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ATTN: EVERY SUMMER STELLINA SPONSORS A WINE TASTING SERIES ENTITLED “UNDER THE STARS!” GREAT WINES ARE TASTED OUTDOORS, IN THE SHADE OF OUR VERY OWN GRAPEVINES, ACCOMPANIED BY FOOD FROM OUR KITCHENS. AND THIS YEAR THE SERIES CONTINUES…..
The first wine tasting of the summer season is on THURSDAY JUNE 14 at 6:30, when we resume our annual “UNDER THE STARS!” series with an in-depth look at one of our very favorite Italian wineries, TORMARESCA.

TORMARESCA represents a fusion of one of the oldest wineries in the world, ANTINORI of TUSCANY, with one of the oldest wine-growing regions in the Mediterranean, the southern region of PUGLIA. Both ancient and modern grapes and growing practices are on display, and the wines represent the absolute best that southern Italy has to offer.

Like all of the tastings that Stellina has offered this year, this will combine 5 WINES WITH A FIVE-COURSE MENU designed to pair perfectly with the vintages. Professional commentary will be available, as well as the opportunity to ask questions.

If you’re an Italian wine aficionado, you won’t want to miss this unique opportunity to taste some of the finest Italian whites, reds and roses. Cost for the tasting, including all wine and food, is $65 per person. 

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To accompany an all-Puglia lineup of wines, we’ve chosen an all-Puglian array of dishes.

MENU

Rose Calafuria

PANFRIED MOZZARELLA AND PANCETTA BUNDLES, WITH ARUGULA AND RED ONION SALAD

Chardonnay Pietrabianca

ZUPPA DI PESCE BIANCA

Negroamaro Morgicchio

PASTA PUTTANESCA PUGLIESE

Trentangeli Rosso

GRILLED PORK BOMBETTE WITH SIGNORA BIMBI’S PEPPERS

Aglianico Bocca di Lupo

EGGPLANT, TOMATO AND BURRATA WITH LAMB SPIEDINI

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Special added course:
Cannoli

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ABOUT TORMARESCA: After 26 generations and more than 600 years in the wine business, the Antinori family of Tuscany has expanded its involvement in Puglia. The Antinori family gave birth to Tormaresca in 1998 when they started investing in Puglia, considering it one of the most promising regions in Italy for the production of high quality wines with a strong territorial identity

Viticulture in Puglia is history and at the same time innovation. Cultivation of wines started thousands of years ago, at the time of “Magna Grecia”, to which the Greek origins of many names of Apulian grape varieties attests. Tradition continues through the presence of native varieties such as Negroamaro, Aglianico and Primitivo, both true expressions of a strong and extra-ordinary vital territory.
The production of high quality wines is related to recent steps towards innovation and creativity: substantial changes have been obtained through the use of modern viticulture techniques and the introduction of non native grape varieties (i.e. Chardonnay and Cabernet) that express themselves in this “terroir” in a completely unique way.
Tormaresca is the expression of the above two souls. Character, personality and top quality are the characteristics that Puglia transmits to the native grape varieties.

 

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MEET VITO PALUMBO

ROBERT PARKER: I need to make a special callout to Vito Palumbo, manager of Marchesi Antinori’s Puglia estate Tormaresca and “Mr. Puglia” in person. Few have championed the Puglia wine identity more articulately and more passionately than Vito Palumbo. Tuscany’s Antinori family invested in Puglia in 1999. This ground-breaking winery subsequently brought a wave of new investments and hot-climate winemaking technology to the boot of Italy. The Tormaresca experiment has not always been an easy one. Despite the many ups and downs (including difficult vintages), Vito continues to be an inspiration for the many new faces that are now blossoming in the wake of Tormaresca’s birth.

