Le Petit Bijou
Saturday, May 20th
Travel the Backroads of Italy
With Porto Vino Imports!
Wine Tasting 2pm - 4pm
Porto Vino Wine Tasting
Le Petit Bijou
Saturday May 20th
2pm - 4pm, $20
With Special Guest, Robert Gunn of Pinnacle Imports
256-964-7980 to Reserve!
For almost two decades, we’ve been traveling Italy’s backroads to create a portfolio of compelling wines that both excites us, and expresses unique areas and growers.
We represent iconic traditional growers and the edgy outliers. All are family wineries that don’t use synthetic chemicals in the vineyards, and follow a minimal intervention approach in the cellar. Most are certified organic or biodynamic; all are growers who care about soil health and madre natura. From the beginning, we have been seeking out wines with terroir – the soul or anima of the place and people they come from.
2020 Le Salse Verdicchio Di Matellica, Marche, Italy $16.99
Le Salse wines are produced by Cantine Belisario, a top-quality co-op located in the village of Matelica. All fruit that goes into these delicious table wines is grown organically and sustainably, with utmost respect for the environment put first. ‘It’s our response to the ocean of Pinot Grigio that has washed up on US shores,’ says the winery. Fruit for their Verdicchio comes from Jurassic-period vineyards located near saltwater springs (hence the name salse, which comes from ‘sale’ [salt]). Juice is vinified in cement and/or steel and lightly filtered upon bottling, leading to a fresh, acid-driven cuvée marked by flavors of pear, peach, and bitter almond.
NV Sfera Macerata, Puglia, Italy $21.99
NV - Verdeca Under ripe yellow pear and delicate elderflower. High acid with a somewhat longer finish of the sames notes of the bouquet. A perfect quencher with friends or light fare. YEASTS: Native FERMENTATION: 14 days on the skins in stainless steel. No clarification or filtration MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION: No SULPHUR: 30 mg/L total added at the end of the fermentation and 30 mg/L at bottling
2021 Fuso “Teh” Vino Rosso, Piedmont, Italy $16.99
Tèh’ is one of the newer faces in PortoVino’s FUSO project portfolio, and like many of the FUSO wines, what we have here is a lovely, rustic everyday bottle that deserves a permanent place at the table. A Barbera dominant blend with additions of Freisa and Grignolino that vary vintage to vintage, this wine is both lean and lithe. The acidity and bright red berry notes from the Barbera are perfectly balanced with the subtle floral notes and grippy tannins that the Freisa and Grignolino provide- a thoughtfully and intentionally crafted wine that embodies the spirit of everyday Italian wine making: semplice ma non banalé, simple but not boring. The perfect food wine, try it with a slight chill if you’re feeling wild.
2020 Vignetti Massa Piccolo Derthona, Piedmont, Italy $25.99
Walter Massa, in the Colli Tortonesi, or Tortona Hills, of southeast Piemonte is the universally-acknowledged Maestro of Timorasso – the man who rescued the variety from extinction in the 1970s and then, through relentless experimentation and effort in the vineyard and in the cellar, brought it to prominence as one of the great white wines of Italy.
“Derthona” is the old Roman name for the city of Tortona; Massa and some other producers use it as a designation for their 100% timorasso wines. Piccolo Derthona is Walter Massa’s entry-level timorasso (cf. Petit Chablis), from his younger vines, picked earlier, and without skin contact.
Like all of his timorassos, this one is a distinctive and delectable study in contrasts: richer fruits with great minerality and cleansing acidity. Drink it with seafood (including squid ink pasta), spicy dishes, and richer dishes like risotto.
2021 Calafta Scapigliato Gliato Rosso, Tuscany, Italy $27.99
Scapigliato "for a snack" is almost a rosé that pretends to be red. Fresh and slightly alcoholic, it is the perfect companion for a quick snack, aperitifs and pizza with friends. We recommend it slightly chilled.
2020 Villa Migliarina Montozzi Chianti, Tuscany, Italy $18.99
Traditional crunchy red-fruit Chianti from a certified organic producer.
Villa Migliarina is from from the 1600’s, where you might want to stay on your next off-beat Tuscany trip.
This is the B side of Chianti, straddling the Chianti Classico zone and the Colli Aretini, though officially in the Colli Aretini.
Tremendous value.
A 500 hectare hunting reserve, 28 hectares of vineyards, a 1600’s Villa, native yeasts ferments in cement: these are the ingredients for a traditional, crunchy red-fruit Chianti.
2021 Fuso Terre Sicil Rosso, Sicily, Italy $16.99
Fuso is a wine project from the Italian importer PortoVino that seeks to bottle wines with locally-sourced, organically-farmed, small vineyard-grown grapes. It is a project driven by farmers, that is as much a learning endeavor for those involved as it is a means to create delicious wines. This bottling is from vintner Dario Serrentino, who bottles his own line of wines out of his vineyard in the corner of Sicily. It is a juicy and funky co-ferment of 90% Nero d’Avola and 10% Grillo, a local white grape. The grapes are macerated on the skins for 6 days, then fermented on the lees for 6 months before undergoing malolactic fermentation. The result is a wine with a wild tinge that maintains a medium-light body. Notes of red berries, dried flowers, and a hint of muskiness. Pair with sunshine and antipasto.