Velenosi Marches On

One of the lesser-known wine regions of Italy is called Marches, or Le Marche in Italian. Not a super-well-known region outside of Italy to most people, it is nonetheless home to one of my favorite Italian white wines called Verdicchio. To my delight, more and more people are appreciating these sea-influenced, crisp and minerally whites, which are thirst-quenching summer wines. The Marche region makes other wines that are also worth exploring, including reds based on Montepulciano and Sangiovese, the main grapes in the neighboring and better-known regions of Tuscany and Abruzzo.

During the 2020 virtual Wine Media Conference in August, Velenosi, one of Le Marche's prominent producers, hosted a virtual tasting, providing four of their wines to attendees to try at home. The session was hosted by Lora Donadoni, aka The Italian Wine Girl. 

Before we go into Velonosi's lovely wines, let's take a closer look at Le Marche, the wine region.

Le Marche: Between the Mountains and the Sea

The Marche region stretches along the Adriatic coast of eastern Italy, and borders Umbria and Tuscany to the west, Emilia Romagna to the north, and Lazio and Abruzzo to the south. While the region touches on so many other regions, it has a distinct quality of its own based on its proximity to the sea and the mountains, as well as its soils and topography. The region features 15 DOCs and three DOCGs. The largest and most productive DOC is that of Verdicchio de Castelli di Jesi. 

Marche's location in Italy (see map) is part of the reason it has not became as well known as regions like Tuscany and Venezio, as it is off the main transport spine going up and down Italy. While the north has Venice and the south has Rome, there are no world-renowned cities in Le Marche.

It's even hard to gather an abundance of information on Mache as a wine region -- several of my trusted sources do not even have entries for this region. For example, The Wine Bible skips right over Marche, listing only Verdicchio Bianco as "simple clean white wines in the region known as Marche." Similarly, World Atlas of Wine has no entry for Marche, just a small sub-section in the "Central Italy" chapter that mentioned Verdicchio and the "reds of Marche [based on the Montepulciano and Sangivoese grapes that] have been slower to carve out their identity."

Marche offers wine and so much more. While I have never personally been there, the presentation provided by Velenosi plus Internet research on Marche have whetted my appetite for a post-pandemic visit!

Marche has miles of pristine beaches with world-class resorts and seafood restaurants, historic medieval towns, Romanesque churches, natural preserves and festivities such as the Quintana Palio Joust (a medieval horse racing event). The joust takes place in the beautiful town of Ascoli Piceno, which is 12 miles inland from the Adriatic and in the southern portion of Marche, close to Abruzzo. 

Ascoli Piceno, Home of Velenosi

Ascoli Piceno is the home base of Velenosi, a "self-made winery," per the winery's literature, started in 1984 by Ercole and Angela Velenosi, with little capital or know-how. While they may not be one of the old families of the Italian wine world, today they produce 2.5 million bottles on about 360 acres of vines in Marche, plus an additional 40 acres in Abruzzo.

Velenosi's Ascoli Piceno vines are located on the fertile clay soils in the hills surrounding the Tronto river valley, where the Mediterranean climate provides warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters. 

Velenosi produces a large variety of bottlings, ranging from sparklings to whites, roses, reds and even dessert/sweet wines, as well as Bag in Box wines and olive oils. 

The sparklings are made from Chardonnay, Pinot Nero and the lesser-known Passerina, in Charmat and Traditional method. Still whites include Verdicchio, Pecorino, Chardonnay, Pecorino-Trebbiano blends known as Falerio Bianco, and Passerina. The Rose, or Rosata, is produced from the Montepulciano grape. Reds include Lacrima di Morro d'Alba, a specialty of the Marche, and the Rosso Piceno blends of Montepulciano and Sangiovese. Sweet wines are made with Moscato, Lacrima and Sciroppe di Visciole. 

The WMC Tasting

Four bottles, one white and three reds, were tasted during WMC, in the following order:

2019 Querciantica Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi DOC Classico 

The wine is 100% Verdicchio, and is grown in the hills of Castelli di Jesi's oldest areas.

This wine really hit the spot on the warm summer night of the tasting. As one fellow WMC attendee stated, it cut right through the humidity. 

