About Passion & Wine
Most everyone has heard of pairing wine to food.... there is an entire vocation dedicated to developing that skill into an art form. Our experiences have led us to to take a different approach... and we believe it provides the most authentic dining experience possible. We pick the wine, and then match the dish to fit, sometimes down to village. If we are serving Brunello chances are you are experiencing Porcini “Lasagna” with it. It is a different approach, but rooted in our passion for authenticity and love of the art of wine… one our guests love, and have come to expect. Please explore the attached video and discover what we have come to love about the Italian obsession with food and wine creation…
“You must understand this—if any plant in the entire plant world were to rise up into the animal kingdom and become a human being, it would be the vine. It is the plant closest in character to man. "
This excerpt from the book "Passion on the Vine" by Sergio Esposito, Founder of Italian Wine Merchants, is one the most moving explanations of wine I have ever come across. This chapter has drastically changed the way we see the marriage of food and wine. I highly recommend you purchase the book and read it, especially the entire Kristancic excerpt.
Ales Kristancic is Movia’s top biodynamic wine producer from Friuli, though his vineyards border Friuli and Slovenia. ** Here Ales is having a conversation with Sergio's wife about wine, and metaphorically compares a newly planted vine with a growing young woman. He also describes the vine as our closest counterpart in the plant kingdom:
“You must understand this—if any plant in the entire plant world were to rise up into the animal kingdom and become a human being, it would be the vine. It is the plant closest in character to man. If it has this comfortable life and this undemanding land, it is never challenged. It’s like a spoiled socialite: healthy, beautiful and vapid. It’s a machine, not a thing of natural beauty- just eating and producing fruits. And yes, absolutely, you can make something from this fruit. You can mix it up in a barrel and get drunk from it — but this thing you make is not wine." "On the other hand, if you plant a vine in poor soil, that's a different situation. In this tough limestone, it must reach with it's roots deep into the earth for nutrients. The best things are there, down in the ground, far from man. The elements that give a wine complexity, beauty, intrigue, flavor... they are all hidden from our view. And vines like to search for them when given the opportunity. Potatoes, no. Potatoes do not want to go burrowing around, but vines do. and that's why we call this land 'Absolute Wine-Growing Position'. Because this land is meant for grapes. Nature intended them to be here, and she tells us that by fating everything else. Melons, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, grain - they all fail here. But Grapes that grow here flourish, and they taste of more than water and sugar..... The taste of earth is more. the taste of the depths of this place, of the minerals that tell us what was here before, how this soil happened. This taste of earth is what everyone refers to as 'Territorio'." (cont...) **
Resources and inspiration: