Finding good Italian wines in Macau, while not impossible, is a little challenging, and lovers of old-world wines are most likely to pick up French or Portuguese labels. But if you do want some expert advice on fine Italian wines to try, Roberto Gallotto is definitely the person you want to speak to.
After nearly two decades of working in the cruise ship industry, and then the fine dining scene in Thailand, Roberto came to Macau in 2009 as the sommelier for the renowned Italian restaurant Don Alfonso, at Grand Lisboa. He stayed there until 2012 before going out on his own as a wine consultant. And in 2014 he officially became the brand ambassador for the Asia Pacific region for the prestigious wine maker, De Stefani.
“De Stefani have been making wines for around 160 years. Today, the fourth generation winemaker, Alessandro De Stefani, heads up the operations,” says Roberto. “De Stefani’s wine philosophy is to follow the modern trends of wine consumers. Today people want to drink healthy, which means low levels of sugar (less calories) and low sulphites, and they want the wine making process to be sustainable, organic and zero carbon emissions.”
De Stefani is indeed fully organic, using no pesticides, insecticides or chemical fertilizers, and since refurbishing some of their wineries in 2015 and installing solar panels, they now generate so much clean energy that they regularly sell it back to the grid.
The company’s five picturesque estates are located in the Veneto region in the north of Italy, about 35 kilometres from Venice, covering three different D.O.C.G wine areas, and each with their own distinctive terroir and microclimates.
“Veneto lies between the Dolomites and the Adriatic Sea, which is fantastic because you have the breeze from the sea and also the wind from the mountains, and that’s why this low land strip alongside the coast is so great,” explains Roberto.
The location also results in wide changes of temperature from day to night and a microclimate ideal for obtaining wines with a high tasting profile. The soil is very rich in clay, which gives a perfect balance to the vines and produces complex and interesting wines.
A total of 15 wines are produced under the De Stefani label, but currently only seven are available here in Macau, one sparkling, two whites and four reds. Roberto begins by introducing De Stefani’s very refreshing and crisp Prosecco 0.15 Millesimato.
“Everybody asks what the number 0.15 means,” notes Roberto. “Zero is the temperature at which the grapes are maintained before going into fermentation. And 15 is the actual fermentation temperature,” he explains.
“This Prosecco is different from most others because it is made with only one single fermentation, so this means you go from grape to Prosecco in one step. This results in brilliant crispiness, liveliness, freshness and more effervesence because the zero degree maceration process preserves all the acidity that can normally be lost in a double fermentation approach.”
Moving to De Stefani’s white wines, Roberto recommends Olmèra single vineyard. In the local dialect “Olmèra” means the old elm tree wood that previously stood on the land where the vineyard is today. These elm trees released particular elements into the soil that give great structure and personality to this wine.
“Olmèra is a Grand Cru made from grapes that only grow on a small plot. Every bottle is numbered which is very uncommon for white wine,” notes Roberto. “In 2018 they made only around 8,000 bottles. Around half the production goes to the US market, so Asia might get around 500, and in Macau there’s less than 100.”
Olmèra is made from two grape varieties, 40% Sauvignon Blanc and 60% Tocai (also known as Friulano). De Stefani ferments the Sauvignon Blanc in a traditional way, but as is customary in the Veneto region, first dries the Tocai grapes for two to three months, before fermenting them and aging them for 12 months in French Oak. Finally the two grape varieties are blended together, combining the oakiness of the Tocai and the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc.
Grape drying and withering prior to fermentation is a specialty technique of the Veneto region, and Alessandro De Stefani is a master of the process.
“This process gives the wine complexity, but you have to be very careful because it can become very sweet as you have lots of sugar, so you need to balance it very precisely. Drying the grapes for wine making is very, very tricky,” notes Roberto.
Currently De Stefani has four reds available in Macau, three of which are Grand Cru, all made from single grape varieties respectively. Top of the range is Stèfen 1624, made from 100% dried Marzemino grapes. Stèfen is the ancient surname of the De Stefani family, as written in old documents dated 1624 found in Refrontolo, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
“Stèfen is very high in alcohol – 15 to 17.5% depending on the harvest – because when you have 100% dry grapes you have a lot of sugar. So if you want to take out all the sugar, you need to ferment for longer. This is actually quite a dry red, and powerful, extra full body.”
Stèfen 1624 has a lovely deep ruby colour, with garnet hues, intense scents of ripe wild fruit and of violet, full body, with clear notes of ripe cherry and blackberry, ideal for pairing with red meats and strong cheeses.
The wine also has some interesting tales associated with it. In his opera Don Giovanni first performed in 1787, Mozart references Refrontolo Passito wine, made from Marzemino grapes, native to Veneto – “versa il vino, eccellente Marzimino!” (pour the wine, excellent Marzimino!) Marzemino are of course the grape variety of Stèfen 1624 and the De Stefani family still produces Refrontolo Passito.
The other famous character associated with Stèfen 1624 is Ernest Hemingway. While he was a soldier in the First World War, Hemingway was wounded in July 1918, and brought to where the De Stefani winery is today.
“He was very badly wounded and about to die, but the local legend goes that he drank Stèfen 1624 and immediately got better!” laughs Roberto.
The other two Grand Cru reds are Malanotte made from 100% Raboso Piave another famous grape variety only found in Veneto, and Kreda, meaning ‘clay’ in the local dialect, made from 100% Refosco dal peduncolo rosso grapes.
And while you are enjoying your De Stefani Grand Cru, take a moment to appreciate some other interesting details like the extra long 55mm cork, and heavy embossed glass bottle weighing almost 1 kg empty. As we wrap up our chat, Roberto points out one more detail:
“On every label of De Stefani there are two signatures, one of Alessandro the son and one of his father, Tiziano De Stefani, with the number representing their respective number of harvests. You can see from the number that Tiziano De Stefani, 86 years old, has done 66 harvests! Amazing!
De Stefani wines are distributed by Seapower
www.seapower.mo
De Stefani wines are available at a number of restaurants including Mood & Moor
Travessa de São Paulo nos. 3, 5 e 7, Macau
+853 2848 2848
https://de-stefani.it
