00:00 Olympic Medal Value I was watching some snowboarding the other day. One of the things about the summer games that I find annoying, since there's such a big focus on swimming, is how it's like one one hundredth of a second. Yeah. That differentiates the swimmers a lot of the time. Yeah. And it's like, oh, sorry, like no one gives a shit about your performance if you didn't win a medal. And it's like you're better than everyone else in the world at swimming. And that you were like half a second. Not even like one one hundredth of a second. It's it's asininely close, right? Yeah. That's what technology has done to us. And my sister used to joke, like, if events like that are that close, then the event's done. Like pick a new event, you need to come up with something else. But so I'm watching snowboarding the other day and these guys are doing like a slalom. It goes down to a photo finish. It's this long slalom course and it's that close that they had to do a photo finish and they leaned forward and the guy who won the bronze. By a nose? A fingertip. A fingertip? Oh, yeah. Jeez. So then it got me thinking, can we just give both of those people a bronze medal? What do you think? We're made of bronze? Yeah. So I figured, I know this isn't going to be a lot of money. So for the hell of it, I looked up what the current value of the different metals is. Yeah. Gold metals are not solid gold, obviously. Yes. Chocolate inside, right? They're silver inside, which is skyrocketed in price. Yeah. So a gold medal, because it's silver, gilded with gold is worth 2,100 to 2,300 depending. In metal value. Metal value. Yeah. Just if you were to melt it down like a real savage. A silver medal is worth around 1,200 to 1,400. A bronze medal, $5.45. Oh my God. That's quite a drop off. We value you bronze medalists. Geez. So why don't we just make them all that? Everyone gets bronze. Everybody gets a participation bronze medal? You make the medals out of bronze and then you just gild them. You know, they're plated in gold or silver. Why don't you make the medals out of styrofoam? Make them out of pop charts. Give both of these snowboarders a medal. It's five bucks. Yeah. They can't afford this. Roger, it's not about the medal, dude. It's the same, dude. They did the event at the same. They both won it. They both get a bronze medal and it's less than a cheeseburger. Chris, you have a bunch of wine bottles and red liquid. Wait, wait. I mean, see. See, see, see. 2:47 Italian Wine Regions Ciao bella. Ciao. Tutti. This is all about regional Italian wines that are grown and produced and consumed worldwide, but also in the regions where the games of 2026 are taking place on ice and snow. In the Alpine regions of Italy. Alpine regions of Italy, the Dolomite. Very confusing range. It looks very German. Yes, because it once was. Yeah. The area just north of Veneto is known as Alto Adige in Italy, but it's also known as the Sudtirol or the southern Tyrolean area from its Austrian days. Huh. Yeah. Yeah. And so there's a lot of... Brutal take on that. Okay. Edit this in, Jim. There's... Wow. There's a lot of crossover in wine styles and cuisine. Interestingly, the cuisine up here is very different. Some of it's very Italian, and the further north you go, obviously, the more Germanic influences. People walk around in those little feathered hats and leaderhosen. Everyone looks very German. Yeah. Because they are, man. It's also near the Swiss border. As we've said with the Italian Pilsner style, which is essentially just a German Pilsner that's dry hopped. Yeah. Right. Yeah. So you got Switzerland and Austria on the border there, and of course, Switzerland, very multi-ethnic community where you can find French, German, English speakers all over. It's a melange. It's a cosmic gumbo. It is. It is a melange. We are tasting the wines of northern Italy, some favorites from the area that you might have the same wine in your glass as an athlete representing our great nation. Right. These are just some recommendations to enjoy during the games. Sit on your couch, watch people do incredibly athletic things while you do nothing. Truly the most American thing to do. Right. Enjoy some fine beverages and maybe eat some Italian regional cuisine at the same time. Hey, you're listening to Barrel to Bottle, The Binny's Podcast. And we have Chris, and he has wines from Italy. I'm Greg, I do communications at Binny's. Jim, also communications. Roger, working beer. Oh, hello. Chris, I obnoxiously open. It's the perfect time. Wait a paw that cork right off of there. Okay, you just opened a bottle of Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco. I did. So Prosecco is made from the glera grape, and it is grown in the Veneto. And this is Nino Franco from the Valdobierdene subregion, one of the finest regions. And do you want to try it plain first, or you want to start with an