Wine friends,

A few weeks back, OT member (and old USAF buddy) Shannon Stineburg and I were discussing our favorite Open Tuesday producers. 

Eventually, the big question came up:  If I had to choose only one producer, which would it be? 

Shannon immediately suggested Ca’ La Bionda, which of course I endorsed. (He is the one member who may love Valpolicella as much as I do).

Without thinking, I fired off 8-10 other possibilities in rapid succession. Francesco Boschis was on the list. 

This being college hoops season, my mind turned to brackets. (Go UConn!)

Dolcetto is a bit of an underdog grape, so I can see Boschis not being a one seed on selection Sunday.

But surely Boschis would upset a few bigger names, make its way to the OT Final Four, and maybe even cut down the nets… 

These wines are just so good for the price.

Francesco Boschis changed my mind about the potential of Dolcetto. The greatness in the glass is undeniable – especially if you let the cru wines age a few years in the bottle.

At this point, I’d even say Dolcetto is underrated. It’s certainly undervalued. 

These are world-class wines that sell for well under $25 a bottle. 

Francesco Boschis - 2021 “Vigna dei Prey” Dogliani Superiore

The 2021 Boschis Vigna dei Prey is a robust, full-bodied single-vineyard organic Dolcetto. Made in the high-altitude Dogliani appellation, this is a decidedly savory red wine of muscle and length, with notes of blackberry, ink, and fennel in evidence. Open Tuesday currently has the lowest price in North America for this wine.

Francesco Boschis - 2021 “Sorì San Martino” Dogliani Superiore

The 2021 Sorì San Martino is a slightly more restrained full-bodied organic red that’s grown adjacent to Vigna dei Prey. The Sorì San Martino vineyard has a different exposure and the resulting flavor profile is more cool-climate and elegant. The wine shows less overt fruit, with notes of chalky minerality and herbs alongside lean black cherry and raspberry notes. Open Tuesday currently has the lowest price in North America for this wine.

I wrote more about the geographic differences between the Vigna dei Prey and Sorì San Martino vineyards in last year’s offer.

Bonus Wines

Francesco Boschis - 2022 Langhe Barbera

The 2022 Boschis Langhe Barbera is an easy-drinking yet still gutsy organic red wine with bright acidity and juicy notes of crushed raspberry, blueberry, and savory herbs. 

One Open Tuesday member called the 2021 version of this wine “the most versatile of the spring season…really interesting acidity, almost citrusy, and everyone loves it–a great food wine for tomato-based anything. Perfect with my local deep dish pizza!” The plentiful fresh fruit makes it a good appetizer wine as well.

Francesco Boschis - 2022 Dogliani Pianezzo (Dolcetto)

The 2022 Boschis Pianezzo is a fun and expressive organic red wine made from younger dolcetto vines around the Boschis estate. This is the first time we’ve offered Boschis’ Pianezzo at Open Tuesday. This 2022 version shows much more fruit purity and refreshing length than did previous vintages of this wine. And it’s a steal at this price. 

Pianezzo is the name of the frazione (small village) that surrounds the estate. 

To order, just click the one of the blue links above and follow the prompts.

Paolo and Marco Boschis, the grandsons of Francesco Boschis, produce approximately 35 thousand bottles of wine a year. In 2021, they made 5313 bottles of Vigna dei Prey and 4237 bottles of Sorì San Martino. In 2022, they made 7128 bottles of Pianezzo and 2898 bottles of Langhe Barbera.

Here’s Francesco Boschis on a map of northwest Italy.

Food pairing:  According to the Boschis family, Vigna dei Prey is typically consumed with the entire meal, yet it truly shines with elaborate red meat dishes and game. The Sorì San Martino is ideal with savory first courses like lasagna or gnocchi. It’s also the better choice of these two cru Dolcettos with white meat or pork. 

The Barbera is extremely versatile at the table, capable of pairing with both chicken and red meat, and everything in between. It’s surprisingly great with soft cheeses as well. I like the Pianezzo Dolcetto with salumi and a medium-hard cheese like Manchego. 

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected].  

Receive a $25 credit for every referred member after the purchase of their first bottle.

How it works: 

After clicking one of the links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. When there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This is the 13th offer of our 2024 spring season. Through the end of March, we will send 2-3 offers per week, with a total of 18 offers planned.

We ship in increments of 12. With 16-18 offers this season, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of the fall season offers, we can hold your wines until the next offer season.

Wines offered in the spring will ship in April for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. – but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.

Milano - Italy