Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/859549
128 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017 Washington, D.C. Erika Frey, CS, CWE, Diploma WSET, Educator, Grape Experience; Senior Wine Consultant, Winestone Chicago Rebecca Miles-Steiner, Whole Foods Market, Chicago San Francisco Drea Dedona, Wine Buyer, Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant & Wine, poses with Banfi's Lars Leicht. like a bowl of minestrone on steroids. After the laughter subsided, Cerulli explained that the dish is a rite of passage in spring—"the most dangerous time of year in Abruzzo"— using this as a segue to explain the region's geography: the "presence of a big mountain called Gran Sasso" (the big stone), the close proximity to the Adriatic Sea, the peaches grown in the hills—and why all this makes particularly good wine with the indig - enous Pecorino grape. About 40 years ago, winemakers in Abruzzo started vinifying Pecorino, formerly used as a blending grape, by itself. In this instance, students sampled the bright and well-structured Cerulli Spinozzi 2015 Pecorino Cortalto, at 100 percent Pecorino. Later in the seminar, we would taste the Cerulli Spinozzi 2012 Torre Miglori. "Eighty percent of Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC is bottled outside of Abruzzo," noted Cerulli. "We are very proud to say that in the Colline Teramane area, this is not allowed. To make a Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Colline Teramane DOCG, you have to grow the grapes there; you have to make the wine, you have to age the wine before selling. That's very important for us." There to represent the first winery ever to bottle Frascati, Fontana Candida, was Cellar Ambassador Giuseppe Roncoletta. Fontana Candida's vineyards look "into the doorstep of Rome," said Roncoletta, and contain volcanic soils with magnesium, phosphate and potassium. Roncoletta had the daunting task of explaining the com - plex three-step process used in creating Fontana Candida Luna Mater. In a nod to the past and the future, the 2015, like all the vintages made since 2007, is three Malvasia Bianca di Candia–based wines created differently and blended together as one. The first component is created by a simple stainless-steel fermentation; the second involves timed picking, the appas - simento process and a careful barrel per- centage subjected to measured secondary fermentation; the third is made by intercel- lular fermentation with old-vine grapes and prolonged skin contact. (I urge wine geeks to look further into these fascinating and intricate winemaking techniques by visiting the Fontana Candida website.) Also on offer was the crisp Fontana Candida 2016 Terre dei Grifi. Andrea Sar tori, family proprietor of Sar tori di Verona and a consummate gentleman, made a brief appearance to present the Sartori di Verona 2013 Valpolicella Classico Superiore, mainly to impress upon the group the impor - tance of the Corvina grape in Valpolicella due to the calcareous, limestone soils in the Classico region. The seminar ended in Tuscany, with Gabriele Pazzaglia, Cellarmaster of Castello Banfi, showing the sapid Casterllo Banfi 2015 ASKA, a Cabernet Sauvignon–domi - nated blend from the Bolgheri DOC. Said Pazzaglia, "Our vines grow between the sea and the very minerally rich hills. It's one of the areas in Tuscany on the coast where we produce red wine. The varieties that are grown there include Sangiovese, our native historic grape, but the most impor - tant varieties for this area are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Merlot . . . If we didn't have the sea breeze, we'd have raisins! Also, the brilliant Tuscan sunlight in this area and the reflection of the sea helps with phenolic ripening." Enrico Cerulli, family proprietor of Cerulli Spinozzi, speaks of Abruzzo's treasures, Montepulciano and Pecorino. Giuseppe Roncoletta, Cellar Ambassador for Fontana Candida, taking the students through the complicated process of creating Luna Mater. Blind Tasting Winners