aperitivo? Spritz it up. Spritz. Okay. So in Milan, where some of these games are happening, the spritz is a huge thing at aperitif time. And it's very simple. Campari is a local red bitter. It's made with a certain variety of oranges. Campari comes from the part of Italy that has the Olympics. Yes. It does. Yes. Lombardy is a component. Milano. Look, right on the bottle it says Milano. Oh, it does. Milano. Our website has it listed as Italy miscellaneous. Well, I want to change that. Let's get on that. Let's fix that before this episode drops. And so we are talking about the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy today? Yes. So Milan is in Lombardy. Yep. And it's a huge capital of fashion and... Finance. Finance and also the aperitif. I don't know if you guys know, I went to Italy last year. Yep. Never heard of it. So is this like the cookies that they used to make it at the Peper Gifarmo? Yeah. The Mint Milano. Yeah. In a glass. Oh, the Peper Gifarmo. Okay. That's Agri Covolo Peperigio. So we got a spritz here. It's Campari Prosecco spritz. It's a very simple recipe. It's three parts sparkling wine, Prosecco, two parts Campari, and a little splash, one part of soda. It's chilly outside today, but it is summertime in my mouth. Garnish with some orange. Roger is really reveling in the bitterness. I've been looking forward to this argument that we're about to have. Yeah. You think this tastes bitter. It's so damn sweet. It's both. It's both. It's so sweet. But it's quite bitter. It doesn't matter that it's bitter. It's that it tastes like dirt. No, it doesn't. It's so good. Campari tastes like soil. Dude, it tastes like, no, no, no. It tastes like you're taking a big, like a handful of lemon. I'm biting it. Lome. Lomen. Less is more. Grapefruit. Just biting into the side of a grapefruit. Yeah, grapefruit is what you're biting into, not a lemon. Yeah, grapefruit. Well, what it really is is- I mean the peel. I mean just the side of the grapefruit. What it really is is a Quinoa orange. So this is a citrus known as the myrtle-leafed orange, and it has bitter qualities. And of course, there are all kinds of other herbs and aromatics in here. Chris, where can we get that orange? It's grown largely in Europe and the Middle East. I don't know where you would be able to acquire one. Like you could get your mango guy on the case. I could try. Yeah. That'd be awesome. I want to try that orange. Is this like what they put on the outside of pills so the kids don't eat them? Pills and video game cartridges, the little- Yeah, SD cards. Yeah, SD cards. They have that stuff on the outside. I mean, when you're a child learning how to swallow pills for the first time, like this tastes like an antibiotic. What? No. You're just like, I can't, it's a horse pill, and then it starts to dissolve in your mouth. It gets even worse. It gets even worse after it. This is a delicious cocktail that is wildly popular four years ago. Yeah, I don't like Campari. I think I would like a squeeze of lemon in there. That's usually how I drink my Amaro at home, is just tonic water, squeeze of lemon and whatever on ice. Yeah. Definitely try this cocktail also with Capuletti. Yeah, you can tone down. I agree with Roger. There is a strong earthy undertone here. It does taste like dirt to some extent. Or it also tastes like citrus and all kinds of bitter botanicals. Yeah. Can I try the Prosecco? We're going to try that anyway. Let's just pass that around. In addition to this basic spritz, you can make an Americano, you can make a Negroni, you can make a Garibaldi. What's a Garibaldi? A Garibaldi is a weird drink. To make it right, you have to have a certain kind of orange squeezer that makes the orange juice super frothy. So it's just Campari and orange juice, but there has to be foam on the orange juice. Can you froth up the orange juice yourself? You probably could if you have one of those little cream or milk frothers. Yeah. Americano is basically a Negroni, where you replace gin with soda. So there's sweet vermouth, Campari, and soda. You have a Boulevardier. Boulevardier is a Negroni with whiskey in a place of gin. What does Steve Cecil drink? He drinks Campari. Nino Franco Prosecco. Yes. Valdobierdene. Valdobierdene. So this is an old producer, been around for over 100 years in the heart of the hilly region, where the best glera is grown, which is the great variety that makes Prosecco. What do you think? Crisp, lightly fresh, lightly fruity, snappy. Indeed. I think this is still today one of the best values. I agree. We sell this for a ridiculous $16.99, normal price is $22.99, I mean, that's really low. Quality is very high. It's very champagne-ish. Yeah. To me, it feels more like a bready, the bready-ness of a champagne. Well, interestingly, it really shouldn't have those qualities. Champagne is made using the method champenoise or the technique where