Big changes adhead on the di Lusso Estate website!
'As we speak' our webmaster dd(too) is working with lifestyle TV producer TAH to re-engineer our web site - bring it into the 21st century, in fact. The site will contain our own video channel – showing film of the farm, its wine, food, people and activities. We've also been building a library of terrific footage of local and international wine and food events. The site is set up especially to facilitate social networking, so visitors can spread the word! Work should be completed before the end of February.
Also linked to the site will be my own blog – I've called it The di Lusso Estate Wine and Food Channel for now (but will certainly think of something smarter later!). The concept is of a relatively unstructured series of thoughts, links, offers and observations, updated every few days to remain topical.
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In the run up to vintage…
At time of writing, its end January, and already our 2010 Pinot Grigio has been pressed and is about to start fermentation. Lovely fruit (again, from Molong, near Orange), and this vintage will be closer to the 2007 style…quite lean, with tropical aromas of passion fruit.
For the remainder, this year we'll be producing Vermentino, Greco di Tufo and Aleatico from our own fruit…at last! (It really is great to be able to control your fruit quantity and quality in the lead up to vintage). And our Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Lagrein (we're thinking seriously of a dry red this year, in addition to the Vino Roasto) have progressed well after being frost-touched in October. |
And the olives…
The hot, dry winds in December came at precisely the wrong time for most of the region's olive groves – just at flowering. Consequently, production will be way down – even on 2009 levels. Hardest hit were the non-Tuscan varieties (Manzanillo, Hardys Mammoth and UC22). We'll just make sure that we'll do the best with what we've got! |
And the figs…
Like a Swiss watch! Come rain, come shine, our fig season begins the second week of February – again led by Black Genoa. It looks like being a bumper harvest – the outcome of a heavy prune last year (also to lower the fruit to a height even I canreach!) Our very low stocks of 2009 paste will be replenished with 2010 season produce beginning early March. |
And saffron?
It's a bit of a habit of mine to produce 'out of the ordinary' things. My latest fetish is the exotic and highly symbolic saffron. I've planted 2000 corms, which will start producing the crocus (from which are extracted the stigma that are the strands of saffron) in late April.
Given careful propagation, we could be using a little of our own saffron – a popular ingredient in Sicilian regional cooking – infused in butter, mayonnaise or aioli – by mid-winter. |
Di Lusso Estate goes "Locavore"!
Like a Swiss watch! Come rain, come shine, our fig season begins the second week of February – again led by Black Genoa. It looks like being a bumper harvest – the outcome of a heavy prune last year (also to lower the fruit to a height even I can reach!) Our very low stocks of 2009 paste will be replenished with 2010 season produce beginning early March. |
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