“Tormaresca is a fantasy name, a play on the Puglian dialect, and means Tower by the Sea,” he explained. “It’s also an extension of the Antinori philosophy to respect local tradition and original vines, while leveraging technology to improve the results. We respect the past, but we never stop innovating.”- Vito Palumbo

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TASTING NOTES

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ROSE “CALAFURIA”, SALENTO IGT 

NEGROAMARO 100%

COLOR: a peach petal pink.
AROMA: both intense and delicate with fragrant notes of peaches, roses, and cherry blossoms.
FLAVOR: a fresh and balanced wine, highly savory and with much aromatic persistence

Calafuria takes its name from the over 700 bays on the Apulian peninsula. The region has a long tradition in the production of rosé wines made with Negroamaro, a variety that best expresses its full potential near the sea. Our rosé is produced from vineyards that extend across the Adriatic coastline for over a kilometer.

WINE ENTHUSIAST: 87 POINTS, Red berry, violet and a whiff of clove lead the nose. Bright and fruity, the refreshing palate doles out crushed raspberry, wild cherry and a savory note of pink peppercorn.

ROBERT PARKER: The 2014 Negroamaro Calafuria is not a Rosato that I was previously familiar with. But I’d love to have a wine like this at my side next time I enjoy an all-fish lunch on a beach somewhere in Southern Italy. The nose is absolutely pristine and crisp and the wine boasts a pretty pink color that is delicately tinged with peach and copper hues. Pretty berry nuances appear on the close and the wine exhibits a nice dose of acidity to keep the palate refreshed.“

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CHARDONNAY “PIETRABIANCA”, CASTEL DEL MONTE DOC

CHARDONNAY 90% – FIANO 10%   
ORGANIC WINE

A GREAT WHITE WINE FROM SOUTHERN ITALY
This elegant Chardonnay is produced on the Bocca di Lupo estate in The Murgia region of Apulia. The distinctive characteristic of this area is its “pietra”. The etymology of the word “Murgia” refers sharp stone or rock and makes a specific reference to the dry stonewalls that line the countryside. “”Pietrabianca”” also refers to the stones that rural farmers hit while ploughing the fields and once they were crushed and ground into the soil, helped enhance the flavors of the wines grown there. Rich, complex and at the same time fresh and pleasant, Pietrabianca shows that Apulia is a region of great white wines too.
COLOR: a luminous yellow with greenish highlights.
AROMA: complex and nuanced with notes of both citrus fruit and tropical fruit in addition to light floral sensations and vanilla.
FLAVOR: fresh, savory, and mineral with light touches of oak.
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, 90 points
Enhanced with 10% Fiano, the 2013 Castel del Monte Chardonnay Pietrabianca is a clean and luminous expression with a pretty assembly of fruity and floral aromas on the bouquet. It is aged in barrique for five months, but any oak tones are barely perceptible. Instead, you get great intensity with peach cobbler, honeydew melon, citrus and pear. In the mouth, Pietrabianca delivers moderate consistency and an almost-creamy feel. The wine’s body is light enough to pair with fresh fish and vegetables. It never feels too heavy and that is its greatest achievement.
Wine Enthusiast: 89 points: Aromas of citrus, sea spray and toast ride over a riper core of melon on the nose. This is expressive in fruit intensity and weight, offering a silken palate of juicy melon and citrus flavors, balanced by an integrated vein of acidity. A lightly charred lemon note lingers on the finish.
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NEGOAMARO “MORGICCHIO”, SALENTO IGT

 COLOR: Intense ruby ​​red                     

 AROMA: Bouquet varied, ranging aromas of plum and blackberry with those of sweet spices, coffee and chocolate, with nice toasty notes

TASTE:Dry and warm, soft and velvety tannins in perfect harmony and balance

Ripe plums, dark berries, dark chocolate, licorice, scorched earth and spicy tannins sit on the palate for days.

