Italians are famous for “la dolce vita” (the sweet life) and take their time off seriously. Our Italian winery partners cut off orders sometimes a week before the Christmas holiday and won’t reopen until the 7th of January. Imagine the cigarette smoke, men in uncomfortably tight jeans, and brightly colored puffy down jackets at the crazy Kris Kringle markets!

Back in the states we’re used to a different pace, not right or wrong, and I typically find myself “grinding” away until the 23rd when I’ll start to slow down until after the 26th and then planning continues for 2019 and tax prep starts. Not nearly as romantic as my Italian friends…

A couple of years back we spent Christmas with my wife’s family back in Italy. Angela was raised in a small town called Castelfranco Veneto, where her mother, father and sister still reside. I was excited to celebrate the holidays in Italy, having really only spent time in vineyards, cellars, highways and restaurants when traveling for Volio. Angela was 6 months pregnant, so our pace was leisurely for the two week holiday.  

Christmas Mass in Italy

Christmas Mass was a sight to see… it was as if they’d moved the local bar inside the church.  Everyone from town was there packing the place literally out the front door. As much as we Americans think Italians are pious, they’re really a very secular crowd. Most don’t attend church, save Christmas and Easter, and really only find religion when they’re sick or need something to happen. Mass was what you’d expect…puffy jackets on, cigarettes in hand, talking, laughing and the smell of something stronger than communal wine on everyone’s breath as Mass started… St. Peter would have been proud.  

Unable to hear, see, sit or participate in the Mass (mostly because the singing disrupted the conversations of those next to us), we decided to leave mass about 45 minutes early. It’s a 1 hour ceremony. We headed to the bar 5 steps from the church, hammered back an Aperol Spritz and headed home for some Panettone (a traditional cake eaten daily around the Christmas holiday).

We still talk about that trip each year. We reminisce about the Italian traditions around the holidays… fish on Christmas day, lentils and cotechino (basically a deliciously half raw pork sausage) for New Years, and lots of coffee, wine and Panettone. 

Back Home

As kids back in Indiana we’d always open presents and then break for my mom’s famous breakfast casseroles and coffee cakes before attacking stockings. Spiral ham or tenderloin for dinner and we’d clear out the living room for dancing with our neighbors and great family friends that night.

We try to bring these traditions together with our family and friends whenever we can now that our home is in Colorado. Now with our own kids, 5 and 3 years old, we’re starting our own “Ital-American” traditions that we hope will stick.  

In the end, all we need are good friends, family, great food, delicious wine… and a little time to reflect on the year gone by.

— Charles Lazzara

 

 

Over the years, Volio has been lucky enough to have a number of our producers represented in the Wine Spectator Top 100 wines in the world. Read on to learn about these standout wines and the dedicated winemakers behind them.

2023 List newly announced as of November 13, 2023!

“The picture of harmony, elegance and purity, this red features black cherry, blackberry, violet and mineral aromas and flavors. Starts supple, with vibrant acidity and firm tannins emerging on the finish. Drink now through 2033. 4,500 cases made, 1,800 cases imported.” – BS

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“Like its macerated black cherry and plum flavors, this is both sweet and intense, taking on a bittersweet chocolate richness as it powers its way to a long aftertaste. The ripeness is supported by a dense core of tannins. Best from 2014 through 2035. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 1,600 cases made.” – BS

Enrico almost kicked Charles off his property in 2005 at their first meeting. Jokingly, he told Charles he was too young to be a wine importer and I wouldn’t last two years. Now 13 years later (in 2018), they have enjoyed over a decade of collaboration in the US and both men have “matured” into the business. Enrico is still stirring things up, removing valuable vineyards to focus on biodiversity in the property… like planting wheat, fruit trees, vegetables, rosemary, lavender, etc. to bring about a more powerful ecosystem in the vineyards. He has also been extremely influential in connecting Volio to some amazing producers around Italy. Always promoting Volio, we will always promote Rivetto.

