Winery of the Month – 2018 JUL Giovanna Madonia
For July we are going to Emilia-Romagna and Azienda Agricola Giovanna Madonia. The region is a joining of two historic regions. Emilia got its name from the Roman road connecting Rimini to Piacenza, the Via Aemilia which was finished in 187BCE and amazingly parts of it are still in use today. Romagna comes from Romania which is what the Lombards called the Eastern Roman Empire.
Today the region is one of the wealthiest in all of Europe. There are many Roman and Renaissance buildings throughout the region. The Capitol is Bologna, where you can find the oldest University in the world, the University of Bologna. It is also a great place to be a gear head as Ferrari, Masserati, Pagani and Ducati are located here. And this being Italy of course the food (Sauce Bolognese) and wine are excellent.
Giovanna Madonia was started by her grandfather, who cultivated a few acres of grapes and made wines for family and friends. His son enlarged the vineyard holdings and started making wine ccommercially. Giovanna really improved the situation with rigorous clonal selection and modern vineyard practices focused on quality wine production. She planted the vineyards at elevations between 650 and 1000 feet with a density of 2900 vines per acre. She uses a variation of Bush training that maximizes the sun exposure for the berries.
Wines
Neblina Albana di Romagna
The wine is medium bodied, fresh and lively. Flavors of stone fruits and melon mix with white flowers. This is a textbook example of Albana, if you have never had one you may have a new summer go to.
Regularly $17.99 Sale $13.99
Tenentino Forli Sangiovese IGT
Here is one of the reasons that I love Sangiovese from Emilia-Romagna so much. Bright red and purple fruit with some violet aromas and a slight hint of Tuscan herbs. Try this at your next BBQ or at this price really any event. The wine has some Merlot in it, but Miles from “Sideways” won’t get mad at you.
Regularly $15.99 Sale $12.99
Fermavento Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore DOC
Fermavento is 100% Sangiovese and here you really start to see her ability as a winemaker. Aged for around 10 months in a combination of stainless steel and second use oak barriques. The resulting wine is medium bodied with great red berry fruit and some dark brambly fruit as well. You will notice a bit of baking spice from the oak but it mixes well with the fruit flavors and violet aromas.
Regularly $24.99 Sale $19.99
Ombroso Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva DOC
This is not your typical Sangiovese. It spends a little over a year in Barriques and Tonneaux with 50% being new oak. The flavors are darker here with mainly black berries and some larger dark fruits. There is definitely some vanilla and baking spice along with some more herbal flavors. The wine is rich without being out of balance. Man I have a tough job having to taste all these wines.
Regualrly $35.99 Sale $25.99