“When you taste the wine and it’s genuinely amazing, you nearly explode like an excited grape. Salento wines get a lot more sun and are full bodied. Plump full of 100% Negroamaro, you’re getting blackberry pie, burnt brown sugar pie crust and strawberry jam. The palate gives dark fruits, fresh yet deep and full of flavor. 12 months in mallalactic followed by 12 months in Hungarian barrels.”
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TRENTANGELI ROSSO. CASTEL DEL MONTE DOC
Aglianico 70% – Cabernet Sauvignon 20% – Syrah 10%   
Organic Wine
This is a Super-Puglian wine, a big boisterous blend of Aglianico, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.  It is both accessible and elevated, with cassis, espresso, and toasted vanilla barrelling through the fleshy structure; There are also beautiful notes of wet earth and savory spices that open up through the finish.
Castel del Monte’s most noble grape variety, Aglianico, takes on a new expression. Created to introduce wine enthusiasts to this ancient grape that possesses enormous potential and equally great complexity, its new identity has emerged with the newer vintages thanks to an elegant softness and mellowness as a result of a modern cuvée. The wine comes from a specific area of the estate, pictured on the label, that is presently a railway crossing: it was once a rest stop for travelling shepherds during their long seasonal migrations. Legends say shepherds’ passage were protected by thirty angels.
COLOUR: an intense ruby red with purple highlights.
AROMA: intense and fruity with notes of cherries, berry fruit (blackberries and mulberries), and spices (pepper and liquorice).
FLAVOR: Warm, rich with great structure and persistence. The aging in barrique endows the wine with length and elegance.
Muscular, rich, supple.
This organic and unfiltered wine from the DOC Castel del Monte is a blend of Aglianico, Cabernet and Syrah, grown on the Bocca di Lupo estate.
A rich, dark and earthy core supports attractive aromas of star anise, wild black berries and cherries, mocha and vanilla with notes of hay and dried herbs. A supple palate offers generous black fruits alongside cocoa nibs and toasted spice. Overall, a muscular wine with a brooding character.
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AGLIANICO “BOCCA DI LUPO”, CASTEL DEL MONTE DOC  
AGLIANICO 100%
Bocca di Lupo is the spark that lit the enological dream of the Tormaresca estate. The desire to rediscover this noble and austere varietal by offering an authentic apulian interpretation drove Tormaresca’s project. A requalification program has been underway for the past fifteen years. Fully mature vines allow us to produce grapes with depth and therefore ideal for making wines with great aging potential and likely to evolve over time. Bocca di Lupo represents the culmination of years of hard work and research in achieving the style we desired when we initially began the Tormaresca experience in 1998.
COLOR: Deep ruby red.
AROMA: An intense and complex nose with successive notes of red fruit and dried fruit, spice, herbs, and balsamic sensations.
FLAVOR: An elegant wine with firm tannins, a very important structure, balance and a round texture, and a lengthy and persistent finish and aftertaste.
JAMES SUCKLING, 94 POINTS: Aromas of dried dark fruits, figs, walnuts and incense. Full body, firm tannins and a flavorful finish. Made from organically grown grapes. One of the most exciting wines from Puglia.
WINE SPECTATOR, 92 POINTS: A bright, harmonious red, with grippy tannins dressed in layers of black currant, fig cake, black olive and coffee, showing accents of dried marjoram, spice, tea rose and loamy earth. The finish is long and expressive.
ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS: A pure expression of Aglianico, the 2010 Castel del Monte Bocca di Lupo is one of the standout wines of Southern Italy. Tormaresca was among the first (maybe the first) to make top shelf Aglianico in Puglia and the 2010 vintage was especially favorable to late-ripening grape varieties like this. Fruit from the Bocca di Lupo vineyard matured slowly and steadily until the end of the growing season. Vito Palumbo and his winemaking team made some small but significant tweaks in the 2010 vintage, including greater quality control on the sorting table and more delicate destemming to lessen the varietal’s natural astringency. One-quarter of the wine sees new oak (French and Hungarian) for 20 months. The rest sees second- and third-year neutral barrel. The aromas are impressive with little touches of black licorice, tar and resin that add pretty contours to darkly extracted fruit. Bold cherry and toasted almond give depth and dimension. Tight tannins and bright acidity bode well for the wine’s aging potential.
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