March Wine Club - the Ides of March!

March is full of events – whether fun, informative, or historically significant. It roars in Women’s History Month and Cherry Blossom season, has the NCAA’s “madness”, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and my mother’s birthday. It also holds the infamous Ides of March on which members of the Roman senate murdered Julius Caesar on that institution’s own steps.

The “Ides” merely referred to the middle of the month, and occurred in all months. The renown of March’s ides is attributable to Caesar’s assassination and its memorialization by Shakespeare and popular culture. Historically, the import of the murder lies in the death not just of Caesar, but of the Roman Republic. Caesar’s death heralded the rise of the Roman Empire.

Ironically, Caesar’s detractors killed him to save the Republic and prevent autocratic rule. Caesar had already been amassing wealth and power and by-passing the legal oversight of the Senate with his affiliation with Pompey and Crassus in their shadow “First Triumverate”. But, as with many alliances, death and power struggles cracked the Triumverate. After clearly side-stepping the Senate and defying rule of law by crossing the Rubicon with his troops, Caesar used his popularity with the military and with the general public to gain the status of “dictator for life”. By negating the power of the Senate, Caesar signed his death warrant.

However, his death did not bring power back to the Senate. Chaos ensued and Caesar’s chosen heir, Octavian, formed a Second Triumvirate that effectively squashed the insurrection from the Senate and restored power to the hands of a few. But, as with many alliances, death and power struggles cracked the Triumverate(!). Octavian, Caesar’s chosen successor, sort-of restored the Senate and was rewarded with, basically, autocratic rule. The Empire was born.

Once Octavian became Emperor, as Caesar Augustus, he made a million changes in taxation, bureaucracy, infrastructure, and more. These were well-received by some, and not-so-well received by others. Among the major changes was the reorganization of Roman Italy’s administrative regions. This was ostensibly done to modernize rule and make bureaucracy more efficient, but it also had the effect of centralizing and consolidating power (and taxation) for the emperor. In other words, this was part of a time-honored tradition of drawing and redrawing maps for political gain.

Regio X – the region and the wine

One of those “new” regions was Regio X: Venetia et Histria. If those names sound familiar, it is because they are comparable to Veneto and Istria. Today Venetia et Histria includes lands in Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia. In terms of wine regions, this is Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Primorska (Slovenia), and Istria (Croatia).

Regio X was a wine region already at its formation. Pliny the Elder writes that the favorite wines of the wife of Augustus, Julia Augusta (Livia Drusilla), came from the region - specifically from the fortress of Pucinum. The precise location of these most famous wines is debated, but it was somewhere on land between (modern) Istria and Acquilea – the region’s ancient capital in modern Friuli. Regardless, the grapes were drawn from vineyards on the surrounding lands, which may well have included those from the Vipava Valley, only tens of kilometers away. Then – as now – the Vipava Valley was very fertile and likely full of vineyards.

Regio X Lost Grape 2020

Regio X is a wine estate located in the Vipava Valley, within that eponymous administrative region. It was founded by William Fontanot, who divides his time between his vineyards and Philly.

The “Lost Grape” is Pinela, which is native to the Vipava Valley. Its popularity declined and, along with it, plantings; by the 1980s only a single hectare of the vines remained. Today, it is receiving more interest. For this wine, the certified-organic grapes were hand-harvested, left on the skins for five days and aged on fine lees – all in stainless vessels.

This is a white with some age and a slew of complexity. The nose is herbaceous with some beetroot and touch of lemon. The mouth departs from that profile with brightness and clean orchard fruits. The full body has some chenin-y wool, and the wine has a soft, acorn finish.

This is a unique wine fitting of the land’s unique, wine-forward history!

Sicily

Sicily had a very different relationship with Rome than did Regio X. Phoenician and Greek settlements were established early in the 1st millennium BC. The island’s location off of peninsular Rome and between Carthage in North Africa and the Greek Islands meant that it was became involved in geopolitics quite early. It was not a united island, but the western half held greater ties to Carthage, and the eastern half to Greece. Rome became more directly involved from the 3rd century BCE, and after the Punic wars made Sicily the Republic’s first province. Like Regio X, Sicily was quite fertile and served as a veritable breadbasket for Rome, providing grains (and men) for Roman armies. Following numerous ebbs and flows of fortune, the Servile Wars, and revolts, Sicily survived and became home to many of Caesar’s opponents and, after his assassination, to the Second Triumvirate. Following the establishment of the Empire, Sicily enjoyed a prosperous peace.

Baglio Ingardia Perricone 2024

Baglio Ingardia is found in western Sicily, north of Marsala (Roman Lilybaeum), about 8km from the sea. The Ingardia family acquired the 300 year old baglio, renovating it and planting 20 hectares of vines, organically farmed.  It is a family affair currently run by 3 generations.

The wine features 100% Perricone, a grape native to Sicily. It rests for 15 days on its skins before 80% is aged in stainless, and 20% is aged in barrel for 5 months.

The amazing nose has juniper and scrub, along with some fresh red berries. The mouth bursts with bright, red raspberries and cherries, and retains hints of the aromatic herbs. It is a delicious wine that can handle March’s cold and dreary days AND bright, sunny days with equal aplomb.

Cheers!

We will feature these wines, as well as 3 others, at our 3/17 Ides of March tasting. Tickets can be purchased here, $10 off with Wine Club code: 

Please enjoy your March Wine Club wines with this custom playlist. Cheers !!!