Fermented at low temperature, this lovely, feminine white delights the palate with apples, stone fruit, and flowers, and just a slight vegetal note. It was chock full of minerals owing to the clay and limestone soils, with a distinct salinity that, in my mind, tasted of the Adriatic Sea.

Per Donadoni, this wine can age, and pairs well with oysters, crudite, shell fish, and risotto.

The wine retails for $15 to $20.

Querciantica Lacrima Di Morro DOC

This red is 100% Lacrima de Moro d'Alba [note difference in spelling on label vs town's actual name] which, per Wine Grapes, is a recovered local Marche specialty, brought back from near-extinction in 1985. The grapes in this DOC are grown near the town of Moro d'Alba in the northeastern corner of the Verdicchio di Castelli di Jesi zone of Marche.

Lacrima is also known as "red Gewurtztraminer" owing to its perfumed characteristics. It's name means "teardrop" in Italian, which is most likely based on the fact that when ripe, the grapes exude a small drop of juice.

And juicy this wine is, with strawberries and other red fruits, soft tannins and low acid, making it a good pairing with BBQ and Asian food. I really enjoyed this quaffable red, and served slightly chilled, the wine is even better, in my opinion. A delicious summer wine.

At under $20, this delightful red should be bought by the case.

Il Brecciarolo Rosso Piceno DOC Superiore

Il Brecciarolo is 70% Montepulciano and 30% Sangiovese (Rosso Piceno DOC requires a minimum of 35% and maximum of 85%  Montepuliciano and no more than 50% Sangiovese). Unlike the Velenosi's Lacrima, this blend has an unmistakable oak influence. It also has a rich palate of cherry, cocoa, red flowers, and some spicy notes. 

The "superiore" indicates that the grapes are derived from a smaller historic zone with lower yields than non-superiore Rosso Picino wines. 

Distributed widely in the US market, this wine has a ripeness and palate that tells me that if you like big California reds, you will love this wine. 

And the pricing is right at $15-$18.

Rosso Piceno DOC Superiore

This is the big boy of the Velenosi tasting. 

The same blend as the Brecciarolo, this wine is produced from 50-year-old vines, at an altitude of 2100 feet. This wine is even bigger and riper (think ripe plums and cherries) than the former, which is the winemaker's choice, says Donadoni. 

At 14.5% alcohol, and with distinct oak, this wine is not for the faint of heart. 

Again, if you have a California palate, you will love this wine, and it will hold up to the biggest, heartiest meat dish you can serve.

The wine is priced at around $50.

Resources for Velenosi and Le Marche

Once the world opens up for safe travels again, Le Marche will be a the top of my list of wine regions to visit -- for its wines, its cuisine, it's history, its natural beauty, and its off-the-beaten-path qualities. In the meantime, I will continue my armchair travels, using the following resources:

Learn more about Velenosi at www.velenosivini.com.

Check out Italian Wine Girl's blog at theitalianwinegirl.com.

And for general Le Marche, I found the following sites useful:

www.turismo.marche.it/

www.wonderfulmarche.com

www.flickr.com/photos/turismomarche

Until next time, Ciao!

Paso Robles: Revisiting, Relaxing, and Discovering

Victor Abascal of Vines on the Marycrest with his song-title labels.

Early February on the Central Coast of California is not high season for tourism, but for my husband's birthday this year the entire family wanted a place to relax, sit by a fire, watch the Superbowl, and just chill and be with each other. We booked what sounded like a perfect three-bedroom "hacienda" situated amongst the vineyards of Paso just north of Route 46.

And perfection it was!

The house was far enough from the highway to be quiet and tranquil, with the owner's Woodpecker Hollow Vineyard of Zinfandel vines in our front yard, and a pasture with friendly grazing cows right next to the house. The backyard was a deep gully, which lowered the air temperatures quite a bit, keeping us in the winter coldness that I so love (our pipes froze over night!). In short, it was a nice change from bustling Los Angeles.

Our home for the weekend, called Woodpecker Hollow, featured a homey "hacienda" as well as a small vineyard and Australian shephard.

