New Tommasi brochure, including Prosecco Tenuta Filodora, click on the icon below to download.
New Tommasi Brochure!
April 9th, 2012Tommasi celebrates 110 Years
April 6th, 2012At Vinitaly last week, Tommasi celebrated the 110 Year Anniversary of their family firm. There was the release of a book, the unveiling of the Prosecco project we discussed, and much more! See below for a great little video of all the Tommasi family members saying their names.
Toronto Sun: Italian wine producer spreads its wings
April 5th, 2012Great piece in the Toronto Sun focused exclusively on Tommasi, with a great focus on Arele!
The Tommasi family’s fortunes have mushroomed over the past century from a postage-stamp-sized vineyard purchased by Giacomo Tommasi in 1902, to the substantial acreage farmed by the fourth generation in their native Verona and farther south in Tuscany.
Pierangelo Tommasi, marketing and export manager, says the family has a series of celebrations planned to honour its 110th anniversary in the wine business, including the launch of a new Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine.
But there’s no need to wait to taste the most exciting wine they have in their portfolio. Arele is a relatively new addition. It’s a red made with grape varieties that are native to Verona, a portion of which are partially dried to increase the flavour and appeal of the finished wine.
Tommasi is best known for its Amarone and Ripasso red wines, which are made in special time-honored process. For Amarone, ripe grapes are picked and then placed on straw mats or wooden racks to dry and shrivel for months. When theses grapes are fermented the resulting wine is rich and flavourful, with powerful character thanks to its 14% to 16% alcohol content.
Ripasso sees the Valpolicella region’s red wines refermented with the skins and seeds left over from the production of Amarone. The process adds body, structure and complexity to the finished wine.
Arele, which takes the name of the wood racks used to dry the grapes, is made to be fresher and fruitier than Ripasso or Amarone. “We thought it should be a younger brother or a cousin to our Ripasso,” Tommasi explains.
“We thought we would dry the grapes for one month or so, in order to get some concentration and produce a medium-bodied red wine that could be known as part of the family of Valpolicella-based wines, but more charming perhaps. Smoother and sweeter than the Ripasso, which is usually more concentrated.”
Appassimento, which is the Italian word for drying, could become a new style for the region, says Tommasi.
“I strongly believe that the new wines, like Arele and others being made by our competitors with a similar method will help to really build appassimento as a new Veneto-based category,” he says, “especially in those markets where Ripasso and Amarone are already very well known.”
Certainly the plummy fruit flavours and juicy personality of a wine like Arele makes it stand out. The style is enjoyable and incredibly food-friendly — the sort of wine that would work with tomato sauces, barbecue and other meaty dishes. The quality for the price doesn’t hurt either.
Wines of the Week:
***1/2
Tommasi Viticoltori 2010 Pinot Grigio Le Rosse, Verona, Italy
The grapes used to produce this attractive Pinot Grigio come from a single vineyard owned by the Tommasi family. It is riper, with a creamier texture, than many Italian examples.
****
Tommasi Viticoltori 2009 Arele, Verona, Italy
This pleasing red makes the most of its juicy, spicy flavours. The mix of fresh berry and plummy fruit is nicely enhanced by spice and herbal noted. Good value.
****
Tommasi Viticoltori 2009 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, Verona, Italy
This is a rich, velvety red with powerful fruit and complexity. The dried fruit used in the production brings some funky earthy flavours that add to the wine’s bold character.
Western Living reviews Poggio al Tufo’s Rompicollo
March 30th, 2012Western Living, a Canadian magazine, gives Poggio al Tufo’s Rompicollo an enthusiastic review in their Wine Pick section – we love the statement, “Finding Italian wines that will be loved by all palates and are great vintage after vintage is easy. Finding the ones that do that for under $40 that a trick—under $25 and you should be knighted.” Click on the icon below to read the full review!
Wine & Spirits 2012 Restaurant Poll Released!
March 22nd, 2012The Wine & Spirits 2012 Restaurant Poll was just released, and Guigal and Tommasi have made a very strong showing this year! Guigal was named the #1 Rhone Brand and #11 French Brand, with Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône appearing as their top wine wines in the survey. Tommasi was named the #1 Veneto Brand and #13 Italian Brand, with their Amarone Classico and Poggio Al Tufo Cabernet Sauvignon most represented on restaurants lists. Take a look!
Tommasi: The Strength of the Family!
February 14th, 2012Tommasi has created a website to celebrate the 110 Year Anniversary of the estate, and on which at certain points this year they will release important news and features. Go here to see the site. Right now they have a wonderful video showing that you can also see below, entitled “Tommasi: The Strength of the Family”.
