Wine Masters • Season 2, Italy
Farmhouse TV & Film production after the first Wine Masters Season France is now releasing the second season about Italy.
The different episode going from North to South of the Italian boot, discovery, and documentary the wine history of this country.
The team of Klaas de Jong the producer, after a marvelous documentary about France wines, this time with 5 episodes go deeply into the heart of the different characters of the fines 5 wines region of Italy. Family tradition, attachment to the grapes varieties and terroir of the region and, the marketing structure of the business.
Like the first season, all the episode are moderated by experts of wine with worldwide accolade and recognition.
Two of them are holding the famous and prestigious title MW (Master of Wine)
- Richard Hemming https://www.richardhemmingmw.com/
- Sarah Hellen http://sarahheller.com/
The third person is Burton Anderson from the USA, he is the former editor of the International Herald Tribune in Paris. He lives in Italy and writes about wine, food, and travel. The New York Times called him "the leading authority on Italian wines writing in English".
This 3 exceptional personality give to the episodes tips, knowledge and an easy way to understand the complexity of this country.
1st episode is about the most important denomination of Piedmont the Langhe area.
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| Gaia Gaja |
Langhe is an area between the towns of Cuneo and Asti, a territorial Denomination, a category based on careful selection of grapes in the vineyard. For example, the Nebbiolo which produces grapes for the production of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero and Nebbiolo d’Alba.
Thanks to their high quality, Langhe wines have earned an important place in the world market.
In the episode, Sarah Hellen MW gives an outstanding explanation of the etymology of the term; Langhe coming from the dialect in Piedmont, tongue in English. This word reference describes the hills covers in vineyards sequence to each other which form in a landscape prospects a long tongue create by mother nature.
The family chosen to represent the Langhe is Gaja located in the heart of Barbaresco.
Angelo Gaja interviewed is undoubtedly an icon of Italian wines, a man able with his wines to make his winery and the Italian enology into the world map. He talks with a lot of charisma and explains all his adventure since his father Giovanni in 1961 handed the winery over him. Angelo is focusing around quality and without comprising the image of the business, all his works are attached on traditional grapes varieties mainly Nebbiolo and the brand GAJA. Along with his children, Rosanna, Gaja, and Giovanni the story continues with slight changes but keeping the traditional method of the family history. Interesting is the discussion about single vineyards site as their top single cru Barbaresco Sori Tildin and Sori San Lorenzo, respectively Roncagliette cru for Soti Tildin and Secondine for Sori San Lorenzo. His main achievement was to establish to the market the high quality of Barbaresco always be the shade of the King of Nebbiolo Barolo; this has been done very successfully.
2nd episode is Mastroberardino in the Irpinia place located in the Campania region in the south of Italy.
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| Piero Mastroberardino |
The Mastroberardino winery is one of the oldest and most important realities of Campania, who have become a point of reference in the Italian wine scene. The origins of this family activity date back to the mid-eighteenth century and the winery was officially founded in 1878 in the town of Avellino, by Angelo Mastroberardino, great-grandfather of the current owner. From the end of the nineteenth century, after the Phylloxera disaster that destroyed part of the vineyards, the family engaged in a long process of replanting indigenous grape varieties and the typicality of Irpinia. The same commitment and passion have been passed to his son Piero.
Piero, talk about the philosophy of the winery, according to the beauty of the land where they are situated.
His job is to focus on the vineyard's site and in the cellar. Driven by the desire to best express the excellence and the terroir of Irpinia, with Aglianico, Fiano, and Greco di Tufo. A special predilection is for the expression of Taurasi, on which the family was the first great promoter throughout the world. Taking on a pioneering role rediscovering this gem.
Today Mastroberardino is a winery known throughout the whole world.
To rediscover the origins of the Campania wines led the Mastroberardino family, in the 90s, to take a project called "Villa Dei Misteri". They planted a vineyard in the archaeological site of Pompeii, studying the oldest wine technique was done in this old city.
The passion, the desire to rediscover their roots and to translate this research into excellent results have remained the fundamental criteria of all production, the result of an extraordinary combination of history, legend, tradition, and modernity.
The 3rd episode is about the family Antinori in the heart of Chianti Classico in Tuscany.
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| Marchese Antinori |
The Antinori family has been dedicated to wine production for more than six hundred years making them the oldest family winemakers in the world: since 1385. Throughout its long history, Giovanni di Piero Antinori and the family has always managed this activity directly with innovative and sometimes courageous choices, but always maintaining respect for traditions and the territory. Tradition, passion, and intuition were the driving qualities that led the Marquises Antinori to establish themselves in Italy and in the world.
The Antinori company produce a year around 22 million bottles with 45% dedicated to the Santa Cristina line the rest is the other estates as Solaia, Tignanello and more than 10 company.
