Tag: Slow Wine

Slow Wine @ Eataly NYC 2024

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Slow Wine is an organization that seeks to “preserve simple, traditional ways of living and eating and that wine, just like food must be good, clean and fair, just not good”. They support and promote small scale wine makers who use traditional techniques.

Every year they host a tour in which they showcase wineries that follow their philosophy.

This year that tour will take them to Washington DC, Austin, Denver and San Francisco. On March 19th the tour came to New York City.

The event was held at Eataly Downtown located at 101 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

They had a walk around tasing and seminars for members of the trade in the afternoon with an evening session for consumers.

I would say that about three quarters of the wineries at the event were Italian with a handful of wineries from other countries.

I attended the trade tasting in the afternoon and as in previous events in the past, it was a lively event. These trade tastings are obviously about the wine but it’s nice to have something to snack on while sipping. Sometimes that’s some cheese and crackers but not surprisingly at Eataly they put out a nice spread of food for the attendees. Besides some excellent cheese and charcuterie, they served pasta and some really good pizza.

Some of my highlights:

2020 Authentique Wine Cellars Riesling “Brementown” (Oregon): Clear light gold, petroleum on the nose, peachy fruit with a nice balance.

2020 Donum Estate Chardonnay “Year of the Rat” (Carneros): Clear medium gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, juicy lime notes on the long finish.

2021 Grgich Hills Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley): Clear light gold, herbaceous, tropical notes on the nose with herbaceous notes and crisp acids on the finish.

2021 Grgich Hills Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Clear light gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, surprisingly light and crisp on the fruit.

2022 Unti Vineyards Vermentino (Sonoma): Clear yellow gold, sweet nose, medium bodied with kiwi notes, good structure.

2016 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (Napa Valley): Opaque medium red, crushed black fruit and green herbs on the nose, tight, concentrated, dusty black olive notes on the fruit, nice finish.

2019 Unti Vineyards Aglianico (Sonoma): Opaque dark purple, oak notes on the nose, concentrated and dusty fruit, silky tannins, nice finish.

2020 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Franc Blend (St Helena): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, smoky crushed dark fruit on the nose, chewy and tight with a nice structure and a long finish.

2020 Ceretto Barbaresco “Bernadot” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, smoky roast meat on the nose, toasty light fruit with firm tannins.

2020 Terrabianca Croce Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany): Clear medium red, dusty sweet nose with dusty fruit and a nice balance.

2021 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon “RLC” (St Helena): Opaque dark red, dried herbs on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit, good structure and balance.

2021 Unti Vineyards Sangiovese (Sonoma): Clear medium red, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, medium fruit with a nice structure and a balanced finish.

2021 Donum Estate Pinot Noir “Three Hills” (Sonoma): Clear light red, earth and cola on the nose, juicy cola fruit, good balance.

2021 Scarzello Nebbiolo (Piedmont): Opaque dark purple, tar and leather on the nose with silky red fruit and silky tannins.

2021 Casa E, di Mirafiore Nebbiolo (Piedmont): Clear light red with a classic nose of tar and leather, sweet fruit ending firm but balanced.

2021 Podere Il Carnasciale “Carnasciale” (Tuscany): Made from the obscure Caberolot varietal, opaque dark purple, sweet herbs on the nose, silky red fruit, balanced and a long finish.

SlowWine NYC 2023

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

The Slow Wine movement began 30 years ago in Piedmont, Italy and is aligned with the Slow Food movement.

The wineries that were selected by Slow Wine are wineries “that respect and reflect the local terroir and practice sustainable methods that benefit the environment” and are 100% free of chemical herbicides. They are given the “snail” seal of approval.

The multi city tour stopped in San Francisco, Miami, Dallas, Seattle and on March 14th, in New York City.

The event was held at Eataly downtown at 101 Liberty Street in downtown Manhattan in a stylish room with an expansive view of the surrounding area. Of course, since it was Eataly, some nice food was provided.

About three quarters of the wines at the event were from Italy with wines from the United States a distant second and a handful from the rest of the world. Most of the wine regions of Italy were represented, and the U.S. had a respectable showing with wines from California and Oregon.