Tommasi Featured on Prominent Food Blog
January 27th, 2012Serena Palumba, a former Italian corporate lawyer-turned Manhattan food blogger and TV star, has a great post on Tommasi today.
Serena takes a walk through Tommasi’s prized Conca d’Oro vineyard in Valpolicella with Pier Angelo, Export and Marketing Director for the estate, and tastes Amarone in the cellar next to the estate’s giant oak casks. The two also discuss recipes for “Risotto di Amarone.”
To read the full blog post, click here.
Click on the image below to view the video of her visit:
VINTUS named new U.S. Importer of Tommasi
January 20th, 2012An exciting day for us. Below is the press release on our latest development – the venerable Amarone producer Tommasi joins the VINTUS portfolio.
VINTUS Named New U.S. Importer of Tommasi
Top Amarone Brand Joins VINTUS’ Portfolio of Benchmark Wines
VINTUS Acquires Rolar Imports as Part of Tommasi Partnership
(Pleasantville, NY; January 20, 2012) — VINTUS, a leading national fine wine importer and marketing company, and Tommasi, the renowned producer of Amarone and Valpolicella Classico in Italy’s Veneto region, are delighted to announce that they have entered into a long-term distribution agreement, granting VINTUS the responsibility for the exclusive sales and marketing of Tommasi wines in the United States. In a related transaction, VINTUS has purchased Rolar Imports, U.S. importer of Tommasi wines for the past thirty-nine years.
Founded in 1902 in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico, Tommasi is one of the standard bearers of the Amarone appellation, and one of the most important quality producers in the Veneto generally. The Tommasi family is the single largest landowner in the Valpolicella Classico area; over the past 110 years, they have steadily expanded their holdings in other areas of the Veneto, and now own a total of 370 acres in the region. As has been the case since the winery’s establishment, the family works only with grapes they grow, an important quality decision and a reflection of their deep connection to the Valpolicella soil.
“We are extremely pleased to develop this new relationship with VINTUS, and to work with them to increase the presence of our family’s wines in top restaurants and wine shops in the United States,” said Dario Tommasi, co-owner along with his brothers Sergio, Ezio, and Franco.
“It is an especially exciting time for our family: we are celebrating our 110-year anniversary and are seeing the benefits from a number of recent investments and innovations in our vineyards and winery. We believe that Michael Quinttus and his dynamic team at VINTUS are uniquely qualified to enhance the visibility of our wines to the next generation of American consumers. The Tommasi family thanks our dear friends Paul Lardi and Marvin Rosenberg of Rolar Imports for 39 years of successful collaboration.”
VINTUS, founded in 2004, is a national importer and marketing company for leading fine wine estates around the world. VINTUS President and founder Michael Quinttus commented: “The Tommasi family has a tremendous commitment to preserving and sharing the traditions of Valpolicella, and leading the Veneto region into the future. Amarone is a special and rare contribution to the world of wine, unique to the Veneto, and it is a privilege to enter into this partnership with one of Italy’s great producers.”
Tommasi is now run by the fourth generation of the family, a group of six siblings and cousins who share responsibilities at the family properties and other holdings. In addition to the Veneto estate vineyards and winery, the Tommasi family also has two properties in the Maremma totaling 225 acres: Poggio al Tufo purchased in 1997 and located in Pitigliano an hour north of Rome, and Doganella, a more recent purchase neighboring Poggio al Tufo and dedicated entirely to the organic cultivation of grapes.
For a complete list of Tommasi wines available in the U.S., click here. Below are a few of the most celebrated examples:
- Amarone Classico DOC
- “Ripasso” Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC
- “Arele Appassimento” Veronese IGT
- “Rafael” Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC
- “Le Rosse” Pinot Grigio IGT
- “Le Volpare” Soave Classico DOC
VINTUS represents a diverse, international range of benchmark wineries including E. Guigal, Chateau Montelena, Quinta do Noval, Errazuriz, Ch. Pétrus, Ch. Margaux, Ch. La Fleur-Pétrus, Domaine des Baumard, Champagne Bruno Paillard, Lucien Le Moine, Sandrone, Petrolo, Enrico Santini, Schiopetto, Il Palagio, Finca Decero, Telmo Rodriguez, Ferrer Bobet, Disznoko, Dog Point, Mitolo and Heartland. For information on these and other estates, visit www.vintuswines.com.
Amarone Ambassadors
January 20th, 2012A great little video with shots of some of Tommasi’s Amarone vineyards and the Tommasi cellars.
Tommasi Video
January 20th, 2012A little video on our newest producer.