Welcome to our Crushed Grape Chronicles Newsletter
Catch up on the stories you may have missed.
Learn new Wine pairings, and Discover Wine Country as we visit new Regions.
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Cheers!
Grab a bottle and some friends, and celebrate!
As we move into May, the frequency of warmer days (you know, those that require a bit of AC) are increasing. Even so, we are still waiting for Dulcinea Sophia (our Desert Museum Palo Verde Tree) to cover the backyard with her golden blooms.
This cool weather has allowed us to enjoy some delightful red wines this month while continuing to dive into the beautiful content we captured in Italy last October.
Here’s what you will find in our April wrap-up below:
- A dive into Monica di Sardinia paired with a lamb fregola risotto.
- Our meeting with Cristina Scarpellini of Tenuta Scerscé. A rare female winemaker in Valtellina.
- Our visit with Marco of La Perla di Marco Triacca, where we learn about the Swiss innovations that his family has brought to the Valtellina Valley.
- A Malbec from Regenerative Organic certified vineyard in Argentina to celebrate earth day.
- And my own dive into the happy memories of Italy. I enjoy the endorphin rush as I sift through all the great stories we have yet to share with you.
We also have added Food Photography and Videography to our offerings with 42 Aspens Production! Check that out at the bottom.
On with this month’s roundup!
Monica & Fregola
This month the #ItalianFWT writers were exploring Calabria and Sardinia.
We decided to try a bottle of Monica from Sardinia. This was a variety I had never tasted!
I mixed this up humming “Monica” by the Kinks, as I sipped and cooked. (And yes I made sure to serve you up a bit of that tune in the post!)
We paired it with a fregola risotto with lamb and a pepper sauce.
Fregola is pearl pasta from Sardinia.
I had fun with this recipe and you can find the reel here
Tenuta Scerscé - Rising to the Challenges in Valtellina
Cristina Scarpellini likes a challenge.
She came to Valtellina, an outsider, a lawyer from Milan, and knew she wouldn’t leave. This valley had her under its spell.
This valley is filled with challenges, with steep hills and heroic agriculture. In addition, she was coming in as an outsider to a valley filled with tradition. Oh, and she was a woman.
She took the time, learned about the land, met the people, and now makes beautiful wines in this valley. She is blazing a trail for other female winemakers to follow.
Join us as we get to know her and her wines better.
La Perla di Marco Triacca
Efficiency, Innovation & Legacy
We spent part of a day with Marco Triacca in his vineyard in the Valgella sub-zone of Valtellina, Italy.
He grows just 2 varieties of grape, Pignola, which he uses for a sparkling wine, and Nebbiolo, from which he makes 3 wines, a Valtellina Superiore, a Riserva, and a Sforzato.
At harvest, his vineyard is timed for low stress. They begin with the Pignola harvest, then the Sforzato, the Valtellina Superiore, and the Riserva. Each is separated by a couple of weeks.
His vineyards run with the curve of the mountains, which is not typically in Valtellina. He also has a unique trellising system designed by his father, Domenico. This method allows for amazing ease for the workers during harvest.
In the end, the really important part is that the wines are delicious!
Get all the details and see the video at the link below!
Argentinian Malbec for World Malbec Day and Earth Day
We celebrated 2 holidays at once with a Reserve Malbec from Domaine Bousquet in Argentina.
Domaine Bousquet became the 4th Regenerative Organic Certified winery on the planet last year. They produce delicious and astoundingly affordable wines from high in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina’s Uco Valley.
We paired this beautiful wine (that retails at just $16.99, with seared skirt steak in a savory chocolate sauce!
Reminiscing on Italy
Science has proven that travel is a triple threat for endorphin release (those feel-good hormones).
You have the excitement of planning a trip, the experience itself and then the rush of pleasure each time you think back on your trip.
I indulge in a bit of the last as I ponder the map and share with you some amazing photos of our trip.
There is more to come!
42 Aspens Food Photography
For over 10 years, we have been producing Food Photography & Videography with recipes and wine pairings on our website, Crushed Grape Chronicles.
This past year we published 2 photo-heavy cookbooks on wine and food pairings.
With our skills honed, we offer them to you.
Our services are perfect for food bloggers needing older content photos updated and not having time to re-shoot AND keep up with their current content.
Or for Brands or Agencies that need Product Shots, Product Videos, Recipe Development, or Culinary Lifestyle Shoots.
We can work with online or print publications, creating recipe shots in high definition.
If you are a cookbook author, recipe development is what you do best. Let us create beautiful photos of your creations to bring their mouthwatering deliciousness to the page or screen.
We can also create beautiful content for your social media channels!
Visit 42 Aspens, our production company, for details on our basic rates or to start a conversation on a project!
Click the button below!
So what’s coming up in May?
We have an article on 2 wines from Marche and Abruzzo, Italy, and some pairings inspired by local dishes.
Our final episode on Valtellina, Italy, where we spend part of a day with biodynamic winemaker Marcel Zanolari.
A round-up of tastings and pairings of several wines from the Regenerative & biodynamic Argentinian winery Domaine Bousquet (we had an opportunity to meet them in a recent Zoom session)
and we will be preparing for a visit to Abruzzo to learn firsthand about this beautiful region on Italy’s eastern coast!
There are more holidays coming up.
The first is the month-long celebrations of both
Oregon Wine #OregonWine
&
Michigan Wine #DrinkMIWine
Other Wine Holidays in May include:
May 5th #SauvBlancDay
May 9th is #MoscatoDay
May 17th is #PinotGrigioDay
May 24th is The Anniversary of the Judgement of Paris and
May 25th is both
National Wine Day in the US #NationalWineDay
&
International Chardonnay Day #Chardonnay Day
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