The picture above comes from an article in a 1985 edition of
Gourmet magazine. The article is about a little town in Umbria during Easter, which reminds of April trips to northeast Italy- white asparagus, polenta, pastel-colored homes, grass bursting through Dolomite brown ground~ and Vinitaly~ the big, annual Italian wine trade show in fair Verona full of “stalls” built by producers like grown-up dioramas intended to communicate their place, purpose, and creativity.
Drive 30 minutes west from the venue and you'll reach
Selva Capuzza, an organic agriturismo on Lake Garda. The owner, Luca Formentini, has visited us at the shop a few times and we find him as lovely and clear as the lake that identifies his wines.
Back in 1859 there was a Swiss fellow who passed through an area near Lake Garda and witnessed the aftermath of a bloody battle. He resolved that something must be done to protect soldiers, no matter who they fought for. Henry Dunant went on to found the Red Cross and later in life was awarded the first Nobel Peace Prize. Selva Capuzza named
one of their wines for him,
another after a dialect term ("selva") for the rocks formed by long-ago glaciers and moved by hand a great many years later in order to create a place hospitable to life, agriculture (and vineyards!). The minerals of those rocks inform the soil and all it shares. We've been bringing in some
reds, a
chiaretto, and a few iterations of Capuzza's
Luganathroughout the years- the young, snappy one, the more sophisticated,
golden one from older vines, lower yields, longer time on the lees, and now we are
so pleased to also carry
“Menasaso”, a super small-batch bottling pulled from just one barrel of “Selva” and intentionally aged to show the capability and longevity of the grape. The grape being Turbiana, a regional heritage variety (recently discovered to be genetically similar to Verdicchio and Trebbiano di Soave…there's a story there!). The circles on the labels represent the unending loop of time and how Turbiana dances with it~ chin up and shoulders back~ you know it the moment you sip it.
Come taste a five-wine lineup from Selva Capuzza this very evening! (Today, Friday 4/17, 5-7p).
We'll see you at the shop!
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