2020 Lammidia Bianchetto (Macerated Trebbiano)

Region: Pescara < Abruzzo < Italy

Grapes:  Trebbiano

Vineyard/Cellar Stats: organic/biodynamic farming with no tilling; clay, limestone soils; destemmed, overnight maceration on the skins, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel and fiberglass tank then aged in same; bottled unfined/unfiltered with no added So2; zero-zero; 10% ABV

Winemakers: Davide Gentile and Marco Giuliani

Friends in Davide Gentile and Marco Giuliani were childhood friends in Abruzzo, then reunited after university over their passion for wine.  With jobs in rural Abruzzo few and far between, they decided to try making natural wine -- despite zero training or consulting help. It started with experimentation, and they learned by trial and error in the vineyards and cellars - and learned the hard way. Their first fermentation in 2010 was such a disaster that they called in the big gun: Grandma, an expert at getting rid of the evil eye, to have her perform a ritual over their grapes. Apparently it worked, and Lammidia (“evil eye” in Abruzzese dialect) was born.  Today, after making over 60 (tiny production, extremely allocated) wines together, they've clearly nailed the winemaking thing, and have even designed and built their own concrete tanks and amphorae for aging. We love their labels, all imprinted with a picture of a hand and their motto: “uva e basta!” (grapes and that’s it)—no technology, no chemicals, no fancy tricks; just grapes and a few hands getting dirty in the soil.

The Lammidia boys play with a lot of maceration in their wines.  This is their lightly macerated Trebbiano that sees just one day on the skins, picking up a lovely golden hue and fuzzy texture, but none of the drying tannins.  Bursting with fresh tropical fruits, citrus and peach, this one is light, juicy, and best of all, super low ABV (10%!) which means we can crush the bottle without too much damage.  Because it's so easy and good, stopping at one glass is physically impossible.  

SERVE CHILLED BUT NOT ICY COLD