Moris Farms: Exploring the Maremma and Morellino di Scansano

You may be most familiar with the Sangiovese from Tuscany used in the esteemed Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano wines, but what about Sangiovese from southern Tuscany?  If you’re a lover of Sangiovese like I am, than the Maremma of southern Tuscany is a must try and visit. 

Where is the Maremma 

The Maremma is located in the southwestern part of Tuscany in the province of Grosseto. If you’re a lover of unspoiled beauty and nature, the Maremma covers a vast landscape with an abundance of forests and hills.  If it also filled with a sunshine drenched coastline for those that adore the beaches and relaxation in the sun.  

Copyright of Moris Farms

All about Morellino di Scansano 

Sangiovese produced in the Maremma is also called Morellino.  The Morellino di Scansano appellation is named after the medieval town itself in which the grape is primarily grown, in Scansano.  It was granted DOC status in 1978 and upgraded to become a DOCG in 2007.  The territory covers over 160,000 acres of land in the hills running north to south and 15 miles across the eastern plains of Albinia out to the Grosseto plains and the Tyrrhenian Sea.  You’ll find two rivers: Ombrone in the north close to Scansano, and the Albegna in the south.   

The area in which Morellino di Scansano is produced receives the breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which helps to mitigate the temperature and its location also helps to protect it from the cold northernly winds.   

Morellino di Scansano is made from a minimum of 85% Sangiovese and up to 15% other red grapes allowed in Tuscany can be utilized in the blend.   

What’s the difference between Sangiovese used in Morellino di Scansano from southern Tuscany in comparison to its northernly neighbors in Tuscany?  The wines of Morellino tend to be rounder, savory, with a rustic side along with showing freshness and ripeness of the grapes.  These wines tend to be fresh and lively and display red fruits including cherries and plums.  You’ll also note some spices, cedar and maybe even some leather. 

The Winery ~ Moris Farms

I’ve been sitting on a wine I’ve been wanting to try for some time, a 2019 Moris Farms Morellino di Scansano DOCG.  This winery started their first bottling of Morellino di Scansano in 1981, a few years after the DOC was established. 

This wine hails from Moris Farm’s Poggio La Mozza Estate in Scansano.  This estate was acquired back in 1971 by Gualtier Luigi Moris, which covers about 135 acres of land, with about 86 acres dedicated to vineyards.  This vineyard is located on the hills between Grossetto and the Tyrrhenian Sea.  The grapes used to be transported to their Poggetti Estate until the son-in-law, Adolfo Parentini, in 1981 started the cantina and began to produce the wines directly at Poggio La Mozza. 

Adolfo was a founding member of the Morellino di Scansano Consorzio and one of the pioneers, along with other local producers, on the development of the DOCG designation. 

The wine 

The 2019 Moris Farms Morellino di Scansano DOCG is made from 90% Sangiovese along with 10% Merlot and Syrah.  The grapes are macerated for 15 days and fermented in stainless steel for 4 months with an additional 2 months spent in the bottle.  These wines can be released as soon as March  after the harvest.  

This wine was a transparent ruby color with garnet hues.  Dark cherry notes on the nose with baking spices and a slight earthiness.  Medium-bodied and smooth on the palate with subtle tannins showing nice elegance.  Rich cherry notes lend to a rustic, earthiness in the glass with moderate acidity.  13% ABV, $15-18 SRP 

How to reach the Maremma 

Grosseto is the main hub of the Maremma to use as your travel destination.  If you’re flying in you can fly into either Rome and travel north or the Pisa and Florence airports and head south.  If you’re coming by train or bus, head for Grosseto and go from there.  You can easily reach the Maremma from the north by highway SS1.  This is the less scenic route, but will allow you to travel from a farther distance and is therefore the easiest.  If you’re coming from within Tuscany heading from Florence or Siena in the north you can take the more scenic route on the SS223. 

Importer: Ideal Wine & Spirits 

You can find many a variety of Morellino di Scansano wines on Wine.com to try.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.

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Bubbles and Bites: Prosecco and Frittata to Please your Palate

Prosecco is one of Italy’s greatest sparkling wines.  Found in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy, Prosecco is a palate pleaser offering a variety of styles with versatility allowing it to be paired with several cuisines. 

This month the wine writer’s group that I’m a part of, Wine Pairing Weekend, decided to go with a theme of pairing wines with classic summer fare.  The hot days of summer call for easy food preparation with flavorful meals to please the palate and summery wines to match.   