you re-ferment the wine in the bottle, leaving it on the lees, so the detritus that is dead yeast cells that then break down and give you those bready, toasty aromas. This is made in what's known as the charmat method or couve-clos or tank method, where it's put into a large stainless steel tank. It's under pressure there, but there's no real lees contact that would lead you to those autolytic notes that you're referring to. However- I'm trying to see what you mean, though, with the flavor. Yeah, there's just something similar to. Yeah. Well, it's very dry, which sets it apart from a number of Prosecco, which tend to, there are a lot of extra dries, which is sweeter, Prosecco is out there. Even the brutes can be a little bit on the sweet side because there's a range of dosage you can use. This one is pretty crisp and dry. I've never had this before. It's so good. It's really good. Yeah. It's a great value. And the thing that's nice about Glera is it's so aromatic. It's flowers, it's peaches, you know. Yeah. It's citrus. Rustic. Yeah. Rustic. Cool. I really like that. And I do think it kind of reminds me of some of the I often say one of the best things you can do at Binnys is go to one of our champagne galas. And it reminds me of some of the more expensive champagnes. And usually I describe those like Jim did with the breadie. It's bizarre because I get what you're saying, Chris, but there still is almost like a white pepper earthiness. White pepper is a signature of the house. Nice job, Roger. This is a well-known quality that, yeah. Wow, nailing it. Yeah, this is a quality that Franco is well-known for, is a white pepper in the nose. So, excellent job there. So, make a perfect pairing then with fried chicken, as we often joke with the sparkling wine and fried chicken. That's one of the kernels of the secret spices, white pepper. Yeah, for sure. It's the most important one. Just really, I haven't had KFC in ages, but that's what always popped out to me. Also, I would point out that fried foods are quite endemic here. So, you have the famous Austrian Wiener Schnitzel from Austria, obviously, but a lot of people think Vienna in particular, Wiener. A lot of people say that the Milanese cutlet preceded and influenced Wiener Schnitzel. It's the same thing. It's basically a veal or pork cutlet. Although in Austria, in Vienna, it has to be veal or you have to state that it's pork. It's not Wiener Schnitzel. Also, I would say anyone who lives in Chicago and goes to Mexican restaurants, Milanese is on the menu at every restaurant. That's exactly what it is. Yeah. Craig, you know what this would be good with is the chicken piccata, which I usually make by breading and frying. You bread and fry your chicken piccata? Well, not deep fry, but yeah, I bread and fry. Yeah. Pan fry, do you just dredge it in seasoned flour or do you actually bread it? I bread it with egg and panko or regular crumbs, and then I brown it, and then I put it in the oven and cook, and while it's further cooking, I make the sauce, but I think that would be good. Lemon sauce for the un-initiated. You could probably use some of this in the sauce. Sure. And then instead of white wine. Yeah, absolutely. And the saltiness of capers. Yeah. I was going to say the fruit and the crispies. Oh yeah, absolutely. Talk to capers. Yeah. Great dish. Love that dish. Yep. Cool. One last question. Yeah. I've gotten in arguments with people before where I tell them not to put the soda in my spritz. Yeah. Why do we put soda? I don't want soda. Well, you don't have to. Give me extra Prosecco. It's better. You can, but I mean, it just makes it lighter. Yeah. You know? Okay. It's just because I'm a savage. Yeah. I mean, obviously. Why not just cut the Prosecco out and put vodka in? Vodka. Yeah. Forget to get a party. Okay, so not only is there a ton of glera grown and Prosecco made in the Veneto, but in other nearby areas like Trentino, and in this case, Franciacorta, they make actual champagne method sparkling wine. 15:26 Sparkling Wine Comparison Yeah. So in Trentino, you'll see brands like probably the most famous we carry is Ferrari. This is Bella Vista. This is the Alma Assembly 1 or Assemblage 1 Extra Brut. So this is mostly Chardonnay with a little bit of Pinot Noir and a splash of Pinot Blanc, and it's re-fermented in the bottle. It's done in the champagne style. This is a relatively new thing. I mean, we're talking this DOCG is only 50 some years old, but the wines are very high quality. Holy cow. Okay, this has got more of that brand. Yeah, this is way more champagne-y than the other one. Well, right, because it does spend at least 18 months on the Lees in the bottle. So, and oh, you know what I didn't, I forgot to mention that something else about the Rustico is that at one point they did make that in the champagne method, and they moved to Charmat in maybe the 70s. Wow, this is really good. Right. Really good. I'm afraid to ask how much it costs. Well, it's gonna be a pleasant surprise if you're drinking champagne, because the quality is there, right? Yeah. We normally have this at $32.99. Nice. And it will be on sale for the Olympics for $28.99. So it's high quality champagne method sparkler for under 30 bucks. That's great. Yeah. If that exact bottle said champagne on it, it would cost $70. Oh, these days, easily. