page 2 sandro boscaini appointed accademico della vite e del vino scandinavian countries: in defence of the prestige of amarone page 3 xxvi technical seminar: a great amarone needs time pages 4/5/6/7 riserva di costasera 2008, a delight with neapolitan cuisine pages 8/9 masi recioto angelorum on the rocks the joy of terroir: mazzano in decanter magazine news april 2014 03/2014 follow us on facebook: Masi Wine Experience follow us on twitter: @MrAmaroneMasi vinitaly 2014 cantina privata boscaini, a unique collection At Vinitaly 2014 Masi presented Cantina Privata Boscaini, a unique collection of fine wines, top cru selections and historic vintages of Amarone, produced in limited quantities and only in the best vintages. This extraordinary patrimony, available for purchase only by the company s greatest national and international admirers, is part of the DNA of the Boscaini family, and of its values rooted in the winemaking traditions of the region. Today, real luxury is represented by authentic products that are made of raw materials selected with care, encapsulating the experience and know-how of long tradition. Quality is part of their very make-up and there is no need for it to be flaunted, this is how Raffaele Boscaini, seventh generation of the Boscaini family at Masi, describes the spirit behind Cantina Privata Boscaini. This exclusive collection of wines has its origins in the traditions of the Boscaini family, one of Italy s most famous winemaking families worldwide. It has always been their custom to put bottles of Amarone from the best vintages aside for use in the celebration of special events or to leave for future generations. This habit began in the nineteenth century when Paolo Boscaini began keeping bottles back from the same years as important family events: weddings and births of children and grandchildren, for example. The tradition was taken a step further in the 1920s by Guido Boscaini, who was convinced of the ageing potential of Amarone and its extraordinary capacity for evolution in bottle until we arrive today at Valpolicella s biggest and best collection of historic vintages. Kept In The Cantina Privata Boscaini: Osar: a wine with surprising complexity and structure, owing its originality to the use of the Oseleta grape, a fascinating grape with extraordinary power, the jewel of our territory, and an antique variety rediscovered by Masi. A unique and modern tale on the winemaking history of the Venetian regions: a real achievement for the Masi winemaking team. Mazzano: au austere and majestic cru, the prototype of Amarone, drawing its unique and unmistakable style from the eponymous vineyard, with its ideal orientation and important altitude. Campolongo di Torbe: Top quality cru Amarone, the faithful expression of one of the best terroir sites in Valpolicella Classica. Intense and elegant, with fine balance. Mezzanella: A cru Recioto wine that stands out for its complexity and for its characteristic almond aftertaste. Considered a real rarity. Collezione grandi annate: the Collezione Grandi Annate (Great Vintages Collection) is made up of the rarest and most sublime vintages of our terroir sites, such as the historic 1964, 1983, 1988, 1990, 1995 and 1997 masinews april 2014 page 1/9
sandro boscaini appointed accademico della vite e del vino A prestigious new award for Masi President, Sandro Boscaini: he has been unanimously elected to the Accademia Italiana della Vite e del Vino (Italian Academy of Vines and Wine), the historic association that includes all the top researchers, scientists, lecturers, businessmen and journalists of the wine world. I am extremely honoured, said Sandro Boscaini, after his election at the association headquarters in Florence s Accademia dei Georgofili. After decades of commitment and work on behalf of our main wine and its cultural inheritance, this is an award that encourages me and my company to continue down the path of scientific research on the one hand, and of pairing wine and culture on the other scandinavian countries: in defence of the prestige of amarone Masi was the first company to place Amarone onto the Swedish monopoly market more than 25 years ago with the introduction of Vaio Armaron Serego Alighieri, a wine that is still listed today and has a great following among fans of high class wines. In more recent years, Amarone has made the Scandinavian markets a target for producers from our area, thanks to its reputation for being an approachable and serious wine. At the same time, this has led to a dumbingdown in quality from some less worthy brands with little regard for the history and image of the product. In other words, sadly, low-price Amarone with questionable quality (commodity wine) has now invaded the shelves. Sandro Boscaini, historian and writer, as well as noted user of the Appassimento method, was invited to Oslo and Stockholm by the staff on the monopolies and leading wine journalists, to examine the subject. He explains: Appassimento is a method, which means it can t also be a wine name. Inspired by the simplistic equation, Amarone = Appassimento, the unique and historic Appassimento method has, incorrectly, become used as a wine name. The term was first seen on bag-inbox packaging that contained Vino da Tavola Italiano, marketed, sadly, by Amarone producers who profited from the ambiguity. At the same time, Appassimento has been used erroneously as a denomination in its own right for wines from various Italian regions and countries of the New World. The resulting confusion on Scandinavian markets has been reinforced by a strong publicity campaign that has now been allowed to go live in Sweden, to the detriment of the final consumer. Amarone is, without doubt, the best known of all wines made with the grape Appassimento method. But its character is not only the result of this method, it is also and above all the true expression of a great terroir, Valpolicella in this case, or rather, better still, Valpolicella Classica. Despite being a majestic wine, Amarone displays great drinkability and softness, both of which qualities make it familiar to greater and lesser expert wine aficionados alike masinews april 2014 page 2/9