Any trip to Paso Robles must include some tasting room visits. My family (husband, two sons, daughter-in-law and girlfriend) agreed that if we could only do one, we had to visit the beautiful winery of our friends Victor and Jenni Abascal. I've watched their Vines on the Marycrest tasting room grow up over the years, literally, much like I've watched my two sons do the same. As a member of the VOTM wine club (called the "In-Crowd"), I've always had a supply of their wine in my wine refrigerator at home, and once my boys reached drinking age, they enjoyed the wines on various occasions, loving them as much as I do. They were most excited to meet Victor and Jenni and to see the source of all the good wines they had tried.

Victor is the winemaker at VOTM and Jenni manages the taste room; both share child-care of their two children. They make a great team, and have grown their label over the years into a recognized and respected one, and have been active in the local wine-growing community focusing on Rhone and Mediterranean varieties on their hilly 26-acres in the Adelaida district of West Paso Robles.

Originally planted as an almond orchard, the Abascals began replanting in 2004 with grape vines, including Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Viognier. They also built one of the most beautiful tasting rooms -- a mid-century modern style building that is both sparely designed, but also homey, and featuring the coolest restroom I've ever visited!

(Top left, clockwise): VOTM's back terrace; the industrial/mid-century modern tasting room; Lucas and Diana (son and girlfriend) loved meeting Victor and Jenni; Beyond Belief sparkling wine; VOTM's sign welcomes guests.

We sampled reds, as whites were sold out at this time of year (and I love VOTM whites!). Our list included Sangiovese, which was our favorite with its medium body and notes of bright red fruit;  single-variety Syrah (the labels for single varieties differ from blends) ; "So What" Cab-Sangio-Syrah blend; and "Heart of Glass" and "Round Midnight" GSM blends. The first GSM is more Grenache based, with strawberry and raspberry notes, while the latter is more Syrah based, which is more meaty and peppery.

We also sampled VOTM's delicious "Beyond Belief" brut sparkling cuvée, a blend of Viognier, Grenache and Counoise, made in the traditional method. This bottling is a white sparkling, with very little skin contact, whereas the Rosé version, which we've received as part of the In Crowd, has longer skin contact.

My Valentine's dinner this year, which I shared with my close yoga friends, featured the Sangiovese and the brut sparkling cuvée from VOTM and the wines were a hit. It helps that the VOTM backstory is local to West LA-based group. As a teenager growing up in Culver City, Victor began experimenting with grapes when he planted vines on a hillside owned by the Marycrest nunnery. He ultimately was ordered to pull the vines, but Victor caught the wine bug.

He worked for many years in the music industry in LA, hence the song-title names on his blended wines, but ultimately made the move to Paso Robles. The winery hosts music concerts in the taste room regularly, and even sends a disc of music to the "In Crowd" wine club members with each shipment.

VOTM is a must-stop-in kind of place when visiting West Paso. Victor and Jenni will make you feel special.

Visit VOTM's Web site for more information and for tasting room hours: https://vinesonthemarycrest.com/

Tudor Wines: Old World Luxury Wines in Downtown Paso

Dan Tudor of Tudor Wines makes the Nacina Zinfandel wines from grapes grown by our AirBnB host, Randy Rogers, and we were interested in tasting it, so we visited his tasting room in downtown Paso Robles. 

Dan Tudor and his wine flight at his downtown Paso Robles tasting room.

But first we sampled Tudor's wines, which are not typically Paso varieties ... Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewurtztraminer. He makes both dry wines and ice wines.

Tudor, wanting to make 'old world' style wines, buys his grapes from Santa Lucia Highlands, with a goal of creating "world-class luxury wines."

And they are beautiful wines.

We sampled a flight of his Pinots from various vineyards and vintages, and each was gorgeous, with nuance and balance. It was clear that Tudor is meticulous in his grape selection and the Nacino Zin was also lovely, not overly jammy like some Paso Zins. The Riesling ice wine was gorgeous.

Dan Tudor is a great host, talkative and so knowledgeable about wine and all topics. Check him out when in Paso.

Visit the Tudor wines Web site for more information on both Tudor and Nacina wines: https://www.tudorwines.com/

Happy Birthday Bruce Nozick! Here with Will and Lucas, our sons.

Until next time,

Cheers!

More on Mudgee, Australia!

