Spring 2023 Offer #2: Contrada Salandra

Contrada Salandra - 2018 Campi Flegrei Piedirosso

Bottom Line Up Front - Contrada Salandra’s 2018 Piedirosso is an elegant, medium-bodied biodynamic red wine produced on the active volcanic fields west of Naples, the Campi Flegrei. Much like the 2017 Contrada Salandra Piedirosso we offered last spring, this wine is serious and structured, yet also quite fresh and light on its feet. While today’s wine replicates many of the main attributes of the 2017, it also exhibits another level of flavor depth and persistence on the palate.

My notes: “Bright cherry, graphite, and black pepper on the nose; medium-bodied, bright and metallic; the finish is complex, and very long. The best Piedirosso example on the market.”

To order, just click the link above and follow the prompts. Keep reading for more information on Contrada Salandra’s Piedirosso. 

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Wine friends,

Contrada Salandra has long been my favorite producer of Piedirosso, one of Italy’s most interesting native red grapes. Giuseppe Fortunato’s small, biodynamic winery near Pozzuoli produces wines that are elegant and refreshing in a way that sets them apart from anything else produced in southern Italy.

I’m not alone in regarding Contrada Salandra’s wines as truly special. All the Italian guidebooks agree that Giuseppe is a star. 

In 2022 and 2023, the Slow Wine guide awarded its highest honor, la chiocciola (the snail), to Contrada Salandra. L’Espresso tells us Contrada Salandra has established its wines as some of the most highly regarded in Campania. In 2022, the Gambero Rosso guide called Giuseppe one of the greatest interpreters of Campi Flegrei wines, and today’s 2018 Piedirosso was hailed as minerally “volcanic liquid!”

Just a few years ago, Ian D’Agata, who is probably Italy’s most esteemed wine writer, visited Contrada Salandra in person. The wines impressed Ian so much that before leaving, he warned Giuseppe that Contrada Salandra was destined for wine fame. 

To date, Ian’s prediction has not come to pass, and Contrada Salandra remains mostly under-the-radar. As a result, the wines still offer incredible value – even though Giuseppe’s wines get better and better every year.

Contrada Salandra only produces about 7,000 bottles of Piedirosso a year. We have access to just a small parcel. 

In North America, this Piedirosso can only be found at a few stores in New York and Los Angeles. 

Our accompanying social media posts for this offer: Instagram | Facebook

Contrada Salandra has some captivating Facebook posts: https://www.facebook.com/contradasalandra

This is where Contrada Salandra sits on the map of southern Italy: Contrada Salandra

The Piedirosso (“red feet”) grape takes its name from the shape of the bottom of its vines, which resemble the red foot of a dove.

Food pairing: Drink this fantastic Piedirosso with Campania favorites Pasta ai Fagioli or Spaghetti alla Puttanesca. My wife Sarah and I love this wine with Strozzapreti al ragù bianco di coniglio, olive taggiasche, e rosmarino. (Pasta in a white rabbit sauce, Taggiasca olives, and rosemary.)

Contrada Salandra - 2018 Campi Flegrei Piedirosso

13% 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 second 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 – spring 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