Stanko Radikon’s is making some of the most striking and unusual wines coming out of Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia today. His uncompromising views have brought him acclaim and a devoted following around the world. He acknowledges that his wines are not for everyone. They are unusual enough to make our sommelier in Venice ask if we knew what we were ordering. I assured him that we did, and that we were off to Friuli to visit Radikon himself.
Radikon’s land hugs the side of a hill in Oslavia, nestled between the town of Gorizia and the Slovenian border. To the north are the Julian Alps, which help block the cold continental winter winds that could damage the vines, and to the south, less than twenty miles away, is the Adriatic Sea. The sun-soaked vineyard faces south and southeast, unfolding beneath a winery that looks like a cantina out of the old west. A true natural winemaker, Stanko has gone past what is considered organic, eschewing all chemical treatments since 1995, even when it means losing grapes. He also stopped adding sulfites in 2002. Due to the vertical nature of the land, most tasks have to be done by hand and the vines are trimmed to produce fewer bunches, generally four to five per vine, resulting in more concentrated juice.
Like most Friuli wineries, Radikon is a family affair. Stanko’s son Sasa is an enthusiastic guide as he takes us through the cellar, stopping to taste wines at different stages of the aging process. Where many winemakers would be content to bottle their wine, Sasa emphasizes theirs has time to go. I ask, “How long?” He answers, “Until my father feels it is ready.”
Radikon wines are notable for several reasons, especially the amount of time invested in them and the natural methods employed. Once de-stemmed, grapes experience an extra long maceration on the skins in cone-shaped vats. Starting in 1995 Stanko tried anywhere from seven days to nine months before settling on about four months in 2005. During this period, the grapes are stirred three or four times a day then go through a double extraction, the first caused by water and the second by alcohol. The wines are aged a minimum of three years in large oak casks, followed by at least another year in the bottle before being released.
In the interim, the wines receive no added sulfites and they are not filtered before being bottled. The end result is an amazingly complex and profound wine that can age for years, even a decade or more. While not adding sulfites can make wines less stable, according to Stanko the long maceration results in substances being extracted from the grapes that protect the wine and allow it to age, creating wines, that are in his words, “totally genuine.”
Four wines make up the Radikon line, Jakot (a reverse play on the now verboten Tocai), Ribolla Gialla, Oslavje (a blend of chardonnay, pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc) and Merlot. While best known for its whites, which are characterized by rich gold to copper hues, cloudiness, deep aromas and complexity, Radikon’s sole red, merlot, is a true expression of the grape and not to be missed.
Ever the radical, Stanko decided to bottle much of the wine in 500ml and 1 liter bottles, though he also uses 750ml bottles for the American market. His feeling is that the 500ml is perfect for one and the liter ideal for two. I couldn’t agree more.
Tasting Notes:
Multiple vintages of several wines were tasted, including many barrel samples; notes below are for current releases – 2004 for whites and 2000 for the Merlot. Each of the new releases was delicious and perfectly ready to be drunk, and also well suited for aging. It is important to note that Radikon wines should be served at particular temperatures, around 60° for the whites and 65° for the reds. Stanko is adamant they not be stored in the refrigerator. Expect the whites to be cloudy since they are unfiltered.
2004 Jakot 13.65%
The name is a backwards play on Tocai (tokaj), which is no longer allowed to be used in Italy and is now generally marketed as Friulano. Lovely, fresh and well balanced with notes of stone fruit and almonds.
2004 Ribolla Gialla 12.5%
Probably the best known of Radikon’s wines in the US. Intensely gold with aromas of fruit and wild flowers, the wine reveals minerals and tannins on the palate, rounded out by more fruit, florals and a touch of spice. Complex, seductive and delicious.
2004 Oslavje 13.2%
A blend of chardonnay, pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc with a deep gold hue and hints of stone fruit and apple on the nose. A complex, elegant wine whose perfume, depth, minerality and richness are the perfect embodiment of the Radikon philosophy.
1999 Oslavje Riserva
Deep gold tones hint at what’s to come with ripe tropical fruits, dried fruits and honey following on the nose and palate. A rewarding experience showing off Radikon’s trademark complex flavors, depth and uncommon richness.
2000 Merlot 14.5%
While the region is mostly known for its splendid whites, some of the reds are not to be missed and merlot does very well along with the native refosco of Friuli’s Carso region. Radikon’s merlot is a beautiful expression of the grape – deep garnet red, dusty and vegetal on the nose at first, with herbal notes, it gives way to raisiny dried fruit, dried herbs and intense velvety ripe cherries and spice on the palate. Medium bodied and gorgeous, it takes a little time to reveal itself but patience will be handsomely rewarded.
Living in a new world. That is the concept that the De Martino winery is looking to convey to the consumer with the release of its Nuevo Mundo (New World) wine, the first Carbon Neutral wine in Chile and Latin America.
