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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
Les Ânes Ailés Producer Profile
<p>Francesco “Kikko” Pesci grew up in Rome. While working at various restaurants, in particular the infamous wine bar Litro, he was introduced to wines that blew his mind, most notably those of Panevino in <glossary term="Sardinia" title="917">Sardinia</glossary> and Ajola in <glossary term="Umbria" title="1058">Umbria</glossary>/<span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Lazio" title="585">Lazio</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Ajola’s relative proximity to Rome led to a burgeoning friendship with its founder Jacopo Battista, in turn inspiring Kikko to make wine himself. Up for a new challenge, he found himself an apprenticeship in <glossary term="Banyuls" title="135">Banyuls</glossary> helping Manu di Vecchi Staraz at Vinyer de la Ruca. The plan was to help out for a year, but that year became two, then five… By 2022, Kikko had the opportunity to buy two <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary> and start his own project, Les Ânes Ailés. That same year he produced his first <glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintage</glossary> as the newest member of Les 9 Caves.</p>
<p>Both of Kikko’s <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary> are in the mountain north of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Banyuls" title="135">Banyuls-sur-Mer</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> historically a lesser planted area. Both parcels roughly equal a <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare;</glossary></span></span> Kikko had been familiar with the first <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> since arriving in the area, as it used to belong to Manuel of Vinyer de la Ruca. It’s a formidable place that can only be reached by a single, winding and treacherous road. At 300 meters, its <glossary term="Elevation" title="419">elevation</glossary> is very high for the area. It’s also unique in being <glossary term="Exposition" title="430">exposed</glossary> full North and majoritarily planted in <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Grenache Gris" title="1158">Grenache Gris</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> This, combined with strong year-round winds and very low<span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Yield" title="1129">yields</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> produce two <glossary term="Barrel" title="142">barrels</glossary> of a singular <glossary term="Cuvée" title="363">cuvée</glossary> called “Kik-Off”. Kikko plans to replant white grapes here, as he believes the <glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroir</glossary> is excellently suited to produce a dry white wine.</p>
<p>The second vineyard, acquired from a retiring farmer, is also <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraced</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> It too has unique characteristics, namely the presence of <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sand</glossary> soils because it is next to a <glossary term="Tributary" title="1046">tributary</glossary> to a river, something very rare in the region. Compared to the gnarled old vines normally seen in <glossary term="Banyuls" title="135">Banyuls</glossary>’ <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Terrace" title="1022">terraces</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> those closest to the water are almost comically huge. The <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcel</glossary> is also shadowed by the adjacent mountain, maintaining freshness. From this land, a wine called "Ticche" is made with the traditional <glossary term="Banyuls" title="135">Banyuls</glossary> composition: the three colors of <glossary term="Grenache" title="508">Grenache</glossary> <span class="zalup"><span>(<glossary term="Grenache Blanc" title="509">Blanc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Grenache Gris" title="1158">Gris</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary term="Grenache" title="508">Noir</glossary>) and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Carignan" title="237">Carignan</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>
<p>Rounding out the lineup are two wines made from purchased <glossary term="Organic" title="746">organic</glossary> grapes. “Arlequin” is 80% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Grenache Blanc" title="509">Grenache Blanc</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> 20% <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vermentino" title="1081">Vermentino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> sourced from two <glossary term="Parcel" title="760">parcels</glossary> in Laroque des Albères, a 30 minute drive north of <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Banyuls" title="135">Banyuls</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> “Pierrot” is 100% <glossary term="Grenache" title="508">Grenache Noir</glossary> from nearby <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Calce" title="223">Calce</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> picked a bit early and made with minimal <glossary term="Maceration" title="610">maceration</glossary> to produce an accesible wine meant to drink young.</p>
