December 2023
BERVINI PROSECCO
VENETO /
FRIULI, ITALY / GLERA 2022
Throughout the year, our club consists of one red wine and one white, December is an exception. December is a month full of celebration and time with loved ones, and what better to celebrate with than sparkling wine? This month’s comes from the Bergamo family of the Prosecco DOC in Veneto and Friuli. For a long time now this region’s production has been overtaken by industrialized wineries, but these last few years have seen a movement towards pride of place, smaller production, and more focus and drive behind the production. The Bergamo family embodies this well. Their vineyards are located just outside of Veneto at an old spinning mill - they set up here because they feel that between the old spacious architecture and the wide open spaces surrounding it, they have room to breathe and commune with nature.
SAINTE LÉOCADIE "LES CAUSES"
MINERVOIS, FRANCE / SYRAH, GRENACHE, CARIGNAN, 2020
On this day 1719 years ago – the 9th of December, 304 – a young Christian girl reached sainthood in Toledo, Spain. Her name was Leocadia, or Léocadie, and from the 5th to the 8th centuries she was the patron saint of the Wisigoth kingdom. Sharing her homeland, Fernand Averoux erected a statue of the saint at his winery and since then the winery has dedicated the best of their cuvées to her. Fernand’s grandchildren run the winery now, and they have taken their dedication to this patron saint further, naming the winery after her.
Anne and Thierry have continued Fernand’s farming and winemaking practices, keeping an ear to the earth, listening to and responding to the demands of the environment in order to craft the purest possible wines with an exceptional sense of place. This bottling is no exception. (As the story (which I heard from my distributor) goes) Anne and Thierry came upon a derelict vineyard in Minervois with long untouched vines – possibly 80 years – and decided to rehabilitate it. Their efforts in nurturing this vineyard led to this wine, which has an incredible balance of deep, brooding aromas and flavors reminiscent of the mediterranean garrigue balanced with bright pops of acidity offering notes of red fruits and berries. This wine would be incredible with any red meat, especially heartier cuts like ribeye slathered in a fruit sauce.
