Description

Description

A natural (but not too natural wine) showing lovely fresh black fruit and a savoury palate. Could be served slightly chilled if you like and will suit rustic dishes including salami, hard cheeses and grilled meats.

Grape

Bonarda is a red grape originally from Italy, where it produces medium bodied wines with cassis, fennel, fig and cherry character and high acidity.

Producer

La Stoppa are an ancient wine estate in Val Trebbiola, not far from the River Trebbia, in the province of Piacenza. 100 years ago, the then owner Ageno, a lawyer of some repute planted Bordeaux varieties and named them after the more illustrious wines of that region, Bordo, Bordo Bianco and Pino. In the 70s the estate was taken over by the Pantaleoni Family and now is run by Elena Pantaleoni according to biodynamic principles. The vines have been replanted and they now produce wines from local varieties such as Malvasia di Candia Aromatica, Barbera and Bonarda, as well as the wines from their ancient vines of Bordeaux varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Semillon. The commitment to natural production, minimal work in the cellar and the excellent terroir yield wines of character, freshness and style which have something of the Bordeaux about them even with the Italian varieties.

Region

Emilia-Romagna is a rich, fertile region of northern Italy, and one of the country’s most prolific wine regions with more than 58,000 hectares (143,320ac) were under vine in 2010. At 240 kilometres (150mi) wide, it spans almost the entire width of the northern Italian peninsula, sandwiched between Tuscany to the south, Lombardy and Veneto to the north and the Adriatic Sea to the east the only Italian region with both an east and a west coast. Emilia-Romagna’s wine production is divided evenly between whites and reds, the dominant vine varieties being Malvasia and Lambrusco, Trebbiano, Barbera, Bonarda and of course Sangiovese. A large percentage of these grapes are used to produce sparkling wines, either frizzante or spumante, of which the most notable are from the five Lambrusco DOCs of Salamino di Santa Croce, di Sorbara, Grasparossa di Castelvetra, Modena and Reggiano.

Food Pairing

High acidity gives Bonarda good balance and therefore plenty of food pairing potential. Great will grilled red meats, salami or hard cheeses.