article

<p><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/499621153" width="640"></iframe></p> <p><a href="https://vimeo.com/499621153">Cascina Tavijn_eng</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user6269360">mauro fermariello</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

producers visit

<p><strong><em>This visit to Cascina &#39;Tavijn&nbsp;took place in November, 2012.</em></strong></p> <p><strong><em>Words by Jules Dressner, photos by Jake Halper and Josefa Concannon.</em></strong></p> <p>Blame it on the Louis/Dressner obsession with rare, quirky varieties if you want, but I&#39;ve always loved the&nbsp;Cascina &#39;Tavijn&nbsp;wines. The <glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary> and <glossary title="881">Ruch&eacute;</glossary> grapes are always so vibrant and fun in their youth, but are still capable of developing complexity with a few years of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="74">aging</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> The <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> is also part of our Italian &quot;Gang of Four&quot; (don&#39;t sue us Kermit!), the first group of Italian growers we started importing along with&nbsp;Vittorio Bera,&nbsp;Cascina Degli Ulivi&nbsp;and&nbsp;La Biancara.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Nadia Verrua is &#39;Tavijn&#39;s BOSS.<br /> <br /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//05/4c/054ca8839421a451681a090132fc026f.jpg" /><br /> <br /> The first independently bottled <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> was in 2001. Nadia took over the <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> from her father, who had always sold the grapes to the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="252">cave cooperative</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> At first she only handled the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> work, but has progressively become completely hands on in the vines. The <glossary title="427">estate</glossary> is of modest size, with six<font color="#7b143e"><strong>&nbsp;<glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary></strong></font>&nbsp;of vines and four<font color="#7b143e"><strong>&nbsp;<glossary term="Hectare" title="523">hectares</glossary></strong></font>&nbsp;of hazelnut trees planted at the bottom of hill.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//49/f7/49f7ff9c2dd959951fb859eddfe0acbf.jpg" /><br /> <br /> We arrived in the early afternoon&nbsp;and immediately set out to the vines. After a much steeper uphill climb than any of us expected, the damn paparazzi started trying to take pictures of us.</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//7a/76/7a76ecae0a356fcec19d103515477ed5.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//05/13/0513381864c7e660e864176a34cd2ce0.jpg" /><br /> <br /> The fall colors were&nbsp;in full swing.&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//87/f9/87f9c2f99b4ef749a6c2426af3c01c1d.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//9e/5b/9e5b02a63e7124d8b79002d419b9a06b.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//e8/a8/e8a8135be4758d633fa967035b287239.jpg" /><br /> <br /> The first <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> we visited was southwest facing <glossary title="881">Ruch&eacute;</glossary> planted in 2001, followed by&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Some of this land has been replanted in <glossary title="941">massale</glossary> since 2001, which has proven to be a challenge since very few growers still have have <glossary title="740">old vines</glossary> of these almost extinct varieties.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Young vine <glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary> was planted 2.5 years ago in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="941">massale</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//97/ef/97ef7e22b1e7547b62b07f40bdd7e0de.jpg" /></p> <p>Walking downhill was a lot easier, and our tasting was accompanied by a large basket of recently harvested hazelnuts (which I ate a lot of). Every year, Nadia does two <glossary title="185">bottlings</glossary> of each&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="363">cuv&eacute;e</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and we tried the second of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> <glossary title="881">Ruch&eacute;</glossary> and&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="138">Barbera</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> All were showing well. We also got to check out the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>.</span></span></span></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//44/ea/44ea0815927ef8126828029bd9b3cf07.jpg" /><br /> <br /> We finished with the<font color="#7b143e"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></font><glossary term="Sans Souffre" title="913">sulfur&nbsp;free</glossary> <glossary term="Bottling" title="185">bottlings</glossary> of each grape. Nadia produces&nbsp;these on a tiny scale, and it all ends up at her husband Pietro&#39;s restaurant&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ristoranteconsorzio.it/">Consorzio</a>. If you&#39;re ever in <glossary title="1033">Torino</glossary> for any reason whatsoever, you have no excuse not eating there. The food is incredible&nbsp;and the wine list is an impressive who&#39;s who of great Italian and French&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="708">natural wines</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Plus it&#39;s the only place to drink <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> free <glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary> by the glass!<br /> <br /> We ate there on election night, and Pietro pulled out the big guns with this:&nbsp;</p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Jul_17//ed/0c/ed0c66a2c34485a44acb00c31d5fd0c7.jpg" /><br /> <br /> Drawn by a friend and local artist, this poster is a direct reference to&nbsp;<a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/Vergano/">Mauro Vergano&#39;s Americano</a>.</p>

