" We don't sell the wine without touching the vine "
Wine from Coppo
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The history of Coppo winery is inextricably wound with the wine history of Piedmont. It is closely linked to the development of the city of Canelli, known as the capital of Italian sparkling wine and one of Italy’s most important viticultural centers today.
Coppo’s history is one of tradition and courageous vision for the future, of sacrifice and innovation. It is a story of the unconditional love that Coppo has for their vines’ origins, for varieties that have always been cultivated in Piedmont, and for old family traditions.
The origins of the winery date back to 1892. For over 120 years, the family has remained the sole owner. Since the very beginning, the Coppo family has managed estate vineyards and bottled their own wine under the name of Coppo, making it one of the oldest family-run wineries in all of Italy.
In fact, in 2012, Unioncamere added the winery to the national register of historical businesses, highlighting its uninterrupted activity for over a century in the commodity market.
Piero Coppo was the head of the family and founder of the core that became today’s modern winery. He was known for his finely-tuned palate and infallible nose. Above all, he was known for his strong sense of ethics with which he managed all his activities. He strived for perfection down to the last detail, personally checking on all phases of work, from the vineyards to pressing, and from the winemaking to bottling and aging in a near-obsessive search for absolute quality without compromise.
At the time, Canelli was an important market for Piedmontese grapes, and a fundamental juncture for vine growers and winemakers. It was in this city in the 1800s that Coppo made the first Italian spumante with secondary bottle fermentation. This method is the same used to make Champagne; thus, the wine was called Moscato Champagne. Coppo’s intuitive move was destined to change Italian wine history and cast the city of Canelli in a role of noteable importance as it proved itself worthy of developing an international wine industry at the forefront of change.
In Canelli in 1913, Piero married Clelia Pennone, the heir to the Pio Pennone winery, a “leading and renown” producer and exporter of wines that had already been active for two generations. Thus the Pennone winery was added to Coppo in the center of Canelli between Via Giuliani and Via Alba, and today comprises the central seat of the winery.
In this very winery at the end of the 18th century, the galleries and corridors known today as the Underground Cathedrals were excavated from the tuff stone under the earth. Because of their historical value and unique, architectural beauty, these underground cellars have been recognized as a Unesco World Heritage site.
Passing through the underground cellars, one may walk underneath the entire length of the hill, finally reaching the point where the spumanti rest on their lees. Here, at the end of the long lines of bottles, pass through an ancient wood and cast iron door to emerge directly on the other side in the garden of the magnificent art nouvea villa that Piero bought the same year he was married.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the winery’s production ranged from sparkling wines to classic Piedmontese reds, among which Barbera stood out. Coppo also produces Vermouth, an aromatized wine (often Moscato di Canelli) that became fashionable in the 19th and 20th centuries. Vermouth is one of the world’s most popular cocktail ingredients, and it definitively contributed to the wealth and fortune of Canelli.
Wine production in the first decades of the 20th century was profuse and frenzied. Wine and sparkling wine sold fast in Italy and around the world, leaving the wineries on carts pulled by oxen and encased in 200-liter, oval Bordeaux barrels. Wine was exported mostly in South America and to the United States, where it was sold in bulk and in demijohns.
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This wine is floral, exuberant, with lengthy smooth tannins, and metallic notes.
This cuvée takes its name from a small parcel of the Adrianna Vineyard that is completely covered with oval white stones and was the site of an ancient riverbed. The abundant stones provide optimal drainage and extreme temperatures. They absorb heat and moderate the nights, but also function like ice cubes after a very cold night. Stony soil Malbecs tend to be extremely aromatic, rich and luxurious, just like the River Malbec from Adrianna. This wine can be enjoyed young or aged for decades.
Pair with grilled meats.
Review:
There is an usual stony austerity in the 2021 Adrianna Vineyard River, cropped from a cold year when the full clusters fermented in concrete with a slightly shorter maceration and an élevage in a 2,000-liter oak foudre and the rest in stainless steel. It has a moderate 13.4% alcohol with very high acidity (8.2!) and a low pH (3.37), incredible parameters of freshness. The wine was closed and took time to take off in the glass, revealing a very elegant and subtle personality, with the silky texture of the very fine tannins, pristine aromas and flavors and a sense of harmony that was moving. It's powerful but extremely elegant in that rare combination of clout and energy, a wine of light, aerial, with some ethereal qualities, delicate and refined. This combines the cool place and high altitude, the cool year and the stony soils, to deliver a stunning Malbec that goes well beyond the variety. Bravo!
-Wine Advocate 100 Points
Thorn Clarke Shotfire Shiraz is made from 100% Shiraz.
Striking deep red-purple in color. A rich, voluptuous wine with aromas of blackcurrant and mulberries accompanied by notes of smokey oak and hints of cloves. The palate is filled with dark fruits and chocolate backed up by taut tannins and lingering oak.
Story:
When the Clarke forebearers discovered gold in 1870 at the Lady Alice mine in the Barossa goldfields, so began a family dynasty intrigued by geology. A fine legacy that is reflected today in the terroir of our vineyards. The Shotfire range immortalizes the Shotfirer's hazardous job of setting and lighting the charges in the mines.
Fran shares his story on how he discovered Thorn-Clarke:
"It was October 2001 and I was searching for and sourcing for Australian wines, as it was clear that Australia was going to become the "next big thing." After tasting about 100 assorted wines, I decided I liked the style of Barossa, Shiraz best - chocolate, cherries, mint and eucalyptus - so I started focusing on Barossa growers (years later, Barossa Shiraz would develop its reputation as the Icon Shiraz for Australia).
Late on a Thursday afternoon, the carrier delivered a beat-up box of 12 bottles from Australia, 10 of which were leaking. The box was from a guy named Steve Machin, who had just left Hardy's and was beginning work with the Clarke family on setting up a possible new brand. The samples were sticky and messy, but I popped the corks anyway ..... and I was glad that I did. The wine inside tasted like Christmas - mint, eucalyptus, camphor, and evergreen aromas. Great acidity, color, flavor and length of finish - very tasty. These samples were so good and so exciting, especially compared to what I had tasted prior, that I immediately called the number on the card. I didn't realize that it was a Perth number (Western Australia) and it was actually 3:00 in the morning. It turned out I was calling the residence of David and Cheryl Clarke, where a sleepy Cheryl answered the phone. I told her, you don't know who I am, but we are going to be doing business together very soon, and lots of it! After a few months of talking, faxing (yes, faxing) and sorting out the details, I began importing their wines.
That super-star wine from the busted box of samples is the wine we know today as Shotfire Shiraz. It was originally called Stone Jar, but fortunately we came up with a better name. Many years and vintages later, I'm still glad to be importing Shotfire Shiraz and other Thorn-Clarke selections .... and I'm still glad that Cheryl Clarke woke up for that phone call."
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