Vintus

Tommasi’s 2010 Rafael Valpolicella was the Anchorage Daily News wine choice of the week! Mike McVittie has some great comments on the Rafael.  ”In my career I have had a lot of boring and insipid Valpolicella — until now. The 2010 Tommasi Rafael Valpolicella Classico Superior is so cool! Complex perfumes waft elegant; black fruits and medium-light body add grace and character to the light tannins. This is the real deal, an experience I wish for all of you! It’s not that expensive, but it is a bit hard to find. Serve with lighter meat dishes and good friends.”

Wine Spectator posted a report of the Italian 2012 Vintage. Winemakers across Italy are reporting a promising vintage after a long growing season and a year of hard work in the vineyards. For the Northeast of Italy winemakers like Pierangelo Tommasi are quietly optimistic after harvesting generally healthy fruit. Pierangelo says “the positive aspect was the elimination of disease problems, since high temperatures blocked downy and powdery mildew and limited the flight of insects”. Click the image below to read the whole report.

The Huffington Post published an article regarding three dependable producers and their wines that would have gone well with the uncertainty of last weeks Election Day.  Of the three suggestions was Tommasi’s Rafael Valpolicella Superiore, “wine that will stand alone, which we can count on in the long winter ahead, no matter the outcomes of national and local elections”. See more comments below, and to read the full article click here.

Tommasi Rafael Valpolicella Superiore — “If you haven’t yet sampled wines from Tommasi, begin here. For a versatile medium bodied red before and during dinner, it’s hard not to like this pretty Valpolicella. Sourced from a family-owned hillside vineyard, Corvina Veronese makes up roughly two thirds of the blend. In typical fashion, Rondinella and Molinara comprise the rest. From an estate known for its benchmark Amarone, the Valpollicella is a wine to purchase by the case at about one fifth the price of the former wine. A comfort red. But try a bottle — as you always should — before buying the case. This may not satisfy those who always equate mass, high alcohol and significant tannin with quality. There’s a pervasive spice and dried herb element to this wine which pulls along the cherry and red fruits. This stood out from the first time I tasted it as the most drinkable of the current Tommasi bottlings, including those from their notable sidebar property, Poggio al Tufo. Whenever I return to Rafael, it brings the same level of delight, always understated with a style that invites a second glass. The wine lists at about $12-16.00 around the country for the current 2010 vintage.”

Tommasi has just posted an exciting new contest on their Web site. Post a photo or video of yourself enjoying Tommasi wines and become eligible to win one of several awesome prizes. The best 3 entries in each category (Photo and Video) will win the following:

1st Place:

a weekend for two at the winery’s 4-star Villa Quaranta hotel in Verona, including a spa treatment at the Terme della Valpolicella!

2nd Place:

Dinner for two at Caffe Dante in Verona, plus an overnight stay at Villa Quaranta

3rd Place:

the “Family Selection” – a wooden case containing six rare older vintages of Tommasi Amarone

Anyone who enters the contest will additionally win a free copy of Tommasi’s new E book, “Tommasi: the Strength of the Family.”

Click here to enter the contest!

On October 2nd, Tommasi and the rest of the estates in the Association of Amarone Families are holding a seminar/tasting at the New York City Public Library.  This group now includes 12 family-owned producers, all of whom display an “A – Amarone Families” sticker on their Amarones.  The group was formed around a number of important principles to safeguard the quality production and prestige of Amarone.

You can click on the Save the Date below for more details about the tasting.