Videos
Meet the Winemaker (Episode 85): Fiorenzo Dogliani, Batasiolo
Owned by the Dogliani family, the Batasiolo winery, is located in the district of La Morra in Italy’s famous Barolo region. The family, who have been making wines for three generations, named their winery after the place, Batasiolo where the winery was built. They focus on making Piedmontese wines, namely Barbera, Docletto, Barolo, Gavi di Gavi and Sartore.
The family own nine estates with a total of 120 hectares of vineyards, in addition to a beautiful 5 star hotel and restaurant in Serralunga. According to Fiorenzo Dogliani, the unique soil in La Morra with less limestone and the special altitude and temperature makes his wines elegant and easy to drink. Today Bastasiolo wines are exported to 53 countries around the world, including to Asia where they have been exporting wines for the past 15 years.
( 2 Comments ) - Leave a CommentMeet the Winemaker (Episode 84): Davide Rosso, Giovanni Rosso
Located in the Serralunga d’Alba in the famous Barolo wine region of Italy is the small family-run winery, Giovanni Rosso. The vineyards have been in the Rosso family since the end of the 19th century, but it was only in 1998 when Davide Rosso took over the business that they began to produce their own wine.
Today Giovanni Rosso produce a limited production of Barolo wines from the Nebbiolo grape. The 12-hectare site, covers special terroirs: the limestone-rich La Serra and clay-rich Cerreta. Davide Rosso points out that this mineral-rich soil is what affects the quality of the wine and allows it to mature well. Davide, who learnt about winemaking in Burgundy, is passionate about using mostly organic methods with no herbicides or pesticides. In addition to respecting the soil, Rosso uses traditional methods to make his wines, allowing them to ferment in their skins for 30 days in cement vats without temperature control, which he believes allows the flavour of the terroir permeate the grapes.The result is a complex and elegant yet soft Barolo which Rosso believes is the perfect accompaniment to rich Chinese food.
( 0 Comments ) - Leave a CommentMeet the Winemaker (Episode 83): Barry Saslove, Saslove Winery
Wine lover and educator, Barry Saslove, is partly credited for the rejuvenation of the Israeli wine industry in recent years. Saslove winery, a small family-run business, occupies twelve hectares in the Upper Galilee, the highest of which is 820 metres above sea level. Their vines, which are grown in basalt soil with limestone underneath, benefit from the cool dry mountain air and require very little water. Saslove, a Canadian, who prides himself in organic wine production, believes that letting the flavour of the soil permeate the vines is the only way to make true Israeli wines.
Barry Saslove’s love for cooking inspires his whole philosophy to winemaking – he is constantly adding, adjusting and tasting to find the perfect blend or marriage. Saslove His wines are meticulously crafted, fruity and elegant with good potential for aging. Saslove is equally passionate about winemaking as he is about bringing the pleasure of wine to others and today Saslove winery is as well known for its seminars taught by Barry Saslove himself, as it is for its exceptional wines.
( 0 Comments ) - Leave a CommentMeet the Winemaker (Episode 82): Janice McDonald, Stella Bella
Inspired by a 15th century french monk, a nautical term and the Italian star scape, Janice MacDonald, former winemaker of Stella Bella, and her team produce a range of wines under the unusual names, ‘Suckfizzle’, ‘Scuttlebutt’ and ‘Stella Bella’.
Crafted in the famous Margaret River region in Australia, Stella Bella Wines began in 1999 with the release of the single vineyard Suckfizzle Sauvignon Blanc Semillon. The first Stella Bella wine, a Moscato style Pink Muscat followed in 2000.
Influenced by Italian wines, in both style and name, Janice explains that their business has been a labour of love from the beginning with them working hard to produce unique wines of great expression and personality. Things have certainly come a long way since their humble beginnings and today Stella Bella have received critical acclaim and gained a strong reputation for producing a range of individual crafted quality wines.
( 0 Comments ) - Leave a CommentMeet the Winemaker (Episode 81): Arnaud Mirey, Aromaster
Wine tasting is a tricky business with so many grape varieties to remember and different aromas to pinpoint. Thanks to Arnaud Mirey, the wine novice now has a helping hand. Mirey’s wine tasting education tool, the ‘Wine Aromas Game’ which also doubles as a fun board game, consists of 80 different bottled aromas. It has taken Mirey five years of research to create this series of good quality authentic aromas with some being easy to capture and others such a flint or leather having to be chemically reproduced.
Mirey’s wine toolkit also includes a comprehensive book outlining the different families of aromas such as spice, flowers, etc. and aroma wheels which highlight the aromas most likely to be found in each grape variety. So if you’re looking to give your nose a workout more on wine, or quiz your friends, take Mirey’s advice, take a deep breath and get smelling. ‘May the best nose win!’
( 0 Comments ) - Leave a CommentMeet the Winemaker (Episode 80): Nicolas Potel, Nicolas Potel Winery
Having learnt the wine business in Australia, Nicolas Potel is not your average French winemaker. Initially having started under his own name, since 2005, Potel has concentrated on making wines under the name, ‘Domaine de Bellene’, with Bellene deriving from ‘Bellenos’, ancient Gallic god of the sun.
Situated in Beaune in the famous wine region of Burgundy, what makes Domaine de Bellene unique is that wines are produced biodynamically. No outside products such as acid or enzymes are added to the incredible array of wines produced and work in the vineyard is done manually where possible.
Potel also runs a negociant’s business, ‘Maison Roche de Bellene’ which deals with sourcing and maturing top quality wines. Despite his success in the wine business after several setbacks, Potel is humble in his admission that he still has a lot of learning to do in the quest to make his wines even more pure and elegant.
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