Filling cups at @twotoneams 11th birthday this Friday.
Proud to be part of the celebrations — stacked lineup, soulful cooking, tattoos and good people!
Roll through for a pour. 🍷
Many varieties go by the name ‘Albillo’ across much of Spain, meaning it's a hot mess of genetic diversity to untangle. Such as it goes for a broadly definitive word like Alba of which the name derives, meaning ‘white’. That, and it has been around since at least the 15th century.
Regarding Albillo Real, there are approximately 400 hectares, primarily in Ávila, Madrid and Ribera del Duero, as best can be determined. This variety is vigorous and sprawling, but it has limited yields, requiring careful pruning. Albillo Real bears fruit earlier than many other plants, making it more susceptible to birds. It is generally hardy against pests, diseases, and drought but sensitive to frost. When managed properly, its wine can be aromatic, balanced, and deep golden in colour. It is best harvested when the potential alcohol content is between 13-13.5%. At lower levels, the wines can taste neutral; at higher levels, they lose acidity and balance. The most successful plantings are located at higher elevations in sandier granitic soils. Maintaining this variety is a chore, making the good wines produced from it, such as those by @vinosambiz , particularly special.
#nativegrapes #spanishwine #raregrapes #albilloreal #ávila #riberadelduero
🇮🇹 Soft-spicy orange wine from the indigenous grape variety Vespaiola. Davide Andreatta (Il Ceo) champions the variety in this region with his seventy year old vines. With it he attests that it extracts more from the volcanic soils of Breganze's hills than any foreign plant. Intense and complex. @ilceovini
In the heart of Kvaliti (Imereti, Georgia), Archil Guniava, carries forth a family tradition deeply rooted in winemaking. With a heritage that spans generations, Archil's expertise is deeply ingrained in the ancient practices of his ancestors. Tsolikauri, Tsitska, Krakhuna, Otskhanuri Sapere, and Dzelshavi are just some of the traditional Imeretian varieties that he grows.
Utilizing an age-old tree trunk press, over a century old, Archil employs traditional methods that have been passed down through the ages. Nestled beside his home lies Archil's marani, housing a collection of 17 kvevris of varying sizes, ranging from 100L to 2000L. Despite the winery's establishment in 1928, the marani itself is much older, with the kvevris estimated to be several hundred years old. The operation is predominantly manual, with the family favoring the human touch over heavy machinery. Archil holds firm against chemical usage, advocating for minimal intervention in harmony with nature to achieve top-quality results.
𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰 has a long history in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, dating back centuries. It often produces wines with bright acidity, floral aromas, and citrus flavours. Terret Blanc is known for its ability to thrive in warm, Mediterranean climates with poor, rocky soils. In regions where other grape varieties may struggle with heat or drought, this one is finding renewed salvage with vignerons. It can add acidity, freshness, and complexity to blends.
This genetically unstable variety sometimes bursts all three berry colours within the same cluster. Its mutation-sibling Terret noir is one of Châteauneuf-du-Pape’s accepted grapes and its gris sibling, was once the most planted variety in Languedoc.
🇮🇹 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙖 is a variety indigenous to the Scandiano area in Emilia-Romagna. Here it finds an ideal habitat in soils rich in clay and chalk and can resist dryness. It's been growing in this region in the zones of the Colli di Scandiano and Canossa since the 15th century, although plantings of the variety are now very low, being displaced by more popular white wine varieties such as Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It's unmistakable personality after an extended maceration makes it one to grab with the Parmigiano Reggiano.
The orange wine, ex Plana 2022 from Podere Pradarolo is on the money.
Sharing wine quicker than we share photos. Happy 9 1/4 birthday to @twotoneams and thanks to Jon and the team for having us at the 9th birthday party. Glasses filled, swilled and spilled
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Frederico Machado and Ricardo Alves have been making wine in Bemposta, Mogadouro since 2017 after stumbling across some unkempt old field blend vineyards. They brokered responsibility for the plots in exchange for grapes and have now extended their production beyond Bemposta, which has no white wine vineyards. Busy exploring the different soils, altitudes, aspects and interrogating grapes of uncertain identity, their range is broadening in representation of what the region has to offer.
They aim to produce authentic wines based on regional varieties, old vineyards, traditional techniques, and a degree of innovation. They are Arribas Wine Company, so-called because they feel a greater connection to the Spanish DOC of Arribes on the opposite banks of the river Douro than to Trás-os-montes’ Planalto Mirandês sub-region, where they are based. This owing to their vineyards being located on steeply raked granite boulder-strewn hills where they ripen more slowly, not the planalto (plateau). Arribas also mentors and assists the people who want to make wine within the area. Their most noteworthy initiative is called the PROJECT BELFO. The word ‘Belfo’ is slang for someone that speaks with their mouth full, which is a feeling they aim to provoke each year. With this initiative, they partner with others locally to promote what else their community has to offer.
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The rare Terrets Gris & Blanc grapes from L'absurde Génie des Fleurs in Languedoc are mingled with their skins for more than a week and spontaneously fermented in stainless steel tanks prior to pressing. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and with 11% alcohol. Vibrant, citrusy and herbaceaus - best drunk in one sitting.
🇮🇹 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙤 remains across approximately 750 hectares of vines, mostly in its home of Sicily. It is a light, aromatic cherry-coloured red, likened to Beaujolais. Muscled out by higher yeilding and international varieties, those who realise its true worth are gaining back ground. Filippo Rizzo from Lamoresca crafts ours from his plot of clay, sandstone and silex in Sicily’s rugged interior.
🇵🇹 𝙂𝙤𝙪𝙫𝙚𝙞𝙤 was rescued from its near extinction in the 1970's and is now making some of the best rich and dry wines of the world. It thrives only in warm, dry, well-ventilated sites like that of the Douro Valley, Portugal.
Illustration by J. Troncy
Euro Native Wines is serving up again for Dox Under The Tracks, August 11th (18:00). Set by @ellazirina and @antoniosmorenos at @workspacesix .
RSVP: dox.amsterdam/dutt
