Vintage day in Poland: Winnica Adoria

Lovely tradition at any wine making country, the vintage!

Smells of alcohol and breeze, colors of grapes alike oil on canvas.

I was so happy today as my friend Eric from France, invited to me to be a Vigneron – just for one day – quoting David Bowie.

Eric is from Guascogne and loves sport, so he drove car allowing me to get dru… work hard in the vineyard without regrets.

We left Wroclaw the smog and the mood of the Polish city to reach Zachowice in about 40 mins. A sweet cruise on his station wagon speaking about his running around Central Europe, and my tastings around Dolny Slask, this beatiful region gently hosting these two expats of us.

Winnica Adoria is a winery, founded by an American who moved from USA to Poland few years ago, after years spent at construction machine industry: Mike, who reinvented his lifestyle at the bucolic Polish countryside.

I think one of the most proper wines made in Poland, even considering the young age of this business and the fact this is traditionally not a wine-making Country.

Arrived at the winery, very clean, tidy as in Napa Valley, seriously well mantained apparently by an Italian farmer and wife, working for Adoria, I was surprised to face an olive tree in Poland!

Considering that Poland is quite flat and usually the Poles calling ‘mountains’ heights of about 400 metres, though I am not an Alpine boy, the soil is pretty good and fertile, also considering that strong thermal excursion from -25°C in a winter night. In fact I am often surprised tasting local wines.

As above said, Mike is using the right technology and literally loves his job, as I saw riding his car thorugh the estate, and even if the weather conditions are difficult, though not extreme, Adoria is probably the best wine Made in Poland, as per my humble opinion.

Indeed, even this olive tree from Puglia was transplanted 1100 kms North-East in Lower Silesia, Poland with success: as I saw the fruits pending from its leaves. I never thought I met an olive tree at this latitude, and not only because of Climate change, but also the great versatility of olive plant.

While Eric picking up red grapes, I was helping with the press by feet of the firs most!

Such an emotion, I missed this moment of festa with contact between skin and first juice of wine!

In Italy traditionally the press is made on freshly vintaged fruits by the smallest and finest beings: women and kids. This Pinot Noir was lucky to meet French and Italian feet of ours:

vigneron press most first juice mosto vino spremitura a
piedi vendemmia polonia poland

I was missing so much the contact with nature and the happiness was so visible. Even the alcohol spilled from the most was giving me a Bacchus smile!

There were even other people came from Wroclaw and Warsaw, in order to take part to la Vendemmia, the vintage. We met all of them, curious wine-lovers and passionate about wino.

We were lucky to taste few labels, opened for this occasion by Mike, the host and Winemaker of Winnica Adoria. I thought how big, wide and incredible is therefore the World of wines.

We enjoyed particularly the Chardonnay 2018 harvested in mid October, during a long dry autumn.  It then went through fermentation in an oak followed by a secondary malo-lactic fermentation in stainless steel. I tasted apple from Dolny Slask, peach and tropical fruits, together with notes of mountains’ flowers, with a touchand toasted oak in the background. Pretty structured with high levels of ripeness resulting in a super 14% alcohol wine, that fills ones whole mouth.

I had another nice day back in time, in Poland too and locally the Poles name Swiety Marcin the Saint Martin’s Day, which is possibly the average day of vintage in eraly-autumn, at this latitude.

The vintage is always a big moment of party, work and celebration of nature and mankind. Another occasion to feel close to the land, the feeling of free spirit and spending the time working together with humans, to produce a future good wine. This is definitely my way of Life!

Ginosa il mare e la cucina di pesce

La meta numero 1 per i turisti italiani è da anni oramai acclarata: la Puglia!

Insieme a Sardegna e Sicilia ha sicuramente la preferenza dei vacanzieri italiani e da qualche anno, anche gli stranieri hanno conosciuto questa perla nascosta del turismo balneare.

La marcia in più delle marine pugliesi è certamente la cucina di mare e di terra! Pesce, frutti di mare e vino fresco da gustare in riva al mare, per una vera Estate Italiana!

Domen

Vi riporto la mia visita a Ginosa Marina, a 35 kilometri da Taranto città, una delle città costiere premiate con la Bandiera Blu per la pulizia dell’acqua e dei fondali, grazie alla abbondante alga Poseidonia che permette ai pescetti e ai crostacei di vivere fecondamente, fino alla nostra tavola (spietato!).

