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Cantine Leonardo da Vinci
– Tuscany, Italy

There is an “American connection here, because E. & J. Gallo purchases much of the Cantine’s production for U.S. export. "These wines are the best of two worlds," says winemaker Alberto Antonini, a pleasing balance of classical tradition and cutting-edge technology. The end result is a modern-style Chianti which is fruit-forward and soft while maintaining true Chianti characteristics.” Da Vinci’s DOCG has received numerous awards and accolades every vintage for the last four, and the 2003 bottling was named by The Wine Spectator as the “Highest rated Chianti under $15 in ten years”!

The Monthly Selections

2007 Chianti D.O.C.G.  

The Da Vinci “regular” Chianti is not merely a “generic” Chianti. It is sourced only from the more restrictive sub-zone accorded the “Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). As stated, this highest level of Italian government classification for this ancient region, regulates not only the specifications for growing the vines (they must also be a minimum 75% Sangiovese), but that the production of these strictly delimited DOCG wines must be taste-tested by the controlling authorities to be of “particular reputation and worth.”

The 2007 Da Vinci Chianti has lovely color, fragrance & fruit. Made of 100% Sangiovese grapes in a particular vineyard with a consistently quality-driven ethos – better work in the vineyard, careful selection of fruit, selective vinification, greater extraction of flavor & color, and early bottling to retain the fruit. It is deep crimson in color with aromas of cherries and red fruit balanced by soft, round tannins. Its aromas are of spicy black cherries, with flavors that are juicy and bright, with tart-cherry fruit and warm cinnamon over plenty of mouth-watering acidity and a wisp of soft tannins – all this in an open, fruit-forward style. Da Vinci’s DOCG has received numerous awards and accolades year after year, and the 2003 bottling of this wine was named by The Wine Spectator as the “Highest rated Chianti under $15 in ten years”!

Regular Price $12.99 Web Special $9.99

2008 Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie  

Astounding value for money. This Pinot Grigio is nurtured in select hillside vineyards of the Venezie hills, around Verona. The grapes are only gently pressed, and followed by vinification "in bianco," or "off the skins" at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks, resulting in a delightfully harmonious wine. The Da Vinci Grigio is pale straw in color, aromatic, and fruity with a crisp finish and refreshing acidity. An excellent white wine, dry, well-balanced with a lovely blend of mild green apple, pear, green tea, and citrus aromas and crisp flavors with a creamy texture throughout and exceedingly fruity finish. This is a very versatile wine, and a delicate, typically minerally Pinot Grigio that is very drinkable, and refreshing, with a little more richness than is usual. A very attractive white in the “inexpensive-wine” category!!

Regular Price $12.99 Web Special $9.99

The da Vinci Story

Near a town made famous by the great Leonardo da Vinci, a modern-day renaissance is underway. The Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, an extremely innovative 200-vineyard Tuscan grower cooperative and winery, is producing a masterpiece in the historic region of Chianti. There is an “American connection” here too, because E. & J. Gallo purchases much of the Cantine’s production for U.S. export. In a move that is parallel to its development of the prestigious Gallo Sonoma line, wine giant E. & J. Gallo, whose vinous output makes it the world's largest wine company (with sales exceeding those of all but the top nine wine-producing nations!!), has added this upscale line of serious Tuscan red wines to its bulging portfolio. The new line is labeled "Da Vinci" and is produced in Italy by wine maker Alberto Antonini at Cantine Leonardo da Vinci,

"These wines are the best of two worlds," says winemaker Alberto Antonini, "a pleasing balance of classical tradition and cutting-edge technology. The end result is soft, fruit-forward Chianti more appealing to today's tastes." Da Vinci Chianti reflects a local commitment to quality that goes back to Leonardo's time.” “Building upon the legacy of a time-honored region, we are crafting a Chianti with contemporary flavor and sophistication. With Da Vinci Chianti, a modern-classic is in the making. The result is a modern-style Chianti which is fruit-forward and soft while maintaining true Chianti characteristics. The goal is to accentuate pretty Sangiovese varietal attributes while minimizing acidic, bitter and astringent characters that were oftentimes found in "traditional" Chianti. Our approach to this Old-World classic has not gone unnoticed, as exemplified by our numerous awards and accolades received.”

Antonini is at the cutting edge of a new internationalism in Italian winemaking, yet he has been entrusted with the reputation of families who began making wine more than six hundred years ago. After serving as Winemaker for the iconic Marchesi de Frescobaldi, then as Director of Enology for legendary Marchesi Antinori, Alberto Antonini has become principal winemaker and Technical Director for the 200 small vineyard owners of the Cantine Leonardo da Vinci. Antonini brings with him the understanding of modern science and the sensibilities of the ancient winemaking heritage of the Chianti region. He holds a doctorate degree in Agricultural Studies from the University of Florence, capital of Tuscany's most famous wine region. He also studied Enology, in Bordeaux and in California's most prestigious enology program, University California, Davis. His experience in both winemaking and agriculture match him perfectly to the philosophy of Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, which is that winemaking should be rooted in "territorio," that is, linked to the land on which the grapes are grown, to the specific inclination of the sun on Tuscan hillsides, the gravel, the wind…every aspect of the environment. The Cantine has given Antonini the most modern tools in the winery, and the small vineyard where the grapes are nurtured are part of a tradition that dates back before the Renaissance, before Rome, back to the mysterious Etruscan culture of the Bronze Age.

As the man in the middle of ancient and modern Tuscan winemaking, Antonini says, "The vineyard is everything. The right vine in the right place can produce magical results. But it is not magic, rather experience, and imagination, and care taken with every detail." Antonini encourages the research programs undertaken at Da Vinci, which follow his early academic interest in terroir and the art of matching the vine to the land. "With each new year come welcome surprises," Antonini says, knowing that surprise is the soul of science and the object of art.

March 2010 SPECIAL FEATURES

Avalon Winery - Napa, CA
• 2007 Napa Cabernet
  Sauvignon