Vino made by Nuns?

7/6/2007 -

As you may recall, Giampiero Bea, the undisputed master of Sagrantino, works with Neal Rosenthal, the great wine importer. Neal doesn’t add a lot of new wines to his already rich and varied portfolio, but when Bea introduced him to the remarkable white wine made by Cistercian nuns in Lazio, it proved irresistible. Irresistible because the wine is really good. Made from about 50% Verdicchio, with equal parts of Grechetto and Trebbiano Toscano, it is fresh and vibrant, with delicate citrus and straw aromas, nice minerality from the local volcanic soils, good richness (without any of the excess alcohol we are finding in so many wines these days), and excellent bracing acidity.
The nuns farm organically, and the wine sees minimal sulphur or filtration; Bea has encouraged them to keep the wine on its lees a bit longer, with a corresponding gain in complexity. This is wine with true purity!
And a perfect match for a summer salad, mozzerella and tomato, pesto, fish on the grill...

Check out the gnarly old vines in the photo of Neal and Bea visiting the vineyards with an escort of nuns.