed the 2009 Arnaldo Caprai Collepiano Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG.  This wine was first produced in 1979.  Collepiano represents the gentle hills in which the vineyards are located.  Per the requirements of the appellation, this wine is made from 100% Sagrantino.  It is aged 24-26 months in French barrique with 6+ months in the bottle. 

I wanted to sit on this vintage for some time to see how a Sagrantino evolves in the bottle with team.  A deep brick color in the glass with enticing aromas layered with savoriness, earthy with a hint of mushrooms, chocolate, licorice, dried cherries and baking spice to name a few.  Every smell brought different elements to the glass.  With the 20+ years of age on this wine the tannins were still moderate to firm along with nice acidity, but smoothed out on the finish leaving behind a silky mouthfeel combined with blackberries and spice.  You can find more recent vintages with an SRP around $45-50.  ABV 14.5% 

I enjoyed this wine with some bacon wrapped filet on the grill last night.  Perfetto!

If you're interested in taking a look at Arnaldo Caprai wines or other Sagrantino try a search on Wine.com.

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*I may receive commissions if any wines are purchased directly from this buyer to support the operations of Vino Travels.

Orvieto: Umbria's Leading White Wines

The region of Umbria is often overlooked by its neighbor Tuscany.  Located just north of Rome is one of the majestic medieval towns of Umbria, Orvieto.  Set atop a hilltop made of volcanic tufo rock, this town was founded by the Etruscans.  I traveled to Orvieto many years back and adored its quaintness.  The quiet medieval side streets with a bustling center filled with unique shops from local craftsmen.  Plus, the eye-catching Duomo alone is worth the visit in itself.  Don’t forget to check out the hand carved underground caves by the Etruscans that were used to preserve wine and food along with the rock that was used to construct the buildings. 

Sourced from Consorzio Vino Orvieto

When it comes to wine what I find fascinating about Orvieto is that it contains about 80% of Umbria’s vineyards.  In recent years from several tastings of Orvieto wines, I have come to really enjoy and appreciate the wines produced there.  It has a unique microclimate created by the Paglia river that flows through the valley along with its proximity to two lakes, Lake Bolsena in the nearby Lazio region and Lake Corbara within Umbria.  Lake Bolsena is in the eastern part of Lazio and is one of the oldest and biggest volcanic lakes in Europe and the largest volcanic lake in Italy.  

The wines of Orvieto have long been appreciated by nobility of the Middle Ages.  Orvieto is best known for its dry style wines, but there are also sweeter styles as well as late harvest wines.  The typical dry wines are known to be floral, crisp and delicate with lively acidity, citrus and lingering salinity on the palate.  The soils of this area are rich in the volcanic tufo rock and limestone with marine sediment that lend minerality to much of the wines. 

Sourced from Consorzio Vino Orvieto

Wines of the Orvieto DOC are made of 60% of Grechetto and Procanico.  Procanico is a local name for the biotype of Trebbiano Toscano.  If you remember last week we talked about the Trebbiano Spoletino grape and this is another type of Trebbiano.  The remaining 40% can include Canaiolo Bianco, Verdello, Malvasia Biana and other white grapes that are allowed.  The DOC encompasses both the Terni province of Umbria and the Viterbo province into Lazio, although a larger part of the production is in Umbria.  It’s always worth seeking out those from the Classico zone, which is the historical center of wine production in Orvieto.   

Have you visited the ancient town of Orvieto or drank these wines? I'd love to hear what you think.

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