Wine Wednesday: Small Vineyards, Big Italian Personality
Four Native Grapes & Three Distinctive Italian Regions with Tom Kelly
Wednesday, September 16 | 5:00–7:00 PM
This week, Wine Wednesday welcomes Tom Kelly, Regional Sales Representative for AUGUST IMPORTS - Small Vineyards, for a journey through Italy built around indigenous grapes, family wineries, and wines that retain a strong connection to their place of origin.
Small Vineyards has built its portfolio around small-production, family-owned wineries, with a particular emphasis on estates where the people farming the vineyards are intimately connected to the wines in the bottle. The portfolio is especially strong in Italy, offering an opportunity to explore lesser-known native varieties and regional traditions alongside some of the country's classic appellations.
Tonight's lineup is a perfect example. We'll begin in Sicily with sparkling Nerello Mascalese, travel north to the volcanic hills of Soave in the Veneto for Garganega, return to Sicily for fragrant Frappato, and finish among the volcanic vineyards of Mount Vulture in Basilicata with mature Aglianico.
Four wines. Four native Italian grapes. Three regions. One wonderfully diverse tour of Italy.
Sicily
Mediterranean Sunshine, Native Grapes & an Unexpected Sparkling Wine
Sicily's combination of abundant sunshine, coastal influence, elevation, and extraordinarily diverse soils has made it one of Italy's most dynamic wine regions. Indigenous grapes are central to its identity, and our first producer gives us two completely different expressions of Sicilian wine.
NV Cantine Madaudo Nerello Mascalese Brut
Sicily
Cantine Madaudo is a family winery based in northeastern Sicily near Messina. Four generations of the Madaudo family have been involved in the estate, with native Sicilian varieties playing an important role in its production.
We usually encounter Nerello Mascalese as a red wine, particularly from the volcanic slopes of Mount Etna. Its naturally vibrant acidity, aromatic character, and relatively delicate color, however, also make it a fascinating variety for sparkling wine.
Here, Nerello Mascalese takes on an entirely different personality. Look for wild strawberry, red cherry, citrus peel, delicate flowers, and subtle savory notes, carried by crisp acidity and refreshing bubbles.
Why We're Pouring It
Sparkling Nerello Mascalese turns expectations upside down. It's a fun way to begin the evening, but also a serious demonstration of just how versatile one of Sicily's great indigenous red varieties can be.
Veneto
Volcanic Hills & the Classic White Wines of Soave
Our second stop takes us all the way north to the Veneto, just east of Verona, and one of Italy's historic white-wine appellations: Soave.
The best vineyards of Soave are dramatically different from the flat, high-production vineyards that once defined the appellation for many American wine drinkers. The historic hillside vineyards feature elevation and a fascinating mixture of volcanic and limestone-influenced soils, providing an exceptional home for the region's signature grape, Garganega.
2024 Monte Tondo Soave
Soave, Veneto
Monte Tondo is the family estate of the Magnabosco family, based among the hills of Soave east of Verona. The winery takes its name from Monte Tondo, the hill where the estate is located, and the family works vineyards throughout several important areas of the appellation.
The star here is Garganega, one of Italy's great indigenous white varieties. It is capable of retaining freshness while developing considerable aromatic and textural complexity, producing wines that can range from simple and refreshing to remarkably serious and age-worthy.
The 2024 Monte Tondo Soave offers the classic appeal of Garganega: white peach, pear, citrus, almond blossom, fresh herbs, and subtle mineral notes, with bright acidity and a gently savory character. One of the signatures of good Soave is the finish, where fresh fruit often gives way to a distinctive touch of almond and mineral complexity.
Why We're Pouring It
Soave deserves a fresh look. At its best, it is one of northern Italy's most distinctive and versatile white wines. For drinkers who gravitate toward Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, or unoaked Chardonnay, Garganega offers something equally refreshing but with a very different sense of place.
Back to Sicily
The Lighter, More Aromatic Side of Sicilian Red Wine
For our third glass, we return to Cantine Madaudo, but this time we're looking at an entirely different side of Sicily.
2024 Cantine Madaudo Frappato
Sicilia DOC
If Sicily can produce powerful, sun-drenched reds, Frappato reminds us that the island is equally capable of delicacy, fragrance, and freshness.
Frappato is an indigenous Sicilian variety celebrated for its bright red fruit, floral aromatics, gentle tannins, and wonderfully juicy personality. Rather than weight and extraction, the pleasure here comes from fragrance, energy, and drinkability.
Expect wild strawberry, raspberry, red cherry, violet, Mediterranean herbs, and subtle spice, with soft tannins and a lively, refreshing finish.
This is also a red wine that benefits from being served slightly chilled, making it a particularly versatile bridge between late-summer and early-fall drinking.
Why We're Pouring It
For Pinot Noir and Cru Beaujolais drinkers looking for something new, Frappato is a terrific discovery.
Basilicata
Aglianico from an Ancient Volcano
We finish in Basilicata, one of southern Italy's smallest and most mountainous regions. Here, the extinct volcano Monte Vulture provides the dramatic setting for one of Italy's greatest indigenous red grapes: Aglianico.
Volcanic soils, elevation, and significant shifts between daytime and nighttime temperatures allow this late-ripening variety to combine southern Italian concentration with formidable acidity, tannin, and longevity.
2018 Cantina di Venosa Aglianico del Vulture
Aglianico del Vulture DOC
Cantina di Venosa was founded in 1957 by a small group of local growers and has developed into one of Basilicata's most important wine cooperatives. The vineyards surrounding Venosa lie in the influence of ancient Monte Vulture, where volcanic soils and elevation provide a remarkable environment for Aglianico.
The 2018 vintage also gives us something the other wines tonight cannot: bottle age. Aglianico's naturally high acidity and formidable tannin make it one of Italy's most age-worthy red varieties. It is sometimes compared with Nebbiolo for precisely this combination of structure, perfume, savory complexity, and ability to evolve.
Expect black cherry, blackberry, plum, dried flowers, licorice, tobacco, earth, and spice, with firm but increasingly integrated tannins and the freshness that distinguishes Aglianico grown around Monte Vulture.
Why We're Pouring It
The 2018 offers nearly eight years of development while retaining the structure, freshness, and volcanic personality that make Aglianico one of southern Italy's most compelling red grapes.
From Soave to Sicily to an Ancient Volcano
What makes this Small Vineyards lineup especially fun is just how much of Italy we can explore through four glasses.
We'll start with Nerello Mascalese transformed into sparkling wine, move north to the volcanic hills of Soave for the freshness and subtle complexity of Garganega, return to Sicily for the aromatic and wonderfully drinkable personality of Frappato, and finish in Basilicata with the dark fruit, structure, volcanic character, and bottle-aged complexity of Aglianico del Vulture.
Joining us throughout the tasting will be Tom Kelly of Small Vineyards, making this a great opportunity to learn more about the growers, indigenous varieties, and dramatically different terroirs represented in the portfolio.
Wine Wednesday
Wednesday, September 16 | 5:00–7:00 PM
Explore. Taste. Learn. Four indigenous grapes, three distinctive Italian regions, and the growers behind the Small Vineyards portfolio.