Going Big at Codice Citra

Our first stop on our final day of touring was at Codice Citra which was founded in 1973. Codice Citra was quite the change from the smaller family wineries we had visited so far. It has 9 cooperative wineries with 3,000 associated winegrowers in the group. They produce about 20,000,000 bottles from over 14,000 acres each year.

Codice Citra has a large and impressive facility. They have the largest cask room in central and southern Italy with the capacity to refine or age close to 200,000 gallons of wine. While most of their wines are made from indigenous grapes, they do also make some international varieties. They are the largest exporter of Abruzzo wines in the world with a presence in 50 countries, this is primarily due to the good quality/price ratio that the company delivers.

The wines made by Codice Citra come from the province of Chieti. The vineyard area stretches inland 25 miles from the Adriatic Sea. They began their commitment to sustainable energy and the environment in 2011 with the production of a photovoltaic power plant to run the consortium's wine production. Their next goal is to continue to improve quality and value with a collaboration with the World Assoenologi President, Riccardo Cotarella and their head winemaker, Lino Olivastri.

Lino Olivastri led us through the winery and showed us the latest projects he is working on. He seemed most excited about the classic method sparkling wine. We then went down to their modern tasting room to try the wines.

Passe "Rina" Spumante Brut - This tank fermented sparkler made from Passerina grapes had floral aromas with white peach and citrus with a light yeasty note in the finish, the winery recommends it both as an aperitif and as an after dinner sipper.

Fenaroli Montonico Spumante Metodo Classico 2014 - This classic method sparkling wine is made from 100% Montonico, a local white grape, it spends 36 months on the lees before disgorgement. The wine is dry, crisp, and citrusy with apple and yeasty bread in the lingering finish.

Ferzo Cococciola Superiore d'Abruzzo 2017 - Floral notes of wisteria with nectarine and grapefruit, dry, fresh, fuller bodied, and persistent.

Caroso Riserva Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2013 - Only produced in the best years, the grapes for this wine were sourced from sandier soils, this red had dark berry aromas and flavors with hints of licorice, fresh acidity, and an elegant slightly balsamic finish.

Lavs Vitae Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva 2012 - This wine came from 60 year old vines in the more calcareous northern part of their vineyards. It was full bodied with ripe tannins and had aromas and flavors of mixed ripe red
berries with dark chocolate, toasted nuts and a mineral-tinged finish.

An amazing high tech facility combined with local family growers, all of these wines are recommended.

Also, check out winemaker, Lino Olivastri, in Citra's video for their Sheep Thrills wine and see some of the Abruzzo terroir.

VINI CITRA - Sheep Thrills from TOART on href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.

An Immersive Introduction into the World of Asolo Prosecco

Dinner Views at Osteria Alla Baracca. I was very excited to visit the Asolo DOCG Prosecco region at the end of May on a press trip as it is an Italian area that I have not previously traveled through. Asolo is located in the Province of Treviso at the foot of Monte Grappa in the high hills to the west of the Piave River with views of the Dolomites. The grapes are grown in 17 communes surrounding the town of Asolo. The days were very warm while I was there but I needed a sweater or light jacket on most evenings due to the diurnal swing that makes it a great area for grape growing. Wines from the Master Class Tasting. Asolo was elevated to the DOCG level in 2009. The majority of the Prosecco that I have found in Houston is Prosecco DOC which is mostly from very large producers. Asolo was separated from this category and the region was given this higher status because there are terroir elements that make it distinctive in the world of Prosecco. The Sant'Anna Vineyard. Many of the vin

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

"The Zen of Zin" Tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks

On Friday evening, my husband and I attended the Zinfandel wine tasting at Fleming's in River Oaks. My husband gets totally pumped up for any and all things Zinfandel but what I found really intriguing in the line up of wines were the aged offerings. Brent Sloan, managing partner at Houston's premier wine storage facility Nos Caves Vin, had provided Fleming's with four 18 year old bottlings and one 17 year old bottling from his collection of some of his favorites. I found this interesting because 1. I don't believe that I have ever had an 18 year old Zinfandel before this evening and 2. From various wine classes, I had always heard that at best Zinfandel had very limited aging ability. So, I was definitely excited to give these wines a taste. There were also an additional five younger Zinfandel wines that are some of Fleming's best sellers. The entire tasting line up for the evening included: 2009 Orin Swift Saldo - California 2007 Schulz "Lampyridae Vin

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