All of the wines tasted are farmed biodynamically, treating the soil as a living organism, little to no sulphur is used (although sulfites do naturally exist in wine, so these aren't necessarily "sulfite-free"), and the wines are made without the use of high-priced consultants.
"borrowed" from joedressner.com
The stars of the show were Pietro Vergano (second from right), Alessandra Bera (third from left), and Arianna Occhipinti (left).
Pietro Vergano, from Chinati Vergano is a chemist-turned-distiller. He makes Chinato, a mixture of wine, spirits, sweeteners, and spices. Although his Chinato is not what one would expect to find at a "traditional" wine tasting, these were a big hit with everyone who tried them. The room was abuzz with, "Try table eight (his table) first!". The gang from 116 Crown were called in for their opinions, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see Chinati Vergano on their menu soon.
Pietro, who distills spirits from organic grains, offered three variations of Chinato...
The Chinati Vergano Americano ($$$) uses wines from Piedmont mixed with the Absinthe herb, among other spices. We tasted it first, and found it to be a cornucopia of pie spices with a nice sweet finish. Pietro then, excited, threw some ice cubes and orange zest into our glasses and poured more Americano. The difference was amazing, and this is an aperitif that is a MUST TRY.
The Chinati Vergano Luli Chanato Moscato ($$$-$$$$) was, obviously, a moscato d'asti based chinato, sweetened with local sugar and infused with cinnamon, quinine, and corriander. The moscato actually comes from Allesandra and Gianluigi Bera (their moscato was one of the big hits of the show).
The Chinati Vergano Chinato Nebbiolo ($$$-$$$$) features a base of Nebbiolo d'Alba from Barbaresco, which is usually a red wine on the heartier side. This was infused with Rhubarb, Cardamom, and Quinine, as well as a host of other spices, but it gets kind of tough to follow that accent. This Chinato was more of a digestif, and I can picture myself with this at the end of a long day, reading a book, wearing my smoking jacket.
I need to get a smoking jacket.
Alessandra Bera, from Bera Vittorio & Figli, is a rebellious woman. Teaming up with her brother, they make Moscato without "gassing up the wine" (normal practice), instead using spontaneous refermentation by keeping the wine on it's lees for up to a year.
The Bera Moscato d'Asti ($$), while not her only showing, was definitely her best. Most of the attendees felt this was the best white wine at the show. It offered the fruit nose typical of Moscato, but had copious amounts of honey on the palate. The wine was "super-carbonated" for a Moscato, but it was not a hindrance. Instead, it just made me want more. This could've been the most dangerous wine in attendance. This wine, while scarce, is a MUST BUY.
Arianna Occhipinti, from Az. Agr. Arianna Occhipinti, doesn't know it yet, but will be my future wife. (Ha!) Besides being a young, attractive, biodynamic producer from a long lineage of well-known winemakers, she made the best reds I tasted all night.
Her Occhipinti Sicilia Rosso IGT Nero d'Avola Siccagno ($$$$) was a soft and refined Nero d'Avola that still retained some of the heartier elements expected from the grape.
She then offered two vintages of Occhipinti Sicilia Rosso IGT Frappato, 2005 (N/A) and 2006 ($$$$, arrival in spring). I felt there was more fruit on the '06, and it turns out she picked the grapes 15 days later in the growing season than the '05. This longer ripening period translates to more complexity in the wine. The 2006 vintage was definitely my favorite, and offered barnyard and earthy notes on the nose, before giving way to an attack of strawberry on the palate. The finish was smooth and very long, long enough that I sat at the bar at 116 a few hours later without any wine in front of me -- I just couldn't bear to lose that taste. I would call this wine a MUST BUY, but for fear that others will buy the limited amount of this wine before I get any, I won't.
Keep an eye out for the Louis/Dressner logo on the backs of wine bottles, as the enjoyability of these wines is pretty much guaranteed. Dressner keeps his portfolio either Biodynamic or Organic, which is refreshing when most wines marketed as "organic" are just plain terrible.
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