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Report From the Fall 2009 Harvest
An evening of Moscato tasting under the stars
Cantine Aperte 2009


REPORT ON THE FALL 2009 HARVEST
Boeri Estate, Late August - Late September

The 2009 harvest has been both very exciting and a little unusual: on the one hand the grapes have been extremely rich in flavor and aromas, promising excellent wines, and on the other, due to some light rains, the harvest had to be interrupted in late September. Fortunately, these rains have been a good news, contributing to the quality of the late-maturing grapes.

The entire Boeri family participated in the harvest. The winemakers and brothers Roberto Boeri and Giorgio Boeri first and foremost, and their family members as well: Giorgio’s daughters Giulia and Renata, and Roberto’s little son. Naturally, Alfonso, the father of Giorgio and Roberto, was a key protagonist in the cellar, receiving the harvested grapes, and his wife, Carla, prepared the most delicious traditional Piemontese lunches and dinners for all the harvesters.

Many friends joined the Boeri family. Mark and Nora, friends from South Carolina, came to help with the first part of the harvest: moscato and chardonnay. They are not the first international “participants” on in the Boeri harvest. In the past years wine lovers from Japan, China and several other countries have picked grapes in the Brricco Quaglia vineyards. Many wine lovers like to spend their vacations in vineyards, doing something real, genuine and fun. Also friends Federico and Barbara from Rome helped  with the barbera harvest, getting to know our vineyard on a very personal level. And of course we must mention our local friends, from Castigliole d’Asti and the surroundings, who have helped us bring this harvest to a successful and timely completion.

Many thanks to everyone! Manual harvest is not an easy feat, but it so worth it!

TIMELINE
The moscato and chardonnay grapes were harvested a little earlier than usual, starting with August 25-26. This early start was due to the particularly warm and clement summer weather. It should be added that  chardonnay was harvested on 2 different vineyards, and due to the different sun exposure, the grapes matured in 2 different moments: one vineyard was harvested at the end of August, and the other the first week of September. Then followed the harvest of dolcetto grapes, used for making Monferrato Dolcetto DOC.

On September 13 we began the first part of the harvest of Barbera. First, the grapes for Pörlapà and Martinette, which come from the oldest vineyards of the estate. As always, we made a careful selection of the finest bunches. Those that were not mature enough were left on the vines and they were harvested later on for the basic barbera. At about the same time, we harvested nebbiolo for Parbólo: the grapes were juicy and rich with flavor and aromas.

After the harvest for Pörlapà, Martinette and Parbólo, we had to take a break for a few days due to light rain, which in fact was a blessing because that extra moisture helped to dilute a little the high sugar content due to the sunny summer. For the basic barbera, this was the perfect balance. We began harvesting these grapes September 23, and the last day of harvest 2009 was September 28.

After the harvest had been completed, the first 2 weeks of October were dedicated to the pressing and the fermentation of the grapes. Later on some grape varieties were placed in the barriques, and others, such as the moscato, remained in the steel vats where they will stay until bottling.  

Our impressions so far about the harvest have been very enthusiastic: the fruit offers a really interesting complexity of flavors, distinct from the previous years, a very good level of sugar, and an amazing bouquet. We foresee this year will be truly grand, yielding extremely elegant and engaging wines.

Il Moscato e….
An evening of Moscato tasting under the stars.

Hotel Quirinale, Rome
July 15, 2009

This gracious event dedicated to Moscato wine was held in the garden of the Hotel Quirinale in Rome, on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. On this night a group of winemakers presented the “golden” Moscato they produce, as well as other bottles from their estates.

Boeri presented first and foremost their refined and refreshing Moscato “Ribota”. The participants also had the opportunity to taste other wines from the Boeri estate: Pörlapà, Parbólo, Beviòn, Martinette, and Barbera d’Asti DOCG.

The promoter of the event was GoWine: after the great success of the events dedicated to Barbera d’Asti (where Boeri participated) and to Amarone della Valpolicella, GoWine has organized this special evening “under the stars” which showcased Moscato wine from Italy and around the world.

The tasting event presented an extraordinary selection of moscato wines that came from all corners of Italy, from Valle d’Aosta to the island of Panteleria, with a several vintages from Austria, France, Greece and Spain. All in all, an unforgettable evening to celebrate the season with a wine that fits  perfectly the evenings of the hot summer months!