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2023 Harvest Reports Are In!
2023 Harvest Reports
<p>The 2023 vintage was certainly a mixed bag throughout Europe, particulaly in Italy where climactic hardships wrecked havoc troughout many regions. Whether is was a good or a bad year for the producers we represent, these harvest reports prove, as always, just how tireless and daunting their work is.</p>
<p>We are extremely fortunate to be able to represent this hard work year-in, year-out. So as we start our new year, let's give a big cheers to those who get the wine in our glasses! </p>
<p><a href="https://louisdressner.com/harvest-reports">You can go read all 31 2023 harvest reports here. </a></p>
Article
How does The New Website Work?
This is very exciting stuff!
<p><u><strong>Desktop vs Mobile:</strong></u></p>
<p>We know it's 2020 and people use their phones a lot. So we've worked hard on ensuring the site functions well on mobile (especially compared to what it once was). Having said that, desktop is the recommended way of perusing the site.</p>
<p><u><strong>Glossary:</strong></u></p>
<p>At its core, this has always been a website written for wine professionals *attempting* to glean information on the wines we import (and hopefully see a picture of the vigneron's dog). Since the language can be so technical, we've added an <glossary term="glossary" title="1427">interactive glossary</glossary> to the text for those unfamiliar with the baffllingly complex world of wine terminology. Even if you're a seasoned pro, it will frankly teach you a thing or two. And if you'd rather read the content without the glossary, simply head to the main menu bar and turn it off. </p>
<p> <u><strong>Our Wines Section: </strong></u></p>
<p>In the new "Our Wines" section, we've offered a variety of filter categories for you to explore and discover all the cuvées we import. These filters can be combined together to narrow down results. If you hit a wall, simply erase one of the filters or clear all filters. </p>
<p><u><strong>Actual Information About the Wines:</strong></u></p>
<p>Speaking of the wines, the number one complaint we would get from customers was the lack of technical information on the wines themselves. It's not a coincidence that we spend the vast majority of our energy focusing on the people behind the wines and their dogs; it's what we dig about what we do.</p>
<p>Having said that, 95% of the wines we import now have EXTREMELY detailed technical information, dare I say the most technical anywhere on the internet. Please enjoy now while they are up to date, knowing that half of these will probably be totally wrong by next vintage. </p>
<p><u><strong>Search:</strong></u></p>
<p>If you know what producer or wine you are searching for, the search should quickly autofill what you need. Go ahead, give it a whirl.</p>
<p><strong><u>Hyperlinks:</u></strong></p>
<p>Everything on the website has a hyperlink now. This means you can easily share a specific producer page, article, wine or filter combination with anyone. </p>
<p><u><strong>Copy/Paste:</strong></u></p>
<p>If you need to copy/paste anything, the glossary needs to be turned off for the text to paste correctly. Also, if you are going to straight up use our writing verbatim, PLEASE credit us when doing so. Seems obvious but we see it happen all the time. </p>
<p><u><strong>A Shit-Ton of Written Content:</strong></u></p>
<p>The articles themselves can often be very long, and for this reason we developed a Propriety Pop Up System™ where you can easily scroll through various articles/wines and "pop out" to efficiently look at the rest of the content.</p>
<p>We've tried our best to pack as many dog pictures as possible in there, but the digital ink has been spilled: the cumulation of decades' worth of writings from Joe, Denyse, Kevin and Jules is here for you to read. A huge part of the work with this new website was to find better ways to condense and extract essential information you need without getting lost in all that BORING text. </p>
<p>We still think you should check it out. Don't worry, there are plenty of pictures. And you might even find the writing interesting. Or funny. Or both. </p>
Article
EXPLORE
Salvatore Marino Producer Profile
<p>Wine has been made in Salvatore Marino’s family for generations; growing up, his grandfather and father produced bulk wine in a large facility within the town of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pachino" title="1480">Pachino</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Always a bon vivant, Marino’s love for good food begat a passion for seeking delicious bottles from <glossary term="Sicily" title="951">Sicily</glossary> and beyond. It also made him dream of starting a project of his own. No stranger to <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> Salvatore knew he could start farming vines from his wife Stefania’s family. But before branching out on his own, he felt the need to learn how to properly run a cellar.</p>
<p>Marino had learned how to make wine with his father, but found those bulk product riddled with defects, namely <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Brettanomyces" title="195">brett</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> For many years, Salvatore cut his teeth working at huge wineries in California, <glossary term="Puglia" title="836">Puglia</glossary> and <glossary term="Sicily" title="951">Sicily</glossary> to further his knowledge of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Enology" title="422">enology</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> </p>
<p><em>“I never liked the wines I made at those places. But you can can learn so much, so fast in those environments. The large scale gives you perspective.”</em></p>
