Ca’ La Bionda Vineyard

Wine friends,

Just a few weeks ago, I was thinking about not offering a Ca’ La Bionda wine this spring, focusing instead on an expansive Ca’ La Bionda lineup offer in the fall. Three factors made me reconsider. 

First, today’s 2020 CasalVegri, which is a phenomenal wine, will very likely not be available in the fall. To make a great CasalVegri in 2020, a year that saw heavy August rains in Valpolicella, Ca’ La Bionda cut its output in half. 

Ca’ La Bionda owner Alessandro Castellani commented on the vintage in general: "those (in Valpolicella) who worked well by thinning the crop to ensure perfect ripeness, will surely reap the rewards and make great wine from fresh grapes." 

In other words, 2020 was a great vintage if you stick to the top producers, but there are not many bottles to go around.

Second, I may love these wines too much not to offer at least something from Ca’ La Bionda every season. 

Third, member feedback indicates many of you are now Ca’ La Bionda lovers too!

Ca’ La Bionda - 2020 “CasalVegri” Valpolicella Classico Superiore

Ca’ La Bionda’s 2020 CasalVegri is an elegant medium-bodied red wine with unceasing energy and flavor depth. This wine is slightly fresher and lighter in form than the 2019 CasalVegri but it’s just as good, if not better. My notes. “Strawberry, some cranberry, and toasted herbs on the nose. The fruit bursts into mid-palate and lingers. No oak, with fruit and acidity in balance. Sleek, serious, and very drinkable!”

Open Tuesday’s price for this wine is lower than any current offer in North America.

To order, just click the blue link and follow the prompts.

When tasting this wine at Ca’ La Bionda in February, estate manager Filippo Forte commented, “Chris, this 2020 is so much like a Pinot Noir.” I couldn’t agree more. But it’s like the good pinots from cooler growing areas, not the heavy, over-oaked stuff that all too often passes for pinot these days.

Valpolicella reds are made from native grapes Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, and Molinara. The 2020 CasalVegri blend is 70% Corvina, 20% Corvinone, and 10% Rondinella and/or Molinara.

Here’s Ca’ La Bionda on the map of northern Italy. 

These photos can give you an idea of the territory and surroundings at Ca’ La Bionda.

And here are our social media posts for this offer: Instagram | Facebook

Food pairing: This 2020 CasalVegri is very versatile at the table, probably more so than the 2019 version. The Ca’ La Bionda team tells us CasalVegri “is an ideal accompaniment to roast meats and pan fried steak.” In last spring’s offer, I recommended drinking CasalVegri with polenta alongside game meat and/or mushrooms. 

Ca’ La Bionda - 2020 “CasalVegri” Valpolicella Classico Superiore

13.5% ABV

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

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

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. But 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 thirteenth offer of our spring 2023 season. 

Through February and March, we are sending offers on Thursday and Sunday, with a recap of the past week’s offers on Tuesday.

We ship in increments of 12. With 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 – fall 2023.

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.

Via Augusto Anfossi 19, 20135 Milano - Italy