<p>Oh, and for those that are wondering: Les Ânes Ailés translates to "the winged donkeys". It's an old Italian expression, <em>gli asini volanti</em>, which implies that if you believe donkeys can fly, you are a naive fool. In a moment of personal utopianism, Kikko came up with this name based on how impossible it felt that he'd actually succeeded in starting his own project in the most unprobable of places. In this case, the donkeys actually had wings. </p>
Pedecastello Producer Profile
<p>Pedecastello, or “foot of the castle”, is a small <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticultural</glossary> project from Alex della Vecchia. Nestled in the mountains of Tambre, a <glossary term="Commune" title="322">commune</glossary> of Belluno, the <glossary term="Estate" title="427">estate</glossary> has been worked by Alex’s family for over a century. For generations they raised cattle, first for milk and then for meat.</p>
<p>When Alex’s grandfather passed away, he inherited the land with his uncle. They worked a total of three days together before deciding to go separate ways over a fundamental disagreement: Alex wanted to butcher and transform the meat to sell individual cuts and his uncle wanted to sell them whole. At the same time, Alex had been dreaming of making his own wine and began wondering if he could use his part of the property to plant vines.</p>
<p>Shaped by high <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Elevation" title="419">elevation</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> grassy, fertile soils and a cool climate, the region has historically been dedicated to cattle, notably for production of the famed <glossary term="DOP" title="402">DOP</glossary> Piave cheese. <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">Viticulture</glossary> remains extremely rare, with roughly 60 <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> planted at the time of this writing.</p>
<p><em>“Making wine in Belluno is 100% a result of climate change. 30 years ago, it would have been way too cold.”</em></p>
<p>Inexperienced but full of conviction, Alex decided to plant a <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> in 2010. Around this time, he met the late Ernesto Cattel who, in the early years of shaping his Costadilà project, was looking to acquire some cattle. Alex seized the opportunity to collaborate with Ernesto and, hoping to learn how to make wine, began working full-time with Costadilà. As his time at Costadiłà blossomed into head of <glossary term="Viticulture" title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and eventually running the <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary> after Ernesto’s passing, he kept cultivating his own <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> and lending a helping hand with the cattle.</p>
<p>Alex currently grows two <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines at Pedecastello: the aforementioned <glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectare</glossary> of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> planted in 2010 and another split 50/50 between <glossary term="Bianchetta Trevigiana" title="1141">Bianchetta</glossary> and PIWI (a German, fungal resistant <glossary term="Hybrid" title="532">hybrid grape</glossary>) planted in 2017. The soils, composed of <glossary term="Sand" title="909">sand</glossary> and <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Clay" title="301">clay</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> are very fertile, with <glossary term="Mother Rock" title="690">mother rock</glossary> a full two meters below the <span class="zalup"><span> <glossary term="Topsoil" title="1032">top soil</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Alex does not add <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Cover Crop" title="1255">cover crops</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> but lets grass grow wild and encourages <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Biodiversity" title="1162">biodiversity</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> With an obvious assist from the cattle on hand, manure is used to <glossary term="Fertilizer" title="442">fertilize</glossary> the soils.</p>
<p>Alex has been experimenting with various methods of still and sparkling <glossary term="Vinification" title="1104">vinifications</glossary> but so far has chosen to focus primarily on <glossary term="Methode Ancestrale" title="1311"><em>ancestrale</em></glossary><em> </em>sparklers. While in the same <glossary term="colfondo" title="1382">Col Fondo</glossary> vein as Costadilà (in fact they are made in the same <glossary term="Cellar" title="254">cellar</glossary>), the <glossary term="Terroir" title="1026">terroirs</glossary> and use of <glossary term="Pinot Noir" title="805">Pinot Noir</glossary> distinguish “Pedecastello” as a rounder expression marked by red fruit. Alex <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottled</glossary> his first <glossary term="colfondo" title="1382">Col Fondo</glossary> <glossary term="Bianchetta Trevigiana" title="1141">Bianchetta</glossary>/PIWI <glossary term="Blend" title="168">blend</glossary> in 2021 and will continue to do so in future <span class="zalup"><span><glossary term="Vintage" title="1109">vintages</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p>