Going Big at Codice Citra

Our first stop on our final day of touring was at Codice Citra which was founded in 1973. Codice Citra was quite the change from the smaller family wineries we had visited so far. It has 9 cooperative wineries with 3,000 associated winegrowers in the group. They produce about 20,000,000 bottles from over 14,000 acres each year.

Codice Citra has a large and impressive facility. They have the largest cask room in central and southern Italy with the capacity to refine or age close to 200,000 gallons of wine. While most of their wines are made from indigenous grapes, they do also make some international varieties. They are the largest exporter of Abruzzo wines in the world with a presence in 50 countries, this is primarily due to the good quality/price ratio that the company delivers.

The wines made by Codice Citra come from the province of Chieti. The vineyard area stretches inland 25 miles from the Adriatic Sea. They began their commitment to sustainable energy and the environment in 2011 with the production of a photovoltaic power plant to run the consortium's wine production. Their next goal is to continue to improve quality and value with a collaboration with the World Assoenologi President, Riccardo Cotarella and their head winemaker, Lino Olivastri.

Lino Olivastri led us through the winery and showed us the latest projects he is working on. He seemed most excited about the classic method sparkling wine. We then went down to their modern tasting room to try the wines.

Passe "Rina" Spumante Brut - This tank fermented sparkler made from Passerina grapes had floral aromas with white peach and citrus with a light yeasty note in the finish, the winery recommends it both as an aperitif and as an after dinner sipper.

Fenaroli Montonico Spumante Metodo Classico 2014 - This classic method sparkling wine is made from 100% Montonico, a local white grape, it spends 36 months on the lees before disgorgement. The wine is dry, crisp, and citrusy with apple and yeasty bread in the lingering finish.

Ferzo Cococciola Superiore d'Abruzzo 2017 - Floral notes of wisteria with nectarine and grapefruit, dry, fresh, fuller bodied, and persistent.

Caroso Riserva Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2013 - Only produced in the best years, the grapes for this wine were sourced from sandier soils, this red had dark berry aromas and flavors with hints of licorice, fresh acidity, and an elegant slightly balsamic finish.

Lavs Vitae Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Riserva 2012 - This wine came from 60 year old vines in the more calcareous northern part of their vineyards. It was full bodied with ripe tannins and had aromas and flavors of mixed ripe red
berries with dark chocolate, toasted nuts and a mineral-tinged finish.

An amazing high tech facility combined with local family growers, all of these wines are recommended.

Also, check out winemaker, Lino Olivastri, in Citra's video for their Sheep Thrills wine and see some of the Abruzzo terroir.

VINI CITRA - Sheep Thrills from TOART on href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo.

Lust Zinfandel 2007

My husband loves this wine so he purchased quite a few bottles at a recent Michael~David dinner that we had attended. Last night, I decided to open a bottle to serve with dinner. I was making a roasted southwestern pork tenderloin, sweet potato fries (w/ chipolte ketchup) and a salad consisting of baby lettuce (fresh from my garden) with strawberries, red bell peppers, red onions and walnuts tossed with a white balsamic-raspberry vinaigrette. This turned out to be a great pairing. It is a bold wine that really stood up to the strong chipolte seasoning while complementing the fruit flavors. I opened the bottle a 1/2 hour before I served it as I have found this wine to be more enjoyable when I do so. The Lust Zinfandel by Michael~David 2007 was a dark purple color with a ruby rim. It has intense aromas of very ripe mixed berries and baking spices-both allspice and ginger with hints of cedar. It has flavors of creme de cassis, milk chocolate and also more of the baking

Nocera - A Native Grape from Sicily

Nocera is a native grape from Sicily. It comes from the Messina province which is located in the northeast. Nocera is a quality red wine grape that is most known as a blender in the red wines of the Faro DOC. I had the opportunity to taste some pure versions (which according to Wine Searcher are rare) this week at a trade tasting held at Roma Restaurant in Houston. Wine production in the region dates back to the 14th Century BC, however, phylloxera decimated the vineyard area in 1881 leaving it at a fraction of its original size. The area boasts a Mediterranean climate with sunny days and coastal breezes, moderate rainfall, and mild winters, all ideal for grape growing. The Nocera grape is a bluish/black color and has a thick skin which allows for the production of structured wines with prominent tannins which are balanced by good acidity. High alcohol is common. Red wines produced from the grapes are an intense ruby color with purple highlights and aromas and flavors of dark fruits a

The Salta Tour 2012

Vine Connections and Pioneer Wine Company hosted a seminar and tasting event for Houston's wine trade and media at Backstreet Cafe yesterday. All but two of the wines were from the Salta Province of Argentina. Salta is the most northern wine region in Argentina lying close to the Bolivian border. The climate is very extreme due to the high altitude. Plantings start at 5,000 feet above sea level and climb to 9,000 feet, making these vineyards the highest in the world. The intense sunlight the area receives helps to create grapes with more anthocyanins, these are the color pigments which result in softer tannins, lower astringency and more intense flavor. The wines produced are extremely pure, concentrated and terroir specific. Torrontes Riojano which is considered the best of the three Torrontes clones is the most widely planted grape with plantings of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tannat increasing. The seminar started with a tasting of four Torrontes wines, three from diff

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