Free tasting | Friday, June 1, 2018 | 5-7PM

Star Wars Sparklers

I think that any true sci-fi/fantasy lover would agree that sparkling wines are the wine equivalent of Star Wars - you treat yourself to both when celebrating, with friends, or in times of strife. Bubbles and Star Wars never disappoint! To celebrate the release of Solo last week, we’ve paired each of these Italian sparkling wines with Star Wars’ actors who play the characters from Star Wars’ original trilogy as well as 'Solo: A Star Wars Story.' We’ve taken nerd to a whole new galaxy, and we’re proud of it! 

2016 Casebianche Frizzante Secco 'Pashkà (Campania) aka Lando played by Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover | This pét-nat has so much pizzazz that it could be no one except Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover playing charming Lando. Well-dressed, a ruby hue, with excellent comedic timing, alike to Billy Dee Williams and Donald Glover, Pashkà is a blend of Aglianico and Barbera. Wife and husband team Elisabetta and Pasquale Luoiro took over Elisabetta’s family’s vineyard in the mid-1990’s and are focused on producing organic and terroir driven wines. This blend is altered by adding unfermented must to the base wine before bottling, which lays the groundwork for the wine to re-ferment in the bottle. Pashkà’s notes of spice, herbs, and strawberries are as versatile as Donald Glover’s career from his upcoming role as Simba in The Lion King to his rockin’ dance moves as Childish Gambino. This sparkler is also as memorable as Billy Dee Williams’s performance as the smooth talking Lando – fans were furious and upset when they discovered he wasn’t in The Force Awakens! 

Bini Denny Malvasia Dell’Emilia ‘Levante 90’ (Emilia-Romagna) aka Chewbacca played by Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo | Winemaker Denny Bini and actors Peter Mayhew and Joonas Suotamo know the importance of ‘less is more.’ Denny Bini only produces 6,000 bottles using organic methods, while the two actors who have played Chewbacca in Star Wars have mastered how to mimic a Wookie’s movements instead of a human’s. Both the winemaker and Joonas Suotamo were drawn to the legacy of their respective roles. Recently, younger winemaker’s have been moving back to Emilia-Romagna to take up the reins of their ancestors’ vineyards, including Denny Bini in 2003. After a college basketball career, Joonas Suotamo was told of a movie roll that required men that were extremely tall like him, at 6’10”. Months later he received the call that he won the roll of Chewbacca and literally stepped into Peter Mayhew’s furry Wookie suit as a stunt double. This pét-nat is a blend of Malvasia, Spergola, and Moscato Giallo. It is as friendly and loyal as Chewbacca with notes of white flowers and citrus – and it’s also a bit sweet, quite like our furry friend.

Cleto Chiarli, ‘Vecchia Modena’ Lambrusco di Sorbara (Emilia-Romagna) aka General Leia played by Carrie Fisher | The only Star Wars actor who is as timeless as Lambrusco is Hollywood Royalty, Carrie Fisher. Lambrusco has a long history that dates back at least 168 years in the Emilia Romagna and, similar to Carrie, varies in style. Sometimes Lambrusco is as dry and blunt as the comedian’s wit, yet other times as sweet and warm as Carrie Fisher’s love for her French bulldog, Gary. Cleto Chiarli ‘Vecchia Modena’ is made from the Sorbara grape. It is the color of cantaloupe, light-bodied with a silky mouthfeel, and has notes of fresh strawberries.

2015 Cantina Furlani ‘Sur Lie Alpino’ (Alto-Adige) aka Han Solo played by Harrison Ford and Alden Ehrenreich | Fourth generation winemaker Matteo Furlani planted grapes on his family’s land high up in Alto-Adige, waited, and then made wine using all biodynamics. The cépage of his ‘Sur Lie Alpino’ is from the grape varieties of: Vernaccia, Lagarino Bianco, Nosiola and Verdarbara. What a mouthful! Harrison Ford showed up in Hollywood, did carpentry, and hoped his good looks would be enough to get him cast in film. Alden Ehrenreich made a silly comedy with a friend that was screened at a Bar Mitzvah reception – the same reception that Steven Spielberg happened to attend and take notice of Alden. Alden, Harrison, Han – all three of these men succeeded with a little patience and a dollop of audacious arrogance. Alike to piloting the Millennium Falcon through space, Sur Lie Alpino appreciates the high places it was made in – the skyscraping Dolomites! It has charming and roguish notes of green apples. 

Terre di Marca Prosecco (Veneto) aka Master Yoda played by Frank Oz | ‘Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?’ Like Yoda and the puppeteer and voice actor who plays him, Frank Oz, this Prosecco (750 ml but in a shorter and stouter bottle) would prefer to be underestimated. Let this Prosecco surprise you with dry backbone just as Frank Oz impressed George Lucas decades ago. Originally, George Lucas had wanted the famous Jim Henson to play Yoda, but Henson sent his apprentice, a young Frank Oz instead. Frank Oz didn’t just pull Yoda’s strings as a puppeteer, but he was the voice of the Jedi Master and the creator of his distinctive syntax. Prosecco is its own brand of beautiful as well; it is from the Veneto and the grape, Glera. Terre di Marca Prosecco, dry it is, with notes of pear it has, warm day drink you will.