<p>With a decade of big winery experience behind him, Salvatore launched his eponymous <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> in 2017. Today he works 15 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of land divided into five sectors, all close to each other and the town of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pachino" title="1480">Pachino</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> A firm believer in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Polyculture" title="815">polyculture</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> seven of the 15 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> are planted in vines, with the rest planted in fruit trees, wheat, other cereals, table grapes and much more. Some of the land is from Stefania’s family, some is rented and some Marino has purchased. The soils consist of medium to heavy <glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary> with <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Limestone" title="596">limestone</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> planted in <glossary term="Gobelet" title="497">bush-trained</glossary> vines wrapped up on pickets to avoid damage from the region’s constant winds. Salvatore and Stefania do everything themselves, save for some seasonal help around <glossary term="Pruning" title="834">pruning</glossary> and <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary> seasons. </p>
<p>Though he still has access to the family winery, Salvatore does not feel comfortable making his wines there because he finds it too big and would rather be closer to the vines. In 2021, he purchased a four <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> property in the countryside where he is in the early stages of building a new winery, including a <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> stocking room, tasting room and guest rooms. The <glossary term="Cantina" title="233">cantina</glossary> is surrounded by <glossary term="Limestone" title="596">limestone</glossary> rich <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Coteau" title="345">coteaux</glossary><span>:</span></span></span> Salvatore has planted grafts of <glossary term="Nero d'Avola" title="714">Nero d’Avola</glossary> and <glossary term="Pignatello" title="797">Pignatello</glossary> and plans to plant <glossary term="Grecanico" title="1322">Grecanico</glossary> in the near future. </p>
<p>Three wines are currently produced. The bianco is 100% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Catarratto" title="249">Catarratto</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and comes from a 0.5 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> vineyard planted by Salvatore in 2016 along with a 10 year old <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> of rented vines. It <glossary term="Maceration" title="610">macerates</glossary> five days before <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermenting</glossary> in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Stainless Steel" title="986">stainless steel</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> then <glossary term="Aging" title="74">ages</glossary> in <glossary term="Concrete" title="325">concrete</glossary> <glossary term="Vat/Tank" title="1140">tanks</glossary> before <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottling</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> <glossary term="Catarratto" title="249">Catarratto</glossary> is actually a bit of a rarity in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pachino" title="1480">Pachino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> as <glossary term="Grillo" title="511">Grillo</glossary> has gained traction throughout <glossary term="Sicily" title="951">Sicily</glossary>; most of Marino’s contemporaries are exclusively replanting <glossary term="Marsala" title="633">Marsala</glossary>’s native white grape. In fact, only four producers currently cultivate <glossary term="Catarratto" title="249">Catarratto</glossary> and Salvatore is the only one focusing on new plantations.</p>
<p><em>“I like </em><glossary term="Grillo" title="511"><em>Grillo</em></glossary><em>, but I do not feel it is optimal for the </em><glossary term="Terroir" title="1026"><em>terroirs</em></glossary><em> of </em><glossary term="Pachino" title="1480"><em>Pachino</em></glossary><em>. My grandfather told me when I was young that </em><glossary term="Catarratto" title="249"><em>Catarratto</em></glossary><em> was the white grape for this area. I always remembered that.”</em></p>
<p>The <glossary term="Rosé/Rosato" title="871">rosato</glossary> is 100% <glossary term="Syrah" title="1001">Syrah</glossary> and a <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Direct Press" title="392">direct press</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermented</glossary> and <glossary term="Aging" title="74">aged</glossary> in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Stainless Steel" title="986">stainless steel</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p>Finally, the rosso is 95% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Nero d'Avola" title="714">Nero d’Avola</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> 5% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pignatello" title="797">Pignatello</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It <glossary term="Maceration" title="610">macerates</glossary> only six days, <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">ferments</glossary> in <glossary term="Stainless Steel" title="986">stainless steel</glossary> then <glossary term="Aging" title="74">ages</glossary> in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Concrete" title="325">concrete</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Salvatore’s ultimate goal with this wine is to be versatile with a meal (we can confirm it’s very good with fish) but also something you’d want to keep drinking after you’re done eating or even on its own.</p>
