Our love for wine if infinite. I write about it, I drink it, I travel around the world for it.
My husband imports it, he drinks it, and he, too, travels around the world for it (in normal, non-COVID times, that is).
Since we got married, we’ve become serious about curating a wine collection in our home in the North Fork. We chose a cool area in our basement, we have a large wine rack, a small one, a wine fridge and two bars. It’s safe to say we’re now taking our wine consumption and storage to the next level.
Part of that overall plan to dive deeper into wine was to join a few wine clubs to help with the collectible element of this endeavor.
We are now members of three wine clubs: Podere Le Ripi in Montalcino, Tuscany; Sannino Vineyards in the North Fork and Mattebella Vineyards in the North Fork.
Our thinking was this: we wanted to have wine to collect and commemorate for special occasions to celebrate our love for all things Italy. We also wanted to support our local wine community, be part of the evolution of this wine region and drink what’s being grown in our backyard in the North Fork.
I wanted to share with you an insider’s look into Podere Le Ripi, our special connection to the vineyard and what a sample shipping includes.
Why We Chose It: I was introduced to Podere Le Ripi’s winemaker Sebastian Nasello in New York City several years ago through a PR connection I had. She thought I would have an interest in writing about beautifully crafted, biodynamic Tuscan wines, and turns out, she was right. (Read my article for The Daily Meal).
We had a glorious long lunch at Esca where I informed Sebastian about my upcoming nuptials in Tuscany. At the time, we were planning a trip back there to finalize our wedding planning details and he suggested we stop by the winery.
The rest is pretty much history.
My husband and I visited and fell in love with the property, the people and, most importantly, the wine.
We loved it so much we decided to order a 12-Liter Imperial Bottle of wine for our rehearsal dinner at our wedding at Castello di Montegufoni and then the following year, that same bottle of wine for our one-year anniversary. We also decided that this was the wine we wanted to keep and age for years to come in our cellar.
Wine Club Selection: We bought into the middle tier wine club membership known as the Terroir Brunello with a 6-bottle commitment per shipment three times per year.
Inside our Latest Shipment: Here’s what we’ve received this shipment
CIELO D’ULISSE RISERVA 1990
AMORE E MAGIA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOC 2015
CIELO D’ULISSE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO DOCG 2015
BONSAI IGT TOSCANA ROSSO BONSAI 2016
Aging, Saving for Later and WHY:
These wines are so special, that we plan to age them in our cellar as opposed to enjoying right away. One of the most unique components to this wine club is the thoughtful tasting and aging notes they send along with each shipment. We learn the best food and wine pairings with each bottle we receive as well as guidelines on how long to age the bottles. It requires less thinking and more enjoyment on our part, which is what we need in the midst of a very busy life.
For us, this membership marked the beginning of our journey as wine collectors. It holds such beautiful memories for us as this wine was drank at our wedding and on our first wedding anniversary. And according to our aging guidelines, we’ll be able to open a few bottles to celebrate additional familial milestones like anniversaries and our daughter’s big birthdays as the years go on.
We’re hoping we’ll be able to travel back to Italy soon to enjoy our additional member benefits like curated tastings for when we can travel back to Montalcino with our little bambina.
