Barbera Wine Series: Barbera pairing - BBQ wine
In Europe and North America, this weekend kicks off summer, so it’s time to start thinking about BBQ wine! Did you know BBQ is a perfect barbera pairing?
Scarpa's Barbaresco Tettineive among Piedmont wines
Publication: Finansavisen
Wine Writer: Torgeir Kveim Sti
Wine Art in the Langhe: Drink, paint with wine by Purpleryta
Living in wine country means keeping the creative juices flowing - sometimes that even means wine art classes whereby participants are not only sipping on vino, but also painting with wine!
Barolo wine tours with a local: Meet Sandro Minella
Obviously Barolo wine tours are what a lot of people come to the Piedmont region to experience. But, we hope they also make their way to the Monferrato - yes, a little further away, but well worth the time in transit. And, we thought we’d introduce you to some of our favorite Piedmont wine region guides, starting with Piedmont native, Sandro Minella.
A unique multi-vintage library of top Piedmontese wines
Last week, we sat down and thumbed through some old editions of the Gambero Rosso Guide to the Wines of Italy. All of them dated back to the era when Slow Food was still publishing the guide and Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini was still the editor-in-chief.
"Nebbiolo might be the crown jewel of Piemonte, but Freisa is its buried treasure."
A few days ago, Cult of the Vine, the popular Australian wine shop in Brunswick (Melbourne, Victoria) posted the above photo on its Instagram with the following note: "Nebbiolo might be the crown jewel of Piemonte, but Freisa is its buried treasure."
Ian D'Agata: Scarpa La Bogliona a "benchmark" Barbera d'Asti
"When it's good," writes the prolific wine writer Ian D'Agata in his landmark work Italy's Native Wine Grape Terroirs (University of California Press 2019), "Barbera d'Asti is simply a great wine."
Life in the slow (food) lane...
Why is there a huge sculpture of a blue snail that greets you when you arrive in downtown Bra in Cuneo province, Piedmont?
Piedmont's famous "napkin ravioli." Ravioli al tovagliolo. #IMissItaly
If the image above seems a little bit blurry, please don't blame the photographer!
Scarpa Monferrato Freisa Secco La Selva di Moirano.
Last week, our U.S. blogger Jeremy Parzen sat down with leading wine educator Deborah Parker Wong on Zoom to taste the Scarpa 2013 Monferrato Freisa Secco La Selva di Moirano.
Win a 2-night stay at the fabulous Scarpa vacation villas in Verduno.
Italian Wedding Circle, one of Scarpa's partners, is currently running a competition to win a free 2-night stay in one of Scarpa's fabulous Scarpa Villas which sit atop the famous Monvigliero cru in the commune of Verduno (Barolo).
Scarpa tasting room to reopen next week
On Wednesday, June 3, Italy will be reopening its borders to foreigners.
"Entry Barbera that drinks like anything but." "Pure Nebbiolo joy."
Today, we're sending a much deserved shout-out to our good friend Michael Zaccaria in Melbourne who works with our wines in Australia.
"Case in point that a Dolcetto really should have some age under its belt."
"Another terrific Scarpa wine," writes top Finnish wine blogger Otto Forsberg on his Instagram this week. "And yet another case in point that a Dolcetto really should have some age under its belt."
VIDEO: Sommelier tastes and discusses 2017 Brachetto Secco La Selva di Moirano and 2015 Barbera d'Asti Casa Scarpa.
Master Sommelier Brett Zimmerman, owner of the Boulder Wine Merchant and one of America's leading Italian wine experts, tastes and discusses 2017 Brachetto Secco La Selva di Moirano and 2015 Barbera d'Asti Casa Scarpa. His notes also include a winery overview.
VIDEO: Sandra Crittenden on 2006 Monferrato Freisa Secco La Selva di Moirano.
In the latest in our series of "Scarpa Cellar Dive" virtual tasting videos, we received this clip from Houston-based wine writer and blogger Sandra Crittenden.
