Clik here to view.
I kept prolonging the writing of this. I got the recap of the first half of the trip to Puglia written up here, made expedient by both deadlines and my adoration for Southern Italy and the crew I was with. But when it came to the second half of our journey–
A United States-ian, a Canadian, a Mexican, a South Korean, a Japanese, a Chinese, a Kenyan, a Swede, and a German walk into an Italian wine awards ceremony. What happens?
Well, none of us are entirely sure of what happened as it was all in Italian.
Clik here to view.
We were at a three-hour ceremony honoring Italy’s best. Still, we got the gist of things between wine’s ability to speak and Italy’s second language being gesturing (um, even they said it is true).
To clarify, I visited Rome alongside eight other international journalists to celebrate the Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri awards. “Tre Bicchieri” references three glasses–three judges must unanimously approve the wines that make it to the final round.
The tour of the Tre Bicchieri recently came to Los Angeles, so I felt like this was a good time to revisit my visit!
But first a lil’ recap of the trip!
DAY ONE: VERTICALS
Our first full day in Rome, our first vertical (that is, a tasting of multiple vintages of the same wine) was from the Tre Bicchieri Winery of the Year, Umani Ronchi, who tasted us through 10 of their Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Cl. Plenio Riserva (say it three times fast) wines, ranging from 1996 to 2021. Let me tell you–WHITE WINE CAN AGE! At least these can. I was particularly enamored of the 1996 and happy to drink a glass later during lunch, seeing as I spit during the actual tasting. It was a lovely pairing with my cacio e pepe.
Clik here to view.
Our next vertical was the Solidarity Project of the Year, given this year to Velonesi Winery for their work with people on the spectrum. We tasted five vintages of their Rosso Piceno Superior Reggio del Filare, all Montepulciano/Sangiovese blends from the Marche. If Italian whites can age, many Italian reds REQUIRE it. But I felt these were accessible to both young and old.
After a brief lunch break (the aforementioned pasta and Verdicchio!), we got into the last vertical of the day, and the most potent–I was glad to have lunch under my belt–we were doing the Red of the Year: Giovanni Rosso Barolo Vignarionda Ester Canale Rosso. Five vintages of Barolo, that beautifully brutal Nebbiolo from the Piedmont. The 2014, purportedly a difficult vintage, in particular, blew my mind–a richer and riper taste but explosive on the palate, filled with red cherry, mushroom, balsamic, spice and wafts of vanilla, licorice, and joy.
And then, miraculously, we had an hour or so before we had to be back at the hotel to head to dinner. I had every other person I know who had been to Rome advise me about what I MUST do. I tried to explain to them that my days and nights were spoken for but was determined to get a smidge of sightseeing in. Looking at the map, I saw we were near the Spanish Steps and corralled Petra (the German amongst us) to walk up them with me. Afterward, we noted that the Keats-Shelley house, where poet John Keats died at the age of 25, was right there and obvi we needed to visit it. Morbid much? We were IN.
Clik here to view.
So we toured the house (deathmasks and original Frankenstein copies and libraries, oh my!), then walked to the hotel where I grabbed a quick shower in my epic bowl-shaped tub with a rain shower in the biggest, technically shower stall ever before the big dinner, replete with appetizers and bubbly outside, then a 6-course meal with 12 wines to taste, all recipients of the Tre Bicchieri.
The dinner went on. And on. And on. And it was delightful, although as midnight came around, I feared how soon I would need to get up and do it all again, but them the wino breaks, kids.
Clik here to view.
The next day, it was off to the three hours of awards in Italian–there are prizes for the basics: best red, white, rosé, sparkling as less expected categories like a vino di meditazione, Sustainability, and the Solidarity Project Award. I didn’t quite understand what they were specifically saying, but as I mentioned, gestures help.
Then it was a quick lunch and then…the grand tasting of ALL the Tre Bicchieri wines, including a couple of famous ones I dreamed of tasting–and finally did! Two of the big boys I was happy to check off the list were Sassicaia and Biondi-Santi. I was particularly smitten with the latter, a beguiling, subtle, DELICIOUS Brunello di Montalcino.
Clik here to view.
And oodles of others: Castello Romitorio Brunello di Montalcino, Boscarelli Vino Nobile de Montalcino, Vini del Re Grasparossa di Castelvetro Lambrusco, Nicola Bergaglio Minaia Gavi, Elio Grasso Barolo, La Fiorita Fiore di No ’18 Brunello di Montalcino, Extra Montefalco Sagrantino 2017, Tenute Perda Rubia Cannanu di Sardegna…
After four hours of tasting, we recouped to the gorgeous hotel bar and ate random bar food and drank a random Albariño and took random selfies.
Clik here to view.
This was honestly the best press trip I ever went on.
If you want to throw your own little party or perhaps buy a bunch of winning bottles and stage them in various rooms of your house while pretending you are in Rome, get your hands on the guide here or on one of the Tre Bicchieri tours.
So, back to now! I got to revisit the Tre Bicchieri during its visit to Los Angeles. It was reunited with fearless leaders in Italy, Tiina Eriksson and Marco Sabellico, and Stephanie Goodwin from McCue, the PR company that was so kind as to invite me.
Clik here to view.
They brought a slightly different selection of wines this time around, and my big winners included Belisario Cambrugiano Verdicchio di Matelica, the Pasqua You Could Have Made This But You Didn’t, G.D. Vajra Costa di Rose Barolo, Frescobaldi Vigna Montesodi Chianti Rufina Riserva, and Speri Valpolicella Ripasso Classico Superior.
Whew! Okay. Oodles of gems in there. I wish I could take you with me, dear reader–to Italy, and to dtla where many a tasting is held and who knows…maybe someday we will meet and I will! Until then, grazie and prego!