“M” is for Miracles

…and for Montaluce Winery & Estates just outside Dahlonega, just an hour north of Atlanta.  Sometimes it’s good just to hang with good friends for an afternoon and that’s what my good buddy Jason and I did this past Sunday.  He’s got the photog skillz and you’ll be seeing some of his good work not only in this vid, but in some pics I’ll be posting later… he is creative and a genius.  We got an exclusive invite from Rob Beecham who’s working hard to make his dreams come true by building a Tuscan winery community in the southeast.  Yeah, real estate, restaurant and winery businesses aren’t necessarily good places to be in this economy and he’s hitting all 3… whoa!  But he’s hanging in there and to help he released their first vintage earlier this year, and you can re-read my post on them here.  Of course, he has some experts in the winery in Stefano Salvini as the winemaker and Oliver Asberger as their vineyard manager.  Both are Europeans hailing from Italy and Germany, respectively, which makes sense because Rob is trying to make drinkable, every day, European style wines that work with a meal.  And I think you’ll “get it” when you taste the wines.  As a testament to their skill and experience, when the Sangiovese fruit came in at a lower level of quality than they’d like, they scrapped the original idea of making a full on red and instead made the Risata, which is a very dry Rose’.  I think they made a good choice as this was my favorite of the 3 wines released.

We enjoyed some good wine, beautiful weather and great hospitality as we toured the winery facility and the vineyards.  The fruit has full color and are about 2-3 weeks away from harvest, starting with the whites.  Rob tells us the terroir is quite unique on the Dahlonega plateau where Montaluce sits.  There is a good mix of minerals, ore, and stone which can make for a good winegrowing environment.  Only time will tell how this first release will perform in the near future or how their next vintage will fare, which will include some of their own fruit for the very first time.  One thing is for sure, there is no lack of passion and desire or hustle from Rob in making this dream come true.  They consider the results of the Rose’ a small miracle based on what they started with… and with more control over their own fruit this year, I expect more good things to come without the need for miracles in the future.

Salute and Ciao!