Produced from organically grown grapes in the Maipo Valley (BCS OKO- Garantie certified), this product has been certified as Carbon Neutral by the Carbon Reduction Institute and its offices in Chile—Green Solutions.
Nuevo Mundo is the first wine to have achieved Carbon Neutral certification at every stage of production, as—from birth until its arrival at the customer—all of the greenhouse gases released during its productions, packaging and delivery have been reduced to zero, making this a wine which does not impact negatively on climate change.
• Eco-friendly bottles are made from 35% recycled materials and have been reduced in weight by 9%.
• US Transport from Organic Vintners (US Importer) warehouse to each distributor has been accounted for and neutralized.
• High level of carbon emissions from business trips made by commercial team have been identified and neutralized.
• Labels are made from recycled paper and have low ink content.
• Amount of packaging and weight of boxes have been reduced and are made from recycled cardboard.
As a producer of premium wines in Chile, De Martino has been a pioneer and leader in sustainable organic production and in taking action against climate change. This fact is in keeping with the winery’s philosophy and its permanent commitment to respect the environment and local conservation in the production of its world class wines.
What is a carbon credit? A carbon credit is equal to one ton reduction in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. The sale of carbon credits helps to finance projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases or that prevent them from being processed in our atmosphere.
What does being carbon neutral mean? The definition of carbon neutral is any activity, product, service or organization that has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions both direct and indirect, and has neutralized the impact on climate change caused by any remaining emissions but also those from the entire supply chain. As well as directly decreasing global warming, it promotes the development of environmentally friendly initiatives.
The wine is imported into the United States by Organic Vintners.
Aroma: Honeysuckle and toasted nuts. Flavors: Pear compote and lemon custard. A perfect match for slightly spicy asian foods or a cheese and fruit platter.Varietal blend:64% pinot noir, 34% chardonnay and 2% pinot blanc. Made from organically grown grapes.
Tarantas Cava 2008 $13.99 (ask for it at Wholefoods)
The Tarantas Cava is full of apple fritter aromas with a touch of cinnamon and has a dry, refreshing finish. Gorgeous bubbles and low alcohol make this a perfect celebratory aperitif at week’s end. Made with organically grown grapes.
White Wine:
Weingut Zahel Riesling 2008 $19.99 (buy it online here or ask your local retailer)
Gorgeous citrus fruits with a touch of honeysuckle aromas. Lovely fruit to match your turkey but dry, minerally finish. Very refreshing acids. NY Times writes about these Austrian wines here. Zahel practices a mix of organic and biodynamic farming, although they do not use copper sulphate as many biodynamic farmers do.
Rose Wine:
Edmunds St John Bone Jolly Gamay Noir Rose 2008 $15 (ask your retailer or call here)
Count yourself among the blessed if you can score a bottle of this delicious California rose wine. I used to sell it as a wine wholesale rep in Texas and we could never get enough. Gorgeous flavors of strawberries and citrus fruits. Crisp, dry finish. A quintessential Thanksgiving wine. Grapes are from practicing organic vineyards and have no commercial yeasts added.
Red Wine:
Cooper Mountain Pinot Noir Reserve 2007 $25
The Cooper Mountain Pinot Noir 2007 Reserve is an excellent, change all your preconceptions about domestic Pinot Noir, wine drinking experience. Delicious cherry aromas with a bit of smoke and earth. Nice touch of mushroom. Gorgeous ruby color. Certifed biodynamic.
Congratulations to Australia’s Harris Organic Wines which is celebrating their tenth anniversary. In honor of the occasion, Duncan and Deborah Harris are releasing their first sparkling wine, “Madeleine Claire,” named after their daughter. Learn more about Harris Wines at ledaswan.com.
First MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award
• Powerful partners: world’s leading exhibition cooperates with MUNDUSvini/Meininger Verlag
• Deadline: 21 November 2009
• Tasting from 7–9 December 2009 in Neustadt on the Wine Road
The wine segment at the World Organic Trade Fair gets another highlight in 2010 when BioFach and MUNDUSvini/Meininger Verlag organize the first MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award. The organic wine world has presented its products in the day-lit hall 4A at BioFach since 2008 and the new wine award will make it even more attractive. Altogether 318 organic wine exhibitors presented the results of their wine-making skills to visiting experts in 2009. Some 700 wines are expected to be entered for the first MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award in 2010. The samples sent in will be tasted and judged by an international jury of experts before the event. The medals will be presented officially at the next edition of the world-leading exhibition in the Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 17–20 February as part of the official tour of the exhibition and in line with the good tradition of the previous BioFach International Wine Award.
The cooperation between BioFach, the World Organic Trade Fair, and MUNDUSvini/Meininger Verlag initially focuses on organizing the competition for the MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award. In the long term, both partners want to establish the organic wine award as an annual competition with the prize presentation during the BioFach exhibition in the NürnbergMesse exhibition centre.
