Villa Camilla, San Siro, Largo Como, Italia
Buongiorno, today was another relaxing day. Taylor, Rachel and Leander are on their way from San Francisco. Rochelle is on her way from Kansas City. Breakfast was on your own, meaning you asked the chef to cook whatever you want. The grandchildren played pool, ping-pong and video games. Grace spent a lot of time on her phone. Do what we don’t know, but it probably involved a WhatsApp cal to Austin. Teenagers? Hard to remember that far back.
Serra, Pietro, Nonna and I went to the supermarket after lunch. There were a few things to pick up. I am not sure why exactly; everything seems so totally under control. But it was nice to get out of the villa and go for a ride. There is but one road on this side of the lake – Via Statale.
We took the road heading south from Santa Maria. We stopped in Menaggio at the Conad City Supermarket, but it was closed for lunch until 2. It is such a civilized way to live. So, we took a ride a little further south to the Sigma Di Lenno Statle in Lenno, which doesn’t follow the custom of closing for lunch. Sad to see traditions pass.
It was late afternoon when Taylor, Rachel and Leander showed up. Apparently the first flight from San Francisco to Newark was late. The connection time was originally only thirty-three minutes. They had to run from one gate to another to catch their flight. Delta had even given their seats in business class away to three people from economy so they could accommodate three more people in economy. So when they arrived there was some seat shuffling and three people had to actually get off the plane.
Unfortunately, Taylor, Rachel and Leander’s luggage didn’t get the same consideration and it didn’t make the flight. So, after about twenty-four hours of travel time, they finally reached the villa without any change of clothing. It is possible their luggage will get here today, but the airline suggested it would probably be Wednesday due to the holiday. Of course, Wednesday we leave here and go to Torino. Only time will tell us exactly what will happen. Harry IV and I tracked Taylor and family on the “where is my” app on our phones. When they got to the villa I opened the gate with the the fob and let them in. Taylor and Rachel were a little tired but Leander was raring to go and wanted to see his cousins.
Leander’s newly added energy took the entire energy level of the villa up a notch or two. There were competitive ping-pong matches and animated Madden football matches on the computer. Rochelle landed about an hour later than Taylor and family, so a separate car and driver brought her up to the villa. She arrived an hour or so later than Taylor and family. She did only carryon so she was completely ready to go. Another remainder that we all over pack.
At 18:00 we had a wine tasting. Pietro had appealed to the consortium that oversees the Franciacorta wine region in Italy to send someone to talk to us about their wines. They sent Sabina Ragazzi a sommelier very familiar with the Franciacorta region. Italy is undoubtedly one of the world’s best, and most diverse, wine producing countries. Viticulture and winemaking are significant elements of Italian culture and heritage. Most Americans, with some knowledge of Italian wines know the most sought-after varietals – such as Chianti Classico, Brunello, Barolo or Babaresco just to name a few.
The more sophisticated will also know that Italy, France and other countries have laws which strictly regulate winemaking. The purpose is to offer wine buyers and drinkers some transparency and some gauge of the wines quality. You will find these distinctions on the collar of the bottle or across the cork. The two most common of these are DOC and DOCG. These stand for Denominatione di Origine Controllata and Denominatione di Origine Controllata e Garantita, the latter being the highest or most strict level. These two designations means a government agency has inspected the vineyard, inspected and tested the wine, had its chemical make up analyzed, that it has been produced where is claims to have been produced, and guarantees that the wine follows the rules of that particular DOC or DOCG.
The consortium sets the particular rules. It is all about marketing and protecting your market. DOC was the originally the only designation. Over time however DOC began to lose value. The rules for production became too lenient and the produces in the northern regions, Piemonte, Veneto and Toscana, wanted something stricter with higher standards. Thus DOCG was born. However in order to become DOCG you first must hold the DOC designation for a number of years and follow the appropriate rules. The you may apply for the DOCG designation, but there is no guarantee it will be granted.
The Franciacorta region, according to various written sources, has been producing “fizzy” wines since the Middle Ages. However, it wasn’t until the early 1960’s that making wine by the Metodo Classico or traditional method sparkling wine was successful. This lead to the creation of the Franciacorta DOC in 1967. In 1995 that designation was upgraded to to DOCG.
The Franciacorta appalachian is located in Lombardia, like Largo Como, but is nearer to the center of Lombardia near the Lago d’Iseo, which is located between Bergamo and Brescia. You can discover the Franciacorta wine trail at https://franciacorta.wine/en/consortium/associazione-strada-franciacorta/.
Franciacorta’s location near the lake and the winds from the nearby mountains create a micro-climate excellent for grapes. The strong breezes bring fresh air at night, producing pronounced day and night temperature changes that encourage optimal grape growing and ripening. These same wind help keep the vines healthy, this is important in assisting the denomination’s producers use of organic farming practices. Organic farming began in the region in 1998. In 2023 nearly 70% of the vineyards are either certified organic or are in the conversion process.
This climate and the loose Morainic soils boasts the rich fruit flavors and helps keep the alcohol level from getting too high. This results in the wines from the area to offer great freshness, and keeps them from having the aggressive acidity of many sparkling wines from cooler climates. Chardonnay accounts for the vast majority of the vineyards, followed by Pinot Nero then Pinot Bianco. A number of producers are also investing in Erbamat a rare native grape of Brescia.
The point is this sparkling wine is really good. We tasted four different varietals. Cortefusia’s Rose and Saten, and Vezzoli’s Brut Millesimato and Dosage Zero. Honestly they were all very good. The bubbles were so small, which is an indication of the traditional method of making sparkling wines. Marketing has taught us that champagne is number one, and Prosecco is number two. Unfortunately the newness and small annual production has kept Franciacorta off the list somehow. However, like with most small artisan producers, the wine is really good. No you probably won’t find it at World’s of Wine, Total Wine or Wines and More, but you will find it in the Provincia of Brescia. If you go looking for it, you can be assured the trip will be well worth it.
Dinner followed the wine tasting. Tonight the chef threw us a pizza party. He lit the wood fired pizza oven out back of the kitchen and then produced six or seven different pizzas. It was wonderful to have good Italian pizza again. This was served with a variety of vegetables. Of course some of the wine we had just tasted. Dessert was al cioccolato con cuore caldo and gelato. Ok, it was chocolate lava cake, but it sounds so much better in Italian. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. So, Merry Christmas to you all.
Ciao Enrico
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