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree. Very handsome bottle as well. Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it's got like the, I don't know how to describe it, flared, more flared on the bottom or lighter on the bottom. It's like a Hershey's Kiss grew up. Yeah. The back of the bottle says extra brute. This is a singing racy acidity. Correct. So extra brute is even drier than brute. It can't have more than five grams of sugar in the dosage per liter. Brute starts at six and goes up to. This is a bit like a skit. It's like, so extra dry is sweeter than brute, but extra brute is drier than brute. Yeah. Got it? What? Yeah, it's crazy, isn't it? It's extra. It is totally extra. Anyway, this is fantastic. I would recommend it. It's really good. Yeah. Look for other French Accorto wines for good value in Champagne Method sparklers. I love the florality on the nose. It's like springtime. Yeah. This area is really well known for Chardonnay in particular, although they do grow Pinot Noir and use it quite a bit. Chardonnay is kind of their driving force here, and they make a variety of things. Some of them are Blanc to Blancs. There's a style called Satin or Satine that is 100% Chardonnay and bottled at lower pressure. So it has a more satiny mouthfeel and less aggressive bubbles. Those are considered very fancy. Is this bottle all stylistic or is it because this seems particularly bubbly? Is it because it's so highly carbonated or no? It is bubbly because it's highly carbonated, yes. No, I mean the bottle. Did they use this different kind of bottle because it's extra carbonated? No. I mean, you have to have a very heavy, sturdy bottle so they don't explode. Right. This thing weighs a lot. Yeah, the style is. The weapon. Is style. I mean, you have to remember, like we said, this is in the area of Milan, not that far away, and style is everything. Right. Good point. Kind of looks like an upside down Pilsner glass. Yeah. It reminds me of those big, fat, red, wiffle ball bats that I had when I was a kid. Just kind of truncated, like somebody cut one off. Yeah. Or a pirate's peg leg. I would I would hook that to my shin bone. Yeah. What's next? Next, we're going to go to an area called Lugana. 19:42 Northern Italian Whites Lugana. This is right to the south of a very famous lake where celebrities go on vacation. It's beautiful, called Lake Garda. You know, if you read any of these celebrity magazines. Como is so over. They're at Garda now. Yeah. It's the police lake. Yeah. The gendarmes. Does it have the goofy police siren? Wee, wee, wee. This is Ifrati Lugana from Cadi Frati, 2024. White wine. It's made out of a grape called Terbiana. Terbiana, alternately known as Trebbiano di Lugano. Oh my God. Trebbiano di Lugano. Joey Trebbiani? Yes. And what we have learned in recent years is that it is genetically linked to Verdicchio, which has grown down on the Adriatic Coast. And we have examples of that, like the famous Bucci from Castello San Gessi. Very pale pour. Yeah. It's got a fun lip on the bottle. On the top, it's like a little hat. Yeah, this is another big old bottle. Is all Trebbiano the same? Because you said Trebbiano, something-iano. No, Trebbiano is a very... It weighs five pounds. Yeah. Yeah, it's a big bottle, too. Not exactly export-friendly as far as weight goes. The label is like a monument and it's like holding a tombstone. There are a ton of grapes, Greg, since you ask, that go by Trebbiano. Yeah. Some of them are like cheap wines. Yes. Yeah, they can make very, very neutral. Like brandy wines. That is correct. It's often used for distillation. It's known as Uniblan in France, where they use it for things like Cognac and Armagnac. Yeah. But you're saying this is a different. This is different. Trebbiano seems to be just like a catch-all name for a white grape that you want to call something. I don't know why. There's Trebbiano du Suave. We're going to have a Suave next, and there's a little bit of that in there too. And there's Trebbiano Toscano. There's just Trebbiano's Galore. And some are better than others. Roger is about to say the word gooseberry. There's a very racy kind of wild, foxy. Foxy. Yeah. See, I was going to say passion fruit or guava. I'm just getting a ton of tropical fruit out of my nose. But there's a green, vegetal thing going along with the tropical fruit. Yeah. All of that. Is that your pirousines, Chris? Yeah. I mean, this is not a varietal that people would call that out on very typically, but I think this has a very Sauvignon Blanc-esque approach, and that was- Slightly lower acidity. