Dear Member,
A common criticism of American wine culture comes down to temperature: we serve our whites too cold and our reds too warm. It should therefore come as no surprise that whites have edged out reds during the summer months.
But what a shame. While we’ve enjoyed plenty of great white wines over the years, they are no substitute for a cool-weather Pinot Noir, for example, or a light Barbera on a summer’s eve.
This summer season, we turn to south-central Europe.
The Journey
We begin in the dense forests of northern Austria, along the banks of the Kamp, a tributary of the Danube. Venturing south, we cross the Julian Alps into northern Italy, in the hills of Friuli—so close to the border that we’re almost in Slovenia. From there, we head west to Piedmont and the old Duchy of Savoy (later part of the short-lived Kingdom of Sardinia).
We take a brief hop to a Palladian villa in Veneto, where five sisters make a rather beguiling Cabernet, then return to Piedmont for an old-style Barolo steeped in history.
You might enjoy pulling up a map as you take stock of this collection. You’ll notice how, despite Austria, Italy, and Slovenia occupying wholly different spaces in our minds, all three could just as easily have wound up as part of the same country. For much of European history, they were—first under the Romans, then the Carolingians, and later the Holy Roman Empire.
A Shared Summer Expression
You’ll see similar notes appear again and again: berries fresh off the bramble, summer herbs, mint, and licorice. Notice how these flavors express themselves differently in each terroir, tempered here and there by nearby forest, mountain, or sea. These are the unmistakable aromas and flavors of a European summer.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself manning the clutch of an old Alfa Romeo while speeding down hillside roads, playing an old guitar in the shadow of a centuries-old villa, or lying in a meadow listening to grasshoppers as the sky turns from blue to purple.
In This Box
You will find six bottles:
Weingut Johann Topf HP Pinot Noir, Reid Stangl 2018
Azienda Agricola Specogna Cabernet Franc, DOC Friuli Colli Orientali 2023
Cascina Galarin Monferrato DOC Nebbiolo Superiore “Crocevia” 2022
Cascina Perfumo Vini “Carlo Magno” Nizza DOCG 2020
- Le Vie Angarano “Quare” 2019
- Borgognot Vini Barolo Classico 2021
Welcome to your European summer.
Saluti,
Will Bonner
Founder, Bonner Private Wine Partnership
