Dear Italian wine lovers,
We are presenting a Tuscan wine with a particular and interesting story for this year’s last selection.
Vittorio Fiore, was born in Bolzano in 1941, in the northern region of Alto Adige. He grew up amongst the beauty of the Dolomiti mountains and in close contact with this amazing environment. It was a normal step for Vittorio to choose to study agrarian sciences.
After completing his professional preparation, first at San Michele all’Adige and then at the Oenological School of Conegliano Veneto, he began his professional career, working at various wine-producing firms in northern Italy in the early 1960’s.
When in 1979 Vittorio arrived in Tuscany, he hoped to find another place to call home. He helped to resuscitate the neglected and antiquated Tuscan viticulture with such enthusiasm that the regional government and the Enoteca Italiana of Siena appointed him as world-wide Italian wine ambassador.
Podere Poggio Scalette, Il Carbonaione, Alta Valle della Greve IGT 2016
After many years of consulting work and of making wines for other producers, he was able to realize a long-held dream in 1992: that of creating his own proprietary wine estate. Together with his wife Adriana he acquired the Poggio Scalette farm on the Ruffoli hill in the township of Greve in Chianti which, in a short space of time, became one of Tuscany’s, and Italy’s most prestigious wine estates.
The property consists of 40 hectares (100 acres), of whish 15 hectares dedicated to the vineyards; 10 to olive groves; 2 to grain fields, and the remaining to forest and uncultivated fields to preserve a good balance in this precious environment.
Today his son Jurij , who studied and trained as winemaker at Beaune in Burgundy, is in charge of the cellar work and runs the estate with his mother, and the other two brothers Roberto and Alessandro are involved with the marketing aspect of their business. Vittorio Fiori is still the leading figure and the one that has the last say on what goes in the bottle.
We hope you will enjoy this wine in the same way that we did when I come across and discovered this special bottle.
We wish all of you and your families a Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!
Elio Longobardi, Italian Wine Specialist
PlumpJack Wine & Spirits – Noe Valley
About the winemaking: 100% Sangiovese di Lamole (a naturally low yielding clone of Sangiovese) from 70 year-old vines grown at 1,350 feet above sea level with west-southwest exposure. The juice is macerated with the skins for approximately 12 days. Daily manual punch-downs ensure greater concentration of flavor and tannins. The wine is aged in Allier, Vosges, Nevers and American oak barriques for 12 months, and refined in bottle for six months. The grapes harvested in the Carbonaione vineyard are worked with passion and dedication by Vittorio Fiore and his son Jurij in order to obtain a wine of great power and elegance, capable of expressing in all of its richness the terroir in which it is born.
Tasting Notes: This velvety wine has harmonious notes of black cherry, blackberry, and chocolate. There is a really nice long finish without overpowering tannins to make this approachable with or without food. It finishes with notes of holiday spices: cinnamon, fennel, allspice, and nutmeg. This is a crowd-pleaser wine, so enjoy with your family and friends during the holiday festivities!
FILETTI AL BALSAMICO:MEAT FILETS IN BALSAMIC VINEGAR SAUCE
This is a very versatile recipe, you can substitute chicken breasts for the meat and can experiment by adding some minced fresh basil or oregano at the end. Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 4 slices of beef filet, thinly sliced
- ½ cup meat stock
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- a bit of pepper
- a squeeze of lemon
- 2 big cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- Cook slices of filet in two tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet, about 4 minutes each side. Set the cooked meat on a plate, then make the sauce in the same skillet.
- Mix the stock, balsamic vinegar, pepper, lemon and garlic and pour it into the skillet. Bring to a boil, and let it reduce a bit. Add the teaspoon of cornstarch and whisk it in. Once the sauce has thickened, return the fillets to the skillet, cover and turn off heat. Let fillets warm up, then serve.