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. I mean, Jim nailed it with guava. Yeah. I mean, it's guava. It's a guava bomb. A guava bomb. Yeah. It's awesome. You walk by the guava in the supermarket and it just smells. It's so strong. Like my camera bag. Right. Like your camera bag. Then you buy it and then you're like, I shouldn't have bought this because it's just all seeds. Those aren't guavas, are they? Yeah, they're guavas. Really? Guavas smell gorgeous and then they're full of little BBs. Break your teeth and have. Not the funnest fruit to eat, but delicious. It's good. Yeah. Yeah. Fresh. They're enjoyable. Exhilarating. It's also like sneaky how structured it is, and it would go really well with like cheese and fatty foods, but it doesn't come across as like sharpness. It's just on the palate. Yeah. I think you could get away with laying this down for a little bit. There could be some development here because of that. Interesting. But it's mostly drunk very, very fresh. Me too. I had a pizza and a pizza pie the other weekend. That was one of those where they used the ricotta, but with hot honey. Oh, yeah. So there's like the sweet savory thing going on. This guava, I think, would be how guava forward and tropical this is. It would be cool. But it has that acidity there too. Yeah. That could cut through some sweetness. Sure. Jim, you have kids. Yep. You know the little gold books, the company, this label always makes me think of them, and like some story about Jack and the Beanstalk or something. They haven't changed this label in 100 years. 100 years. Yeah. That's probably about right. By the way, it is $14.99 on sale. Yeah. Wait. From $16.99. That's awesome. Yeah, that's a really nice one. The glass itself is worth $15. Right. This bottle is worth more than a bronze medal, I'll tell you that. That was really good. All right. That's an incredible value. Well. How about with popcorn? Yeah. I would also recommend, one of our red wines is going to be by Zanotto, not to spoil everything, but Zanotto is also a very important producer in Lugana and they make a very inexpensive Lugana that is worth your time. Awesome. Okay, so now we have Piropan Suave Classico. Yes, Piropan Suave Classico. Suave. Yes. This is an area for white wine that is kind of in between Venice and Verona, a little east of Verona, west of Venice. And Fair Verona. Yeah. There are four gentlemen here, so we can't, well, we could do the play. I'll play the women's roles, like as tradition demands. Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? Wrong play. Fair Verona? That's the right city, wrong play. He said two plays in Verona. Never mind. So Suave, large growing region. The grape here is called Garganaga, Garganaga. And there's also- Like the arcade game? Yes. Gallaga. You shoot the grapes right off the vine with a spaceship. There's also, aloud is some Treviano di Suave. But Garganaga is the driving factor here. This is one of the great producers from the area have been around, as you noted from the label, for quite a long time. They are kind of pioneers in really focusing on terroir here. Now, ironically, this is their entry level Suave Classico, but they made a single vineyard wines and regional small area wines, popular here. And they can be very expensive. We don't sell a lot of them in this market because a lot of people don't want to spend 100 bucks for a Suave. But this is from the heart of the traditional reason, which is why it's called Classico. This happens a lot in Italian regions. It happens in Chianti too. So when regions expand or get subdivided, there's usually a Classico zone that is delineated for the best and most traditional vineyards. So this is the hilly area of this, so you get aspect and elevation rather than flat vineyards. This is delightful. So you're saying that usually these Suaves are too rico for people. Too rico Suave. Did you say Garganaga? Yeah. That sounds like a Jack Kirby bad guy. Yeah. Like he's got to wear like some weird crown. Also, this is kind of like somebody made a wine, and then they forgot to skin it. Like they built the structure of it, and then they didn't color in the lines. You know what I'm saying? Sure. No. No. Makes perfect sense. They made a three-dimensional model of something and didn't apply the artwork to it, so it's the shape of wine, but it's missing some of the details. I feel like this has some interesting melon and kiwi kind of notes. Nice call. Very easy drinking. This is a crusher. This is making me think of warmer weather, not the current arctic tundra. Very true. So here we see two opinions and two sides of this wine. We were pointing out structural details. There are some phenols in here. You can feel a little