Ciao Tutti!
This weekend at Piazza Italian Market we will taste the “Tralivio” DOC ($22.25, 13.5% ABV) from the Sartarelli winery in Poggio San Marcello, Le Marche. “Tralivio” translates to “among the olive trees” where their oldest Sartarelli vineyards are located.
The Sartarelli story begins with the family patriarch, Ferruccio Sartarelli, a renowned baker, who was also a benefactor and patron of institutions to help those less fortunate than he. He became an entrepreneur and in 1972 he took steps to fulfill his passion-to produce a high quality Verdicchio, his favorite grape variety. He became one of the few Italian winemakers whose focus was the production of a single varietal and Sartarelli’s portfolio now includes one Brut, four white wines and one Passito, all vinified from the Verdicchio grape.
The winery is now managed by the Sartarelli’s daughter Donatella and her husband Patrizio. Their two children have joined them; Tommaso is the oenologist and Caterina is the manager of the export markets. Lucky Piazza customers who attended the four course wine dinner several years ago that featured Sartarelli’s Classico, Tralivio, Balciana and Passito, met Caterina. Piazza’s chef had paired the Balciana with Vincisgrassi, a hearty veal lasagna that was a revelation to me-nectar for the gods! Due to great demand, Piazza’s Chef Chris now makes batches of Vincisgrassi about every three weeks and I always alert one of my architectural clients who drives from Queenstown to pick up several containers to take home!
Sartarelli’s Tralivio is a medium bodied white wine with elegant aromatics of citrus, green apple and white flowers; with creamy minerality, high acidity, long lasting flavor and the classic bitter almond finish of the Verdicchio grape. If you have not yet tasted this wine, it is perfect for our predicted weekend temperature ranges from 50 degrees on Friday to 61 degrees on Sunday.
Pair it with starters of Piazza’s Marcona almonds; a creamy pasta course with Pecorino cheese, or seafood main courses of seafood. As the Sartarelli motto says ” In Verdicchio Veritas”!
Cin Cin!
Jenn