Sono stato per una breve permanenza in zona, Matera dista 35 kilometri e si può dire che siamo sullo Jonio più accogliente e servito, a due passi da Metaponto e dalle tavole palatine.

Diverse scelte per mangiare, a basso prezzo e con la cucina semplice di mare, senza grandi pretese (leggasi non trovate qui Stelle Michelin, nè servizio con in guanti bianchi) e contornate da autenticità delle persone, e degli ingredienti.

Grandi classici: cozze gratinate al forno. Insalata di Polpo. Alici fritte. Spumone trigusto direttamente dalla vicina Calabria.

Siamo stati da Domenico a La Perla, una vecchia istituzione a Marina di Ginosa, Taranto, fondata 30 anni fa, nel pieno boom degli anni ’70 in un Sud super sprint grazie alla ripartenza economica e tanto affamato di mare, sole, bagni e vacanze.

Effettivamente la atmosfera è quasi quella degli anni d’oro, la struttura è stata rinnovata di recente e dotata di aria condizionata.

Prezzo onesto e sorrisi sinceri, come nella tradizione della ristorazione tarantina dal 1973.

Vi consiglio a due passi anche il mare di Castellaneta Marina, contigua a Marina di Ginosa. Circa 15 kilometri di costa sabbiosa senza uno scoglio, adatto per bambini e per chi non sa nuotare. Attrezzato con spiagge private alternate a diversi spazi di spiaggia libera e gratuita.

Alberobello + Friuli wines

Brand new shop in town and I went to visit it! the local hero is Michele a young guy from Lucania – Potenza. He started a wine import in Wroclaw Poland offering great wines from any regions of Italy!

Definitely great prices and huge quality! I brought home today a bunch of bottles from Friuli-Venezia-Giulia and Puglia. The Albea Nobile Latino and great white wines from the Northern-East side of Italy.

Albea Alberobello nobile Latino Primitivo Puglia Mortadella Salame Caciocavallo Prosciutto Asiago

So I was happy to meet the local genius of wines introducing this Nobile Latino. Red velvet, fruity with ripe amarena cherries, a dark colour and sugarine taste and retro-taste. Very genuine and authentic label, made in one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Puglia: Alberobello. This is an old tradition of making wines in the region, where ‘trullo’ was a home made up of stones – abundant in the area. Legend says that the earls’ exactor came to ask to be paid – as nowadays for any property you may own – then the poorest farmers had to stick out the pieces of their houses, in order to avoid paying those taxes. There is history behind any stone in Italy.

Finally we head North, trough one of my favorite regions, in terms of white wines and Prosciutto San Daniele! Udine is the home of a great university of vignerons where to learn the use of temperatures in wine, but the land is here helping a lot les vignerons: this carstic land (Carso is the local underground made up of gargantuesque caves and stalagmites as in Dante’s Inferno) provides lots of water, minerality, and great freshness to the spectacular local vines.

Livon Villa Chiopris / Friuli Venezia Giulia white wines / Friulano Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc

This is the home of Livon which holds the Villa Chiopris cantina – Dorino Livon acquired his first vineyards on the Collio hills in 1964, and slowly, plot by plot he expands his property establishing the Azienda Agricola Livon estate. Then, produced some of the nicest white wines made in a respectful way of the place. A selection nowadays including the most appreciated labels, international and native of Friuli.

The so-called Friulano ( meaning from Friuli) was originally named in dialect “Tocai” but Hungarians arrived first at registering the trade-mark at European Union – legend says on the registration date, the Italians stayed drinking upon late night, instead of moving to Bruxelles and saving the name.

A natural-sparkling, still Chardonnay, goldish fruity and with saffron-alike spicey taste, in a really Northern Italian style, which can not be found anywhere else and may be compared with New Zealand and Australian labels, for freshness and persistence.

Last was Sauvignon Blanc, with the yellow pepper prevailing with elegance, and to be matched with the local cheese Asiago, a soft-dough cheese made on those mountains, and San Daniele, the most extraordinary prosciutto dry-aged in salt for 12+ months.

I suggest by hearth to taste all of them, and let me know how you liked them!