Podere Pradarolo, "Vej Brut" NV

Perhaps the most famous river of Italy - certainly northern Italy - the River Po snakes its way over hill, dale, and mountain, its riverland connecting east to west. Of its tributaries, the River Taro flows away from Po across essentially the entirety of Emilia-Romagna’s Parma province. Here, a smaller-yet tributary named ‘Ceno’ running for a mere 40 miles before it perishes in the Ligurian Apennines, provides the interconnected backdrop against which the wines of Podere Pradarolo are grown and crafted. Alberto and Claudia Carretti are the brains and brawn behind this estate whose wines have garnered a cult-status among the natural wine community over the past few years. They work in Serravelle, a small town just outside of Parma, where they endeavor to create modern wines with ancient influence and reverence - so goes the ethos that undergirds their extended macerations of white-wine grapes (something done for centuries if not millennia prior to the commercialized influence of artificial ease and ennui, among other things).

Vinification: 100% organic Malvasia di Candia Aromatica. 60 days on the skins, native yeast ferment, unfined/unfiltered. 16 months on the yeasts for the tirage. Disgorged. Zero SO2. Unfined, unfiltered with no additional SO2.

Tasting Notes: Some gardenia and meadow scrub on the nose. Medium-bodied with lovely tart acidity defining the tannic edge of this sparkling orange wine. Head is very nice and the mousse provides a bit of creaminess in what is otherwise a lip-smacking, high-acid delight.