Recently my wife and I attended the Austin, Texas Slow Wine 2024 exposition. Slow Wine is part of the Italian Slow Food movement, a program created to assist farmers in their efforts to receive adequate compensation for their produce. The exposition is a traveling show that visits various U. S. cities for a one-day showing of some of the wines produced by various small Italian wineries. Fortunately for me, one of the cities selected this year was Austin, where we live.

Some exposition wines on display.

The 2024 Slow Wine Italian winery participants included wineries from Piedmont and the Veneto in the north down to ones from Sicily. Several of these I had written about in the past and it was very pleasant to visit with their representatives at the show. However, I also met some new faces that I will now be watching.

Our first new face was Danielle Oddone’s. Oddone is the third-generation owner of Cascina Gentile in Piedmont. Cascina Gentile consists of 11 hectares of organic vineyards that were started in the 1960s. Today he produces 35,000 bottles of wine. We began with a white 2023 Confine DOCG, a 100% Cortese grape, 12.5% Alcohol offering. This wine was pale straw and finished medium and smooth. I rated the Confine an 89/90. Next we tried the 2022 version which was much bigger and more interesting. I rated this wine a 92. Our third wine from Cascina Gentile was a 2021 DOC Derthona, a 100% Timorasso grape, 14% alcohol wine. I really liked this wine and rated it a 93. The last wine we tried was a 2021 Ovada DOCG Tre Passi Aventi, a 100% Dolcetto grape, 13.5% alcohol red wine. It was ruby in color and finished very smooth nice. I rated the Tre Passi Aventi a 92.

Next we visited the stall of Cascina Gilli. Cascina Gilli has 15 hectares of vineyards in Piedmont and produces 80,000 bottles of wine annually. We were able to try first their 2020 Il Forno DOCG, a 100 % Freisa grape, 13.5% alcohol offering. The Il Forno was a ruby color with a nice fruit nose. It finished medium long and smooth. I rated it a 90. Next we tried a 2021 Notturno Albugnano Superiore DOCG, a 100% Nebbiolo grape, 14% alcohol wine. This wine was ruby in color and finished medium long and very smooth. I rated it a 92.

Our third stop was at a Veneto winery, Corte Antica Benedetti, a Valpolicella producer. Represented at the show by one of the three brother/owners, Davide Benedetti, we tried their 2021 Ripasso Classico Superiore, Red Label, a 15% alcohol blend. I was unable to obtain the spec sheet to learn the blend. The Ripasso finished medium long and very smooth. I rated it a 91. Next we tried a 2019 Amarone Classico, Red Label, a 17% Alcohol offering. The Amarone Classico was excellent and I rated it a 93. Corte Antica Benedetti has three levels of production with the Red Label being the lowest. I hope to taste their higher levels in the future.

Next we visited an Umbrian winery at the stand of Tenuta Decugnano dei Barbi. This winery is located near the city of Orvieto. Owner Enzo Barbi first provided his 2022 Mare Antico Orvieto Classico Superiore DOC, a 13.5% alcohol blend of 55% Grechetto, 5% Trebiano, 20% Vermentino and 20% Sauvignon Blanc. The Mare Antico was a very pale straw in color with a light fruit nose. It finished medium smooth and I really liked it. I rated it a 90 and would recommend it with any seafood. Our second wine was a 2020 Battito Umbrian Rosso IGT, a 14.5% Alcohol blend of 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 33% Sangiovese grapes. The Battito was a ruby color with a light fruit nose. It finished medium smooth and I rated the Battito a 91. Our last wine here was a 2020 AD 1212 Umbria Rosso IGT, a 15% Alcohol blend of 65% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Montepulciano grapes. The AD1212 name is taken from the first time the property appeared on any local listing. The AD1212 was a dark ruby color with a complex nose. This wine finished medium long and very smooth. I liked it very much and rated it a 92.

Sordo Wines Export Director Elisa Rabino poured two of their wines for us. PHOTOS BY TERRY DUARTE.

Another Piedmont winery was our final stop. Run by four generations of the Sordi family, Azienda Agricola Sordo Giovani di Sordo Giorgio is located in the town of Castiglione Falletto and has eight different cru vineyards. Export Director Elisa Rabino poured two of Sordo’s many wines for us. The first was a 2021 Langhe Nebbiolo DOC, a 100% Nebbiolo grape 14% Alcohol wine. Made from 30 year old vines, the Nebbiolo was fermented and aged for 6 months in stainless steel tanks and later for nine months in large Slovanian oak barrels. The result was a wine that was ruby in color with a pleasant nose. It finished medium long and very smooth. I rated this wine a 90. We finished with a 2019 Barolo DOGG, a 100% Nebbiolo grape offering produced with grapes taken from several different vineyards in the Langhe Valley. This wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks for six months and then aged in large Slovanian oak barrels for twenty-four months. The result was a wine ruby in color with a complex nose. I really liked this wine and rated it 1 93.

Tasting fine wines at a show is not my preferred method of tasting, but it does solve the problem of meeting and traveling around numerous areas to find good wines. I hope this summery is enjoyable to the readers and perhaps I will get to taste other wines from these producers in the future.