Over the years I have grown increasingly accustomed to appreciating sparkling wines. It’s not so much that I didn’t enjoy the wines, but I’ve never been a fan of bubbles in anything I drink.  This summer I’ve been on a bellini kick on those warm summer days.  If you’re not familiar with Bellinis they are made with Prosecco and peach juice.      

Prosecco comes in a wide array of sweetness levels starting with the driest to sweetest: Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Dry, Dry, Demi Sec.  The effervescence and the types of bubbles displayed in the glass can also vary allowing for a wide range of options for a wide range of personal preference.  Prosecco tends to be light to medium-bodied with aromas and a flavor profile of apples, pears, citrus, tropical fruits (more towards peach) and floral notes. They may have a yeasty taste as well in some glasses of Prosecco like one of the ones I’m sharing today.   

Pairing with Prosecco 

Prosecco is also fantastic in pairing with a multitude of foods.  It’s high acidity and fruity profile along with its effervescence make it great as an aperitivo, charcuterie boards, salads, seafood dishes, asian cuisine or just pour a glass to sip on its own.   

I've long been a fan of frittatas, but just don’t seem make them enough although they’re quite simple.  You can play around with the recipes and add so many different types of ingredients to frittatas to always keep it interesting. For this frittata I prepared some chopped up broccoli along with swiss cheese.   

I selected a couple of the Prosecco listed below to pair with the frittata that paired very nicely, especially with the swiss cheese flavors.  I have always had frittata for breakfast, but frittata can be enjoyed at any point of the day really.  Especially on those warm summer nights where you want something lighter.  Frittata paired with a nice, refreshing, crisp Prosecco will hit the spot. 

The wines 

I’ve been on a Prosecco tasting splurge since I had so many on hand that I’ve been needing to try.  All of these Prosecco wines hail from the top quality Prosecco appellations of the Veneto: Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Asolo.  Both of these hilly, DOCG appellations have unique terroirs with stricter regulations and are known for their top quality prodution of Prosecco. 

What’s the difference between Asolo and Conegliano Valdobbiadene?  Asolo is much smaller than Conegliano Valdobbiadene covering about 1,783 hectares with an annual production of about 24 million bottles in comparison to the latter which covers 6,860 hectares with an annual production of 100 million bottles.  I’ve enjoyed wines from both appellations equally so the intense wine enthuasist may have a preference one over the other, but in my opinion you can’t go wrong with either for quality Prosecco. 

Sourced from the winery in Asolo, Bele Casel

Let’s take a look at some of the bottles. 

 
Adami Adriano Brut “Bosco di Gica” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Prosecco was very pale straw colored with a greenish hue.  Aromas of citrus, peach and a touch of herbal.  Juicy green apple and citrus show nicely on the palate.  This wine had bubbles with finesse, elegance and a nice balance of fruit and acidity with a lingering finish.  ABV 11%. SRP $22 (wine.com) 

Ciodet Brut “Labano” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Prosecco was straw colored with aromas of green apple and ctirus that carries onto the palate.  Fresh and crisp acidity with notes of tart green apple and a touch of citrus and peach.  A long, salty finish with fine bubbles. ABV 11%, SRP $25 

2019 Bellenda Brut “San Fermo” Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG Prosecco was pale straw colored with a slight greenish tinge.  Dry, citrus notes with saltiness showing on the lengthy finish. ABV 11.5%, SRP $22 

The Loredan Gaspaparini Brut Asolo Superiore DOCG Prosecco shows certified vegan on the label.  Bright straw yellow with light golden color.  Lemon citrus aromas.  Medium-bodied, dry on the palate with lemon citrus, grapefruit, yeasty notes and some baked apple. Crisp with a salty finish.  ABV 11%, SRP $19 

What are some of your favorite pairings with Prosecco? 

Join our fellow food and wine lovers as they share their personal selections of summer fare with wines to pair.

• Gwendolyn of Wine Predator is opening “2 Arizona Wines for Summer Times: Page Springs Cellars Rose and Caduceus Anubis Red Blend with Fresh Apricot Salad and Burgers”
• Jeff of Food Wine Click! is sharing “A Summer Salad with Muscadet” 
• David of Cooking Chat has  “A Chillable Red for a Summer Spread” 
• Camilla of Culinary Cam cooked up “Albacore Tuna Burgers + Midpoint’s 2024 February’s Bouquet Rosé” 
• Linda of My Full Wine glass was “Inspired by Lillian: Rice Noodle Salad and Sicilian Grillo”
• Our host, Wendy, of A Day in the Life on the Farm writes about “The Wine I Paired with Classic Summer Fare“

You can find many Prosecco wines from Valdobbiadene and Asolo on Wine.com including the Adami Adriano mentioned above.  I may receive compensation for any wines purchased through the affiliate link in support of Vino Travels.

