The Flaibani estate is located in Cividale del Friuli in the Colli Orientali del Friuli area very close to the Slovenian border. The Flaibanis have three hectares of planted vineyards, all terraced and with steep slopes, that resemble a garden surrounded by six hectares of woods. They are working with vines over 100 years old with their youngest vines over 20 years. They produce less than 10,000 bottles of six different types of wine from Schioppettino, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Friulano, and Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso. Their wines have a vibrancy, energy and quality that validate all the passion and hard work behind them.
Features
February 24, 2023Only the oldest of Miami old-timers will remember that there used to be a Grand Union on Coral Way. It was replaced long ago by a sad mall. We lived in Miami then and bought some of our wines at that Grand Union. On Jan. 3, 1980, we picked up a bottle of Always Elvis, an Italian white we carefully noted as “non-vintage,” for $3.29.
February 17, 2023Grape Collective talks to Gualtiero Crea of Les Granges in the village of Nus near the town of Aosta, about how the wines of Valle d'Aosta are unique and the region's alpine landscape, climate, and culture.
February 10, 2023We created OTBN in 1999 for a simple reason: When we started writing about wine, the question we received most often was “I have this one special bottle that I got on vacation (or at my wedding, or at an auction…) When do I open it?” Our answer was always: NOW! But we realized it’s not that easy. Sometimes, the longer we save a bottle “for a special occasion,” the bigger the special occasion has to become and the memories and joy inside that bottle get trapped forever.
February 08, 2023Pierre Caizergues started making wines in Montreal d’Aude west of Carcassonne in southwestern France in 2015. He was joined by his friend, winemaker Antonin Bonnet, full time in 2020. The two friends specialize in low intervention wines (low or no added sulfites), with varietals like Carignan, and some resistant varietals such as Cabernet Cortis and Souvignier Gris. They also separately make a Mourvèdre in the village of Saint Jean de Fos in the Larzac region of France. Larzac is a bit further east in the Hérault region while all the other wines they make are made in Aude near the estate in Montreal d’Aude / Hameau de Stricou.
February 03, 2023Campania offers some of Italy's great sensory experiences from the beaches of the Amalfi Coast, the ruins of Pompeii, to the food and energy of Naples. It also is home to four of Italy's great wine grapes Aglianico, Fiano di Avellino, Falanghina and Greco di Tufo.
The Di Meo winery, located in the province of Avellino, is one of the most celebrated Campania estates focusing squarely on native varietals. In the early '80s, three siblings Erminia, Generoso and Roberto Di Meo acquired the historical estate from their parents, which includes 25 hectares and an 18th century farmhouse that was once a hunting lodge of the Caracciolo Prince....
January 27, 2023We thought of the yin and yang of couples after we interviewed David and Nadia Sadie, rising stars in the fast-emerging Swartland wine region of South Africa, for our Valentine’s Day column. Not only are their heights very dissimilar but their outlooks and personalities seem quite different, too, yet sweetly meld.
January 21, 2023Villa Venti was founded in 2002 by Mauro and Davide Giardini, and its vineyards are planted solely with native Romagna varieties. The winery is certified organic and follows biodynamic methods.
Located right between the historic cities of Split and Dubrovnik, Komarna is located on the Dalmatian coast. Vines hang from impossibly steep slopes that face the deep blue Adriatic. Komarna is the youngest wine region in Croatia, it was only officially approved by the government in 2013.
January 13, 2023Age can be a wonderful thing, in people and in wine. If they’re lucky, it can imbue them with wisdom, a clearer sense of what they were meant to be, as well as a validation that choices turned out well. We thought of that recently when we tasted two Fiddlehead Cellars Grüner Veltliners, the 2017 Estate and the 2015 Bebble Reserve, made by Kathy Joseph, the pioneering founder and winemaker of Fiddlehead Cellars in the Sta. Rita Hills of Santa Barbara.