"Incontestable Elegance" for Domaine Girard in 2023
<p><strong>December 22nd, 2023:</strong></p>
<p>Another hot year! Another dry year! Another precocious year! That's five of the last six. But if you take a closer look, these hot and dry years all have their own particularities. The periods of heat are not the same, nor do they have the same intensity. And the rains land in different periods. So of course the vines react and act differently, which affects their ripening. In the end, it also impacts the final wines. Let's break down each stage of the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary><span>:</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong>1- A Cold and Humid Winter that Ended Early</strong></p>
<p>Between the end of the 2022 <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary> into February 2023, winter was, generally speaking, both humid and glacial. But as early as February, temperatures became more clement, announcing an early spring. From then on, the temperatures remained appropriate and balanced for their season, provoking <glossary term="Budding" title="1166">budding</glossary> in mid-April, which tracks as normal timing in the last decade.</p>
<p><strong>2- A Rapid and Complicated Start to the Vegetive Cycle</strong></p>
<p>At the the end of April, the weather became more capricious; temperatures began to rise and rain started to fall persistently, creating a rise in <glossary term="Mildew" title="1137">mildew</glossary> pressure. Our margin of error was slim to none, as this pressure coincided with the time we usually work the soils, making for complex work. </p>
<p>The beginnings of euphoria began at <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Flowering" title="1179">flowering</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> which went off without a hitch. The foliage, robust and having survived the trying 2022 season, clearly had strong reserves, and the <glossary term="Cluster/Bunch" title="1138">bunches</glossary> proved to be abundant. The end of May and beginning of June were rather mild, providing a much needed reprise from the pressures of fungal illness. </p>
<p><strong>3- A Rainy End of the Cycle</strong></p>
<p>Around the 10th of June, the rain and <glossary term="Mildew" title="1137">mildew</glossary> pressure was back right as we were observing the impressive growth of our grapes. Still, the state of the vineyards remained more than satisfactory, with solid potential <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Yield" title="1129">yields</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> particularly remarkable on the <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Despite the work done with <glossary term="Pruning" title="834">pruning</glossary> of the branches in the spring, it was necessary to <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Green Harvest" title="507">green harvest</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The <glossary term="Veraison" title="1396">veraison</glossary> took place in mid-July.</p>
<p><strong>4-Slow but Perfect Maturation</strong></p>
<p>Despite the continued rain and the added complexity this incurred to our work, the vines remained impeccable during the phase of <glossary term="Maturation" title="639">maturation</glossary> and throughout the <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvest</glossary>; in fact we were able to pick everything at optimal <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Maturation" title="639">maturation</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> A heatwave in mid-September forced us to start <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvesting</glossary> earlier than expected, notably on the <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir,</glossary> but also helped boost <glossary term="Concentration" title="324">concentration</glossary> in the grapes. We began <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvesting</glossary> on September 15th. In the end, our tireless efforts were rewarded! The <glossary term="Cluster/Bunch" title="1138">bunches</glossary> were plentiful and full of juice, both for the <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinots</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Sauvignon Blanc" title="927">Sauvignons</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p><strong>5- The First Impressions of the Vintage</strong></p>
<p>The quality of the grapes <glossary term="Harvest" title="521">harvested</glossary> have given wines with exquisitely pure aromas. For the <glossary term="Vinification" title="1104">vinification</glossary> of the whites, the sugar levels are less elevated than in past years, creating better better <glossary term="Fermentation" title="441">fermentation</glossary> conditions. The quality of the wines is incontestably manifested as they begin their <glossary term="Elevage" title="418">elevage</glossary>; they are showing balance and harmony. </p>
<p>For the reds, thanks to a meticulous <glossary term="Sorting" title="1380">sorting</glossary> of the grapes, we were able to find a very delicate <glossary term="Extraction" title="433">extraction</glossary> with fairly quick <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Maceration" title="610">macerations</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The wines are fruit forward but with a remarkable <glossary term="Tannin" title="1010">tannic</glossary> structure. </p>