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own. 

 

Torcolato: The Prized Dessert Wine of Breganze with Maculan

Earlier this year I attended a virtual tasting hosted by Studio Cru featuring the wines of the Maculan winery located in the Veneto wine region of northeastern Italy.  Angela Maculan, 4th generation operating the winery today, walked us through several wines that the winery produces with a fantastic overview of the territory.  I want to focus on a special dessert wine, Torcolato, that I had been unfamiliar with prior to the tasting.  Torcolato is not only a special wine that Maculan produces, but it is also unique to this particular area of the Veneto, within the territory of Breganze.   

About the Maculan winery 

The Maculan family’s wine beginnings started with the great grandfather, Gaetano, whom used to sell wine that he made at his little osteria in the 20’s and 40’s. During World War II his son, Giovanni, started to make wine with his father to provide it for the army station.  In 1947 Giovanni decided to start and build the winery we know today, Maculan.   

In 1973 Fausto Maculan took over the winery.  Fausto was encouraged by his father to attend the School of Oenology Conegliano to be a winemaker.  He first started leasing the land to produce wine until he later purchased it. Fausto was joined by his two daughters, Angela that joined in 1997 and Maria Vittoria that joined in 2007.   

Maria Vittoria, Fausto and Angela Maculan

Maculan is located in Breganze, a town in the northern part of the Veneto region about 1 hour northeast of Verona and North of Vicenza.  The winery sits at the base of the Asiago Plateau right in the center of town close to the main piazza. 

Maculan winery

This area is mostly warm with cooling breezes that come down from the Dolomites.  The soils of the area are poor, low in nutrients, and are made up of clay, silt and volcanic rock.  Irrigation isn’t allowed and the soil provides great drainage.   

Maculan vineyards

Maculan works with several native and international grape varietals.  These international varietals were introduced by the noble Venetian families in the 1800’s.  The main grapes that Maculan produces are Vespaiola, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, the white grape Tai, Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Marzemino.  The grapes are hand harvested, and many of the grapes are estate grown, but some are purchased from farmers they have had lasting relationships with for the last 20-25 years.   

What is Torcolato? 

Torcolato is rich dessert wine made 100% from the white grape, Vespaiola.  The name stems from the word vespa, meaning wasps in Italian, that are attracted to the sweetnessof these grapes. This grape has historically been documented as far back as 1754.   

Torcolato is golden in color and is made as a passito style, where the grapes are dried before fermentation creating luscious aromas and mouthfeel with notes of fruits (tropical and stone fruits), including dried fruits and honey.  They’re full-bodied and have sweet, concentrated flavors with high levels of sugar backed by good acidity to prevent these wines from becoming cloying. 

The Vespaiola grapes are traditionally twisted and hung to dry on a string called a rosolo for a number of months concentrating the sugars in the grapes. The twisting of the grapes stems from the word torcere, meaning to twist, hence the name Torcolato. 

rosoli

Torcolato, and the Vespaiola grape, are unique to the Breganze DOC.  The Breganze DOC is a small DOC created in 1969 that covers the areas of the Breganze town as well as the hilly areas between the Astico and Brenta Rivers.  It covers approximately 600 hectares encompassing 17 smaller family-owned wineries with Maculan being the second largest winery with about 50 hectares (120 acres).  Almost all, but 2%, of the grapes vinified come from the hills which accounts for 70% of the territory made up of the volcanic, tuffaceous and basaltic terroir.  The other 30% is made up of plains with gravelly, pebbly soils. 

The Wine 

The Torcolato is the dessert wine that the Maculan treasures.  The 2022 Maculan Torcolato is made from the Vespaiola grape.  Rich golden color with amber hues.  It has an unctuous texture, round on the palate with notes of honey and dried apricots.  A tasty treat that lingers on the finish.  SRP $42 (per wine searcher). 

Maculan is a large producer of Torcolato in the Breganze DOC producing about 17,000 of the 20-25,000 bottles produced in this area.  They make 4 different styles of Vespaiola based wines to explore. 

If you’re a lover of dessert wines this is one you’ll want to explore. 

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

Importer: Massanois Imports