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Early Modern history of Colli Tortonesi's (Piemonte, Italy) Timorasso variety
The broad outlines of the rebirth of the Timorasso variety -- and Walter Masa's role in that saga -- are known and accepted. But is that all there is? Not that it is not enough, but:What was the state...
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Late Modern history of Colli Tortonesi's (Piemonte, Italy) Timorasso variety
While the Early Modern history of the Timorasso variety was characterized by decline, despair, invisibility, and replacement, its Late Modern history saw a turnaround in fortunes, much of which,...
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Franco Martinetti and the use of oak in Colli Tortonesi Timorasso wines
I had mentioned Franco Martinetti twice in my depiction of the Early and Late Modern histories of the Timorasso variety: (i) his procuring of the Timorasso pomace that was used by Antonello Bocchino in...
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Timorasso wine and its producers through the eyes of its number one fan,...
It was still dark outside when I began my Skype call with Timorasso's number one fan. His name is Conrad Mattern. By day he is the CEO of an Asset Management firm but at nightfall he dons his Captain...
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Sassaia (Capriata d'Orba, Alessandria, Piemonte): A sophisticated Timorasso...
Sassaia is a unique and exciting Monferrato-based, Timorasso newbie that is bringing a whole lot of firepower to bear on the problem of producing a high-quality wine that contributes to the image that...
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Assyrtiko, Carricante, and Timorasso: Three peas in a pod?
The consistent threads that have emerged through my tastings of Timorasso wines are salinity, bright acidity, and mineral notes. This combination of aromas, tastes, and textures calls to mind for me...
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Navigating the waves of a post-modern Timorasso environment
The Early Modern history of the Timorasso variety was characterized by decline, despair, invisibility, and replacement while its Late Modern history is defined by revival, refinement (of the variety's...
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Colli Tortonesi DOC's Terre di Libarna subzone and the Ezio Poggio 2019...
Much as Walter Massa's efforts were responsible for the resuscitation of the Timorasso variety in the Tortona hills, Ezio Poggio launched an -- ultimately successful -- effort to reclaim the variety's...
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Ceramic-vessel-use in post-modern Timorasso production: Ricci, Vietti, I...
Post-modern Timorasso production expanded beyond the traditional stainless steel fermentation/aging vessels to include materials such as oak (barrique and cask), ceramics, concrete, etc. I have covered...
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Monlià: A Timorasso startup from La Morra giants Oddero and Osteria More e...
"There is gold in them thar hills." This was the sound reverberating around the Langhe hills in the decade of the 2010s. And it was emanating from the lips of Langhe producers. And they were not...
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The Timorasso wines of Nebraie (Rocchetta Ligure, Colli Tortonesi, Alessandria)
Grape production in the southern reaches of Colli Tortonesi should be focused on Val Borbera rather than the larger, more amorphous Terre di Libarna, according to Andrea Tacchella of Azienda Agricola...
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Ferdinando Principiano Timorasso: an Alta Langa entrant
The Colli Tortonesi Timorasso specification allows for grapes grown within the designated communes and processed anywhere within the Piedmont region. The perceived uniqueness of the wine made from...
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Ezio Poggio: The Terre di Libarna Timorasso evangelist
Ezio Poggio is the third generation of his family to farm in Val Borbera. I spoke recently via Zoom with Mary (Ezio’s sister), her daughter Eugenia, and his son Guglielmo to discuss the estate and the...
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Elisa Semino: Winemaker at La Colombera and Queen (it's not even close) of...
Conrad Mattern, whom I have previously described as the number one Timorasso fan, places La Colombera at the apex of Colli Tortonesi Timorasso production. In his view, "Walter Massa, La Colombera, and...
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Ca' del Conte's Noah: A skin-fermented Timorasso wine from Oltrepo Pavese...
Timorasso wines have been, up to this time in my research, a purely Piemontese exercise: 44 Colli Tortonesi producers; 14 non-Colli-Tortonesi producers who, nonetheless, source their grapes from the...
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A case for Colli Tortonesi Timorasso as "the next big thing" (out of Piemonte)
Colli Tortonesi Timorasso wine is "the next big thing," a conclusion at which I have arrived while conducting an ongoing deep dive into the variety, its history, and the players. In my view, Colli...
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Regenerative Agriculture: Cover crops for soil health and carbon sequestration
Before I became sidetracked by Timorasso, and, before that, by Emergent Spanish Wine Regions, etc., etc., I had begun a series on Regenerative Agriculture and published posts on: what it is and its...
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Regenerative Agriculture: No-Till farming for soil health and carbon...
Farmlands have traditionally been ploughed in preparation for planting to: control weeds, remove plant residue, and loosen compacted surface soil.This traditional method involves turning over the first...
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Corsica's Corse-Calvi AOC, the grape source for Etienne Suzzoni's Clos...
New York City's Some Good Wine is a retailer with a robust offering of off-the-beaten-path wines and is especially deep in Corsican wines. After going in for a second case of their 2018 Etienne Suzzoni...
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Regenerative Agriculture: Agroforestry for improved soil health and as a foil...
Agroforestry is one of the key soil health and land management practices of the Regenerative Organic Certification. The practice, as defined by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), involves "the...
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