I recently had the good fortune of attending the 2022 Wine Media Conference in Lake Garda Italy. The primary sponsor of the conference was Ascovilo is the Association of Consorzi Tutela Vini Lombardi DOCG, DOC and IGT, a voluntary consortia for the protection of Lombardy wines.
The Lombardi wine region is situated in one of Italy’s largest and most populous regions in the central north of the country. My experience with the region prior to the conference was the high-quality sparkling wines of Franciacorta, Pinot Nero from Oltrepo Pavese, the elegant red-fruited wines of Valtellina, and the delightful, and the often compelling white wines of Lugana.
Lombardy is a large and geographically complex region that offers a wide range of wine styles, and is home to five DOCG , 21 DOC and 15 IGP titles.
Lugana, a white wine region is one of Lombardy’s 21 DOC’s.
I took part the Lugana pre-conference excursion, which was hosted by Ca’ dei Frati, the region’s largest producer. The experience exceeded my lofty expectations, primarily because I had the opportunity, for the first time to taste, quite a few sparkling Lugana wines from various producers, including Ca’ dei Frati.
The history of the Dal Cero family behind Ca’ dei Frati dates back to 1782. In 1939, Felice , son of Domenico, formerly a wine grower in Montecchia di Crosara near Verona, moved to Lugana in the Sermione district known as the place of the Friars, and established what would become Ca’ dei Frati.
Retracing their roots in Verona, the birthplace of their father Pietro, the Dal Cero family offers one of Italy’s most emblematic DOCG red wines –Amarone della Valpolicella – an intensely flavored dry red wine made from dried (passito) grapes in the Veneto region (refer to map above).
The 2015 Cà dei Frati Amarone della Valpolicella Pietro dal Cero is my Wine of the Day.
We purchased this wine from the winery with intention of bringing it home with us, and pairing it with a sumptuous meals and friends.
But that didn’t happen.
After the conference was over, we started a tour that includes stops in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia.
Well, after a couple of days in Prague (the Czech Republic consumes more beer on a per capita basis than anywhere in the world!) consuming mostly beer (I’d rather drink beer than uninspiring wine – you know…the whole “life is too short to drink bad wine thing;-), we couldn’t take it anymore, and opened up this wine to preserve our vinous sanity!
This wine is a blend of Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Croatina. It was raised in barriques for 24 months, followed by 12 months in steel and 24 in bottle.
Tasting note: Opaque ruby color with Morello cherry liqueur, smoke, clove, smoke, dark chocolate, with hint of licorice, leather and black tea aromas. On the palate, it’s fully bodied, nicely buoyed by bright acidity and gauzy tannins It shows macerated ripe Morello cherry, red plum, strawberry, spice, bittersweet chocolate flavors with a long finish. ABV – 16%| SRP – 58€|90 pts
Yes, that’s a glass tumbler we’re drinking from, but after aforementioned failed attempt to get a satisfying glass of red wine in Prague, we would’ve drank this very satisfying wine out of a paper cup!
Stay tuned for more coverage of my experiences at the Wine Media Conference!
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