CHICCO D' UVA MERITAGE

Italy produces some of the world’s great red wines. For me, after forty seven years in wine, it was time to create a new wine with a unique character. I named the wine, Chicco (key -ko) d’ Uva. Literally translated, a single grape in the cluster, because each Sip is like squeezing a rich, ripe, juicy grape in your mouth. Chicco d’ Uva is a smooth, big, rich red wine.

As an Italian who studied and worked in Australia, the Chicco d’ Uva project, brought to me by San Giuseppe master blender, Frank Gentile, was exciting because it allowed me to utilize my experience from Australia with Italian and French grape varieties. The result is also exciting because unlike other Italian-French proprietary blends, typically from Tuscany, we did not use, Sangiovese as the base wine.

Instead, here, on the shores of Lake Garda, we have Corvina and other native Italian varieties, used to make Amarone, that are richer and lower in acidity than Sangiovese. These with French varieties like Cabernet, Merlot and Carmenere, are vinified separately, in the rich, fruit forward style and barrel aged for two years before blending, as in Bordeaux.

Hence, Chicco d’ Uva is truly an international wine because it is made with Italian and French grape varieties and vinified by an American blender and an Italian winemaker trained in Australia. A true world class wine!

Chicco (one berry) d’ (of) Uva (grape) simply describes the character of this premium red wine. However, making the wine is more complex. While the taste is singular there could be up to six types of grapes blended to achieve this quality. Imagine Cabernet, Merlot, Carmenere, Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara grapes grown in North Italy, along the coast of Lake Garda, where the micro climate brings these grapes to full maturity. These grapes are vinified separately, by an Italian winemaker trained in Australia, barrel aged and blended by an American pallet.

If your imagination is working, your mind tastes a deep red, rich, world-class proprietary wine.