Cantine Aperte – Open Cellars, a great wine event held throughout Italy

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Do Bianchi

Last Sunday was “Cantine Aperte” (Open Cellars) day, a nation-wide event organized annually by the Movimento Turismo Vino, the Italian association for wine tourism.

Participating wineries — like Pievalta — open their doors for guided tastings, traditional cooking, winery tours, and a chance to interact with the winemakers and grape growers.

This year’s event at Pievalta (Castelli di Jesi) was a huge success with great attendance and wonderful feedback on the wines by the winery’s guests.

Click here for the Pievalta Facebook photo album to get a sense of how much fun this event is.

The Movimento Tursimo Vino is a great resource for enonauts on their way to Italy. And the site includes a English-language version.

We hope to see you for Cantine Aperte 2014!

A weekend of art & culture at Barone Pizzini: events and tastings Saturday & Sunday

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Do Bianchi

Barone Pizzini, the first winery in Franciacorta to believe in natural viticulture as the key to attaining the highest quality possible, presents a series of events and tastings featuring painting, music, food, and… Franciacorta, of course!

Currently, the main tasting room at the winery features a show devoted to the paintings of Armando Riva, an artist who has lived in and depicted Lake Iseo and Franciacorta for many years now. His fascination to these two worlds is as vibrant as the works he produces.

Above: Fresh-water sardines being dried along the banks of Lake Iseo. Chef Vittorio Fusari is a champion of locally sourced ingredients in his cooking. Image via Slowfood Oglio, Franciacorta, Lago d’Iseo.

Please call +39 030 9848311 or email info@BaronePizzini.it to reserve!

June 1 & 2 (all-day events)
Winery Tour and Tastings

Franciacorta Brut and Satén paired with Traditional Dried Fresh-Water Sardines from Lake Iseo and other food pairing prepared by Chef Vittorio Fusari, known for his impeccably sourced ingredients and mastery in the kitchen.

Reservations required.
€15 per person.

June 2, 11:00 a.m.
Jazz & Ragtime Concert
followed by winery tour and tasting

Reservations required.
€18 per person.

Our Franciacorta is organically farmed and our carbon footprint is closely regulated. Your visit to the winery helps to promote awareness of Franciacorta wines and Franciacorta the appellation.

Edible wild grasses & wine pairing tomorrow at Barone Pizzini

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Do Bianchi

Tomorrow, the Barone Pizzini winery will host a tasting and wine pairing featuring edible wild grasses from their vineyards.

The guided tour and tasting begins at 3:30 p.m.

The cost is €20 per person.

Please call +39 030 9848311 to reserve a spot (reservations required).

The idea behind the tasting is to show how biodiversity and the absence of chemicals in the vineyards is part of what allows the winemaker to create such vibrant and brilliant aromas and flavors in the wine.

Part of the reason why the grasses are edible is that Barone Pizzini — a certified organic farmer — doesn’t use chemicals in the vineyard.

Palio di San Floriano, a medieval pageant held in Jesi every year

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Do Bianchi

Today is the last day of the Palio di San Floriano, a wonderful medieval pageant that takes place every year in the town of Jesi.

Here’s a note on the festival from Silvia Loschi, manager of the Pievalta winery.

This week, Jesi is the backdrop for the famous Palio di San Floriano, a festival that dates back to the thirteenth century.

The modern participants in the pageant include the 21 townships of Vallesina, home to the Castelli di Jesi DOC (where we make our wine).

The festivities — dancing, flag bearing, parades, medieval re-enactments — commemorate the Christian martyr St. Florian, a popular saint during medieval times.

In the festival’s main parade, the mayors of the town play the part of the gonfaloniers and they re-enact their villages’ historic submission to the township of Jesi.

Then the “men-at-arms,” representatives of the municipalities present in the parade, compete for the “Palio” (a banner) in the tournament of the archers.