And I’m back! Hello friends- Katie (wine director) here. For those of you who don’t know me I have been away on maternity leave since December when I welcomed my second baby boy! It was a wonderful couple of months home with my babe but now I am ready to dig my hands back into my OG baby- Cork!

SIDE NOTE- apologies for the delay in the email for wine club- of course my first two weeks back was filled with child sickness, snow days, and getting sick myself!

So I’m sure you have heard…there is a total solar eclipse happening next week. So naturally I thought I would highlight some of the once in a lifetime grape varieties that you’ve likely never heard of. Let’s begin!

Wine Club: 2 bottles

Prati A Sole ‘GOLA’ Emilia-Romagna Italy • Spergola, Malvasia di Candia, Uva Termarina

Spergola. This little known white wine’s existence was first recorded in the 15th century but as with many of the ancient varieties they have been displaced by international grapes such as Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay this variety was doomed to extinction. For decades it was thought to be Sauvignon Blanc but DNA testing in the early 2000s determined they weren’t the same. Today, Spergola can really only be found in the small Colli di Scandiano region of Emilia-Romagna so to say it is a rarity is an understatement.

Luca Verzelloni and his two childhood friends Simone and Francesca created Prati al Sole; a ground-up project that had a mission to bring naturally farmed vegetables, honey and wine to their local community. They planted their 2 hectare vineyard with rare indigenous grape varieties including Spergola and other lesser known Lambruscos. GOLA- named for it’s primary grape variety -SperGOLA, is elegantly aromatic, full of white peach, chamomile, and easily drinkable hence the name ‘GOLA’ meaning ‘gulp’ in Italian. I think the beauty of it all is that people assume to be rare & limited that it must be expensive and come from the notable winemaking regions but that is hardly the case here. This sparkling gem is a rarity because 3 friends dedicated time and a tiny amount of space to cultivate it and turn it into a wine that some of us get to enjoy!

Fra I Monti ‘Sempre in Due’ Lazio Italy • Maturano

Maturano is another ancient & indigenous variety from the hills of Lazio- between Naples & Rome. The grape has recently been rediscovered so little is known about the variety but Rocco & Benedetto Leone of Fra I Monti are certainly doing their best to represent this grape. Founded in 2018 this project was created with the procurement of one hectare of ancient vines including Maturano. The Sempre in Due sees 8 days of skin contact and then is aged in clay amphora without any fining, filtration of additives.

Wine Club: 4 bottles

Collecapretta Umbria Italy •

Collecapretta is a winery so very near & dear to my heart. It all started in a little wine shop in the north end of Boston…the first shipment of Collecapretta to the United States landed and I (very fresh in the business) was just plugging along, unpacking wine when I opened up the Collecapretta ‘Il Foresteiro a 100% Sangrantino that was hand numbered. In my hands was bottle number 1 of 219. It was a moment to say the least and then I got to try the wines.

Hailing from the tiny hamlet in Umbria the Roman’s referred to this area as the ‘hill of the goats’ aka Collecapretta. The Mattioli family has been cultivating the land here since the 1100s and today it still is only a scant 8 hectares only 4 of which are vines. And it is the purest of the pure- organic & biodynamically farmed, spontaneous fermentation, no temperature control, no fining, no filtration, and no sulfur.

Fast forward to my return to Vermont to run this wine program- Collecapretta was at the top of my list so I special ordered as much as I could get. And to this day Cork and this wine program receives the only allocation of these wines in the state. Now about these wines!

Pigro delle Sorbe: We received 12 bottles of the ‘Pigro delle Sorbe’- a 100% Greco- likely of Greek origin- Greco is a bit more common in the southern regions of Italy but as I previously stated…the Collecaprettas are my most limited offerings that we get. A soft golden hue with tropical fruit & soft texture- it is a perfect shoulder season wine as we go from 14 inches of fresh snow to sunny and 60 degrees!

Le Cese: Okay so not actually a rare variety but I couldn’t help myself! Figured showing 2 Collecaprettas was worth it! Le Cese is 100% Sangiovese from Collecapretta. It is more of their signature Sangiovese as it is not the entry level ‘Rosso da Tavola’ but also not the special selection. Bold, peppery & leathery- it is sure to be a stunner.

We will be pouring some additional Collecapretta wines at the shop this Saturday April 6th if you are local and can join us!