who? what? when? where? why? how?
who grows the grapes? who makes the wines?
Terre di Gioia is a collaboration between the Armani family, whose records show family vineyard plantings as far back as 1607, and Paolo Bernardi of VinUS. Historically, the family focused mainly on growing grapes, with only a small winery and production facility. Paolo Bernardi recognized the potential for exceptional wines among the steepest vineyard sites and wines from the “Land of Joy” were born. A detailed presentation of the winery from VinUS is
available here.
what wines do they make?
Candid Wines offers the Pinot Nero and Pinot Grigio from Terre di Gioia. Both are surprisingly clean examples of the grape that are made without oak barrels and heavy handed winemaking. Pinot Grigio suffers from all too often being over-priced and underwhelming, while Pinot Nero can be thin and vegetal. We were hesitant to sell any versions of the grapes that were not one that we would drink at home, and to be honest it took us a long time to find any excitement in this part of the world of wine. (This of course excludes Pinot Grigio’s like Bressan’s, but that is a different category all together). Enter Terre di Gioia, and we can now say confidently that we offer one of the very best in the Chicago market.
when did the winery start?
12/7/07 is, according to documents in the Archives of the City of Trentino, when Domenico Armani purchased “trees and grapevines”, from his father Simone Armani. It’s worth noting the limitations of our abbreviated system for recording dates. 12/7/07 indicates December 7th in the 7th year of the Seventeenth century, ie. December 7, 1607. The same parcel of land is in the family today, more than four hundred years later.
Terre di Gioia can more recently be traced to the early 2000′s when Paolo Bernardi teamed up with the family to scour their lands for the most promising vineyards among their holdings.
12/7/1607.
where is the winery?
The Pinot Grigio and Pinot Nero grow in different areas in the north-east of Italy. The Pinot Grigio is comes from Sequals in what is known as the “high Grave Friuliano” near Italy’s northern most border. The Pinot Nero comes from the Trentino, at more than 1000 ft of elevation in the Veneto. Both are marked by valleys and steep slopes – the high Grave Friuliano being the more extreme of the two in terms of slopes and altitude.
why might you want to open a bottle?
Because you just sat down at
Nellcôte and you’ve ordered the Halibut “Brandade” Soft scrambled eggs, piperade and Sturgeon caviar, and you are interested in a clean glass of aromatic, but not sweet white wine. Here, the Pinot Grigio will do the trick, with the caviar and “Brandade” providing a salty counterpoint to the wines’ texture.
Or maybe, you find yourself at RPM in downtown Chicago, and you’ve ordered Duck Agnolotti, brussels sprouts, mission figs and a glass of Pinot Nero seems about right. Here, the un-oaked Terre di Gioia Pinot Nero is a counterbalance to the richness of both the duck and the figs and the wine’s vibrant red fruit will stand up nicely.
In either case, the focus is on a glass of wine that is appropriate by the glass as a stand alone or with rather sophisticated offerings.
how is it made?
All Terre di Gioia wines are from the family’s vines and are handpicked. The vineyards are farmed according to EU guidelines for “Sustainable Agriculture” which limit allowed chemical inputs.
In the winery, the Pinot Grigio is vinified at cool temperatures to preserve bright floral aromas and the Pinot Nero is allowed to stay in contact with its skins fro just 7-10 days, leading to a lighter color and brighter red fruit. Both are fermented and aged in stainless steel until they are bottled.