xxvi technical seminar: a great amarone needs time Appassimento and patience. These are the two indispensable factors for making a great Amarone. This is what emerges from the 26th Technical Seminar, presented, as tradition demands, at Vinitaly by the Masi Technical Group, in collaboration with the University of Verona s Department of Biotechnologies and the Fondazione Edmund Mach of Trento. Under scrutiny from the research team: the science of Appassimento as a unique, characteristic and distinctive process used in the Valpolicella region to make its princely wine, one of Italy s finest reds, exported and lauded all over the world: Amarone. Up for sensorial, aromatic and organoleptic comparison: wines made from slow-appassimento Corvina grapes, as tradition demands, and wines made from an accelerated, fast appassimento method instead. Research proves that time is a fundamental factor for quality in wines made from Corvina says Giambattista Tornielli, the Verona University Professor who coordinated the research time imbues a wine made with slow metabolic appassimento with unique characteristics. In fact Tornielli concludes the complexity of the aroma of an Amarone is inversely proportional to the speed of its appassimento and its fermentation. For Sandro Boscaini, president of Masi Agricola: Respecting the long time scales required allows us to keep standards of quality high and maintain the unique characteristics that are inherent in this wine intact. There is no such thing as a great Amarone that has not had a slow appassimento, with all the time necessary to make it unique. Which was how the man universally known as Mr Amarone put it. The dumbing down of the taste profile that comes with fast appassimentos, which are unsuitable for Corvina anyway, diminish the image and limit the potential for this gentle giant on international markets. Boscaini concluded, Furthermore, the recent use of the wording Appassimento as the name of a table wine on the market is an affront to the authenticity of Amarone and its unique production process. The Masi Technical Group co-ordinator, Raffaele Boscaini, pointed out that The Technical Group has been studying how to perfect the traditional process of appassimento for decades, in the search for a modern wine with an ancient heart. Their expertise led Masi to introduce the NASA system in the Nineties as an innovative and natural way of creating assisted appassimento, created in collaboration with Prof. Attilio Scienza and the University of Milan. Subsequent studies with the University of Verona and the Experimental Institute of Bordeaux, together with research into the genome structure of Corvina, have given us scientific proof of the unique way grapes react to appassimento and of the metabolism of noble rot masinews april 2014 page 3/9
riserva di costasera 2008, a delight with neapolitan cuisine Masi Amarone, the Marco Polo of wines, continues its journey in search of the world s gastronomic traditions. This year it set sail for the island of Ischia, to pair up with the traditional flavours of Campanian cuisine interpreted in a surprising and exciting way by Michelin-starred chef Nino di Costanzo from the Il Mosaico restaurant. This happy link-up has been celebrated in the historic surroundings of Villa Serego Alighieri, home to the descendants of the Supreme Poet, Dante. The Mediterranean flavours of Neapolitan cuisine (from pizza to mozzarella, from fish to buffalo meat) have been paired with Masi s wines from the Valpolicella region in an unusual and original way. The great Campanian chef s main course Buffalo cheek with Amarone and honey, served with scampi and milk-cooked potatoes is inspired by the great wine list masterpiece: Amarone Classico Riserva di Costasera, a rich and prestigious wine with a unique personality. I wanted to create a dish that would be evocative of the landscape in Ischia: hilly countryside overflowing with vegetation or covered with vineyards and lemon groves, and the sea, a land famous for its spa-like mineral waters as well. So I picked buffalo cheek, a simple and traditional ingredient to represent the land, and giant scampi, the noblest sea creature to represent the sea. Their flavours balance the spectrum of tastes that come from Riserva di Costasera, with its baked fruit tastes, its soft tannins, and its long, long finish. This is how Nino di Costanzo explains his choice of ingredients and the unusual food-and-wine pairing. Sandro Boscaini, president of Masi Agricola, expresses his satisfaction with the experiment. Like our Amarone, chef Nino di Costanzo s cuisine comes from the passion of a family tradition this is a common factor for both of us. The food-and-wine pairing using our Riserva di Costasera is quite extraordinary. Nino has got to the heart of this wine, providing a dish that respects it and enhances it at the same time, thanks to his long experience and his love for the food, smells and flavours of a unique part of the world masinews april 2014 page 4/9