texture. Roger's pointing out its bright, easygoing side. So this is a wine that you would definitely pop and it's a screw cap. You can unscrew and pour right now, but it will age and develop and become nuttier and richer over time. So very interesting observations from the two of you. What's the price point on this guy? Yeah. What's the price point on this guy? Pierpain Suave. It's $21.99 on sale for $18.99. Really great value. It's a great food wine. It goes beautifully with the Venetian rice dish called Rizzi Abisi. Rizzi Abisi. It's rice and peas. Is there a recipe for that on the website? There is. I wonder how that got there. I just remember Rizzi Abisi. It's fun to say Rizzi Abisi. Rizzi Abisi. Lots of grains in this area. So risotto is very popular. Polenta is crazy popular here. You know, so get on that. Sweet. Quite dry. Nice. 29:21 Alpine Red Wines We're going to move into Reds. Nice. You know, we've been thinking almost exclusively of Lombardy and the Veneto here, but a lot of the venues for the games are up in the Dolomites. Dolomites. Yeah, the Dolomites. They're right on the border like we were talking about with Trentino, Alto Adige, and Friuli, Venizia is not that far away. Of course. This wine is just over the border in Trentino, Alto Adige, but it's right next to live, literally right near some of these mountain venues like in, I think, Tessero is one. So this is actually a very local wine despite not being from Veneto or Lombardy proper. It's a bit of an oddball. This is made out of a grape called Skiava, Skiava, which is a local variety that has made major inroads into Germany, strangely enough. So there, a lot of people call it Trollinger, Trollinger, which would probably relate to some bastardization of Tyrol. We're in the Sud Tyrol, as we were talking about earlier. And this is Skiava. It's a very, as you can see, light in color, it's light in body, and it's highly aromatic. Looks like fruit punch. Yeah. Which is like the slightest orange to it. Very Alpine label. Yeah. This is Abatia di Novacella, a monastery winery, which is pretty cool. Clouster. Yeah, exactly. They've been cloistered away in the Dolomites since the 1100s. Whoa. Yeah. They don't even know about TV? They have no idea. Honestly, they probably have no TVs because this is a sect that has taken a vow of poverty. TVs are so cheap right now though. I know. They really are. Guys could get 80 inches for 300 bucks. Poverty. Yeah. This is a very Germanic sounding name too. Yeah. Abbey itself is cloistered Neustift. Cloister Neustift. Neust. Neust. Boy, this is floral, man. Violets. I was going to pour something from Valtolina, which is an alpine region straight north of Lombardy where they grow Nebiolo. But I ran across this when I was out on the floor and I thought, well, nobody drinks Chiala. This is a weird one. Yeah. It could use a slight chill. I don't disagree with you. A chill on this would be perfect. This is a great picnic wine for the summer. This is literally straddling the line between very light red. I mean, some Pinot Noirs are this light. Yeah. And rosé. Yeah. And that's just naturally how it is. They have a word for this. They don't use that here, but they have a word in some parts of Italy for these dark rosés called cerasuolo or cherry colored. You'll find that made with Montalbocciano in Abruzzo. This is the lightest body red wine I can imagine. Yeah. And just like kind of like the Pira Pan Suave also, it's like you could drink this and not think a thought about wine. And it's just a nice pleasant experience. Or you can look at it and really dive into it. There's like a citrus peel acidic quality. Yeah, no doubt. In there that freshens it up. Yeah. I mean, you should maybe use more citrus tasting notes in red wine because citric acid definitely plays a role in red wine. But yeah, this is a varietal that will definitely give you some lemony notes. Yeah. For sure. Along with like just easy cherry. Yeah. Easy cherry. I mean, this is like sitting in a rose garden. I mean, the rose, talk about rose living up to rose. This reminds me of like a rose hip tea. Yeah, sure. Would you say that the florality would be like a terroir thing for this, right? Oh, yeah, for sure. I mean, this is spot on, Qiava, it's floral, it's fresh. It's a very interesting wine. We don't know. It's Qiava. No idea. Come on man, get with this Qiava. Now I know. That wine you just said no one drinks. Never heard of it in my entire life. Well, we carry it, so somebody's drinking it. Someone's drinking it, but most of us- And more people should. When spring rolls around and you want a light bodied red to take on a picnic or pair with some easy going foods. Yeah. Or I would argue this is what I've loved about a lot of these wines is that if they make you think of spring when it's hellacious out, drink them now. Yeah. Like I'd put Hawaiian shirts on when it's 10 