Slow wine 2017

Slow Wine held their 2017 tour on February 1, 2017 in the downtown Eataly located in the World Trade Center. Slow Wine is a part of the Slow Food group that began in Italy at the site of a proposed McDonalds near Rome's Spanish Steps and close to the Trevi Fountain. A 1986 demonstration there began a movement that now includes among others, Slow Fish, Slow Cheese and Slow Meat.  

What follows is according to their web site- Slow Wine describes their beliefs:
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Slow Wine believes that wine, just as with food, must be good, clean, and fair — not just good.
Wine is an agricultural product, just like any of the foods we eat, and has an impact on the lives of the people who produce it, as well as on the environment – through pesticides, herbicides and excessive water consumption which are all commonplace in conventional wine production.
Through our guide, online magazine and international tour, we support and promote small-scale Italian winemakers who are using traditional techniques, working with respect for the environment and terroir, and safeguarding the incredible biodiversity of grape varieties that are part of Italy’s heritage.

I like that belief. Not just good but clean and fair. The world can use a bit more of that right now. 

Pieopan makes some of my favorite Soaves. This La Roca gets to spend some time in large barrels. That gives it a richness but it is in balance, the wood does not intrude. Their Soave Classico is bottled with a twist off rather than cork. At first they had to drop the Classico designation due to DOC rules. Things have changed, the alternate closures are OK now.

Eataly put out a great sampling of Italian specialties

All groups of pics are galleries. Click on one for full image

The team pouring wines from Cantina Della Volta

Cantina Della Volta in Emilia Romagna make some incredible Lambruscos and other wines. They  use the  champenoise méthode .  Several see lengthy maturation times. Slow Wine indeed. They have an animation about making sparkling wine. Click here to view. 

Monsanto celebrated their 50th harvest in 2012. They use only Italian varieties in making their Chiantis.

Both of the Fontodi reds were 100% Sangiovese. The Flaccianello come from outside of the Chianti region. 

I had a nice conversation with Joseph Di Marco, regional manager for Classica International. They represent Avignonesi. He explained that they have a new owner as of 2009 and that they are now using organic and biodynamic methods of farming. What I did not realize was that both of the Vino Nobiles present were 100% Sangiovese. Most Vino Nobiles are a blend of several allowed grapes. Jokingly I asked if he had any Vin Santo hiding under the table. Avignonesi makes the Holy Grail of all Vin Santos. Their Vin Santos have consistently received ratings of high 90's to 100 points. I knew the answer but had to ask. 

 The wines from Giovanni Almondo were presented by Stefano Almondo. His Arneis was really special. I went back for a second taste just to confirm how much I liked it.  After all the big reds it woke my palate up and showed some new dimensions. 

Cool presentation

 I became a member of the Wine Century Club many years ago. You need to have had wines from at least 100 different grape varieties to join. I love encountering new grapes and there were several I have not had.

Our new friend Veronica

Veronica presented several wines from Ronc Soreli and Rodaro. A nice line up of wines from northern Italy. 

​As usual at a tasting like this there are more wines than you can taste in a few hours. When you consider the time and effort that goes into making wine I feel you need to respect each one and not have your palate so burned out that they become a blur. You have to takes lots of breaks and refresh yourself. Slow Tasting if you will.  All in all this was as close to being in Italy as it gets this side of the Atlantic.

​ During the tasting a couple of things stood out. First, there were no prices listed in the wine list booklet. You could always ask if you wanted. There were wines I knew and had a good idea of their cost. Obviously Barolos, Brunellos, etc will have a higher price tag. But there were quite a few wines and producers I was not familiar with. Because of that I had no preconceived ideas about them. I enjoyed just tasting the wines without having any expectations about what should be in the glass. 

​Second, the quality level was very high across the board. There may have been a wine or two that didn't knock me out but I think I could have closed my eyes and grabbed any bottle and been happy with it. 


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This was my first trip to Eataly.  An amazing collection of all things Italian. From the pre tasting espresso to the salumi and cheeses I sampled it made me wish there was one near my home town. If I didn't have to take a rush hour train back to Connecticut I would have brought home more than just some cheeses. 

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And then there was this. 

I debated whether or not to include these images in this type of blog. Depending of the exit you take from the World Trade Center you may come upon the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 site. I think it is best we never forget so I put them in.