I am a sucker for a Syrah Rosé. There is something about the tease of the pink, then a sip, and you find a bit of brooding depth. It is the taste of a warm late summer afternoon, sitting in the shade, watching as the light changes and the heat begins to fade. Your thoughts deepen, pondering serious matters.
Disclaimer: This wine was received as a media sample. All opinions expressed are our own.
This beautiful Syrah Rosé from Bulichella evokes just those thoughts, and it is echoed by the label, a sketch of a pond surrounded by a canopy of trees, with a dog on one side and a fox on the other.
These labels were sketched by the family. Nico Miyakawa and his cousin drew the sketches. They like to collaborate on projects. This sketch of a dog meeting a fox near the vineyards includes, in the leaves of the trees, Napoleon’s hat. Napoleon’s family owned much of these lands. The dog and the fox represent the two versions of canines: the wild, represented by the fox, and the domesticated canine, such as those the family has that often run the vineyards.
Where are we?
In my title, I mention the Tuscan Hills, and we are indeed in the hills of Tuscany. However, Tuscany is a vast region, and let’s paint a clearer picture.
Bulichella is located in Suvereto, in Livorno, approximately two-thirds of the way down the Tuscan Coast. Considered one of the most beautiful medieval villages in Italy. It is surrounded by chestnut, oak, and cork trees, from which it gets its name, “suber” meaning cork oak, and overlooks the Tyrrhenian Sea. It’s quiet, but just an hour from either Pisa or Florence. So if you are looking for something as charming, but less busy than Cinque Terre, this might be your spot. This is the northern part of Maremma, bordering Bolgheri.
The Suvereto DOCG
In Tuscany, there are just five DOCGs, and Suvereto is one of them. The area sits within the Val di Cornia DOC, of which Hideyuki Miyakawa, of Bulichella, was formerly the President. Suvereto had been a DOC until 2011 when it was elevated to DOCG.
The soils here are mineral-rich, and vineyards benefit from the warmth of the coast, along with its cooling breezes.
The Bulichella Origin Story
Hideyuki Miyakawa grew up in Maebashi, Japan. In 1960, he and a friend decided to travel the world on a motorcycle. On two wheels, they crossed India, Pakistan, and Europe before arriving in Rome for the 1960 Olympics. Hideyuki took a job as a photojournalist for a Japanese publication, covering the Olympics.
After the Olympics, he headed north to Turin to cover a car show and saw a beautiful Italian woman, who was showing a car in a kimono. Maria Luisa was studying Japanese and planning to head to Japan for further studies. Hideyuki stayed in Turin to work and learn more about Italian automotive design, as well as to get to know Maria’s parents. The two married a few years later.
Hideyuki worked with Italian car designers Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani, and together they founded Italdesign, famous for creating design concepts for Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati & Ferrari. They created the DMC DeLorean that we all know and love from the Back to the Future films.
Fast forward a few years, and the family, along with three other families, set out to find a simpler life. They found it in Suvereto in Tuscany. They founded Bulichella. The countryside allowed them space to raise a large family, surrounded by nature. They established vineyards and olive orchards and began and continue to farm organically. This was a place where children could safely run through the vineyards and families could gather to enjoy good food, wine, and each other’s company.
On to the Wine…
Sol Sera – Syrah Rosé
In the early 2000s, they were one of the first vineyards to experiment with Syrah in the area. In 2017, they released the first version of this rosé, and they continue to refine the details that make this wine so special.
This Syrah grows just 10 km from the coast, from the vineyards you can see the silhouette of the Island of Elba on the Tyrrhenian coast.
The rosé undergoes a cold soak for 14-16 hours, then is made from the free-run juice. This is the “must di fiore,” the flower must, the most noble of juice.
Divided into stainless steel (50%), amphorae (30%), and neutral barrique (20%) for fermentation, and aged in these vessels for 6 months, these three styles are then blended to create the final wine.
They produce 4,000 to 6,000 bottles annually.
Pairings ideas and second thoughts
I was inspired to create an Italian-Japanese fusion for my pairing. This is called “itameshi” in Japan. I settled on “Italian Sushi,” which is really a prosciutto pinwheel and a Handroll with seared Ahi, hibachi-smoked bacon, and a whipped miso, sake, and ginger cream. At one point, I thought of using duck instead of bacon, but alas, the store was out.
