A Red Wine For the People (Tasting 3 Schioppettinos)

All right, pop quiz, but don't worry, no matter how you respond, you'll still get a glass of wine at the end. The question is, how do you pronounce this word? If you said Schiopetino, you are right. That was Schiopetino. Hi there. I'm Jacqueline Fervera, where we go around the world searching out wild and scarce wines that are hard to find in the U.S. for consumers, businesses and distributors to try. Today, I have three of those wines to taste. But first, let's do a quick review of this grape. If you remember from our last video, Schiopetino is an indigenous red grape variety from Italy that is used to make the eponymously named red wine. You will most often hear it used in reference to the appellation Friuli Colli Orientale Doc Schiopetino di Prapoto, or a Schiopetino from Prapoto. Prapoto is an area of Friuli Venezia Giulia in northeastern Italy that is particularly well suited to growing the native Schiopetino, as it boasts a unique microclimate with high diurnal fluctuation or cool nights and warm days that benefit the grapes characteristic balance of acidity and ripe fruits. As well, Prapoto has a famous soil called Ponca that is a blend of chalky clay and sandstone that further contributes to Schiopetino's excellence as the Ponca helps enhance the wine's structure and concentration. But it's also believed that they help contribute to the distinctive Rotundone compound that gives Schiopetino a distinct flavor that we're going to talk about later. And it is in this area of Prapoto that we find Vigna Petrusa, a winery owned and run by women for three generations. Certified sustainable, one could say they specialize in Schiopetino wines as winemaker Hilde Petrusa was a part of the movement to help save Schiopetino from extinction. But that is a story we'll be talking about in the future. So be sure to subscribe here and go to VeraVino.com to sign up for our newsletter where you can stay up to date with all upcoming articles and videos. Let's get back to the wines that I have here with me now. These are all three from Vigna Petrusa and demonstrate the fantastic versatility of Schiopetino across different winemaking techniques and aging styles. As we touched on in our previous video all about Schiopetino, it's a great wine for all types of wine lovers, whether you love red, white or even cocktails. Schiopetino has iterations that have great fruity flavors, nice acidity and approachable tannins. And the intriguing black pepper notes also that are there will help make this a go to wine that you always want to have in your cellar. All right. First up will be Rinera. This Schiopetino is technically not a part of the DOC that we mentioned at the beginning of this video because it's entirely steel aged with no oak barrels used. Let's try it. Mm. This is a laid back version of Schiopetino. It could even be enjoyed lightly chilled, I think. And I can taste the black pepper that almost borders on a green peppercorn. And there's super fresh and crunchy red berries that come through as well. It's easy to drink with just a hint of tannin and the juicy fruits that really come through. And I think this would be a great middle ground for people that aren't a huge fan of red wines, especially when chilled. All right. Now on to Schiopetino number two, our classic Schiopetino di Praporto. Fermented with its native yeast, it's aged for two plus years in large oak barrels. Let's try it. All right. Right away, we can see the difference in the color and the oak influence, as this has a lot more garnet than the other one did. Mm. And those flavors of fresh cracked black pepper really pop at the first thing in my mouth with these notes of a juicy red cranberry that follows and tart blueberries as well. And the nose is fantastic. There are the fruity and peppery notes that you get on the palate as well. But you smell a spicy, earthy aroma that comes through that mixes with the smell of winery, like kind of a barrel room. All right. And Schiopetino number three. Schiopetino di Praporto Riserva. This is only made in special years when everything is just right. And to winemaker Hilde Petrusa's perfect liking. The Schiopetino is also fermented with its native yeast. But this Riserva is aged in small barrels with more oak exposure for a longer three year period, plus extra bottle resting time. The result? Let's find out. All right. Oh, there are a lot of callbacks to the classic iteration here in the Riserva. But overall, we taste a smoother sensation. There's that black pepper flavor characteristic with the rotundone of Schiopetino. There's the tannins and the acidity, and it's all smoothed out thanks to the extra aging. The pepper and black plum flavors are even more stand out and even more intense here than in the classic version. You can taste the extra aging that goes into this wine. Fantastic. And one last honorable mention that unfortunately I don't have here with me today. But that is Perla Nera, made with 100% Schiopetino that has undergone appassimento or being air dried. It is an amarone like version of Schiopetino. Praporto offers itself particularly well to this style of wine as the strong bora winds that blow through the area help to appassire and dry the grapes. That wine is winemaker Hilde Petrusa's callback to her father, as this was one of his favorite ways to enjoy Schiopetino. With that wine, the pepper notes will blend into a deep, blackberry note and flavor. The wine is thick and sumptuous and perfect for sipping and meditating after dinner or a rich meal. All right. Now it's your turn to do the tasting. Head over to VeroVino.com where you can find all of these wines available in the Vero shop for purchase to have them shipped right to you at your home. Or contact us if you're in a business or a distributor for more information on our wholesale services. And that's all for today. Now, I've got three great wines open here, so I'm going to go enjoy them. Thank you for joining me in this Schiopetino tasting. Leave a like if you enjoyed the video and make sure to subscribe here and on VeroVino.com to the newsletter to not miss the next installment of our Schiopetino series. If you wanted to refresh yourself on the Schiopetino grape, check out this video here and I'll see you in that video. Bye bye.