JACK GARRATT http://jackgarratt.com/
THE NATIVE GRAPES
INHALE THE BREATH OF VENUS
‘Honest.
It was the scent of a woman. Infact it was VENUS herself.
Cross our hearts and hope to die
It was as though she just passed us by.’
Yeah well, ok, let’s just say it felt something like that at VINITALY2016 while raising a glass of ‘Soffio di Venere’ toward our ever adventurous tasting beaks. Poetry in motion. PAUSE momentarily for an insightful reflection…
How little we all still know about life when an unknown beauty can literally just take our breath away.
‘Soffio di Venere’, whose name aptly translates into ‘Breath of Venus’, is a delicate sparkling white wine from Emilia Romagna.
Produced from 100% Trebbiano Modenese grapes at the La Piana organic winery in Castelvetro, it is artisan winemaker Mirco Gianaroli that we must thank for creating this very personal wine. A wine of style and grace.
In a way it’s treasure to behold because these very same age old vines, which are native to Modena’s hinterland, have for centuries been used as one of the principal grape varieties from which local producers also obtain the famous and prized culinary tincture Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP (ABTM).
The perpetual demand for this aromatic elixir, commanding high values as it does, is what surely led most growers to follow the path to acetic stardom. And without doubt ABTM is uniquely wonderous.
But you know something, how refreshing it always is to discover that, in the face of daily commerical pressures, a cultured and indeed poetic winemaker like Gianaroli can be found grafting away, almost unnoticed, helping to breathe life back into the oenological lungs of their local native Trebbiano Modenese.
And as that breath of life, Soffio di Venere is a true VSQDOP – Vino Spumante di Qualità Denominazione di Origine Protetta. In other words folks, we’re talking QUALITY Sparkler. Produced both organically and in the classical way, it is bottled Pas Dosè, without any parting liqueur d’expedition or additional sulfites.
“soffio di venere” – style expectations
SOFFIO DI VENERE is luminous, the colour of fresh summer straw with a befitting steady perlage of fine, healthy, bubbles.
SOFFIO DI VENERE‘s delicate perfumed perfection is florally laced with honeysuckle, mimosa and jasmine, sprinkled with a citrus dewdrop. INHALE.
SOFFIO DI VENERE is dry and medium bodied. And while on one hand it’s soft, on the other there is a very pleasing freshness to its acidity and minerality, giving it just the right amount of bite. With such balance and persistence, what’s not to like about this new breath of life. And… EXHALE
What an inaugural encounter with this round, lightly bloomed, yellow berry!!
With every inhalation, Soffio di Venere and Trebbiano Modenese breathed further zest into our adventurous lungs.
Tell Venus we owe it to Mirco Gianaroli.
Remarkably JACK GARRATT clearly’s had a similar experience.
Hey Jack, we really must talk!
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.