Abruzzo, the beautiful land of warm and kind Vignerons

originally posted by Todd Abrams:
Nice pics, Levi. Did you also hit Ristorante La Bandiera while you were there? Seems like the place to go when in Abruzzo visiting winemakers. I'm still dreaming of the "cappuccino" egg.
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No, the majority of the time I ate with the Pepe family at their place. We did venture out a few times, but not to La Bandiera.
 
originally posted by Todd Abrams:
... Ristorante La Bandiera while you were there? Seems like the place to go when in Abruzzo visiting winemakers. I'm still dreaming of the "cappuccino" egg.
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With that list a room is a must...
 
my first pecorino experience was in rome this past april. the 2010 emedio pepe pecorino was a delight to drink. may have been the best wine i drank on vacation. the nuances are lost to memory but it was stand out among many excellent wines that week.
 
Just how many pecorino's are out there? I had one about a decade ago from a producer I can't remember where the blurb was that they "rescued a lost variety".
It was ok, but nothing special and nothing I would say could age for any lengthy bit of time.
 
originally posted by MarkS:
Just how many pecorino's are out there? I had one about a decade ago from a producer I can't remember where the blurb was that they "rescued a lost variety".
It was ok, but nothing special and nothing I would say could age for any lengthy bit of time.
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One of the main reasons I recently visited Cristiana Tiberio in Abruzzo was because I fell in love with her Pecorino. A combination of rich texture and energy with grass, flowers, salt, stone, and sunshine. We tasted a 2006 at the winery and it was singing, depth and maturity with all the muscle of the current vintage.
 
originally posted by Levi Dalton:

No, the majority of the time I ate with the Pepe family at their place. We did venture out a few times, but not to La Bandiera.
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Levi, what a treat to eat at a place with a great cook, Grandma Rosa, and charming sommelier , Granpa Emidio Pepe. The Pepe family is so nice.
 
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Pasta making with Rosa.

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Emidio cleaned his plate.
 

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originally posted by Levi Dalton:
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Pasta making with Rosa.

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Emidio cleaned his plate.
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Beautiful hands on that rolling pin. The beauty of work and accomplishment and age.
 

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Hi Trung, great post and pictures! We're all really happy to have Stefano's wines in the Grand Cru portfolio.

We don't yet sell the wines in Boston, there just isn't enough to go around. If you need help finding some bottles, feel free to reach out. b@grandcruselections.com

originally posted by Trung H Nguyen:
Abruzzo, the beautiful land of warm and kind VigneronsAbruzzo is a peaceful and marvelous place with kind and generous people. Last month we visited Abruzzo for a couple days and had a marvelous time. The first night, we had dinner at La Bandiera with our local friend Stefano and his wife Eloisa. While we were chatting and drinking a 2011 Valentini Trebbiano, a quiet gentleman stopped by our table and say Hi to us. I was in shock when Stefano told me that the gentleman is Francesco Valentini.
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It just happened that Francesco was coming to La Bandiera for dinner with his family and Stefano is his good friend. My second shock of the night was when the Sommelier, Alessio, came to our table with a bottle and told us that Francesco would like us to taste his 1967 Trebbiano. Alessio came back again later on and this time Francesco offered us his 1974 Motepulciano d'Abruzzo.
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I was completely speechless in front of the kindness of a legendary Vigneron such as Francesco Valentini.

The next day Stefano invited us to visit his family vineyard in Loreto Aprutino. Ten years ago, Stefano decided to leave his law practice in Bologna to become a vigneron in Abruzzo. Stefano renovates his wife's family farm/vineyard and starts bottling de Fermo wine. Stefano applies biodynamic principles to his vineyards.
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Stefano 2011 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo was just gorgeous. I asked Stefano what did Francesco Valentini thought about your 2011 Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Stefano told me: "When Francesco tasted my wine his facial expression became serious and that made me very nervous because Francesco can be critical at time. Then Francesco quietly said to me: "Stefano, when I drink your wine with my eyes closed, I thought that I'm drinking my own wine." and I had tears come down my eyes...

On our way to our next stop Torano Nuovo, we stopped by a seaside restaurant, Il Palmizio, that Stefano recommended for fresh sea food. At that restaurant you can drink the Valentini Trebbiano and Montepulciano for respectively 12 and 20 per 0.75l carafe. When Valentini thinks that the wine is not up to his perfectionist standard for bottling, Valentini would sell the Sfurso or un-bottle wine in bulk to his lucky friends and restaurants.

Our next stop, Emidio Pepe agriturismo, is located near the beautiful and peaceful town of Torano Nuova. The view from EP place is stunning, with the town on the other hill and the Montepulciano old vines vineyard for the Riseva in front of the EP complex. The regular Montepulciano are from different vineyards.
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I was happy to have finally met Mr. Emidio Pepe and the Pepe family. Mr. Emidio Pepe is very proud that his 1974 Trebbiano is still golden color.
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Abruzzo is so peaceful and beautiful and the Vignerons are so warm and kind.
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De Fermo "Don Carlino" 2014 at AltaLinea* on a rare not muggy NYC day. Delightful. rich and almost oily at first and then all citrus, chalky and stoney at the middle and (the really, really long) finish. This along with the nice breeze, despite the occasional truck up 10th Ave, makes for a very excellent lunch.

*the name is painful. It is the courtyard resto at the newish Highline Hotel (formerly the Nelson Mandela visitor center at the general theological Seminary). The high line is nearby.
 
originally posted by kirk wallace:
Not Abruzzo, but .....De Fermo "Don Carlino" 2014 at AltaLinea* on a rare not muggy NYC day. Delightful. rich and almost oily at first and then all citrus, chalky and stoney at the middle and (the really, really long) finish. This along with the nice breeze, despite the occasional truck up 10th Ave, makes for a very excellent lunch.

*the name is painful. It is the courtyard resto at the newish Highline Hotel (formerly the Nelson Mandela visitor center at the general theological Seminary). The high line is nearby.
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Kirk, very nice way to enjoy life with the De Fermo Pecorino over a leisure lunch. I had the De Fermo Launegild Chardonnay over seafood dinner and thoroughly enjoy the not- from Burgundy Chardonnay. In fact the De Fermo Chardonnay standed up quite well against The 2011 Simon Bize Bourgogne "Les Perrieres". I was also amazed how much I enjoyed the slightly oxidative style Chardonnay 2012 "Dolium" from Ganevat (thanks Mike Lawton).
 
Great travelogue, Trung. Sometimes I think Agriturismo is Italy's greatest economic contribution to the world.

Great pics from both you and Levi. Especially the soccer ball in the vineyard. Did you know that most Italian varieties are easier to harvest? You just brush against them, and they fall to the ground, calling for a yellow card. Sorry, couldn't resist (still recovering from the Eurocup).
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
Great travelogue, Trung. Sometimes I think Agriturismo is Italy's greatest economic contribution to the world.

Great pics from both you and Levi. Especially the soccer ball in the vineyard. Did you know that most Italian varieties are easier to harvest? You just brush against them, and they fall to the ground, calling for a yellow card. Sorry, couldn't resist (still recovering from the Eurocup).
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Thanks Christian. Yes Kudo to Levi for great photos and pertinent Abruzzo's infos.

I did enjoy Eurocup a lot too and Portugal finally won a title. Hope you follow Olympic Soccer.
 
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