This week we are featuring wines from a great Italian producer, Roberto Bricolo, whose cultivation technique still reflects the traditional methods practiced in the local area like the use of organic fertilizers, young vineyards kept free of weeds by plowing. Harvest, which is almost entirely manual, takes 30-45 days to allow the grapes of special estates to fully ripen. The vinification cellar in particular is personally managed by the owner who relies on the professional expertise of a trustworthy oenologist in order to rediscover the production of wines expressing their own authentic tradition, rather than submitting to the denaturing fashions of modern winemaking.
Gorgo Custoza Perlato Spumante – full and well-rounded, off-dry sparkling
2006 Gorgo Montecroce Veneto Cabernet Merlot – a beautiful Bordeaux-style expression
2010 Gorgo Montecroce Veronese Syrah Cab Merlot – an interesting and powerful experience
Wine Tastings daily for $5, waived with any bottle purchase
Free Tasting Saturdays! from 11am to 2pm
Pepper’s Pro-tip: Don’t smell the cork! In restaurant settings, you’ll frequently see diners when presented cork, pick it up and smell it. The purpose of the cork presentation is to give you a visual inspection, to make sure it is not dried out, or that the wine hasn’t leaked up the sides of the cork indicating possible oxidation. There is a ‘wet cardboard’ smell associated with a certain bacteria, TCA, that is associated with the cork itself and causes the condition of ‘corked’ wine. If you want to determine this smell, you should smell the tasting pour presented in the wine glass though, not the residual wine on the cork itself.