riserva di costasera 2008, a delight with neapolitan cuisine Luc Desroches with Esther de La Durantaye, Marie Michelle Goulet, Karin Fuhrer and guest Fumie Ohmi, Toshiko Takeda Conte Pieralvise Serego Alighieri with Naomi Kubo, Kazuo Naito and Francesca Brunelli Massimilla di Serego Alighieri Kaidi Kerdt, Margit Kirsipuu, Hilje Savolainen Raffaele Boscaini and wife with Nino di Costanzo, Salvatore, Vania Faccincani Cristina Valenza and Elisa Venturini with Nereo Pederzolli and Nicola Dante Basile Raffaele Boscaini and Vania Faccincani with guests Fodale, Zancano, Esposito Lina, D Alessio, Onofrio and Muolo masinews april 2014 page 5/9
riserva di costasera 2008, a delight with neapolitan cuisine Enrico Franco and wife Pier Giuseppe Torresani with Sebastian Bredal and Marthe Bohn Sandro Boscaini with Licia Granello and Nino di Costanzo Alessandra Boscaini with Bruno Boscaini and wife The Boscaini family with Nino di Costanzo, Marco Sabellico and Licia Granello Roberta Ruffo with Giulio and Alessio Brandi Silvia Lui and Mabat Group Pier Giuseppe Torresani with Luigi Fioretti, Alex Hunt, Gustavo Lo Bianco, Gabriele Rosin masinews april 2014 page 6/9
riserva di costasera 2008, a delight with neapolitan cuisine Alessandra Boscaini, Paola Fasoli and Vittorio Soffia with restaurateurs and friends of Venice The Neapolitan pizza Mario Boscaini and wife with Marco Sorio Marco Zauli, Silvia Lui, Francesca Brunelli with Kenneth Soh BUFFALO cheek cooked in AMarone and honey with scampi and MilK-cooKed potatoes paired with riserva di costasera amarone masi 2008 executive Chef Nino di Costanzo Ingredients for 4 1 kg buffalo cheeks, 300 g celery, carrots and onions, 500 g chicken wings, 2 lt Masi Amarone, 100 g honey, 100 g extra-virgin olive oil, 1 shallot, bay leaf, pepper, 200 g potatoes, 200 g buffalo milk, 4 giant scampi Procedure Make a stock out of the chicken wings, half the vegetables, a bay leaf and pepper. Simmer for about 4 hours. Prepare the Amarone sauce by cooking the shallot with the wine and reducing to a third of its volume on a slow heat. Lastly, add honey. Brown the buffalo cheeks in hot oil, add the remaining vegetables, the Amarone reduction and, after a few minutes, the chicken stock. Cook together for about 6 hours. Once the buffalo cheeks are done, remove from the pan and reduce the remaining sauce. Peel the potatoes, cook them in milk, mash them and fluff up with a trickle of olive oil. Shell the prawns and fry them in a hot nonstick pan. Assemble the dish with the buffalo cheeks on a base of mashed potato, dressed with the Amarone sauce and decorated with the cooked scampi. Restaurant Il Mosaico, Hotel Terme Mazi, Ischia, Napoli masinews april 2014 page 7/9
masi recioto angelorum on the rocks Two basil leaves, crushed ice, a cherry in syrup and 6cl of Masi Recioto Angelorum served in a red wine glass with a twist of orange peel as garnish. Here s a new Masi s recipe to revitalise the Recioto wine, a wine category that is all set to become an allyear-round classic, reversing the current negative trend with consumers. This was the third appointment for Masi Angelorum at Vinitaly, after the Recioto mojito (2012) and the Recioto ice-cream (2013). This time we re not talking about a cocktail, says Raffaele Boscaini, seventh generation of Masi Agricola s owning family, but an innovative, fresh and elegant way of preparing and serving Recioto. In difficult economic circumstances for both the on- and the off-trade, we are relaunching the sweet wine category by widening the potential client base and proposing an unusual new way of consumption, rather than by creating a new product. This new way of serving Recioto is equally good for the consumer and for the trade. Inspired by the slogan try this at home anyone can prepare a Recioto on the rocks, at any time of year, especially as an aperitif before meals masinews april 2014 page 8/9
the joy of terroir: mazzano in decanter magazine The opening pages of the May edition of Decanter are dedicated to our Mazzano vineyard, presented as one of the wine world s most important cru terroirs. This vineyard is the source of the eponymously-named cru wine in the Cantina Privata Boscaini range, produced in the heart of the Valpolicella Classica area in a vineyard famous for its quality since the XII century. Here, Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes are grown at the significantly high altitude of between 350-410m asl, on terraces shored up by traditional stone walls (marogne). The deep, friable, brown soil, stratified over layers of marnous limestone and basaltic lava from the Eocene era, is rich in humus and has a good chemical / mineral composition. This is what gives the cru its character, imbuing it with a unique and unmistakable style. The same edition of Decanter has a feature by Ian D Agata dedicated to a wide variety of Italian wines, in which he picks out Vaio Armaron Serego Alighieri in the group of products from Amarone Families and recommends it as an important Amarone well balanced and very drinkable Masinews 03/2014. News April 2014. In-house publication by Masi Communications. Editorial: Cristina Valenza, Angela Franceschini Dora Stopazzolo Masi Agricola S.p.A. Tel. +39-045-6832512 Fax. +39-045-6832535 e-mail: masi@masi.it www.masi.it masinews april 2014 page 9/9