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“A rich Barolo, dense and powerful, boasting black cherry, plum and licorice notes. There’s also a hint of eucalyptus as this crosses the palate, ending with a wall of tannins and leading to a long, mineral finish. A brooding giant. Best from 2014 through 2035. 1,500 cases made.” – BS

There is something magnetic about the name Clerico in Italian wine. He was an icon in his early years, seeking perfection in terroir expression of Barolo vineyards while mastering cellar technique and his own definitive style of wine making. Charles was phoned by the winery shortly after the passing of the iconic Domenico Clerico to see if Volio would have an interest in representing the property in a few key markets… we jumped at the chance.

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“Bright and well-endowed with pure cherry, raspberry and black currant fruit, shaded by tobacco, licorice and mineral flavors. Elegant, intense and persistent, with a long aftertaste of fruit and mineral. This should age well, but a trade-off to lose that beautiful fruit now. Best from 2015 through 2023. 3,500 cases made.” – BS

Charles stumbled into Fattoria Poggerino in 2002 as a student abroad. His parents were visiting for his 21st birthday and his dad wanted to rent a car and hit up Chianti Classico… do a little driving and check out some wineries. He’d always appreciated wine, but tended to lean to California while still wanting to understand and appreciate Italian reds–if for no other reason than the fact that their last name, Lazzara, has Italian heritage. They took a left and a right through the endless hills of Tuscany before arriving, by luck, to Radda in Chianti. Down another hill they found an “open” sign and headed up the gravel drive of Poggerino. There, they met Benedetta and Piero Lanza. The two had been handed down the property by their mother and father in the early ’80s. Charles heard the story, tasted the wines, and almost immediately felt chills down his spine… it was here he told his dad: “If wine can be this good, maybe this would be a cool job for me”. Fast forward to 2007, Charles takes a break from working at a consulting firm to develop his imports business plan and head back to Poggerino. He told Piero he was ready to import his wines to the US and he asked where Charles was based. He said Colorado… to which Piero replied: “Where is that?”… Roughly, Charles explained, between California and New York. Oh, and he would pay cash for the first pallet of wine. The two have been fast friends ever since!

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“This finely balanced Sagrantino layers creamy tannins with a pretty array of raspberry ganache, fig cake and dried sage flavors, accented by aromatic hints of rose petal and spice. Elegant and lightly juicy, with a subtle mineral streak that gains momentum on the finish. Drink now through 2027. 4,000 cases made” – AN

In 2002, Charles’ parents took a vacation to visit him in Florence, where he was studying, for his 21st birthday. His father had read about a winery in Montefalco and wanted to drive 2.5 hours from Florence to check it out after they visited the church of Saint Francis of Assisi (about 20 minutes from the winery). Incidentally, they stayed at the bed and breakfast of a cousin to Scacciadiavoli, who recommended they try their Sagrantino at dinner that night. His dad liked it so much he bought a three-liter bottle to take home (making the rest of the trip tricky as they hauled the thing around Italy before carrying it back to the US, but he did it). In 2014, Charles’ dad brought it out of the basement for them to drink at Christmas when the whole family was in town. At that time, Charles was 7 years into Volio and was floored at how good the wine was–he called Liu at the winery the next week. As luck would have it, she had just heard of Volio through Enrico Rivetto at an event in Germany earlier that year. Thus began a warm and wonderful partnership.