In my first post on Mudgee, I focused on Day 1 of my excursion with the Wine Media Conference to this gorgeous wine region and town. On Day 2, I visited several more wineries, and below are my notes on each.

Logan Vineyard's unique winery and tasting room

Logan Wines

Logan Wines is the site of one of the most spectacular tasting room I've been in. This Danish modern building, located in the hamlet of Apple Tree Flat, is the height of style, while also extremely inviting and comfortable. Perched over the edge of a rather steep hill and overlooking Logan's vineyards, this is a visual delight, and the dramatic drive up to it only enhances the experience. As mentioned in my first post on Mudgee, the town and surroundings are so picturesque that TV shows are shot there; I saw this tasting room in an episode of one of my favorite Australian shows recently. 

The cool factor only increased for me when we met owner, Peter Logan, who epitomized the character of the region. Smart, personable, articulate and passionate about the wines and the vines, Logan graciously indulged us wine writers with his wine musings, pointing out that the vineyard behind him was being prepped for grafting of Tempranillo vines onto older Merlot rootstock (see photos below). Logan is at the forefront of the movement to bring new varieties into the region, and is producing wines from such grapes as Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Moscato, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Viognier, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. He makes sparkling, still, rose, and orange wines.

Most of Logan's grapes are brought in from Orange, a wine region to the south and slightly east of Mudgee, where temperatures run slightly cooler; in fact, it's the coolest wine region in Australia and where the country's first Chardonnay wines were made. Logan's vines in Orange grow at elevations from 1600 to 2000 feet.

Logan's wines are a beautiful melding of new world pizazz and old world finesse. My husband and I were especially impressed with the Weemale Tempranillo. The Ridge of Tears shiraz (pictured below) is Logan's homage to his Scottish ancestors, using Shiraz grapes from Mudgee and Orange, grown on the best slopes, with low yields and produced with "hand-made" loving care to create Logan's signature style. This Shiraz is beautiful.

 This winery is well worth visiting if you find yourself in Mudgee.

(Top left, clockwise) Winemaker Peter Logan; Logan's posh tasting room; Ridge of Tears Shiraz; Merlot vines waiting for grafting with Tempranillo; inside the tasting room.

Moothi Estate

Moothi's 180-degree view cannot be beat.

Moothi Estate is a family-owned winery, founded in 1995, nestled in the Mudgee hills, and it's delightful. Moothi is another Aboriginal word for "nest in the hills."

The tasting room and outside terrace are a perfect setting for a long, languorous lunch and wine tasting. The winery's cellar door/kitchen features small bites and charcuterie platters (see picture below), and spectacular views. And the owners are lovely ... as welcoming as can be. They generously poured for us just about everything on their menu, which started with sparkling rose, and moved through Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Viognier, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, a Cabernet-Shiraz-Merlot red blend called Mooth Rocks, a Shiraz-Viognier blend, and a fortified Shiraz.

All of Moothi's grapes are estate grown, and the cellar door, one of the highest in the region, overlooks the vines.

(Upper left, clockwise) Moothi's logo; Moothi Rocks Red Blend; wines on deck; delicious charcuterie platter from Moothi's kitchen 

Burnbrae Wines

Moving on to Burnbrae Wines, we were welcomed by Trine Gay, co-owner with her husband Andy, and one of their winery dogs. The couple took over the winery from Trine's father in 2014, and have created a cheery, youthful and inviting venue.

(Top left, clockwise: Owner Trine Gay; "book cover" labels; my husband Bruce with winery dog; cellar door reading; outbuilding for events; peppercorn tree; charming rustic doors (center).

Rustic charm abounds at Burnbrae, from the cellar door, to the grounds, to the outbuildings, creating a beautiful venue for weddings and other events. There's even the option to stay at the adorable "winemaker's cottage" on the grounds.  

The labels on Burnbrae's wines are designed like book covers, each telling a story that is linked to Burnbrae's past and present. For example, the "Twinkle Toes" Cuvee sparkling wine, which we were greeted with upon arrival, has a label that harkens back to the fact that the cellar door used to be a dance hall. The "Home Ground" Shiraz refers to the large peppercorn tree outside the front of the cellar door, which marks the site of the original winery.

