Above: Yesterday we “tasted” the terroir in a cellar in Monferrato at one of my new favorite wineries, La Casaccia. The unique, sandy tufaceous subsoil of Monferrato is what gives the wine its outstanding minerality and savory flavors. As per Monferrato’s tradition, La Casaccia’s cellar was literally excavated out of the subsoil. Remarkably, the crumbly walls need no support.
Long before I really knew much about Italian wine, other than the fact that I loved it, I was intrigued by the wines of Monferrato.
As Boccaccio recounts in the first day of his Decameron, when the king of France called on the Marchioness of Monferrato: “Many courses were served with no lack of excellent and rare wines, whereby the King was mightily pleased, as also by the extraordinary beauty of the Marchioness, on whom his eye from time to time rested.”
The wines of Monferrato were already famous by the middle ages and long before the current renaissance of Italian wines, Grignolino and Barbera grown in Monferrato enjoyed wide fame and graced the tables of nobility and clergy.
Above: I also really loved the wines of Marco and Giuseppina Canato, children of share croppers who now grow and vinify excellent Barbera and Grignolino and run a homey bed and breakfast. Just look at them! You can’t help but adore them.
I don’t have time this morning to post any further, as I have been re-posting vigorously over at Barbera2010. The Barbera 7 are a loquacious bunch!
Above: I also loved this single-vineyard Grignolino “Tumas” by Scamuzza and the inimitable Laura Bertone, who paired her groovy, mineral-driven wine with oysters!
I’m exhausted after 3 days of interpreting and blogging and tasting. I miss Tracie P terribly, and in the spirit of honest blogging (something we’ve been talking about a great deal, here in Asti), I cannot conceal that a very good friend of mine has broken my heart… Yesterday was a tough day but the Barbera 7 rallied around me, with cheer and words of support, and sweet messages from my beautiful wife through the night assuaged the hurt…
How can you mend a broken heart?
Do Bianchi 
that is my favorite version of that song, you know that? sorry your friend’s playing mean, 2B. so glad y’all are stirring things up over there, though–hopefully they’ll get the message!
miss you :x
A wonderfull song! ;)
If you like “real” grignolino,as it seems,try also Cascina Tavjin in Scurzolengo ,Asti.
Just curious, are there also bloggers from other countries at the Barbera Meeting?
Pertaining to the ‘oaky elephant in the room’ (loved that comment by BHMF) Is the overuse of oak seen by most everyone or are there some ‘denying’ the oak is overused? I sense the heated debates, but I am just unsure of who is sitting in the different corners of the boxing ring. Is it winemakers arguing between themselves, the public vs the winemakers?
Sorry to bombard with questions. Just, this all seems quite interesting to me =)
Hope you feel better from having your feelings hurt. I know it must be difficult being away from the Mrs. I will be going through something similar, just for a lot longer of a time. Once I leave to go do my thesis in TX and start working in US wine world, I will have to be leave my french boyfriend of almost 3yrs behind here in France. He received a job promotion here, too good to pass up (it will end with him being moved to run a division of the company in the US, but only in 3 yrs). So needless to say, we will be playing the back and forth visiting/LONG distance thing for A WHILE =(. I feel like your “How do you mend a broken heart” song will become my 3 year anthem. I guess it is a small price to pay for being in a couple where both of us are extremely ambitious. But in 3 years time we will both be happier rather than one of us giving up our career goals/dreams…..anyways, sorry for over-sharing…I Must have gotten lost in the spirit of honest blog commenting and listening to some Al Green =P)