Corti Brothers Newsletter Spring 2006 Page 2

Corti Brothers Newsletter for Spring 2006 Page 2

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The notable wines from Vignalta:
Agno Casto 2001, Agno Tinto 2002, Cabernet 2000, Alpianae 2003

First came Agno Casto. Chaste Lamb is a strange name for a wine from the Veneto, but it remembers the Vitex agnus castus, the chaste tree, an aromatic plant, a member of the verbena family, which for 500 years was trained along the outside wall of the Botanical Garden of the University of Padova. When it died in 1993, the trunk and part of the espaliered branches were left on the wall. (Why chaste tree you are now thinking? The aromatic branches of this plant were used under the mattresses of monks to help them have chaste dreams.)

Lucio Gomiero, the proprietor of Vignalta and an alumnus of the University of Padova thought this would be an unusual name for his white wine made from an unusual variety in the Colli Euganei, the hills just south of Padova. Agno Casto, chaste lamb, is made from Incrocio Manzoni 6-0.13, a cross of riesling x pinot bianco made by Prof. Luigi Manzoni (1888-1968) at the Conegliano viticultural school. The label states Pinot Bianco, but the wine is Incrocio Manzoni and pinot bianco. Not produced in every vintage, it is medium full bodied; it has an aromatic component with the body of pinot bianco (the white fruited form of pinot noir,) balanced acid, and a delicious flavor. In the Colli Euganei, it is unique.

Then came Agno Tinto 2002. Agno Tinto is a red wine produced from petite sirah grown on the Colli Euganei, blended with other varieties, and first produced in the 2000 vintage. The petite sirah comes from cuttings brought from Concannon in California. The wine’s unusual deep color, spiciness, and fruit are striking in a wine from this area. Its name Agno Tinto came as a consequence of the success of the white Agno Casto.

Cabernet Sauvignon Riserva 2000 wine is the remake of a cabernet wine Vignalta first produced in 1990. The 1990 was the winery’s first Tre Bicchieri wine from the Gambero Rosso Italian Wine Guide. A remarkable wine, the 2000 will be no less. Keep it for ten years. A tannic, powerful wine with great finesse, the tannin will soften with time; it shows what high quality cabernet sauvignon grows in the Veneto, its home now for about 200 years..

Alpiane 2003 is the name of the passito wine from Moscato Fior d’Arancio (Orange Muscat). To make a passito wine (there is no good English term) selected clusters of grapes are picked usually before the beginning of the harvest, put on hooks or cane racks and allowed to wither. The reason the grapes are picked before the start of the harvest is that they should be sound and with acidity. In the withering process, both water and acid are transpired and sugar is concentrated. The 2003 vintage is very attractive with its intense, exotic muscat aroma, the scent of apricots, flowers, and wood. Alpiane is a most delicious and appropriate wine for drinking with Colomba Veneziana or Focaccia.