percent, you know, 10 degrees outside. Like I want to feel like it's better than it is. Yeah. OK. What does this little bottle of springtime cost you? This little bottle of springtime. $17.99. $17.99. Man, these are great prices all across the board. These are gold metal wines at bronze prices. Damn. Did you lift that phrase from my copy? Because that's literally in my- No, I didn't. I have not read your email yet. Gold metal quality at bronze prices. As we know, it's three bronze medals to get this bottle. Three bronze medals. Three bronze medals. Yeah. So the other thing I would say is that I would recommend everything from this little operation run by monks. They make some really great stuff. Even their Pinot Grigio ranks as one of the best on our shelves, in my opinion, generally speaking. And they make weird things. Again, here's the- Chiava. Yeah. Here's the more German influence. They make a Körner, which we carry. Körner is not a very widely known grape, but it's a cross that is grown in Germany and in northern Italy. And it can come off a little bit like Riesling. It can be dried off dry and really fruity, but focused. Roger, I think you would love Abatia di Novocella Körner. Hmm. I like the name. It's quite romantic. What? No, that's an entirely different part of Italy. We got one one bottle left, and it's from probably the most famous red wine region in the Veneto, which is Valpolacella. The home of Amarone. Yeah. So this is a Natto Ripasa, which is made in the Ripaso style. What does that mean? That means, it's kind of complicated, but in this area, so Valpolacella is made with an array of grapes, most commonly Corvina, Molinara, and Randonella. But there are also a handful of other grapes that are well regarded, but grown in smaller quantities like Oseletta. This one doesn't have any Randonella in it. I think there's Corvonone, which is distinct from Corvina. The weird thing is, if you make Valpolacella, it's a bright, fresh, cherry-fruited wine, could take a chill, could replace Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, simpler, easygoing versions of those easily. Amarone de la Valpolacella is the same grape varieties, but they use what's called the passito method or drying of grapes. So these grapes are put into these days. In the old days, they'd lay them out on like straw mats and they've just dry them out, desiccate them partially. Now they go into like temperature, humidity-controlled rooms and plastic bins. Everything's really clean and- Less romantic, also less gross. Correct. Yeah. Really controlled and much less possibility of things going awry with mold or rot of any kind. But once you've got them desiccated, like partially raisin, their skins will be crinkly. Obviously, you're concentrating sugar, acidity, dry matter, all of these things. So you're going to end up when you press this, making a really rich, intense wine. And it's called Amarone, which has in embedded in it the root of Amaro or Amari, which kind of telegraphs slightly bitter notes that can be found in these wines. Along with huge fruit. Along with huge fruit, often dried fruit flavors, like you go from anywhere from plum to prune in these. And they're very interesting and kind of a lot of people think of them as intellectual wines, the Amarones. Now, this is Rapaso. So this is a style that is kind of the middle ground. They take high quality Valpolicella wine and then they take the skins and all the pumice that's left over from making Amarone and they re-pass it through this Valpolicella wine. It kind of pumps up the Valpolicella and you have a continuum, a spectrum. Some of these all labeled Repasso could be just like kind of more like a richer version of Valpolicella or in some cases people when they're really big and the skin contact has made a really large impact on the fruit profile dragging it toward those So, Chris just described flavor blasted wine. Yeah. They flavor blast the wine with other. With wine. Wine, yeah. Yeah. That's pretty cool. I always wondered if that was real. Somebody like told me that as a fledgling young wine salesperson almost 20 years ago and I was like, psh, ow. Yeah, that's real. That's so cool. And you can tell there's some grippy tannins here. I mean, those extra skins really add a lot of structure. The dark fruit character here is pretty incredible though. Yeah. I mean, like when you said prune, there's definitely that dried plum kind of dark cherry. Yep. Almost like a blackberry thing too, but not quite with the acidity. I think that this wine is like an entry point for wine customers who are for fledgling wine customers, like wine drinkers. This is an entry level. I mean, it's not entry level. It's complex, but it's also incredibly hedonistic. Yeah. It's a great wine to introduce Italy to domestic wine drinkers with. Oh, yeah. There you go. You know, if they're drinking Merlot or Cab or something that's relatively rich and full bodied, but they want... If you throw someone into like a high quality Sangiovese or Nebiolo, their minds are going to be blown by acidity, austerity, tannic structure. This has structure, but it's a lot softer than those other grapes. It definitely has a fruit profile. It's like berry fruit salad with like an orange glaze. What's the ABV on this? I bet it's 13, 13, 14. Seems a little higher. Yeah, it'll be higher than that because adding these skins, actually, there's still fermentable sugar in the skins when they go in there. So fermentation restarts when they do this. Flavor blasted. 