For A Printable PDF Of This Weekend’s Notes, Click Here!
Capolino Perlingieri ‘Vento’ Greco 2021
Origin: Campania, Italy
Retail: $21.95 | Sale: $19.96
In 2003, when winemaker Alexia Capolino Perlingieri was thirty, she left Milan and her job as an investment banker to resume an activity that had been given up by her grandfather and mother, which was to them little more than a hobby: winemaking. Since her mother’s last harvest in 1987, the world had changed and viticulture made no exception. That’s why Alexia had to start from scratch, or nearly so. She bought new land, replanted obsolete vineyards, built a modern cellar, selected an oenologist who shared her same view of wine and worked side by side with the workers on the farmland to understand its dynamics and complexities. The Capolino Perlingieri farm in the Sannio area, now boasts 12 hectares of vineyards and a 5-hectare olive grove, treated under organic agricultural methods. Sannio is an area of Campania almost unknown to most people and off the typical tourist trails. Although located at just 45 miles from Naples, Sannio is quite different from the Campania stereotypes as to culture, climate and morphology: a rural land with vineyards and olive groves extending as far as the eye can see. Gold yellow in color with aromas of Mediterranean maquis and citrus with acidity and minerality on the palate. 100% Greco
Ciro Picariello Fiano di Avellino 2022
Origin: Campania, Italy
Retail: $25.95 | Sale: $23.36
Ciro's vineyards are about equally divided between Summonte (around Picariello's house and winery), which is at 650 meters, and Montefredane, at around 500 meters. The grapes are picked by hand in late October, very late for white wine, and given a clean but minimal treatment in the cellar. Slow pressing with only the first press used, no yeasts are added, the gross lees are removed shortly before the fermentation finishes (the wine is allowed to go completely dry). Use of SO2 is minimal, and the wines are not filtered or fined. This is an extremely 'natural' and therefore risky winemaking process for a white wine, but Ciro knows what he's doing, and every vintage is both expressive and clean. On the palate there is bright, green-apple acidity, and great complexity. Pair with all kinds of seafood dishes, or just roast chicken. Fiano is one of Italy’s most age-worthy white wines, and this will live on for ten years or more very easily. 100% Fiano
Cenatiempo Bianco Superiore 2022
Origin: Ischia, Italy
Retail: $29.95 | Sale: $26.96
Cenatiempo, founded in 1945, is a very small winery located on Isola d'Ischia, which is about a 45 minute ferry ride out of Porto di Massa in Naples. Pasquale and Frederica Cenatiempo work 14 vineyards totaling 4ha in 5 communes: Ischia, Forio, Laccoameno, Serrara, and Barano. Ischia has a long history in winemaking: The island received its first DOC in 1966, just three years after the classification system was introduced in Italy. The first DOC was based on blends of grapes, which was the common practice on the island. DOCs for single-varietal wines were established in 1993. Pasquale works with many grapes that are not commonly known such as Biancolella. Cenatiempo wines are truly distinctive examples of their varietals and the island from whence they came. Fine herbs and Meyer lemon, a sprinkle of lime zest and ripe golden apple flavors cascade across your palate before salty lemon/lime flavors well up on the mouthwatering finish. 100% Biancolella
Capolino Perlingieri ‘Brizio’ Aglianico 2021
Origin: Campania, Italy
Retail: $19.95 | Sale: $17.96
Perlingieri’s latest wine is a new style of Aglianico. No long extractions, oak, evident tannins or high alcohol content. The name ‘Brizio’ is a tribute to Alexia’s mother’s great grandmother, Carolina Brizio, owner of Casino Brizio, where she lives and works today. ‘Brizio’ is ready to drink up on release with juicy red fruit notes and soft tannins. Try pairing it with charcuterie or enjoying it as an aperitif. 100% Aglianico