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wine On The Grapevine
An Italian Gem
wineries
Wines of the exceptional terroir of Montalcino
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is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin Sanguis Jovis, the Blood of Jupiter. The local name for the Sangiovese grape is Brunello, which is also known as a handful of mutants of Sangiovese. The Col d’Orcia family have collected, over the years, more than 50,000 bottles of old vintages of Brunello di Montalcino and have carefully preserved them in their cellars. In addition to Brunello di Montalcino, the Col d’Orcia also produces Rosso degli Spezieri, a blend of sangiovese with merlot and a local variety, a product of which is meant for early consumption and has to be slightly chilled. The vineyard also produces Rosso di Montalcino that the Count dubbed “the lunchtime Brunello”, as well as Banditella, which falls between the Rosso and the full-bore Brunello. “We harvest earlier than anyone else in Montalcino, aiming for lower yields and greater intensity,” says the Count. As special guest and vintner, Count Francesco explained about the Col d’Orcia wineries; he mentioned that there were a number of important factors that determined
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ount francesco is a wine connoisseur and is part of the Col d’Orcias, a noble family famous for its longstanding tradition of winemaking that dates back to the 17th century. It all started in 1992, when Count Francesco inherited the Col d’Orcia estate and company from his father, Enrico Marone Cinzano of the Col d’Orcia (meaning the hill overlooking the Orcia River), and soon became its chairman. Located on the southern slope of the Montalcino territory in Italy, Col d’Orcia is a small architectural gem, set in a landscape of rare beauty, and is one of the oldest companies in the area. As special as it is, Col d’Orcia is also classified as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site for its artistic, natural, and cultural beauties. The estate itself extends over 540 hectares, and Count Francesco was used to define the Terroir of Col d’orcia as a land gifted in the production of great wines. Nowhere else than Montalcino does the Sangiovese grape attain such heights. Sangiovese
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To explore the Col d’Orcia wineries, last October, Lobo Restaurant proudly hosted an exclusive wine dinner with Count Francesco Marone Cinzano. tyara p. hansel reports
the higher quality of Col d’Orcia wines in comparison to other brands. Such factors, the Count continued, consisted of manual harvest, detailed selection process, research and development, and tradition and team work. The fermentation process of Col d’Orcia wines is conducted in temperature-controlled, stainless-steel tanks that are shaped in the way that ensures optimal and delicate extraction of high-quality ingredients, such as polyphenols and colouring matters. The ageing-in-wood process takes place in Slavonian and in selected French oaks. The size of the barrels and the time of ageing may vary according to the characteristics of each batch. For some wines, ageing in wood can take as long as four years. “Then, the bottles are kept for further ageing on the estate until the refinement process is completed. Therefore, we can really state that each bottle of our wine is handcrafted,” the Count proudly explains. The exclusive dinner began at 7:00 pm. Guests were served with cocktails and canapés before they settled into their seats for a scrumptious, fivecourse meal prepared by Chef Mariano Liuzza. A starter of tranches of poached lobster on blood orange fillets with caviar crème fraiche, paired with a glass of Pinot Grigio Sant ‘Antimo DOC 2009, helped to whet everyone’s appetite—followed by a plate of Tuscan cannellini bean soup that came with truffle, chorizo, and basil oil. The soup was paired with Spezieri Toscana I.G.T, 2009. The entrees included orecchiette pasta—with yellow fin tuna chunks, sliced red onions, cappers, and fresh roman tomato concasse—and Medallions of Victoria veal tenderloin with root
Nowhere else than Montalcino does the Sangiovese grape attain such heights vegetables and Genovese hand-made gnocchi and thyme-infused port wine juice. While a glass of Chianti Gineprone DOCG, 2008, went perfectly with the mouth-watering pasta, the renowned Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG, 2005, made a great pairing with the veal tenderloin. The dessert was homemade rhubarb tart, flavoured with fresh vanilla bean and rum-raisin ice cream on a triplesauce display. This was paired with Rosso Di Montalcino DOC, 2008. Count Francesco claimed that he was quite liberal with regard to the wine pairing (we have to admit the night offered one of the best pairings we ever tried). “Mediterranean woodlands are very rich in spices. Many herbs, such as sage, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, and wild garlic, are used in the Mediterranean cuisine. So if you use sage, for example—even in a dish as simple as ravioli with butter, any wine that comes from a vineyard whose grape is planted nearby the sage tree will go well with the ravioli dish,” the Count explained. Count Francesco’s passion for wine was inspiring, and the wine dinner was truly exceptional—it was indeed a haven for any oenophile and serious gourmand.
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THE ITALIAN JOB clockwise from top
An exclusive wine and dine evening; The owner of one of the largest and best-known wine estates in Montalcino