Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/26650
THE MESSAGE Whether THE TASTING PANEL goes to the brand execs or the brands call us, there is an abundance of news to report, from the latest releases to behind-the-scenes experiences with some of the world’s most infl uential importers, winemakers, distillers . . . well, you name it. Brief Encounters We may not have enough pages in each issue to devote as much attention as we would like to each person whose path we cross, but please note that if it’s in the publication, we deem it noteworthy —Meridith May, Publisher & Executive Editor Garbara: A Sparkling Star in Prosecco Country U area. The steeper slopes and denser vines produce sparklers that are racy and crisp, with a delicate effervescence characteristic of the region. “We make seven thousand bottles from this hill alone,” Mirco Grotto says of his family’s one-hectare vineyard within the zone. The wines are produced under the name Garbara. Prosecco sparkling wine is made not by the méthode cham- penoise, but the Charmat process, with a second fermentation in steel tanks, not in the bottle. What makes Garbara Cartizze so delicious? “The smaller the bubble, the fi ner the wine. We pay attention from the beginning.” Mirco Grotto of Garbara Azienda wines with his dog Charlie in Santo Stefano, Italy. “With me and my sons, we are six generations in wine.” Not only is Mirco producing award-winning, single-vine- yard Prosecco from this compact slope, but almost all of his output is sold in Italy, and to discerning wine-lovers abroad. He is currently in negotiations with a U.S. importer; for more information, contact him via www.garbara.com. “I want to try méthode champenoise with Cartizze,” he tells THE TASTING PANEL. “The result may lose some freshness, but it will gain the perfume of the lees and, perhaps, ageabil- ity.” Great things can happen, even from a small hill. —Kia McInerny 16 / the tasting panel / march 201 1 ntil recently, a bottle of sparkling Prosecco was for casual quaffi ng, with no more thought to its provenance than a vino tavola. That notion is changing with interest in the tiny Valdobbiadene wine zone in Northern Italy. The place name denotes excellence along with the prized Cartizze sub-zone, literally a single slope of 30 hect- ares [74 acres] in this historic PHOTO: KIA MCINERNY PHOTO: KIA MCINERNY