Manet Community Health Center on June 9, 2022 is holding its annual fundraiser, June Bloom. https://www.manetchc.org/june-bloom/ There will be a “wine pull” with 100 bottles of wine for guests to “win” a bottle after purchasing a chance for $25. The above wines are four of the wines that will be included in the wine pull, all with a value far in excess of $25. I have visited three of the wineries; but not the winery that produces the Barolo wine. Below are description of the wineries.
Galardi SRL Terra di Lavoro 2014
In the early 1990’s on their family estate, four cousins — Maria Luisa Murena, Arturo and Dora Celentano, and Francesco Catello and Maria’s husband Roberto Salvaggi — with the assistance of renowned wine consultant Richard Cotarella began to bottle their wine. Galardi, as did many other Southern Italian wineries, stopped supplying grapes to large producers. The Galardi estate, which has been owned by the family for over 150 years, has been transformed into an internationally acclaimed winery https://www.galardi.net/ Over the past 30 years, Galardi has established itself as a leading producer of wine made with a blending of the aglianico and piedirosso grapes. Its flagship wine, Terra di Lavoro, has received the coveted and prestigious tre bicchieri award from the Italian wine guide Gambero Rosso nearly every year since 1999. Galardi has received many other prestigious awards which, coupled with its limited production of about 33,000 bottles, gives Terra di Lavoro cult status.
Galardi vineyard is located at an elevation of 400 meters on a summit which is kept cool in evenings by a sea breeze from the nearby Gulf of Gaeta. From the summit, there is a panoramic view of the countryside and on a clear day the Gulf is visible. The soil, like that of many Campania wineries, has been influenced by ashes from an extinct volcano, Mount Roccamonfina. The enriched soil, warm days, and cool
evenings create an ideal growing condition for the indigenous aglianico and piedirosso grapes.
The winery is tucked away in the northwest corner of Campania in the frazione of San Carlo (1,000 inhabitants). One must drive through several of the small frazioni that comprise the town of Sessa Aurunca to reach Galardi.
When we visited ten years ago, Maria Luisa Murena gave us a tour of the cellar and vineyard and highlighted that Galardi’s chemical free, natural viticulture is certified organic. She then invited us to her home located on the estate (her cousins also have homes on the estate) for a tasting
of the Terra di Lavoro 2009 vintage. Maria Luisa provided a condensed family history. Her late husband was a baron. Her family has direct links to the Spaniards that ruled the Naples Kingdom prior to the Bourbon reign. In fact her last name, Murena, is of Spanish origin.
Luigi Tecce Viticultore Poliphemo Taurasi 2015
Luigi Tecce was not groomed to be a farmer or winemaker. After graduating from college, he worked in Rome as an assistant to a member of the Italian parliament. Suddenly in 1997 his father died and it caused Luigi to return home to take care of the family property, which included olive trees, goats, sheep, and of course vines. Luigi produces about 10,000 bottles per year. The Poliphemo Taurasi ages in chestnut barrels for 40 days, followed by 24 months in 500 liter French barrels, then 12 months in stainless steel. Luigi
is unconventional. He makes wine by feel, not a prescribed method. He is not certified organic, as he does not want to bother with the bureaucracy. He recently joined social media. https://luigitecce.com/. Luigi devotes his energy to making wines. Luigi’s wines are the result of a careful selection of grapes in one of three harvests; one in early October, the grapes are not completely ripe, thus adding acidity and freshness, the majority of the grapes are picked in late October and the final harvest is in early November. Luigi’s winemaking philosophy is described on the back label of his wines, which translates into English as follows: no selected yeasts, no enzymes, no bacteria added to assist malolactic fermentation, no added tannins, no deacidifying, no clarifying, no filtering and no arabic gum added to the wine.
Vitivinicola Salvatore Molettieri Taurasi Riserva 2006
Salvatore Molettieri has spent much of his life in the family owned vineyard. In 1983 Salvatore was the first local farmer that decided to stop selling his family grapes to larger producers and produce his
his own wine. At first, he did not bottle his award winning wine. Salvatore’s first bottling of 7,225 bottles was in 1988 and available for sale in 1995. Now Salvatore and his four sons, Giovanni, Guiseppe, Luigi, and Paolo produce about 70,000 bottles per year. https://www.salvatoremolettieri.com/en/ They plan to expand to 100,000 bottles per year. The cantina, which is located in the Town of Montemarano, is a large nondescript warehouse that features a large, comfortable tasting area. His wines are noted for their intensity and high alcohol content. The wines achieve these traits in part due to a late harvest (the first or second week of November), higher elevation of the vineyard and Salvatore’s method of aging wine. For example, his flagship Taurasi, Vigna Cinque Querce Riserva, is aged as follows: 70% split evenly between Slovenian and French large oak barrels and 30% split two-thirds in small traditional French oak barrels and one-third in small specially made French oak barrels which are designed to draw out the tannins. On his website Salvatore describes this wine as deep ruby red, great complexity, fruits of sour cherry and prune jam, spicy and toasty notes and elegant tannins.
Azienda Agricola Silvio Grasso Bricco Luciani Barolo 2000
Before my focus on Southern Italian wines, I had a keen interest in Barolo wines. From 2000 to 2005 I had a collection of Barolo wines from many different producers; both those that are referred to as traditional and others referred to as modern from the different well known Barolo producing towns such as La Morra, Monforte d’Alba, Castiglione Falletto, Serralunga d’Alba and Barolo. I have not visited the Barolo wine region. In 2005 my cousin Michael Bonadies, a wine and hospitality expert, https://theageofideas.com/michael-bonadies/ encouraged me to move away from Barolo wines and direct my attention to Southern Italian wines. Michael explained, 17 years ago, that the quality of Southern Italian wines had improved, the price was one-half of Northern Italian wines and it is our heritage (our grandparents were born in Corleto Perticara, Potenza, Basilicata). While my pursuit of Southern Italian wines began in earnest in 2005, I still on occasion purchase Barolo wines. Silvio Grasso’s Bricco Luciani 2000 is one such purchase. http://www.silviograsso.com/en/homepage In the mid-1980s Alessio Federico started bottling wine from the family’s vineyards in La Morra. Today, Allessio, his wife Marilena and sons Silvio and Paolo assist in the production of the wine. Bricco Luciani ferments in stainless steel for 15 days and ages in large French oak barrels for 24 months, then ages 12 months in the bottle. Alessio is an organic producer that uses an integrated insect and disease control.