Bacon, ahi handroll
I am not an expert in rolling sushi, and my hand rolls were less than beautiful, but here is what I put in them.
Sushi rice – which I learned can be made very quickly in my Instant Pot.
Seared Ahi Tuna – coated in sesame seeds, onion powder, brown sugar, and seared for 1 minute per side, then thinly sliced
Hibachi smoked bacon – cooked in the oven at 400°F for 15 minutes
Cucumber slices – julienned into thin strips
Whipped cream with miso, sake & ginger – So this was a revelation. The miso and ginger paste are thinned and made smooth with the addition of sake and the help of a fork. I didn’t want to get out the mixer for the whipped cream (call me lazy), so I looked to see if I could whip it with the immersion blender. The article suggested I find a tall, thin container to mix in to minimize the mess. I have a spare French press, so that worked perfectly (I’m never making whipped cream another way again!). Slowly, the miso mixture is folded in.
Dressed with micro greens and caviar. Okay…settle down. Caviar is not all that fancy! I got mine at Albertsons in the canned meat section. It is shelf-stable and $ 9.99 for a small jar, of which I barely used any. Is it the best caviar ever? Probably not. But is it tasty? Yes.
Verdict:
I enjoyed this, although I felt that the Ahi disappeared behind the bacon.
Michael was not a fan. He thought them bland and my rolling techniques so subpar that he encouraged me not to share.
Regardless, this gave me some component options to move forward.
Italian Sushi
This was a roll of Prosciutto, Italian Salami, Pesto, & arugula with a center filling of roasted red peppers, sundried tomato, and mozzarella.
Verdict:
Michael enjoyed this. I felt it was overpowering, primarily due to the addition of the Italian Salami.
Pairings Take 2
We sealed the bottle and returned it to the fridge, and I began reinventing the dishes.
Updated Italian Sushi
(Prosciutto pinwheels)
I subtracted the Salami and interjected Bresaolo and added more mozzarella
Verdict:
Michael found them too bland (and he doesn’t like spicy!). Perhaps a blend of the two, using half as much Salami in the future.
Reinvisioning Ahi
After conducting some research, I opted to paint the Ahi with soy sauce before pressing it into my sesame coating. We actually did one steak with soy and the other with a secret weapon Michael found online. This simple mixture of soy with Dijon mustard, is evidently a secret weapon for Michael Voltaggio when he competes!
Then I refined my coating: sesame seeds, onion powder, cracked black pepper, salt, brown sugar, and fresh thyme.
These were seared briefly in a cast-iron skillet and then thinly sliced.
Ahi Tuna Salad
The ahi tuna steak that we coated in the soy with Dijon mustard, was laid over a salad of mixed greens, arugula, carrots, and cucumber.
The dressing consisted of olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, miso paste, soy sauce, ginger paste, salt, pepper, and a small amount of water to thin it.
Verdict:
I might have been a little heavy on the dressing, but this was delicious and is perfect for enjoying with this wine when the weather is warmer (or when you are dreaming of warmer weather).
*We later used the soy with Dijon to coat chicken tenders to grill, which was delicious, and I used the dressing on salads all week.
Seared Ahi on whipped miso cream
The other steak was thinly sliced and laid on a sweep of the Miso crème. Yesterday, Michael felt this was underseasoned, so I amped up the miso and ginger. This had a drizzle of the salad dressing and microgreens to sweep in and make a complete bite.
Verdict:
Delicious pairings, although I overdressed the greens, and they wilted quickly. This makes a perfect pairing for this wine in the summer.
The Ahi with the cream was perfection to me. Sweeping a bit of the microgreens through the acidic dressing, then into the miso whipped cream and Ahi was delicious. I might ponder on something crunchy, perhaps fried strips of Nori to go with this? Michael thought that perhaps some of the hibachi-smoked bacon, broken up and sprinkled on top, would be a good addition. Just a little to not overpower the Ahi.
More to come on the wines of Bulichella
Next, we will tackle their Tuscanio Vermentino. My thoughts lean to a miso pasta, but we will taste and see where our impressions take us before tackling a recipe! Beyond that, we will dive into some of their red wines.
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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