Sofitel Wine Days 2021 Features the Wines of Lazio at Sofitel Rome

Posted by Rowena Dumlao Rowena Dumlao - Giardina 10/13/2021

Sofitel Wine Days 2021 Features the Wines of Lazio at Sofitel Rome

Sofitel, the luxury brand ambassador of the French Art de Vivre of the Accor Group, launched its 2021edition of the international event, Sofitel Wine Days. The event gives a unique opportunity in deepening the wine culture with the guidance of wine experts for the whole harvest period by hosting tastings, meetings and events and in turn, to discover excellent wines, new aromas and flavors. It is also the ideal opportunity to experience the different hotels of the brand around the world. Like the 2019 edition, Sofitel Wine Days takes place at the Settimo Restaurant of Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese, an elegant restaurant with a panoramic view of the capital, offering authentic cuisine that's strongly rooted to the gastronomic culture of the Lazio Region. The Roman hotel, renovated by architect Jean Philippe Nuel, has an elegant restyling of a fusion of Italian and French cultures combining the classicism of La Dolce Vita and the modernism of Art De Vivre.

For the whole month of October, the Roman hotel is celebrating the wine world by highlighting the wines of the capital's territory, the Lazio Region. In collaboration with the Le Donne del Vino of Lazio (Women of Wine of Lazio), a series of events are taking place which was officially opened by the presentation of Wine Manager Livia Belardelli last 29 September at Settimo. At the presentation, she chose four wines that were personally introduced by the women of the wineries themselves then paired with the excellent contemporary Roman tasting dishes of Executive Chef Giuseppe D'Alessio.

The wines highlighted at the presentation were Cincinnato Kori Brut Pas Dosè, a sparkling wine produced with the the native grape of Lazio, Bellone using the traditional classic method and ageing in contact with the yeasts for 24 months. The vines are cultivated on the lavic hills of Cori. A fine and persistent perlage with the intensity of complex aromas. Notes of baked bread and crispy green fruits in the nose that lends a pleasant acidity in the mouth mixed with sapidity as it finishes long in the mouth. The second wine is Merumalia Primo Riserva Frascati Superiore Riserva DOCG is obtained from local grapes Malvasia Puntinata, Greco and Bombino then refined in stainless steel and in the bottle for at least 12 months. This wine has a bright golden yellow color with an intensity ample complexity in the nose from balsamic to fresh herbs, fresh spices, tropical fruits and and mature yellow stone fruits. The mouth corresponds to the interesting characteristic of the nose giving a great expression of the sapidity of the territory, acidity and a long persistence.

The third wine is Casale Vallechiesa Heredio Frascati Superiore Riserva DOCG is produced with Malvasia del Lazio, Greco and Bombino grapes with a prolonged cold maceration of the skins and fermentation in tonneau.The refinement takes places in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts between 4 to 6 months and a further ageing of months in tonneau and 8 months in the bottle. The result is a bright straw yellow color with an intense and complex nose of mature peaches, fresh spices, acacia and citrus peel. Structured with underlined sapidity and acidity in the mouth. The final and only red wine was Casale della Ioria Torre del Piano Cesanese del Piglio Superiore Riserva DOCG, obtained from 25-year old vines cultivated at the foot of the Ernici mountains. Aged in small oak barrels for 6 months followed by a further bottle ageing. The result is a pleasant ruby red wine with underlined floral aromas of violets and roses and dark berries. The tannins are smooth, medium acidity with flavors of berries and spices mouth.

Lazio is a region that is composed of the historical city of Rome surrounded by a vast land of hilly terrain of vineyards and olive orchards and the Tyrrhenian Sea. It's a region that has a rich tradition of agriculture and viticulture where enogastronomy has always played a great role. At the event of Sofitel Wine Days, the quality of the regional gastronomy and a selection of labels of Le Donne del Vino will be the focus of Settimo. The aromas and flavors are always sincere and genuine which are skillfully united to enhance the properties and characteristics of each product, rigorously fresh and selected. They are represented in a simple menu with few ingredients and without long preparations. “Bringing foreign tourists closer to Italian gastronomic culture may not be easy. They are often used to very different flavors because Italian cuisine is modified abroad according to the local needs. Our task is precisely to tell our customers about the history of our products, guiding them through taste. Because the history of a people also passes through food," says Chef D'Alessio.