“We are delighted to have a strong and highly regarded partner like MUNDUSvini and Meininger Verlag to support the organization of the MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award. The many years of experience of NürnbergMesse, the good reputation of BioFach, the expertise of MUNDUSvini in organizing top-class tastings and naturally the sound specialist knowledge of Meininger Verlag complement each other perfectly! I am sure this will be a pioneering joint project for the international organic wine market,” says Udo Funke, Exhibition Director of BioFach and Vivaness.
The aim of the MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award is to promote the quality and marketing of wines from organic production. On the one hand, the competition is to offer manufacturers, winegrowers, importers and consumers a forum for comparing the wines with each other, and on the other to provide consumers with valuable guidance when deciding which wine to buy.
The organization and implementation of the competition will be based on the MUNDUSvini Great International Wine Award and it will be subject to the same internationally recognized competition rules. The tasting of the samples entered will take place in Neustadt on the Wine Road from
7–9 December. This will be done by an international jury of experts comprising well-known and experienced tasters from all over the world. The judging is based on a 100-points system involving smell, taste and individual scoring using the sampling tables of the OIV (International Organisation of Vine and Wine) and the U.I.Œ. (International Union of Oenologists). The award winners are decided by a joint decision of the jury. The number of awards is limited to maximum 30 % of the samples entered in line with the OIV rules. The best wines receive “Special Gold”, “Gold” and “Silver” awards.
Eligible for entry are still wines, sparkling wines, perl wines and liqueur wines from organic cultivation with a number from an organic certification body. The deadline for sending samples is 21 November 2009. The full entry conditions and competition forms for the MUNDUSvini BioFach International Organic Wine Award can be requested from the MUNDUSvini organization team by phone on 06321 8908-9500 or by e-mail at contact@mundusvini.com. The wines can be entered online at www.webpass-online.com.
Contact for press and media at NürnbergMesse:
Barbara Böck, Ellen Rascher
Tel +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-83 28
Fax +49 (0) 9 11. 86 06-82 56
ellen.rascher@nuernbergmesse.de
Contact for press and media at Meininger Verlag:
Berit Schönrock
Tel +49 (0) 63 21. 89 08-19 10
Fax +49 (0) 63 21. 89 08-84
schoenrock@meininger.de
This and other press articles are available in the press section at:
www.biofach.de/press
The latest product information from the companies is available at:
www.ask-BioFach.de
Keith Wallace at the Daily Beast has an interesting article about how the top 30 wine brands in the United States aren’t from what we would traditionally consider a true “winery.” While the piece does not deal with the organic side of the issue, it does illuminate how successful the industry is at creating a romantic image of winemaking that doesn’t always exist.
Good news from our friends at BioFach 2010. Organic wine is still doing well internationally despite the economic downturns. Germany is predicting a 10% increase in organic wine sales and Austrian organic wines are riding an increased demand from markets overseas, including Japan. French organic wine is “booming,” according to Kai Schamar, partner of VivoLoVin. And in Spain, 90% of the organic wines are being exported.
I had the pleasure of meeting winemaker Antonio Bravo from Emiliana Winery today. There is quite a bit of online chatter about organic and biodynamic wines but I especially relish the opportunity to discuss these wines with the person who actually makes them.
Antonio made vast amounts of conventional wines for huge wine companies like Kendall Jackson in the past.Now he makes smaller quantities of certified organic and biodynamic wines for Emiliana. He started out with some healthy skepticism for biodynamic wine making but became a believer when he saw the grape quality. Not to mention the health of the vineyard workers and the vitality of the vineyards themselves.
But as a friend of Antonio’s said,”Belief is for the priests”. Antonio made it clear that his priority is to produce high quality wines in a responsible manner. And hopefully wines that are specific to Chile, wines that could not be mistaken for a Napa cabernet or an Australian shiraz. This is another reason that Antonio uses natural yeasts as much as possible.
These are wines I encourage you to seek out. Bright acidity, fresh fruit flavors and lovely spice (especially the carmeneres).
Emiliana produces four brands:
G is a red blend of carmenere, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot.Certified biodynamic and made with natural yeasts. $90
Coyam is another red blend of syrah, merlot, carmenere, cabernet sauvignon, malbec and mourvedre. Certified biodynamic and made with natural yeasts. $30
Novas has several white wine and red wine blends. Made with certified organic grapes and a blend of natural and cultivated yeasts. $17
Natura is the entry level wine and has several varietal wines: chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, carmenere and syrah. Made with certified organic grapes. $11
Stanko Radikon’s is making some of the most striking and unusual wines coming out of Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia today. His uncompromising views have brought him acclaim and a devoted following around the world. He acknowledges that his wines are not for everyone. They are unusual enough to make our sommelier in Venice ask if we knew what we were ordering. I assured him that we did, and that we were off to Friuli to visit Radikon himself.
