Villa Parens Winery
Nina's Notes
This is What Happens When Your Friends Become Famiglia
As they say in Italy, “when you’re here, you’re famiglia”. Lucky for me, Villa Parens, winemakers in the northern Italian Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, take this sentiment to heart. Founder, Vittorio Puiatti, was one of the leaders of the modern-day winemaking industry in Italy.
Villa Parens wines are artistic and elegant, using pure methods that allow the natural complexities of the grape to come through in every glass. They were recently reviewed in the prestigious Edible Arts Blog for their artistry in producing Metodo Classico Sparkling Wines from Northern Italy. The Puiattis are very creative people and have a strong belief that “before wine is a drink, it is an idea.” And that idea means everything leading up to your first sip, matters.
I met Elisabetta and Giovanni Puiatti in early 2016 at a wine tasting in Venice: their Blanc de Blancs was my top-rated sparkling wine among nearly 100 offerings. I met them again in April at VinItaly, when they hosted me for a series of tastings and dinners “Puiatti style!” Their booth was teaming with friends, clients and general admirers. All were there to taste their delicious wines and soak up some of the amazing hospitality. Here I had my first taste of the Rosè de Noir and I was anxious to add it to my product selection. They don’t make a lot of these wonderful classic method sparkling wines, so I am lucky and honored to represent their wines in California.
At Villa Parens, for two generations, they have pioneered new techniques, which focus on minimizing the biggest threat to the winemaking process – exposure to oxygen. Their father, Vittorio Puiatti, spearheaded these methods, calling them the “Puiatti Concept.”
Today, Giovanni and Elisabetta (brother and sister) continue the family tradition of employing their father’s methods throughout the winemaking process: growing, fermenting, bottling, aging and preserving. The Puiatti family winemakers were the first to introduce a pneumatic press in 1983, that extracts the juice under inert gas – providing 100% protection from oxidation. This “soft press” is described as being the equivalent to the pressure of fingers delicately extracting the juice.
Producers
- Abbadia Ardenga
- Audarya
- Bosco
- Cantina Giba
- Cantine Ravazzi
- Cien y Pico
- Ciù Ciù
- Coffele Viticoltori
- Colli di Castelfranci
- Fattoria Nanni
- Folini
- Jacopo Biondi Santi
- La Ceriola
- La Tosa
- Mainerdo
- Milziade Antano
- Molino di Rovescala
- Pecòl Wines
- Produttori Etna Nord
- Rubinelli Vajol
- Spolert
- Tenuta Potenti
- Tenute Olbios
- Tenute Smeralda
- Travaglino
- Vernaccia Tofanari Orsini
- Villa Parens
- Villa Penna
- Wegerhof
- Zucchetto Estate
- Frantoio Franci Olive Oil