Burnbrae produces a range of wines, including the above-mentioned sparkling white, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir (my favorite), Shiraz, Cab-Merlot blend, Pinot Gris, and a couple of different Rose wines, which are slightly spritzed and sweet, using the Moscato grape. The lineup is definitely youth-oriented, light, and fun.

Lowe Wine & Zin House

This place is special in that it's a winery, a restaurant, a wedding venue, and surprisingly, it's also all about Zinfandel. My first thought was 'Zin is quintessentially Californian ... not Australian!' I was definitely intrigued.

Our first stop was at Zin House, the restaurant, where we were treated to a gorgeous lunch prepared by Chef Kim Currie, wife of Lowe Wines' David Lowe. Served family style, in the gorgeous dining room that felt like an old farmhouse, the food was classy but not pretentious (see photos below). The foods were paired with Lowe's lip-smacking wines. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of our hosts.

For the last four years, Zin House has been awarded One Chef Hat from the SMH Good Food Guide Awards, which, as explained to us, is Australia's equivalent of Michelin stars. Very impressive.

Along with our lunch at Pipeclay Pumphouse at Robert Stein Winery, we were definitely eating in style on this Mudgee excursion, and Mudgee was living up to its reputation as a foodie destination.

The fare at Zin House, a One Chef Hat award-winning restaurant in Mudgee.

Most of the produce used at Zin House is sourced right from the property, and is organic, as are the wine grapes from the estate vineyards. Like the best Zin vines in California, the vines are old, bush trained and untrellised, unirrigated, low-yielding, and in this case organic (certified) and biodynamic. Robert Lowe is passionate about his winemaking, calling it "slow winemaking," which I interpret as quality. His wines are lovely, and who knew you could get great Zin in Australia?

Lowe is a fifth-generation Mudgee, descended from the first English settlers in the Valley. He has been in the wine business since birth, basically. He's passionate about Zin, after having spent time in northern California, in his "formative years," learning from California wine pioneers, and he also worked alongside Australian legends Len Evans and Murray Tyrrell. He seems to have wine running through his veins, and he's also humble and approachable. I so enjoyed my conversations with him at his winery.

(Upper left, clockwise: Robert Lowe, winemaker; Zinfandel paver (the entire alphabet populates Lowe's cellar door garden); the wine; Zin vines;  tasting the Zin in the garden outside Cellar Door; winery dog; bush vine Zin vineyard; one of the views from inside the Zin House restaurant; the cellar door (center)

Final Thoughts on Mudgee

Mudgee is a wonderland to me, with dozens of small, artisan, family-owned wineries tucked in and around the valley and rolling hills. And the wines being produced are wonderful. The town of Mudgee is really cool, with shops, eateries and hotels, and just about the nicest people I've ever met. All of these things make Mudgee a wonderful destination for weekend travelers.

If you are traveling to New South Wales, Australia, I urge you to check out both the Hunter Valley and Mudgee. You can get to them easily from Sydney, via train, car, or plane. On the journey, you can experience the Blue Mountains, Australia's version of the Grand Canyon; they are stunning.

Special Thanks

I want to say a giant Thank You to Mudgee and its people. Also, cheers to the following organizations and business who welcomed Wine Media Conference 2019 attendees:

Mudgee Wine and Country Tours: https://mudgeewinetours.com.au/ Ben, our driver, was the best driver a visitor could ask for, making sure we saw wildlife, stunning vistas, and historic markers, even if it meant pulling to the side of the road spontaneously to shoot a picture of a road sign!

(Upper left, clockwise): Ben of Mudgee Wine Tours; Mudgee road sign; beautiful old vines in Mudgee; the comfortable Mudgee Tourist Bus; my husband Bruce with Cara George of Visit Mudgee Region; my fellow WBC19 travelers.

Cara George, CEO of Visit Mudgee Region:  https://www.visitmudgeeregion.com.au/partner-services/meet-our-team/cara-george. A wonderful human being and great host, who made sure we stayed on schedule but also gave us the time we needed at each stop on our tour.

My fellow Wine Media Conference attendees who made the Mudgee excursion extra fun. It was great sharing the wine geek moments with all of you.

Until next time,

Cheers!