Monte Taburno
Summer reflection. Those things you do when you feel autumn at your heels…
Sitting at an outdoor café in the sleep Riviera town of Chiavari, I find myself before a lovely, crisp glass of Falanghina. We all know Falanghina, of course, but the lure for me was Taburna – that massive mountain, home to the Sabine women and the place my maternal grandfather was born – the Caudina valley. I discovered these roots not many years ago, when I took my teenage son on a heritage voyage. I found out that this area is now a ‘hot new’ winemaking region just last year when I met Paolo Cotroneo, owner of La Rivolta. Che sorpresa!
So when the aperitivo came and I asked to see the bottle, it was with glee that I found it was Paolo’s own vintage!
Fattoria La Rivolta is one of those little points of excellence, having conquered Bibenda’s 5 Grappoli prize last year, and again this year with the Aglianico del Taburno DOCG Riserva 2011.
Can I say how much I respect people like Paolo who put all their passion for their territory and the product they produce into every bottle? This man is a pharmacist but devotes himself to exhalting the aromas of that mysterious and rich land that is the Taburno.
As you can see, Paolo proclaims his philosophy on the bottle: recuperating the memory of a place can take place through the flavors of the land. And yes, this wine is organic.
This weekend at Rome’s Cavalieri Hilton is the annual Bibenda 5 Grappoli dinner…. Keep your eyes peeled for our report!
Cin-cin!
Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine 