PIWI Wine-Tasting Event in Varese
AIS Lombardia and Sara Missaglia hosted a very interesting wine event in Varese, where Terre di Ger and Marcel Zanolari presented and discussed their wines side to side.
Marcel Zanolari’s wines are true works of art. He mixes biodynamic, ancient jars, and innovation in the vineyard, selecting rare varieties from Switzerland with the help of breeding-guru Valentin Blatter. On the other side of the table were Terre di Ger wines, coming from a territory devoted to wine-making and considered the cradle of wine-making innovation in Italy.
On one side Marcel’s expertise and his on going improvement of winemaking techniques, on the other side our very own Terre di Ger, trying to evolve the local tradition we all started from.
Sara did a great job: as a journalist and wine enthusiast she presented PIWI wines to the audience, described resistant grape varieties and their evolution after multiple breeding, and finally presented the wines of both wineries, describing their origin and all their scents and characteristics.
Robert Spinazzè has once again stated our strong belief in innovation as a necessary process in a Region where tradition has been so important till now. Terre di Ger tries to make consumers’ taste evolve, keeping an eye on the ethics of our work and on sustainability. We need to get rid of dogmas and make wines that represent our winery, so that we can be remembered for the wine we produce. This is Robert Spinazzè’s goal.
Luca Gonzato, who has been studying wines made from resistant grape varieties in Italy for many years, was a special guest and discussed with us many innovations in this field. We discussed past and present research on these wines, also considering what the future will bring.
Umberto Rosanelli, ONAV instructor, has highlighted the qualitative gap between wines obtained from white grape varieties and those obtained from red grape varieties: the former ones are the result of a longer experimental phase in the nursery, followed by an earlier production in the Alps, where the terroir is not ideal for growing red grape varieties. In general, Umberto added, the quality of wines obtained from resistant grape varieties has been improving a lot, and the range of different products has also expanded.
Marketing is also important and the knowledge about this wines needs to be spread among the general public. That’s exactly what these events are helping to achieve, also thanks to the work of experts such as Sara Missaglia, Luca Gonzato and Umberto Rosanelli.
