12 July 2023

Press trip in high altitude Discovering Grosjean Vins

The departure is from a hot Milan, to throw in Valle d’Aosta Valley to discover the wines of this area. This is the press day organized by Zedcomm for a group of Milanese journalists to reach on of the historic companies in the Aosta Valley: Grosjean Vins. Wine producers in the Aosta Valley since 1600, the Grosjean family has been able to perfectly combine history, tradition, inventiveness and innovation, in the vineyard and in the cellar. However, it is the “human factor”, represented by the deep bond that each of its members has for their work and their land, that has made it one of the vigneron families that have made Aosta Valley enology important. This bond renewed today by the third generation of the “modern era”, with the management of the Grosjean Vins cellar passed to the young Hervé, Didier, Simon and Marco.

5 July 2023

The Spotlight is on Zisola, the Sicilian wine project of the Mazzei family

Filippo Mazzei greeted the press to the Sicilian Estate. He presented important novelties and new vintages to narrate the story of a territory with a strong personality. It is here that the Mazzei family has for years been pursuing a winegrowing project in the name of tradition, innovation and sustainability. In Zisola – in south-eastern Sicily, the land of origin of the Nero d’Avola grape variety, just a stone’s throw from Noto – the journalists were able to visit the vineyards – and the splendid citrus groves – and the winery. Then they tasted the new vintages of Reds and Whites with a focus on the pure Catarratto – Contrada Catarratto Terre Siciliane IGT – launched on the markets in recent months. The current 24 hectares of vineyards, in the traditional ‘alberello’ form that guarantees balance and ‘protection’ to the bunches, have been planted – with a density of 5500 plants per hectare – to Nero d’Avola, and to a lesser extent to Syrah, Petit Verdot, Grillo and Catarratto. The sea breezes, due to the proximity of the coast, mitigate the high summer temperatures and mild winters, conditions that – combined with the particularly calcareous soils and bush-trained cultivation – allow the grapes to ripen perfectly and the wines to be characterised by minerality, freshness, elegance and personality. A dinner was then held in one of the estate’s cellars with some old vintages paired with typical local dishes. The following day, an unmissable appointment at the ‘Assenza’ pastry shop in Noto – Caffè Sicilia – followed by the journalists being accompanied by a tour guide to discover the city famous for its Baroque buildings and Unesco World Heritage Site

29 June 2023

Tenuta Mazzolino’s Oltrepò Pavese conquers the ‘Eternal City’

The winery of excellence in Corvino San Quirico landed in Rome for the first time for a press lunch attended by 14 journalists. Francesca Seralvo, the third generation at the helm of the winery in the province of Pavia, and Stefano Malchiodi, the estate’s oenologist and agronomist, recounted – with the passion that has always distinguished them – the wines and the history of the winery, involving the guests in a journey from the winery’s beginnings to the present day. It all began in 1980 when Francesca’s grandfather set up this beautiful winemaking adventure, hiring a French oenologist of Greek origin – Kyriakos Kynigopoulos – after reading wonders about his work in the vineyard in Le Figaro.Then the estate was taken over by Francesca’s mother and finally by Francesca herself who took it over – after an official investiture by her grandfather (chosen from dozens of grandchildren) – in 2015, when she left the legal profession to get her hands dirty in the vineyard. Today, the estate’s wines stand out qualitatively in the Oltrepò panorama. At the lunch in Rome, journalists had the pleasure of tasting theCruasè 2018, Pinot Noir Spumante Rosé, the Blanc 2021, Chardonnay, the Terrazze Alte 2021, Pinot Noir and the Noir 2019, Pinot Noir. Everything was held in the splendid setting of Palazzo Velabro, an elegant 18th-century residence – back in its renewed version as a mixed-use hotel: it is located between the Palatine Hill and the Forum Boarium, in the shadow of the Arch of Janus, a stone’s throw from the Mouth of Truth. To accompany the wines of the Mazzolino estate, the menu of chef Penelope Musolino – a chef from the experience at Heinz Beck’s three-starred ‘La Pergola’ in Rome.

16 June 2023

A press trip to discover Tenuta Mazzolino

A premium winery in the Oltrepò Pavese area, a rich story to tell: one of wine, vines and life. That of Francesca Seralvo, third generation, who in 2015 left the law and threw herself wholeheartedly into this adventure. The aim? To carry on the work done by his grandfather first and then by his mother, that is, to make excellent wines – a few labels but all of the highest quality – and to turn Mazzolino into a reference hub for wine culture, for initiatives linked to the world of wine, but also for open-air cinema evenings and wine tastings. Here on these hills of Pavia stands the family villa, recently renovated, from which 12 rooms have been obtained. “A conservative renovation that wanted to keep intact the old-world charm of the family home,” says Francesca, “among old prints and works of art, collected over the years”. Now with this restoration and the creation of 12 rooms, the winery is opening up to a niche tourism “for wine enthusiasts and events”. These were some of the ideas that emerged during the press trip on 18 May: a dozen or so lifestyle journalists were able to immerse themselves in the magical atmosphere of Mazzolino, which bears its name – from mansiolinum, meeting point – in its nature: and indeed the winery is a crossroads of suggestions that fascinates those who visit it. Even in an almost autumnal May that suddenly gives the colours of spring: the sun, the blue sky and an Italian rose garden that is made to be instagrammed.