It has been 21 days since I wrote on my beloved wine blog and I must say that I have missed you a lot. However, this year I took a 'special leave' to get married: in fact, during this month of absence Francesco and I have organised our wedding! Heck, now that there are just over 40 days to go we're starting to get really excited... even for the Coronavirus it will be an intimate ceremony like I've always dreamed of: in fact there will be 14 of us included! In these 21 days, however, I have tried to be more present on Instagram, although I have not been at 100% there either, but I trust you will forgive me given this unique moment in life we are living. I was happy to accept the proposal of Umberto Cosmo -Bellenda- and do my first 3 video tastings of a lifetime. I admit that I have always been a bit reluctant to show myself on video because, although one would never say it, I am a bit camera shy. Let's just say I'm more of a keyboard or camera lion!!! But in the end I really enjoyed it... perhaps also thanks to the three delicious wines (one classic method sparkling wine and two prosecco with bottom) that I tasted? 🥂
Bellenda Rosé Metodo Classico Talento Brut 2007
The first wine I am telling you about is a masterpiece. The pinot noir vines of the Vigna del Moro, on mixed clay-limestone soil, are trained by guyot and have a high density. Harvesting is manual, between the end of August and the beginning of September. After destemming, a short maceration and soft pressing, the must thus obtained ferments in steel and matures on the fine lees. Sparkling and re-fermentation in the bottle, on the lees for 72 months. Sugar content 7g/l, but not at all noticeable.
🥂These days I am doing something very special: I am choosing the #vini to go with dishes of #pescedilago I have chosen for our #winewedding 🥰
😳The first wine I chose was love at first sight: #spumante#methodoclassical #rosé 2007 disgorgement 2015 of #bellenda ❤️ I can already taste it with barbecued eel with a marinade read to the #erbearomatics 😍 For the (video) #degustation fully followed @bellenda1986 🤗 I'll just tell you one thing in advance: it is spectacular and costs too little compared to its quality/goodness 😱
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🐟In the meantime, I can't wait for 6 August to do the #provamenu a #castellooldofredi with @francesco_saldi 😍
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©️👩🏼 #chiarabassi 🥂 #perlagesuite
Bellenda 'Rural Method' Bottle fermentation, sparkling on its own yeasts, no added sulphites
This bottomed prosecco wine was one of the very first to strike me in the Umberto Cosmo - Bellenda. I like everything: the choice of bottle, the choice of stopper, the label, the wax effect... and of course the contents!
All too often we hear that Glera gives a light wine, with structure that cannot sustain long stays in the bottle. We believe that this is a myth that must be dispelled. This is why we have tried to retrace our olfactory and gustatory memory. We have asked ourselves what elements to look for in a wine and what can be the way to produce this wine without resorting either to hyper-technologism or pseudo-natural witchcraft which, both, have little to do with wine. We believe that the balance between nature and human intervention is the key to returning to a wine that allows us to 'drink the land'. We fermented this wine on the skins, using wooden vats, without temperature control, without adding sulphur dioxide to the crushed product. At the same time we tried to record what was happening so that we could understand what was happening to the mass that was slowly turning into wine.
Understand in order to then know where the error may lie. Understanding so as not to fall into the temptation of believing that in nature everything always works out for the best. To understand in order to be able to produce a wine with minimal intervention, but at the same time to be able to produce a wine that carries the history of the land and tells something about us: here too the watchword is 'balance'.
The second fermentation took place in this bottle that you have opened or are about to open.
🤔You know the #methodural by #bellenda 🥂?
🍇 A splendid interpretation of the #wine #glera #without sulphites added vinified with the #methodancestral which gives us hints of butter, walnut, candied citron, lemon peel and lime blossom! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🍝Perfect on its own as #aperitif its structure and citrine aromaticity make it ideal for a variety of pairings. I promised you with 'Il Valentino' spaghettoni #monogranofelicetti with the #sardinadimontisola (and indeed you can see it in the second photo), but it was in this combination that it was at its best! Crostone bread with sourdough from @tentazioniristorante and the #trota marinated in Breton grey salt and sugar for 28 hours with lemon peel, pepper of #sichuan e #aneto⠀⠀
❤️ Tonight I will also try another treat #methodoclassical 2007 of Bellenda and if it fits so well I will write the #ricetupdated on the blog with some considerations... #Good morning#winelovers 🥰🍷
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©️👩🏼 #chiarabassi 🥂 #perlagesuite
Bellenda "Così è" Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco col fondo DOCG Frizzante Bottle fermentation
A product that brings back memories of the peasant tradition of consuming Prosecco with bottled wine throughout the meal.
And indeed this prosecco with bottom reminded me of magic moments on a Sunday in Palazzuolo sul Senio. My beloved maternal grandparents and I used to go on beautiful pick-nicks. Grandpa would drive his white pandino kept like a jewel, standing in the middle of the road at 30 km/h and bragging that no one would pass him as if he were Schumacher. Grandma spread the red plaid blanket on the riverbank as we arrived. Then off to the inn, Grandma and I on a food mission! Tortelli ricotta and potatoes, roast of the day and some cantuccio with the inevitable glass of sweet albana, in a perfect fusion of that region of Italy which is for me the most beautiful and not just because I was born there: la Romagna Tuscany! I'm sure my grandparents would have loved the prosecco with the 'So it is' base both with the tortelli and the roast!
🤔Do you know Bellenda's 'Così è' Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG sparkling fermentation in the bottle?
🍇 A splendid interpretation of the #wine #glera is a cloudy straw yellow with a fine, not too numerous perlage. The nose has wonderful hints of baked apple, fresh apple, pear, herbs and lemon thyme with a hint of not yet perfectly ripe peach. In the mouth it is creamy, fresh, consistent and one sip leads to another! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
🍝Ideal for accompanying dishes with simple cooking, with refined or poor ingredients! For example, it is just as perfect with pasta and beans as with red prawns from Mazara del Vallo... but if you can, I invite you to have a nice pick-nick with a basket of Venetian sandwiches: it will be absolute perfection!
❤️ 'Wines with bottoms bring back memories of tradition [...], they make me think of my grandparents; every Sunday with them in the summer we would go for a picnic by the river and we would take the basket, the checked blanket and have ravioli stuffed with ricotta and spinach. This would be the wine my grandfather would have loved!"
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©️👩🏼 #chiarabassi 🥂 #perlagesuite
How nice, I am happy to have started writing on my beloved wine blog again! Next time I go to Romagna to visit my mum and Francesco, we'll take the wicker basket, a bottle of prosecco with Bellenda bottled, and go for a wonderful pick-nick on the river at the exact spot where I used to go every Sunday with my grandparents! If you want to read more about Bellendahere are some other articles I have written:
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Coronavirus Italy: Umberto Cosmo -Bellenda- writes to Verona Fiere
- Horoscope 2020: what will we open to celebrate the year of change?
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Blend 2019: 14 wines you should taste and why they will amaze you
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Bellenda: extraordinary vertical tasting of Prosecco S.C. 1931 at Vinitaly 2017
I smiled a little when I linked to your article on Taurus Horoscope 2020... I've never actually believed in horoscopes! However, this time I have to admit he was right, at least on the love side: in about 40 days I'm getting married to the guy of my dreams, a guy who Prince Charming would turn green with envy to meet!
Cheers🥂
Chiara