One of the newer Italian wineries, FEMAR VINI SRL, formed in the 1990s. They are in the Apulia region of Italy and will be attending VanWineFest 2024 to let us try their wines. They use an appassimento method where they dry the grapes. Other wineries pick the grapes and dry the grapes in bins/racks. FEMAR lets the grapes dry on the vine. Here is information about FEMAR from the winery, in their own words. Cin cin.
About Gran Appasso
This brand embraces a line of wines produced in different areas of the region of Apulia. Although the brand is born with the intent of representing Apulia in its most modern form, Gran Appasso Rosso Aged in Oak, “ottenuto da uve leggermente appassite”, recovers an ancient farming technique, probably prior to the first vinification and farming methods of Vitis Vinifera. It consists to leave the grape on the plant beyond the full maturation to let it loses water, concentrating sugar and acid in order to make the grape stronger in case of a longer storage.
This technique reaches Apulia, and in the area of Salento somebody understands that, pressing raisins, it gets a richer and more concentrated must, from which a more robust wine, durable and long-lived, very important features for trading at that time. For this reason this wine gets place in the tradition, and that is why, Femar produced Gran Appasso Rosso Aged in Oak: a full-bodied wine, satisfying and long-lived, which celebrates tradition of this great land.
After the success of that, other wines have been introduced that have contributed to the completion of the range: the Gran Appasso Collezione, produced from a sorting of the best grapes of Primitivo, a powerful and structured wine witnessing the production area; the Gran Appasso Rosé, expression of elegance and persuasion; the Gran Appasso Chardonnay-Fiano, made from the same grapes. Then the Grand Appasso Primitivo Appassimento, new top of the range and leader of a brand now synonymous with quality, tradition and innovation, and the Gran Appasso Susumaniello, another sample of the Apulian tradition.
The Wines We Will Feature at the International Festival Tasting Room
Here is the list of the wines that we will showcase:
Gran Appasso Bianco 2022 – Chardonnay and Fiano. Bright pale yellow. Intense on the nose of apple, pear and melon, then white flowers and aromatic herbs. Smooth in the mouth, fresh, tasty and persistent.
Gran Appasso Rosato 2022 – Made from Primitivo, Negroamaro, Sangiovese, Lambrusco and/or other permitted varieties. Intense and bright pale pink. On the nose sensations of strawberry jelly, cherries and watermelon, then roses and aromatic herbs. Smooth and juicy in the mouth, fresh and tasty, with a long fruity persistence.
Gran Appasso Rosso 2020 – Lambrusco, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Montepulciano and/or other varieties allowed. Intense deep ruby red. Wild berries on the nose, red flowers, Mediterranean aromatic herbs, humus and eucalyptus. Very fruity in the mouth, well-balanced, mouth-filling with great persistence.
Gran Appasso Collezione 2021 – Primitivo at least 85% and other red varieties allowed. Intense deep ruby red, smells of wild berries and plum jam, red currant flower, dry violet, spices, on a bottom of graphite and cocoa powder. Smooth, full-bodied, fruity and spicy, well-balanced and unbelievably persistent.
Gran Appasso Susumaniello 2021 – Susumaniello at least 85% and other red varieties allowed. Deep ruby red with purple shades. On the nose blueberries and ripe red fruits, underbrush and red flower, then tobacco, aromatic herbs and a light zesty sensation. Elegant and powerful, with ripe tannins, fresh and fruity, tasty and very long in persistence.
