Stage #0
Led by the Three Musketeers (Fiorini, Boninsegna, Scagliero), February 2018
Le Fraghe winery . The courageous dream of Matilde Poggi
Not far from the banks of Garda lies the farm of Matilde Poggi and her family. The third of six siblings, she cultivates vineyards and produces her wines in Cavaion Veronese, in the heart of Bardolino .
Growing up in the world of wine, from an early age she helped with the harvest after school and imagined the vineyards going dormant in the winter to awaken in the spring. She has always been fascinated by the earth - that simple and grandiose universe that advances to the rhythm of a dance - and soon the desire to take an active part in it takes hold.
She proudly tells us how in the 1980s she was among the few women at the forefront of the wine world.
Matilde works in an experimental way, testing varieties, breeding systems and grape varieties, animated by the courage to interpret the territory independently, respecting a land that she feels she must preserve for the men of tomorrow.
Ancilla winery . When beauty becomes wine
A courageous woman, when she chooses to abandon finance and follow the call of her land Luisella Benedetti listens to her feminine intuition and returns to the family business, honoring the women who preceded her: her grandmother Ancilla (to whom the company is dedicated ) and his mother Maria Teresa.
With the same energy as her grandmother, Luisella carries on the dream, starting from where every winemaker begins: "pulling tubes, decanting, cleaning tanks, preparing yeast cuvées, supervising fermentations, following bottling."
Luisella's company has two souls: Tenuta Cadellora and Tenuta La Ghidina. Both the selected wines come from the latter - located in Lugana di Sirmione. Here, the 6 hectares of vineyards are cared for in a traditional way, with the use of integrated pest control.
Future vision? Luisella has clear ideas: the future is about taking a step back, returning to simplicity, returning to the earth.
Ancilla's wines reflect all the passion of the women who created them and who continue to carry forward that young dream every day.
San Zeno winery . A family, a territory
Originally from the north of Lake Garda, the Gianfranceschi family has been producing wine since the beginning of the nineteenth century. If at the beginning the company produced quality grapes which it gave to local producers, it was around the 1930s that Pietro Gianfranceschi decided to make a change to the company. Born in 1890 and died one day before turning 100, he had fought in the First World War - during the Libyan campaign - and the Second. Between the two wars he made a courageous choice and began making wine and marketing his wine in bulk.
The company was subsequently carried forward with resourcefulness by his son Zeno, who owes his name to the ancient church of the same name in Bardolino (from the 9th century). It is in honor of the church that in the 1990s the winery took the name of "Azienda Agricola S. Zeno": hence the decision to bottle and market the production of classic Bardolino itself. Zeno, in fact, was driven by the desire to follow his product to the end, see the fruit of his work and receive the right satisfaction.
Today the company is in the hands of his son Simone and those of Zeno himself and includes 19 hectares of land, with vineyards of different ages.
The grapes are processed in the cellar, still in the original location in via San Zeno in Bardolino, an ancient rustic building renovated in the seventies.
Simone Gianfranceschi has taken the reins of the company and carries it forward with dedication. A man of few words, always precise, he is interpreting the challenge of modernity having understood how important it is to open the doors of his cellar to anyone who wants to have a tasting experience in the same place where the winemaker transformed the grapes into wine.
The selected wines
ENTHUSIAST BOX
Bardolino Chiaretto Rodòn, Le Fraghe
To the eyes: From the Le Fraghe winery, the sommeliers of the month have selected the Bardolino Chiaretto Rodòn, a wine which presents itself with a beautiful medium intensity, almost brilliant pink, the result of maceration at a low temperature. On the nose: It fascinates us with a fragrant olfactory stage and even mineral touches: small red fruits such as currants, blueberries and cherries meet very pleasant floral notes (sweet violet, hints of wisteria, orange blossom). On the palate: The flavor is savory, fresh and with well-balanced tannins with an alcohol that does not disturb and, indeed, reinforces its pleasantness. Savory and at times mineral, it is never excessive, defining a pleasant palate and surprising persistence. Don't be fooled by the color: this rose has strength and character to spare! On the table: It pairs well with pasta, white meats and vegetables but declares its unconditional love for fish. To drink at a recommended temperature of 10/12 degrees.ELLA Lugana DOC, Ancilla
To the eyes:
The sommeliers of the month have selected the Lugana Ella, which colors the glass a straw yellow with beautiful greenish reflections (the result of slow cold maceration) and which marks the edges with precise arches where the drops fall quickly, to declare the moderate alcohol content .
On the nose:
In the glass it opens up to valuable olfactory notes: immediately nuances of yellow fruit such as avocado, lime, pink grapefruit leading to the peel of ripe lemon.