VIDEO: Scarpa winemaker Silvio Trinchero discusses the estate's classic Barbera d'Asti "Casa Scarpa"
This is the second in a series of educational videos on the Scarpa estate and winery and its wines. In this clip, winemaker Silvio Trinchero presents Scarpa's classic Barbera d'Asti known as "Casa Scarpa" which we could translate as "Domaine Scarpa."
Shop safe, drink well: U.S. Scarpa retailer
We've compiled the following list of retail outlets that currently have Scarpa wines in stock in the U.S. Please note that it's not comprehensive or exhaustive list. But it covers multiple states and includes a number of retailers that can ship across the country (sometimes through third party shippers, a new trend among wine shops today).
VIDEO: Scarpa winery and estate overview with winemaker Silvio Trinchero
We asked Scarpa winemaker SIlvio Trinchero to prepare this short video including an overview of the estate and winery and the portfolio of wines we produced. Silvio worked side-by-side with Scarpa's historic cellar master Carlo Castino for more than a decade before taking over as chief winemaker. (Carlo, who lives at the winery still tastes and consults with Silvio on a daily basis.)
VIDEO: MW Michael Palij on Scarpa's new unfiltered Vermouth di Torino
“If Scarpa is known for anything," says Master of Wine Michael Palij in his video on the winery's new unfiltered Vermouth di Torino, "it’s known for creating these ultratraditional Piemontese classics.”
VIDEO: "Chicago's best sommelier" Thibaut Idenn does a "Scarpa Cellar Dive."
In this video (below), Thibaut Idenn, beverage director at Travelle in the Langham hotel in Chicago, pours one of his favorite wines and vintages from Scarpa. Thibaut was named "best sommelier in Chicago 2019" by the Chicago Reader last year.
VIDEO: A virtual tasting with Katrina Rene, a top U.S. wine writer and blogger.
We've received great response to our launch of the new Scarpa Cellar Dive and we are THRILLED to share the first entry by Katrina Rene, a leading U.S. wine writer and blogger from Houston, Texas.
Scarpa Cellar Dive: Open a Scarpa wine, share a video and we'll replace the bottle.
Given the ongoing lockdown, in Italy and the U.S., we are asking our friends and colleagues to take part in a new social media campaign: The Scarpa Cellar Dive.
A hungry caterpillar reminds us of the cycle of life.
That's a photo of a grape cutworm above, a caterpillar that winters quietly until the spring arrives and it surreptitiously begins gnawing away at the stalks and shoots after bud break. It literally cuts them down, hence the name.
Staying safe, staying healthy: Covid-19 update at Scarpa.
Above: The new tasting room and event space was opened last fall at Scarpa. Today, it remains empty.
Scarpa launches new "unfiltered" Vermouth (non filtrato)
Above, from left: The current line of Scarpa Vermouth di Torino, including classic white, classic red, and the newly released unfiltered white (right).
Scarpa at Nobie's, one of Houston's cutting-edge Italians
There's an expression in Italy. No wine without food, no food without wine.
Leading Texas wine writer Katrina Rene includes Scarpa among her "top wines" for 2019.
"I loved so many of the wines from the Scarpa portfolio," writes Houston-based wine writer Katrina Rene on her popular blog Corkscrew Concierge, "but the one that really made me swoon was this Barbaresco. So smooth with dried cherries, herbs, and leather and great acidity. So fortunate I was able to buy some to share with others."
How do you explain what a "tailgate party" is to an Italian?
Something that never occurred to me happened yesterday. An epistemological conundrum of great import, no less.
Breaking the rules? Barbera and seafood can be a match made in heaven.
It's one of the oldest taboos of historic gastronomy: Never serve red wine with fish.
Rouchet (Ruché) vertical tasting notes
The following are tasting notes by Australian Burgundy lover and intrepid wine traveler Greg Love, who recently visited Scarpa and tasted with winemaker Silvio Trinchero. Thank you, Greg, for your visit and the wonderful tasting notes!