14.5, Sir Gregory. Okay. Little above 13. Got a spirited finish. Yeah. Basic Valpolicello would be normal at 13, 12.5, 13.5 maybe at the most. But yeah, this definitely pumps it up. Yeah, what do you think? Yeah. It's got a very savory nose. Yeah. It reminded me of tomato sauce, tomato-y, umami kind of base note. Yeah, for sure. And you could definitely pair this with rich tomato dishes, anything with like a meaty ragu or a mushroomy ragu with- A bolognese. Yeah. Deep, deep savory notes. I want like some grilled flank steak and grilled portobello. Yep, absolutely. Grilled braised meats. Yeah. I mean, this is made for that kind of stuff. Parmesan crusted. Sure. Why not? Although, in this area, it would have to be granapodano. Yes, granapodano crusted. Sorry. Yeah. I mean, what do you drag us all the way over? I love Parmesan and raggiano. This is not Emilia Romano, my friend. I know. Granapodano, in case you don't know, is very similar to Parmesan. It's just from another region. May all your granas be padanoed. Yeah. Anyway, and a lot of times in Italian restaurants, they will tell you that they're putting Parmesan in your dish and it's granapodano. Yeah. It's a lot cheaper than raggiano. But it's still delicious. Oh yeah. It's great cheese. Yeah. Also, in Milan is famous for osso buco, the famous shank dish, veal shank usually, sometimes made with pork, and they serve it over polenta or risotto milanese, which is a risotto made with saffron, which is delicious. Because it's a shank, it's also a dish that's about bone marrow, so there's a lot of richness to it. You also typically would get gremolata with your osso buco, which is the bright counterpoint to the richness. So, the gremolata is a combination of, you would like this, Greg, lemon zest, parsley, raw garlic. Yeah, it's like a spark. It sounds like chimichurri. Yeah, it is a lot like chimichurri. You are correct. In fact, they may be closely linked. There are a lot of Italians in South America. How much is the ripasso? Ripasso, so Zanotto ripasso is normally a mere $29.99. Yes. If you compare that to Amarones, and this is definitely in that richer style that people might call a baby Amarone. I mean, it's not quite as intense, but you're paying at least double that for an Amarone. $29.99, a mere $26.99 during the game. His wines do make you just want to break. I like how it always made Chris want to break out in the song. Yeah. Oh, damn, you beat me to it. Very lyrical language. Contari. Have you seen how the audiences have just been breaking out into Volari? It's amazing. No. Yeah. Nice. I got to get that Champagne law method extra brute. That's fabulous. French Accordat, don't forget it. Yeah, really good. And you got what, like nine more days of the games? Enjoy this. Share the winter games. Worldwide cultural event. Yeah. And if you can't be there, try some of these great wines from that area, from Lombardy and Veneto. Drink like an Olympian. Yep. Right. The Italian wine that's most associated with the Olympus is Chiro, but it's from all the way down in the tip of the boot in Calabria, and it's made with a grip called Galliupo. Why is it? Because they used to give it to Olympic athletes when they won, way back in the day. Okay. It turns out bronze was cheaper. Right. Do you either get this glass of wine or a bronze coin? I'll take the wine. All right. Well, Chris, this is an excellent lineup of wines. I was very impressed. Yeah. Yeah. Very, very fun. Thanks, Chris. Thank you for listening to another episode of Barrel to Bottle, The Binny's Podcast. Back in your feed real soon. Something great. Till then, I'm Greg. I'm Jim. I'm Roger. I'm Chris. Ciao, tutti. Keep a tasting. Keep a tasting. I don't know how to say that. Can we still do Italian accents? Is that okay? It's fine. Well, I'm Italian, so I can. I'm Italian, so it's fine. Keep tasting is, continua ad assaggiare. Just use that. Yeah. There's no way they have that many syllables. Continua ad assaggiare. Continua. Continua ad assaggiare. Ad assaggiare. Assaggiare. It means specifically to taste, try or sample food and drinks. Meanwhile, some Italian speakers are just putting their heads in their hands right now. Continua ad assaggiare. Continua ad assaggiare. Yes. Keep savoring. Ciao. Ciao. Salute.