In the mouth:
It does not disappoint expectations and on the palate it is well balanced, with the right well-balanced freshness, in the balance between the soft parts (sugars) and the hard part of the wine (acidity and minerality). The strong point of this wine is its ease: from the captivating and frank nose to its release of sensations of freshness and minerality on the palate, without ever falling into acidity, kept in check by the sugars.
On the table:
He is always welcome at the table: he loves pasta with vegetables, traditional lake fish dishes, up to a more complex rice with asparagus and whitefish. We recommend drinking it at a temperature of 8/10 degrees.
Bardolino Chiaretto Classico, Azienda Agricola San Zeno
To the eyes:
The sommeliers of the month selected the Bardolino Chiaretto Classico from the Azienda Agricola San Zeno, produced with Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes from Lake Garda. It is dressed in a deep pink but always in the “chiaretto” shade; the brilliant vein declares its youth and vitality, and is well noticed by the light source.
On the nose:
The nose is delicate but precise, and immediately proves to be very particular. It is first centered on small black fruits (currant, morello cherry, plum and blueberry), with beautiful punctuations of graphite and flint; then floral hints appear such as violet and wild rose.
On the palate:
This wine is exuberant and enters with a sprint that makes it pleasant and not at all obvious. At times politely muscular, never arrogant, it sincerely outlines the character of a territory that knows how to put all its potential into the glass. The flavor is persistent and has a good balance thanks to the interaction between the hard and soft parts. We are amazed by the finish in the mouth which offers an experience that is never predictable and which recovers a mineral finish.
On the table:
There is little to do: it is ideal for fish dishes but never disappoints with first courses of white meat and vegetables, nor with second courses from the traditional cuisine of Lake Garda. We recommend serving it at a temperature between 10 and 12 degrees.
EXPERT BOX
Bardolino, Le Fraghe
To the eyes: From the Le Fraghe winery, the sommeliers of the month have selected the 2015 Bardolino, a wine that presents itself in a beautiful ruby red, lively and taut, the result of processing of the grapes that starts from the vineyard. On the nose: It releases elegance and intensity at the same time: if you expect territory and interpretation here you will find Bardolino! It immediately indulges with floral notes, dog rose and violet, and fruit (blueberry and wild strawberries). This wine must be discovered little by little, and then pepper, graphite notes and vegetal hints appear, closing the olfactory experience in a composed and pleasant way. On the palate: On the palate it presents itself in line with what it declared to the eyes and nose: composed, moderately alcoholic and with a nice tannic texture on the finish, very pleasant. It is a wine that is appreciated for its generous character. On the table: Its perfect pairing is with first courses based on white meat and second courses based on pen meat. To drink at a recommended temperature of 14/16 degrees.Ghidina Lugana DOC, Ancilla
To the eyes:
The sommeliers of the month have selected Ancilla's La Ghidina Lugana DOC, a wine that reveals itself to the eye with a beautiful golden yellow and very fine greenish edges. The intensity of the color immediately reveals its refinement in 5-year barriques.
On the nose:
Upon olfactory analysis, the caliber has beautiful notes of tropical, ripe and fragrant yellow fruit (pineapple, mango and passion fruit), but also of grapefruit and light smoky puffs. It gives light touches of refined vanilla, mineral notes in the background and almond.
On the palate:
This wine promises a lot on the nose and on the palate it does not disappoint: opulent, balanced and rich, it has a powerful and generous structure. His true strength lies in knowing how to wisely manage his refined soul without giving up the freshness that comes from his territory of origin. This is a wine with a great soul, always capable of evolving.
On the table:
Never shy at the table, he also indulges in fish dishes. We recommend drinking it at a temperature between 10 and 12 degrees.
Freudo Rosso Veneto, San Zeno Agricultural Company
To the eyes:
The sommeliers of the month have selected the Freudo Rosso Veneto from the Azienda Agricola San Zeno, which immediately shows a touch of austerity with a lively and tense colour: the Corvina, in fact, always gives a particular coloring matrix and the ruby red that can be glimpsed between the walls of the glass reveals its youth and strong character.
On the nose:
A young wine, we were saying, and the nose immediately tells of still crunchy red fruit such as durum cherry, plum and blueberry. The floral part embroiders a frame of dog rose and light hibiscus up to the slightly balsamic finish, typical of the territory of origin.
On the palate:
On the palate, Freudo Rosso Veneto is exactly in line with the nose: a young wine (and it wants to be so), with a lovely character, never imprecise, on the contrary! The territory teaches that Corvina is a complicated grape, which is slow to indulge and does not like banality: this wine is the synthesis of all this. The finish on the palate is also beautiful and, with light but present tannins, makes it pleasant and opulent.
How to describe this wine? Strong, dynamic and sensual.
On the table:
With an alcohol content of up to 13 degrees, it is the ideal companion for hard and semi-hard cheese platters (never with blue cheeses) and for meat dishes that are not too structured (never with grilled meat!). We recommend serving it between 14 and 16 degrees.
