Moser 51,151 is an interesting bottle, not only because it is a lovely traditional method sparkling wine from Trentodoc, but because of the origin of the name.
51,151 is reflective of Francesco Moser's setting the Hour Record in cycling in 1984, the same year that the family winery started making traditional method sparkling wine from Chardonnay!
A wine with a history to match? We're in for this one.
I have to admit, my experience with Trentodoc sparkling wines has been fairly limited. My first time I think I ever had one was on my WSET Diploma D4 exam, and since then, well, that was it. Truly, it was a region of sparkling wines that I knew very little about!
So when I had the opportunity to try some sample bottles provided courtesy of Trentodoc, I was quite excited to learn more about their traditional method wines from the region.
Up first? Monfort's Le General Dallemagne Extra Brut from 2015. With 60 months of lees and a few more years of time in bottle on top, this was one stellar bottle!
Italy is one of those countries we go back to again and again in our quest to try new grapes, and the red grape, Susumaniello, from Puglia was high on our list.
Masseria Li Veli's Susumaniello was an interesting and complex red on the aromas that, admittedly, was a bit less complex on the palate than we would prefer. That said, if you are a fan of Cabernet, this one will be right up your alley!
As far as Italian red wines are concerned, Dolcetto is typically not the first bottle we reach for. Most entry-level bottles of this grape are made to be easy drinking, fruity wines which, while tasty, have not been for us.
It wasn't until we traveled to some excellent wineries in Piedmont, particularly in the Dogliani region known for world-class Dolcetto, that we became converts.
This is where we stumbled upon Pecchenino and their stellar lineup of ageable Dogliani. We brought several bottles home with us, and their Bricco Botti Dogliani Superiore 2019 was the first bottle we opened.
This is the kind of bottle we're glad to have bought extras of to age!
We have to admit we have a bit of a personal bias against Pinot Grigio.
The wine made from this grape, stylistically speaking at least, is just a bit too simple for our liking. Throw on that the Pinot Gris counterpart here is often just a bit more interesting, mainly because of where it is grown (Alsace, for example), means we generally just don't buy many bottles labeled Pinot Grigio outside of a few instances.
But, as always, we love trying name-brand bottles to see what they're all about, and we did just that with Cavit Pinot Grigio from Valdadige, Italy.
Although this one hit us with what we expected for a flavor profile (and dare we say, pretty spot on at that), this grape and style is still just not for us.
Our quest to try every grape varietal in the world has us on the lookout for Italy's hundreds if not thousands of varietals.
Naturally, when we found a bottle of Masseria Li Veli Verdeca from Puglia, we knew we had to give it a try.
With a lovely spread of fruit flavors and a decent intensity, this was certainly an interesting bottle!
We always love a red wine that we can sit around and discuss for quite some time, and the Gaglioppo grape from southern Italy makes for one such wine.
Librandi's Duca Sanfelice Ciro DOC Reserva certainly was an interesting one, and if you are a fan of Sangiovese, this grape (which is said to be a cross between that and another, unidentified grape) may be for you!
Kerner is an interesting white grape that was bred in 1929 and is a crossing between Riesling and Trollinger. Grown in cooler climates, this one is often found in Germany, Austira, Switzerland, and northern Italy- the latter where we found Abbazia di Novacella's Kerner from Alto Adige.
For those who like a white wine with light phenolic textures, this is one to seek out!
When we visited Piedmont wineries, our primary goal was to try as many Barolos as we could. But because Piedmont is home to so many wonderful grapes, we were fortunate enough to try several other varieties that we fell in love with.
One such grape was the more approachable Barbera, and E. Pira & Fligli's Barbera d'Alba Superiore is one we just had to bring home with us.
The intensity of this one is hard to beat!
When we went on our wine tour of Piedmont, we knew we were going to be drinking a lot of Barolo. But at the same time, we were also excited to try lesser produced grapes in the region as well.
Arneis was one such grape, and we came to fall in love with this gem for its beautiful complexity, texture, and approachability.
Cordero di Montezemolo's Arneis is one bottle we got the chance to bring home with us, and we opened it shortly thereafter.