My pet peeve: When I go to these events, I like to take notes on what I sample. I do it the old school way with a pen and paper. Usually in the past a book or sheet with the wines being poured and room to take notes was available. Nowadays they are forgoing a physical book for a QR code, and I have to grab a scrap of paper to write on and it’s time consuming to copy all of the wine information.

Some of what I sampled:

2019 Unti Aglianico (Sonoma): Rare Italian varietal in Cali, dark red to black, perfume of sweet violets, chewy dusty fruit, nice grip and a long finish.

2019 Unti Syrah (Sonoma): Opaque dark red, forest floor and camphor on the nose, juicy and chewy with slate notes, good grip.

2019 Ruby Vineyard Pinot Noir “Flora’s Reserve” (Oregon): Clear light purple, red fruit and earth on the nose with juicy red fruit.

2019 Evening Land Pinot Noir “La Source” (Eola-Amity Hills): Clear medium purple, earthy black cherry on the nose ending with tart red fruit.

2019 Gallica Grenache (Sonoma): Clear medium red, ripe crushed fruit on the nose, chewy, earthy fruit with crushed stone notes on the finish.

2019 Gallica Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque medium red, slate and crushed black fruit on the nose with dusty black fruit and a firm finish.

2018 Newton Cabernet Sauvignon Mt Veeder (Napa Valley): Dark red with a brick rim, roasted meat and camphor on the nose ending with tight red fruit.

2018 Newton Cabernet Sauvignon Spring Mt (Napa Valley): 100% Cabernet, opaque dark red, tobacco and crushed rocks on the nose, dusty, dark fruit with silky tannins.

2021 Vicara Grignolino (Piedmont): Very light red, smoky nose, delicate fruit with crushed stone notes ending with moderate acidity.

2020 La Spinetta Barbaresco “Bordini” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, toasty barnyard on the nose, tight red cherry fruit with moderate acidity.

2019 Castello di Neive Pinot Nero (Piedmont): Clear light brick, tree bark on the nose, tight red cherry fruit, moderate tannins and acid.

2019 La Spinetta Barolo “Garretti” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, tar and leather on the nose, silky dark fruit with gritty tannins and a long finish.

2018 Pian delle Querci Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany): Clear light brick, tar and cigar box on the nose, good fruit with a nice balance.

2016 Col D’Orcia Cabernet Sauvignon “Olmaia” (Tuscany): Clear medium red, barnyard on the nose, black licorice fruit.

2016 Badia a Coltibuono “Sangioveto” (Tuscany): 100% Sangiovese, clear light brick, toasty nose, tight, dark ripe fruit with red licorice notes on the finish.

2015 Col D’Orcia Brunello di Montalcino Riserva “Poggio al Vento” (Tuscany): Clear medium brick, cooked ripe fruit on the nose, tight and tannic.

Slow Wine Festival at Eataly

Published on by Bruno DonaggioLeave a comment

Eataly is on a roll with consecutive wine events at both their locations so far this year. On February 2nd they held the Slow Wine Festival New York at Eataly downtown which is located at 101 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

Slow Wine is part of the Slow Food concept. It’s an Italian wine organization with a commitment to sustainable agriculture and whose mission is “good, clean and fair” wines.

The trade portion of the event was held in the afternoon with a consumer tasting later that evening, I attended in the afternoon which I was told was a larger event with more wines than the late consumer tasting.

It was a huge event with over 100 wines poured. The majority were Italian with all the regions from North to South represented with wines in keeping with the Slow Wine concept.

Along with the Barolos, Chiantis, Brunellos, Amarones and other world-famous Italian varietals, I made a point to sample wines made from unusual or rarely seen varietals such as Freisa, Colorino, Ciliegiolo, Grignolino and even an Italian Tempranillo.

There were a few tables of New World wine from California, Oregon and Long Island where I sampled some nice wines from Adamus Winery, Burgess Vineyards, Domum Vineyards and Left Coast Winery to name a few.