Rampa di Fugnano Vin Santo

dei Colli della Toscana Centrale Topazio 1999  $34.99 / 375ml

Tenuta di Sticciano, Certaldo, Toscana

Deep in the heart of Toscana, equidistant from Florence and Siena and just 10 kilometers from the historic hill town of San Gimignano, lies Tenuta di Sticciano. Founded in the 16th century, the estate covers 170 hectares of mostly thick woodlands full of ancient trees but interspersed with olive groves and vineyards on the best hillsides. Here you will find both some very nice wines and a beautiful agriturismo where you could stay should you ever chance to visit the zona. We have chosen three wines for you: a classic Vin Santo for dipping biscotti and laughing with friends, a soft, smooth and versatile blend of Sangiovese / Cabernet and a unique Pinot Grigio...

Sticciano Vin Santo del Chianti Classico 2002, Toscana  $39.99 / 500ml

Instructions for use: 1) Get some quality Biscotti, 2) open this bottle, 3) dip cookies in wine till slightly soft, 4) enter La Dolce Vita...

Real Farmers:

Azienda Agricola Godiolo di Franco Fiorini, Montepulciano, Toscana

At VinItaly 2005 this past April we took great delight in photographing the HANDS of those producers we found that, no matter how hard they had tried to clean up for the largest wine show on the planet, STILL had the unmistakable indicators of true vignerons: rugged, wine and mineral stained hands. We find a lot of these guys in the not so famous for being famous zonas we usually haunt but were quite taken aback to find the tell tale signs of manual agriculture amongst a serious Tuscan producer as so many Tuscan estates are far flung parts of much larger family holdings and the folks working the ground are not the proprietors. Yet, here was Signore Fiorini, a native of Montepulciano for generations, pulling the wine from the ground with his own hands. In addition to hand culturing these gorgeous wines, la famiglia Fiorini are in the business of restoring ancient buildings the old fashioned way: one stone at a time, by hand. This “day job” inspires their labors in the vineyards and cantina and the results show in the wines... Complimenti! 

Godiolo Vin Santo di Montepulciano Emilio 2000, Toscana  $52.99 / 375ml

Crazy good: bright and zesty with spice and citrus notes instead of dark, toasty and nutty. We could probably see this served quite chilled as an aperitivo with salty snacks and it will be divine with dried fruit, cheeses (cheesecake?) or biscotti.

Azienda Agricola Tiberini,

Montepulciano, Toscana

Luca and Fabio Tiberini’s family have lived at il Podere le Caggione in Montepulciano (a wine zona famous in Etruscan times!) for six generations with each successive generation being taught about wine from the ground up starting in the vineyards. Their estate covers 22 hectares on hillsides at over 300 meters above sea level with sixteen under vine, two dedicated to olives and the rest in forests and gardens. All of the work in the vineyards is done manually by the family with the goal to deliver perfectly ripe, low yield fruit to the cantina. As personal aside, after the devastating loss of several of our dearest and oldest friends in Italy last year, meeting the unbelievably charming, intelligent and funny Luca Tiberini was a real blessing. He then hosted several parties of visiting WINE EXPO-isti this past summer as if they were long lost family and we had not even actually bought any wine from him yet! Bravo bello....

Tiberini Vin Santo

Occhio di Pernice 1996, Toscana  $79.99 / 375ml

The best Italian dessert wines we have ever tasted, period. Aged ten years sealed in tiny chestnut casks then lovingly hand bottled. EXCRUCIATINGLY limited (it took us two years to talk Luca out of 24 bottles of this!).