Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
able to producers: VCR 2, VCR 470, VCR 471,
VCR 472, and CRA-VIT-ERSA FVG 390. The
original VCR clone (available since 1999) was
actually a very good clone that, in my opinion,
the subsequent VCR clones (available since
2007) have not really improved upon; the very
recent ERSA clone (available since 2010) pro-
duces some excellent, very refined wines,
though it's characterized by much lower pro-
ductivity than all the other clones.
quantities of wines that are all completely dif-
ferent from each other (nothing confuses and
turns off potential customers more), this is a
novel idea with some merit. I am sure that as
the
denominazione
grows and the wine becomes
more popular things will change, but for now,
refosco di Faedis is truly a unique wine in Italy.
Interestingly, as legal permission to rename
their wine “Refosco di Faedis” was only given
by the government in 2011, until very recently
wines were labeled simply “Refosco,” with a
majority of estates even going as far as to state
that they were using the better-known Refosco
del Peduncolo Rosso. That situation didn't
make sense, given that they are located in the
birthplace of Refosco Nostrano, and mercifully
the absurdity of the situation has fi nally been
rectifi ed. However, due to the aforementioned
aging requirement, bottles with the “Refosco di
Faedis” title will only come to market in 2014;
until then labels will continue to read
“Refosco.”
A positive quality about Refosco Nostrano is
that it is less reductive than Refosco del Pedun-
colo Rosso, and so is less diffi cult to work with
in the cellar. In my view, however, while Refosco
Nostrano wines are fruitier than those made
with Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso, the aromas
and fl avors also tend to be less persistent and
complex, with a more pronounced fl oral (laven-
der, iris, rose), fruity, and delicately spicy quality
(cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram). A note of
red licorice is almost always present; some ver-
sions can also be slightly mineral, though this
really isn't a usual trait of these wines. They also
tend to be more acidic and less tannic than
wines made with Refosco del Peduncolo Rosso
(this is not surprising, given the higher pulp-to-
skin ratio). In fact, it is the quality of their tan-
nins that is Refosco Nostrano's trump card.
Without doubt, they are far more silky and
refi ned than those of any other
Refosco,
and the
wines, though never as full-bodied and struc-
tured as those made with Refosco del Peduncolo
Rosso, are more graceful, with a smoother, less
aggressive tactile presence on the palate. Emilio
Del Medico, a very well-respected winemaker
Which Wines to Choose and Why
Many
Refosco
wines made around Torreano are
made with Refosco Nostrano, and recently pro-
ducers around Faedis have formed the Associ-
azione Volontaria Viticoltori del Refosco di Fae-
dis (there are roughly twenty members, though
there only are about twenty-fi ve Refosco di Fae-
dis producers in total), to promote their wines
accordingly. In late 2012, they contacted me
about helping their Refosco di Faedis gain
some visibility and notoriety. In a rare example
of team spirit in a country where individual
creativity reigns supreme and where century-
old bitter feuds still exist between neighboring
towns, the producers of Refosco di Faedis wines
have even taken to producing their
riserva
wines, which require a minimum two years of
aging, eighteen months of it in fi ve-hundred-
liter barrels or large oak casks. Since produc-
tion volumes of this wine are forcibly small (the
variety and its vines has only recently been
rediscovered, and each producer makes one
thousand to two thousand bottles at most), they
have agreed on general guidelines by which to
make the
riserva
wine and as to what it should
taste like. These
riserva
bottles of the Associazi-
one Volontaria Viticoltori del Refosco di Faedis
all carry the same black label with a gold eagle:
for those who wish to select Refosco Nostrano
wines by the many different local producers (at
last count, roughly thirty), the name of the spe-
cifi c producer is written in freehand (in admit-
tedly very small writing) on the front label and
in bolder block type on the back label. Since
there is nothing worse in the world of wine
(besides making bad wines) than making small
