LA CUCINA ITALIANA – The wine of the week: Verde Piona by Albino Piona

https://www.lacucinaitaliana.it/storie/luoghi/il-vino-della-settimana-verde-piona-albino-piona/

The first time I heard of Silvio Piona was about his Bardolino SP: one of those wines you cannot go without once you've experienced them. On a Corvina and Rondinella basis, it costs about 18 euros in wine shops and can age with an incredible grace. It is an outstanding example to make you understand the potentiality of the grapes grown on the morainic hills in the area of Lake Garda. With the passing of the years, I had the opportunity to realize how much such grapes can distinguish themselves if vinified into pink wines. Furthermore, I could experience all the great ability Silvio Piona can show in vinifying into white wines. His Custoza wine, when tasted young, is a little crispy and savory masterpiece; if it is left in the cellar for some years, indeed, it becomes simply amazing (in this last case, price is about 7 euros: if it were a French wine, a zero could be added without any complaint).
I thought I knew all. Then, I went and visit Silvio in his cellar. Strolling around his tanks, in a simple, modern, well-organized, clean and flawless space, he tells me about the history of his winery: founded by Albino Piona in 1893, at that time a trattoria, a drugstore and a butcher shop were on as well.
The winery is now managed by the fourth generation and is proud of its 42 hectares of vineyards for a yearly production of 350,000 bottles. Silvio has been living around his family's winery since he was a little boy. And it is not a way of saying only: when he was 3, he fell in a barrel and was literally saved by the family dog barking furiously - he kept on barking until Silvio's father could realize what was going on. He tells me about his job – he is self-taught in this field, since he studied accountancy – and his experiments, such as Metodo Classico with very long refinements on lees.
Then, we finally started with the tastings. He opens a bottle of Verde Piona, refined in the bottle, on a Garganega, Trebbiano and Rondinella grapes basis. Never tried before. He realizes that I look a bit puzzled (today, refined wines are extremely in and everybody is making them) and tells me that this wine is the winery's absolute gem. It was first made in 1973 and can now take advantage of a 45-year–long tradition. During the 1980s, it became famous to such an extent that it was one of the most requested wines in the area of Verona. His father, a very capable businessman, had a pitcher customized with the winery logo and used to present it to restaurants to serve wine. «So do you traditionally decant it?,», I curiously ask as one of the most frequently asked questions on such wines is how to serve them (do they have to be shaken to be turbid or decanted to be clean?). «My father wants it clean; then he traditionally uses the last glass with sediment to cook. I prefer to drink it turbid,» Silvio says. So, to make justice to both generations, I decide to taste it in both ways: if tasted clear, it is very neat and perfumed, savory, with a slightly piquant and dry finale encouraging the palate; if tasted turbid, it gains a pleasant note of almond. On the overall, it is a refreshing wine, only 12% ABV, perfect for a picnic! This is my latest discovery – This winery never stops surprising me!

Why now: daylight is getting longer, temperatures are increasing: it's time to drink the right wine for your first picnic of the year.
How it is made: it is a sparkling wine, made by refinement on its fine lees, without disgorgement.
Pairings: starters, light main courses, torta pasqualina (spinach and ricotta pie with eggs), vegetable frittata.
Serving temperature: 8 °C
Price: 9 euros

 

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