Aglianico Part Two: The Vulture

2/8/17 -

That’s “vooltooray," in Italian. It’s not a bird, it’s a very large mountain – an extinct volcano, in fact. As you may recall, volcanoes make for very good farming because of the fertile soils produced by past eruptions. Some of the best agricultural land is actually not adjacent to Monte Vulture, but 10-15 miles to the east, where there are excellent grape growing conditions. Along with Taurasi (which is about 40 miles west), the Vulture is considered the best terroir for Aglianico; by contrast, the Vulture wines are elegant and much less rustic than Taurasi. In recent decades a lot of modern, very polished, very oaky wines have been produced in the Vulture, and it’s been hard to find transparent and distinctive wine.

But we lucked-out with Madonna delle Grazie; we’ve been working with their 4 bottlings of Aglianico del Vulture for 3 years, and we are still thrilled with the wines every time we taste them. And finally, we’re having a visit from Paolo Latorraca, who farms and makes wine with his father and brother. Paolo’s an energetic and entertaining guy, and he agreed that it would be very interesting to taste his wines along with some older Aglianico. So please join us for dinner at Franny’s, for great food, and Aglianico del Vulture from Madonna delle Grazie, and older wines from d’Angelo, and Paternoster, and older Taurasi from Feudi di San Gregorio, Terradora, and Mastroberardino. Jamie Wolff