Dear Member,
Until recently, I had always thought of Italian wines as being about spending money and showing off — buying a $100 Barolo at dinner to impress friends, for example.
But the real tradition of wine in Italy — the culture you find in small villages and old family vineyards — is precisely the opposite.
A wine that might cost thousands in the U.S. is enjoyed by Tuscan farmers and bakers gathered for a simple Sunday lunch of fresh mozzarella, homegrown tomatoes, and local game.
A fancy bottle found only at the most exclusive Manhattan restaurant is uncorked right out on the cobbled streets of Verona, where old friends snack on prosciutto outside a small trattoria.
In fact, the veteran winemakers on the misty slopes of Piedmont, or the sunbaked vineyards of Gaiole, would wince at Wall Street bankers making a big show of spending lavishly on their bottles.
After all, they like to insist that they can’t take credit for their wines — no matter how delicious.
To real Italians, wine is not a commodity to be made, but a bounty to be discovered — the soul of the land itself, le anima as they say — something that existed long before their arrival and will endure long after they’ve left.
Indeed, 800 years ago it was Benedictine monks who pruned these vines. Before them, Romans. Before them, Greek settlers.
Today, veteran winemakers — hand-rolled cigarettes dangling from their lips — continue to walk through rows of dark purple grapes and greyish-green olive trees. Still picking their grapes by hand. Still preferring traditional methods. Still refusing to adulterate their wines with harmful chemicals.
Still listening for the soul of this ancient land.
In This Box, You Will Find Six Bottles
La Cipriana Scopaio Bolgheri 2017
Castello di Meleto Chianti Classico 2016
Ricasoli Chianti Classico Riserva 2016
Gian Piero Marrone Pichemej Barolo 2017
Scopone Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2013
Il Borro Pian di Nova Sangiovese 2016
We believe these six wines fully represent the real tradition of Italian wine.
They are all made from handpicked grapes and generally tend to be lower in sulfites. Some come from vineyards 100 years old. Others, 800 years old.
Our advice is to let each bottle speak to you on its own terms. Each has a story to tell.
To your health,
Will Bonner
Founder, Bonner Private Wine Partnership
