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2015 Gambellara Classico “Col Moenia”
Davide VignatoGambellara is a tiny white wine appellation in Italy’s Veneto, situated roughly midway between the city of Vicenza and the more renowned Soave zone. Like Soave, Gambellara wines spotlight the local Garganega grape; however, differences in soil type yield very distinct expressions of this same variety. Whereas the limestone of Soave gives fine, elegant wines with generous fruit, the volcanic basalt that makes up most of Gambellara’s vineyards produces a much more steely, mineral-driven, almost gritty white.
When young Davide Vignato took over the family vineyards, he set out to craft whites that would genuinely reflect this fascinating, unheralded terroir. Col Moenia represents a selection of the estate’s highest-quality organically grown grapes, fermented with a starter culture from wild yeasts and aged in tank with regular lees stirring. It brilliantly balances a delicate, slightly creamy, floral side with the saline minerality conferred from these volcanic soils. It pairs perfectly with any number of cicchetti (Venetian snacks).
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2015 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Garganega |
Appellation: | Gambellara |
Country: | Italy |
Region: | Veneto |
Producer: | Davide Vignato |
Winemaker: | Davide Vignato |
Vineyard: | 40 years average, 6 ha total |
Soil: | Volcanic, basalt soil |
Aging: | Ages on fine lees in stainless steel tank for 7 months until bottling |
Farming: | Organic (practicing) |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
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About The Producer
Davide Vignato
About The Region
Veneto
Italy’s most prolific wine region by volume, the Veneto is the source of some of the country’s most notorious plonk: you’ll find oceans of insipid Pinot Grigo, thin Bardolino, and, of course, the ubiquitous Prosecco. And yet, the Veneto produces the highest proportion of DOC wine of any Italian region: home to prestigious appellations like Valpolicella, Amarone, and Soave, it is capable of excelling in all three colors, with equally great potential in the bubbly and dessert departments.
With almost 200,000 acres planted, the Veneto has a wealth of terroirs split between the Po Valley and the foothills of the Alps. While the rich soils of the flatlands are conducive to mechanization, high yields, and mass production of bulk wine, the areas to the north offer a fresher climate and a diversity of poor soil types, ideal for food-friendly wines that show a sense of place. Whether it’s a charming Prosecco Superiore from the Glera grape, a stony Soave or Gambellara from Garganega, or a Corvina-based red in any style, the Veneto’s indigenous grape varieties show real character when worked via traditional production methods.
Since his first visit in 1979, Kermit has regularly returned to the Veneto to enjoy its richness of fine wines and local cuisine. Our collaboration with Corte Gardoni, our longest-running Italian import, is a testament to this. The proximity of beautiful cities like Verona and Venice, with their deep culinary heritage, certainly doesn’t hurt, either.
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Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch