City Wine Tours of Boston's Italian North End

Whether you are a local Bostonian and/or New Englander or visiting from another state or country there is an opportunity to visit some of the local Boston neighborhoods including local restaurants and sampling worldwide wines. City Wine Tours is a company that provides guided tours that explore multiple neighborhoods in Boston including the South End, the North End, Back Bay and the latest edition to their tour list providing a sparkling wine tour of Harvard Square in Cambridge. City Wine Tours provides an opportunity to tour each neighborhood, visit a few local restaurants and wine shops paired with great wine and a sampling of food to pair with the wines at each stop. The tours offered are a fun way of exploring new wines, restaurants and learning about wine in a warm atmosphere.

Of course being an Italian wine blogger and lover of all things Italian I chose to attend the North End Tour, which was led by wine ambassador, Joanne Frette. Joanne is originally from Scotland and has been living in Boston for the past couple years. She is a WSET Advanced Certificate holder, which is one of the world's top wine certifications from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. 

Joanne Frette

We began our North End tour at the Aragosta restaurant located at the Fairmont Battery Wharf Hotel tucked away off of Atlantic Ave where we were greeted by Joanne along with a group of about 13 wine and food lovers for the day. We started our tour at an intimate part of the bar where we were introduced to one another and the wines of the day. Joanne educated folks on how to read Italian wine labels and the process of viewing the color, aromas and tastes of each wine. We sampled wines from the Veneto region including Prima Perla Prosecco DOC and the 2013 Cantina Santa Maria la Palma Vermentino di Sardegna. It was served alongside a nice platter of fresh sliced meats, cheeses, fruit and figs.

We then walked up to the main street of the North End, Hanover Street, where we paused briefly in front of the Old North Church for a brief historical background. We made our way over to Gennaro's at 5 North Square where we sat in their dining room upstairs and sampled wines specifically labeled for Gennaro's including the Gennaro 1st edition 2013 Pinot Grigio and 2012 Valpolicella Classico from the Veneto region of Italy. Both of these dishes were paired with a variety of cheeses and meats.

Our last stop was right around the corner at the Wine Bottega on Hanover Street where we headed downstairs to their wine cellar and gathered around the table. Katie from the Wine Bottega introduced the 2013 Cellario Favorita and Dolcetto from the Piedmont wine region. The Wine Bottega sells wines that are organic without additional additives. I've attended wine tastings there in the past and if you can catch an opportunity to meet a winemaker or a representative from the wineries themselves in Italy I recommend it whether it's there or at any establishment. It's the best way to get a true understanding regarding the winery and the land in which the wine comes from. 

Each tour offered with City Wine Tours lasts about 2 hours with the opportunity to sample six wines in total between the restaurant and wine shop visits costing $66 a person. The walking is very minimal as you leisurely stroll between establishments. The tours are led by knowledgeable wine ambassadors that are all certified or have direct experience within the wine industry.

It's a nice way to get to meet folks from around the country or world while getting a taste of the local flavors of Boston's neighborhoods and the world of wine.

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe

Bollini Pinot Grigio from Trentino

Earlier this week I discussed an indigenous red grape, lagrein, from the northern part of the region, Alto Adige. Today I'm sharing with you a wine from the southern part of the region known as Trentino, centered around the city of Trento. This region is well known for producing sparkling wines under the Trento DOC designation in the classic method, but today I'm sharing a pinot grigio, Bollini, produced by the Empson brand of wines.

Trentino wine region

Trentino wine region
The Trentino wine region is very similar to it's northern sibling, Alto Adige, but the Trentino's landscape is slightly lower in elevation and not so quite dominated by the mountains as the Alto Adige. Both have very similar climates and the extreme temperatures in climate changes from day to night is what helps develop the strong aromatics and crispness of the wines here. Although, shockingly enough, with this region being so far north and enveloped in a mountainous area, Trento gets very warm and can break over 100 degrees fahrenheit in the height of the summer.

About Bollini in Trentino
The Bollini wines were created by the Empson family in 1979. The particular wines produced under the Bollini label are their own wines with grapes sourced from their wineries in both the Friuli and Trentino regions of northeastern Italy. The Bollini wines since 2010 had well-known Italian enologist, Franco Bernabei, join forces with Neil Empson in winemaking.

The overall largest DOC from Trentino is the Trentino DOC that is further separated into notable subzones. The pinot grigio I'm sharing today is from this Trentino DOC zone. The 2013 Bollini Pinot Grigio Trentino DOC was straw yellow in color. On the nose the wine was fresh with elements of white flowers, white peaches and a little citrus. On the palate it was light in body and was dry, crisp with good acidity a little saltiness. The bottle average retails for about $13.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving in the US and all others enjoyed the wonderful food and wine suggestions shared out there.

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe

Lagrein from Cantina Tramin in Alto Adige

We have discussed the Alto Adige before highlighting particular wines of the region and today we are going to cover the Cantina Tramin winery. For those of you not familiar with the Alto Adige it's part of the region in Northeastern Italy known as the Trentino – Alto Adige region. The southern part of the region is Trentino and the northern part is the Alto Adige, also known as the Sudtirol or South Tyrol. Doesn't sound very Italian you say? That's because this region has strong Germanic influences and is seen in many of the wines coming out of this region from grapes like Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Muller Thurgau, etc. The Alto Adige also used to part of Austria.

Tramin Winery

I have yet to visit this region, but am strongly considering a trip up to Bolzano when I travel over the beginning of February. The Alto Adige is centered around the city of Bolzano and this region has higher vineyards with colder climates compared to Trentino in the southern part of the region, therefore, the wines coming out of this region are typically more aromatic with higher acidity.

Wine Cellar at Tramin 

The Cantina Tramin is a biodynamic and organic cooperative located in the Alto Adige wine region. They are located in the town of Termeno and is one of the oldest cooperatives of the region established in 1889. This region where they are located is sheltered by mountains with influences from the lakes with extreme variations in temperatures. 

The Tramin cooperative, consisting of about 300 growers, harvest from 37 acres (15 hectacres) of vineyards that are treated organically and in the future hope to expand that to all of their vineyards, which consist of about 570 acres (230 hectacres). The grapes are harvested from subzones including Termeno, Ora, Egna and Montagna. This particular wine that I'm sharing with today, 2012 Lagrein from Cantina Tramin, comes from the Alto Adige DOC and its subzones of Ora, Egna and Tramin.

Winemaker Willi Sturz

Lagrein grapes by Nathan

Even though this region is known for producing some fantastic white wines, according to NASA in my recent certification program, 2/3 of the region is dedicated to red grapes. Today I'm sharing one of those grapes, Lagrein. 

The 2012 Cantina Tramin Lagrein DOC was a wine ruby in color with a purple tinge around the rim. On the nose were intense aromas of plum, violet and blueberries with some spice. It was dry, but had nice structure producing a full bodied wine with good tannin and nice plum on the palate. It was aged partially for 7 months in cement tanks and oak barrels. This bottle retails for about $18.

This winery only exports about 25% of their wines so when you have an opportunity to try some in your home area and get a taste of the Alto Adige from where you live it's an opportunity not to be missed. They have also won a number of Tre Bicchieri awards.

*Most pictures are compliments of Cantina Tramin

Don't miss an Italian wine blog ~ Subscribe