There is a free tasting today, but these rare wines will also be offered at a special price for the next two weeks as well. If you’re in town and are any sort of a wine enthusiast, it’s a definite Don’t Miss. Location and map link are below.

GREAT WINES OF NORTHERN PIEDMONT AT THE BISTROT
TWO WEEKS WITH THE HISTORICAL “SELLA” ESTATES

Thursday, November 12th, 2009
4.00 p.m. – free admission

With the joint aim of promoting “Venice: Wine Capital” and to spread awareness and encourage tasting of their excellent, typical qualities, for two weeks the Bar and Restaurant of the Bistrot will be offering the wines of Northern Piedmont at a “flat rate” We invite you stop by and take advantage of this tasting opportunity.

The Sella family has been producing wine in the Lessona DOC area since 1671, making it one of the oldest Italian wineries still in operation. La Tenuta Sella has been dedicated to small-scale, high-quality production since its inception, and maintains its original artisan size still today. (Some wines are produced from high-quality, extremely low yield vines of over 80 years of age, for example.)

Sella is a producer of Lessona and Bramaterra DOC wines from a delimited area located about halfway between Torino and Milano, inching up toward the lakes and the Alps – far north of their more widely known Nebbiolo relations of Barolo and Barbaresco. This is instead the western part of a ring of extremely fine denominations that continue in the neighbouring Gattinara, Ghemme, and Boca.

Northern Piedmont is one of the three classic areas of Nebbiolo (called Spanna in this area, just to keep us confused.), along with Langa and Valtellina. Here the noble Nebbiolo vine is never monovarietal, but always alternated with rows of Vespolina, Croatina or Uva Rara varieties. For this reason, the Lessona and Bramaterra are made with a predominant base of Nebbiolo and lower percentages of these ancient local vines.

(If you spot a wine called “I Porfidi,” make sure not to pass it up…)

Bravo Le Bistrot!

Presentation by Gioacchino Sella and the oenologist Cristiano Garella
Coordinators: Giovanni Vazzoler and Sergio Fragiacomo
With the support of AIS, the Italian Wine Sommeliers’ Association – Venice

Le Bistro de Venise

San Marco
Calle dei Fabbri 4685

Located halfway between
Campo San Luca and the
Piazza San Marco

Be sure to check their website for on-going event information at the Bistrot.

This is what one might refer to as un’occasione. In an effort to let enthusiasts get a real sense of the wines produced in thsi Veneto zona DOC, fifteen producers from the Colli Euganei are gathering in the beautiful Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista (c. 1251) next Monday afternoon. If you’re in town, and you’re at all interested in wine, please do stop by.

What to expect?

The Colli (hills) Euganei region lies south and just east of Padova, and is formed roughly by a triangle of the three towns of Vo, Torreglia, and Arqua Petrarca (a lovely stop if your winding your way through the Veneto, by the way). The wines are young, a mix of spumante and still, red and white, dry and sweet. The whites are pleasing, fresh, and aromatic; the reds structured but not imposing. You’ll find varieties you recognize, like Chardonnay, Riesling (Italico), Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and others you may be less familiar with:

• Pinello (recent white, fresh, dry, still or spumante)
• Serprino (similar to Prosecco)
• Tocai Italico
• Cabernet Franc

The Bianco DOC may consist of any or all of the white varieties in specified percentages; the Rosso DOC will combine reds that may even include Barbera. Look for the fresh spumanti like  Fior d’Arancio, a famed moscato giallo, whose sweetness is balanced by a fresh acidity and an exploding bouquet, and the rarer Moscato Rosso di Parenzo, a red aromatic that you must try should it be offered.

You may also find less familiar ways of vinifying these wines, but do adventure there as well: some of the passiti, dessert wines fermented from what might be termed as raisins, with round concentrated fruit balanced by higher alcohol, yet still-fresh acidity.

The producers you’ll find are:

• Alla Costiera
• Ca’ Lustra
• Ca’ Orologio
• Castello di Lispida
• Colle Mattara
• Conte Emo Capodilista – La Montecchia
• Il Filò delle Vigne
• Il Mottolo
• Monteforche
• Montegrande
• Sengiari
• Vignalta
• Vigna Roda
• Vignale di Cecilia e Villa Sceriman

I do hope you can make it. Salute!