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“Enticing aromas and flavors of ripe strawberry and raspberry fruit are set on the fine, lively bead in this clean-cut, mouthwatering rosé, with a chalky underpinning. Lightly spiced on the lingering finish. Drink now through 2024. 25,000 cases made, 1,300 cases imported.” —AN

Berlucchi’s excellence is born of curiosity and deep friendship. In 1955, Guido Berlucchi, a successful landowner in the Franciacorta region, approached the young enologist and consultant, Franco Ziliani, to improve his still wines. Then, Ziliani came to Berlucchi with the question: what if we were to make a sparkling wine as the French do? Berlucchi, who was eager to first improve the viability of his Pinot del Castello, offered his property and support to this pioneering experiment. After a number of unsatisfactory vintages, the two men’s partnership produced the first shining vintage of their classic method sparkling wine, the 1961 “Pinot di Franciacorta.” This was a radical departure from the still table wines traditionally produced in the area and one that would prove revelatory for the region. In 1967, Franciacorta became a recognized designation of origin for Italian wine, with Berlucchi leading the way.

**This list has been updated through 2021–though we hope to see it grow longer in coming years!

This year James Suckling conducted his largest ever tasting of Tuscan wines, motivated by the outstanding quality of the 2015 and 2016 vintages from the region. Of the over 2,000 wines he and his team tasted, only two received a perfect 100-point score and only nine were awarded the near-perfect score of 99. Among these special nine was Tenuta Argentiera’s 2015 Bolgheri Superiore:

“A delightful nose of creme de cassis, hot stones and crushed violets and spices. Full body, chewy and super polished tannins and a long finish, which really takes off thanks to electric acidity. An essay in balance and depth. Best ever. Puts Argentiera with the best of the best in Tuscany. A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc.”(jamessuckling.com).

Each varietal is handpicked and vinified separately, spending 25-30 days fermenting in stainless steel tanks before moving to French-oak barrels (50% new oak) to complete malolactic fermentation. The finished wine is aged a further 18 months in barrels and 12 months in the bottle, prior to release.

Argentiera’s Bolgheri Superiore is far from their only standout wine–the same comprehensive Tuscany tasting yielded two other excellent scores for Argentiera: 96 points for the 2016 Villa Donoratico and 92 points for the 2016 Poggio ai Ginepri Rosso, their entry-level red. Visit Tenuta Argentiera’s producer page for more information on the winery itself and to dive deeper into their full range of wines.

If you’re curious to learn more about Tuscany and its producers, look into Fattoria Poggerino, Ventisei, Podere Salicutti, Soldera, Fattoria il Palagio, Stella di Campalto, or view all Volio’s Tuscan wines.

We didn’t realize how geeky we’d get about our new brand and launching it into the world. We’re glad you could be here for baby Volio’s first steps!

Though simple in form, Volio’s new brand comes together to visually communicate “bringing the consumer experience closer to the vineyard experience.”

Our symbol gets its direct shape from the stem-like vein structure found in grape leaves, encased in a simple grape-esque oval. The simple structure alludes the continual growth of our relationships and the connections between countries, producers, and consumers that we wish to provide in our role as an importer.

The complimentary “rain” motif also has multiple connotations. It resembles newly-sewn fields, rows of budding vineyards, and the rain itself that fuels growth and symbolized the ongoing renewal of the land and cycle of the seasons.

Not only hip design and philosophy…Why the change?

The Volio brand has existed in its current form since Charles Lazzara started Volio Imports and Volio Distribution in 2007. Charles picked a cool Mac font and wrote it out: “Volio Vino, Our Passion. Bottled.”

Over the following 10 years, Imports and Distribution grew and evolved, though always under the umbrella of “Volio Vino,” sharing the same brand look and feel. It took the sale of Volio Vino Distribution in June of 2017 for Volio Vino Imports to begin reflecting on its own brand identity.

After many crumpled up pieces of scrap paper and help from awesome agencies, we’re thrilled to finally be typing out the news of our brand launch!

A new digital home

Our new website, volioimports.com (previously voliovino.com) has been completely reimagined with robust search features, updated profiles of our producers and wines, and a slick map feature to geographically explore our portfolio by country and region.

We have worked hard to build an in-depth repository of information on a website that delivers on our promise to bring the vineyard experience ever-closer to the consumer experience. Play around on our site or read the full history of Volio here.