Scarpa La Bogliona at L'Oca d'Oro, one of Austin's "top ten restaurants 2019" (Austin American-Statesman)
"You have the beauty of summer cucumbers to play off the bitter salinity of the vegetable," wrote Austin American-Statesman food critic Matthew Odam late last year, "with a slightly tart yogurt brightened with fennel pollen.
Salsiccia di Verduno (and a couple of vitello tonnato sightings)
The Scarpa English-language blogger recently found himself at the LHANGAR wine bar in the village of Barolo where he had his very first taste of Salsiccia di Verduno (above at the top of the mise en place, the farthest from the diner).*
Top wine writer Michael Godel names La Bogliona one of his "Nineteen mind-blowing wines of 2019."
Here's what top Canadian wine writer Michael Godel (one of our favorites) had to say about the 1996 Scarpa Barbera d'Asti La Bogliona late last year, one of his Nineteen mind-blowing wines of 2019.
I Bricchi "shows such a deft and silky touch, while remaining downright amiable"
"Monferrato’s Scarpa," writes one of our favorite wine bloggers, Kevin Day, author of Opening a Bottle, "has experienced a renaissance, and today, they are as good as gold in the world of Barbera.
Decades that end in 9, selections from the Scarpa library
As the world prepares to ring in 2020 and say goodbye to the 2010s, the folks at Antica Casa Scarpa's legendary tasting room decided to dig deep into the cellar and pull together this flight of wines from the nines — so to speak.Read more
20-year-old Scarpa Dolcetto by-the-glass at Perbacco in San Francisco
One of the things that makes Antica Casa Scarpa such a unique winery is its vast library of back vintages. And not just back vintages of Barbera d'Asti La Bogliona (its top wine), Barolo, and Barbaresco.Read more
When a winery isn't just a winery but a vital cultural institution and resource
Last month, I spent the better part of a week “working the market,” as we say in the wine trade, with my friend and colleague Riikka Sukula, director of operations for Antica Casa Scarpa — or Scarpa as it’s known — in Monferrato.Read more
EU officially recognizes Vermouth di Torino designation
According to a report published the Italian national daily La Repubblica, the European Union has recognized "Vermouth di Torino" as an official EU designation.Read more
Scarpa at Bestia, one of the most cutting-edge and compelling wine lists in the U.S.
Above: Housemade bucatini topped with burrata at Bestia in Downtown Los Angeles.Read more
Scarpa at Spiaggia in Chicago, one of America's Italian pioneers
Antica Casa Scarpa's director Riikka Sukula recently completed a week of "market work" (as it is called in trade parlance) in the U.S., visiting Chicago and Houston.Read more
Piedmont's white truffles: one of the greatest examples of terroir
If we define terroir as the unique combination of soil, exposure, climate, and human intervention resulting in a food product or wine that can only be produced in a given area using traditional local methods, white truffles from Piedmont would probably have to be the first example offered in the dictionary entry for the term.Read more
Why La Bogliona is considered the apotheosis of Barbera d'Asti
Scarpa's Barbera d'Asti La Bogliona, writes Scarpa's U.S. importer Ernest Ifkovitz on his website, is "the top single-vineyard Barbera from traditional Barbera d’Asti specialist Scarpa in the Monferrato. Read more
La Bogliona at Chez Panisse, Berkeley's iconic restaurant
We couldn't be more thrilled to learn that the 1996 Scarpa Barbera d'Asti La Bogliona is currently being served at Chez Panisse, the landmark Berkeley, California restaurant and gastronomic icon.Read more
Belbo da Bardon, a classic Piedmontese restaurant and one of the region's best wine cellars
The legendary Monferrato restaurant Belbo da Bardon doesn't have a website. Evidently it needs no introduction.Read more
Can Barbera age?
One of the coolest things about Scarpa is that the winery has an amazing library of wines dating back as far as the 1960s and even beyond.Read more