How a Forgotten Bottle of 1978 Inspired a New Approach to Sangiovese Talk about an awkward moment. It was 2009, and I had just started my first consulting project for a Tuscan winery. The new owners wanted to overhaul production. Over lunch at their restaurant, we tasted through their estate’s wines—blends of Sangiovese and international […]
Sangiovese’s Signature Read More »
Tasting barrel after barrel of wine in the cellars of the Côte de Nuits in the late 2000s catalysed my understanding of wine. How could two barrels of Pinot Noir—sitting side by side, vinified the same way—taste so different? Were the differences due to the vineyards’ terroir or to the impact of the barrels themselves?
Is Barrel Aging Still the Gold Standard for Top Wines? Read More »
Yesterday, I went to pay for grapes I had bought during this year’s harvest—grapes that, in other years, I have made into some of my best wines. Driving home, winding down from the hilltop village, I passed other vineyards, olive orchards, fields sparkling in the sunlight. The scenery, though, did little to ease my disappointment.
Shedding Traditions for a Clearer Expression of Tuscany Read More »
Through Françoise, a geologist I worked with when I started Fanciulle, I met Rémy, the oenologist for some of the finest wine estates in the Côte d’Or and a rigorous, brilliant wine taster. He can, I have seen over the years, dissect a wine’s flavors, aromas or texture into its distinct components and tell you
Tuscan cuisine is ostensibly simple: a few, fresh ingredients, combined quickly and served casually. And yet, “Things are so black-and-white in Tuscan cooking,” says Fanciulle winemaker, Jem Macy. “The rigidity at the backbone of Tuscan meals is ridiculous.” Only perfectly-honed habits can explain how well people eat in a region where there is no “haute
Pomarola: The Essential Pasta Sauce Read More »
Since the 2022 wines finished fermenting in October of that year, and I first tasted them, they have seemed different. As always, the grapes were destemmed and put into small tanks; during fermentation, the sugar in the grapes was consumed by the yeast on the skins and turned into alcohol. Then the wines were racked
Yesterday, the Italian holiday season came to a close with the Feast of Epiphany, the last in a long line of family get-togethers and rich meals. For a while, at least, the days of prescribed dishes (tortellini in broth for Christmas, lentils for New Year’s, etc.), multi-course meals and tables of hungry relatives are over.
Fanciulle Inspires: An Easy, Elegant Tuscan Supper Read More »
The following is the first in an occasional series visiting Fanciulle wine in the homes of the people who drink it. Who: Caitlin Macy, sister of owner-winemaker Jem Macy Where: New York, USA Years Drinking Fanciulle: Since the first vintage in year 2019. In Italian, fanciulle means young girls or young ladies, a word that
A Glass at Home: Caitlin Macy Read More »
Valerie Stivers and Hank Zona are taking over the blog today to share a pick-of-the season autumn recipe to pair with Fanciulle wines. We are thrilled to offer their perspective on this fall pairing which brings together the best of seasonal Tuscan ingredients and our wines. Read on for their discussion of how each ingredient
Duck, Duck, Radicchio Read More »
After much-needed spring rains, the threat of disease loomed over the early part of the growing season, requiring the judicious use of copper to protect the young leaves. In July, the weather settled into a stretch of dry, sunny days, culminating in perfect harvest conditions of bright, breezy days and cool nights. The grapes have
Highlights of Harvest 2023 Read More »