harvest report

<p><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/b2/fd/b2fdd56da679cb83ed3d7096a8de61a1.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/4d/e4/4de46c10fccfe3637fa1174d61c5c03a.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/c9/7e/c97e1ca5e2e20723a99b4adac498d790.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/8d/90/8d90e01fc161fcb325c2120f3a99f7fc.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/71/0a/710a195284f97f88a24dfa66235bb102.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/66/50/66503391b01deb9a2577cf6cc70d367c.jpg" /><img src="https://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article//846/ad/5e/ad5e20b636a7c0487e82957dca93cd39.jpg" /></p>

harvest report

<p><u><strong>&nbsp;November 11th, 2014</strong></u></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//fa/fa/fafad7c9fff381e693e73d902928a513.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//f8/c8/f8c80c45a8942df4d59324cc3bdb497b.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//36/26/36263b3bcc519bef0bd186fd6261290f.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//66/fb/66fb8da30e908ac8898a2824e38c3a11.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//98/ab/98abd01612311be6d45f43919083025f.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//77/3f/773f1fe61a1bdf6d0446e047075a41c9.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//1b/b8/1bb87a4701b368b100203ddf3e25faa6.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//5a/9c/5a9c7e5ef6286922193528d797eb9d51.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//38/b0/38b0b0ccc81cf4cdd33aa10a1f18d721.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//c2/83/c28359eabd17441efbddbc6d43825d20.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//46/3d/463dc63ce99187b5ae6b5fe04e41f768.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//34/c1/34c1ac00a23abc28bb22aefeae60372c.jpg" /><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//cb/23/cb23e5d6ee802d5784bfbd3168b21dcc.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//73/b4/73b4e5009f13eb4662b42dcfb199feb5.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//06/ab/06abd61a1bc2c1a885bb3e9ffa4a8c7d.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//00/d4/00d45a3e392e55e2e060dd64e72935d0.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//bf/c7/bfc78d2812c3586b9d19b3f5ce891c55.jpg" /></p> <p><img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_20//ef/d0/efd038ddb87de44d8755c4493d0a20a6.jpg" /></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

harvest report

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KsaktHQ0eMs" width="640"></iframe></p>

harvest report

<p><strong>October 6th, 2007:</strong></p> <p>The <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> went well...a little unusual, because of the heat and the early picking. We started on the 28th of August with the <glossary title="881">Ruch&eacute;</glossary> and we continued in a zigzag fashion until the 16th of September.<br /> <br /> The degree of alcohol is a little high, but the wines seems to be balanced. The time on the skins is a little longer than in other years. The wine that stands out the most is the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> I find it different...</p>

harvest report

<p>Finally the snow fell two times this year. &ldquo;Let it fall,&rdquo; my father said. After a summer as hot as 2003&rsquo;s, the vines needed a deep sleep.<br /> <br /> And after the snow, the rain fell and renewed the soil from the previous year&rsquo;s lengthy&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1167">drought</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> Over the Easter period the leaves <glossary title="1166">budded</glossary> as in every year when this miracle of nature recurs. The vines <glossary title="1179">flowered</glossary> at the end of May and bloomed twice. The fruit was abundant and the weather was calm, preventing any malady to prosper, except for a little difficulty with <glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary> that we were able to combat with timely <glossary title="328">treatments</glossary> of&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary><span>.</span></span></span><br /> <br /> The summer was hot in the month of July, without humidity or temperatures as high as the previous year, saving us from any <glossary title="1136">hailstorms</glossary> in August that often occur in this critical month, and leaving the vines with plentiful <glossary title="1184">foliage</glossary> and the fruit to mature slowly.<br /> <br /> In some areas of the vineyards we thinned out grape <glossary title="1138">bunches</glossary> not in&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="1396">veraison</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> because&nbsp;so much fruit would be too much stress for the vine and full <glossary title="639">maturation</glossary> could not be acheived. But the month of September was very fortunate -- the days very sunny and warm with light breezes. These alternated with very cool nights that allowed for a balanced&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="639">maturation</glossary><span>.</span></span></span><br /> <br /> The <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> began in full at the end of September. We started <glossary title="521">harvesting</glossary> the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="881">Ruch&eacute;</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> then the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="510">Grignolino</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> and finally, in October, the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="138">Barbera</glossary><span>.</span></span></span> A little rain in the first days of October, did not stop the fine <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> and we carried into the&nbsp;<span class="zalup"><span><glossary title="254">cellar</glossary><span>,</span></span></span> along with the full <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> boxes, the hope of an excellent wine. Of course, the wine is less high in&nbsp;alcohol than last year and the <glossary title="71">acidity</glossary> is slightly higher, but the balance is better between the fruit and its components. Now the wine that we created is in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> resting. And we are calm so that together with the vines we can enjoy the winter rest. This morning I was in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> with my father, the &#39;Tavijn&quot; himself (<strong>transl. note:</strong> &quot;Tavijn&quot; is Astigiano dialect diminutive for the name Ottavio) to taste the wine. A red wine lively and singing fills up the glass. &ldquo;Ruch&eacute;!&rdquo; my father said, and it made me smile.</p>