Piero in the episode explains with his verve and energy the aims of his project, executing the vintage characteristic mirroring the importance of the soil creating an example of excellent and stunning wines.
Through his benchmark Tignanello and Solaia create something unique a category of wines which the press named with a neologism "Supertuscan". The Antinori family forced the law to redesign the appellation allowing Sangiovese to be blend with other varieties especially with international french varieties or like Solaia a completely Bordeaux Blend.
On the screen is completely outstanding admire the beauty of the winery architecture which the family builds in synergy with nature, a total beauty which creates a desire to be there.
The 4th episode the Masi family in Valpolicella Veneto region.
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| Sandro Boscaini |
The Masi story began in 1772 when the Boscaini family acquired prestigious vineyards in the small valley called “Vaio Dei Masi”, which is the origin of the company’s name. After more than 200 years of passionate winemaking, the company is still in family hands, run by the sixth and seventh generations.
The Valpolicella is a beautiful area a valley cover with indigenous grapes these are Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara, and Oseleta.
In this chapter Raffaele Boscaini, translate from the Latin language the world Valpolicella which stand for a valley of many cellars. To give an understanding of the tradition of winemaking in this region is going back from centuries.
The Masi family is famous for being the pioneer of the Appassimento method, a technique of producing Amarone, Masi constantly has been practiced this Appasimento. An old practice since the time of the Ancient Romans.
The Appasimento consists of drying harvested grapes, traditionally on bamboo racks or straw mats, for a few weeks up to several months to concentrate the sugars and flavors.
This ancient technique gives to the Amarone an extra dimension. Burton Anderson describes Amarone "wines for meditation". In fact, the glass in your hands gives you ethereal notes which let you sit on it and meditate.
Burton explains how this Amarone was developed by a mistake. A wine always made to be sweet throughout the drying grapes process, but one day the fermentation went to an end converting all the sugar to 0. This little mistake creates a kind of new wine.
As the episode going on, the moderated explain how the Boscaini family create the Ripasso Valpolicella to make a baby Amarone into the market, succeeding with the Campofiorin label.
Ripasso method is a technique that is done by the “re-passing” of the Valpolicella wine on the dried grape skins of Amarone, still warm and rich in sugar. The Valpolicella remains in contact with the pomace of Amarone for 10/12 days; during this period, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs.
Ripasso method gives to Valpolicella wine a better structure and a lower acidity, it is more rounded and it is suitable for aging in barrels.
The Boscaini family tell the story of when the cru Serego Alghieri was brought, perhaps the oldest vineyard of the Amarone area. This vineyard is made up with the least important varieties of Valpolicella "Molinara", very old vines, a Prefilloxera site.
The 5th and last episode is Sicily and the winery is the Tasca D'Almerita project.
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| Alberto Tasca |
Tasca D'Almerita is definitely a pioneer of Sicilian winemaking, they've organized their production by location and different terroir to create the best-representing wines from the Island of Sicily.
From the historic Regaleali to their most recent acquisition, Sallier de la Tour in Monreale area, along with Capofaro, Mozia, and Tascante on the slope of Mongibello on the Etna.
In the episode, the family talks about expressing the differentiation of Terroir and microclimate of this incredible region can offer to a wine consumer.
Richard Hemming and Sarah Hellen give a terrific explanation of how the extreme climate condition of Sicily. Between elevation or particular vineyards situated in the proximity of the sea or a mountain range in the Island, can achieve a different style of wines, create a very dynamic wine region.
Alberto Tasca confirms their theory of the two MW. Definitely let understand the audience, as the family creates a certain synergy and energy to elevate in the glass the possible best example their land can give to the consumer.
The Tasca family works with several varieties which originate from this Island and those are Nero D'Avola, Grillo, Nerello Mascalese, Perricone...
This family has been work with these grapes for a long time. They have been experiment with single sites, a different type of oaks Cherry, Chestnut, Slavonian and French Barrique to have a certain level of quality and elegance. Create smooth and silky wines.
When the cannoli are made in the film, showing the rural part of Sicily with the Sheppard brings the sheep to the field and make the cheese, is very fascinated.
Interesting is the description of the Cuvee Rosso del Conte the first single vineyard site of Sicily from the vintage 1970 a blend of Nero D'Avola and Perricone, also the discussion about the wines from the volcano Etna with his black soil and very high altitude.
Watching this chapter through the shooting is so fascinating and the family of Tasca is certainly a great reality of this exceptional wine region.
I definitely recommend this Series of Winemaster to get a better understanding of the wines of this country and be fascinating by the beautiful image, this cinematic crew can achieve with the editing and the filming.
Best
raffaele mastrovincenzo
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raffaelemastrovincenzo.blogspot.com.au
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wine / spirit / lambic / drinker
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