Amazing Interview with Lamberto Frescobaldi Wines And Italian History

Amazing Interview with Lamberto Frescobaldi Wines And Italian History. Recently, I had the extreme pleasure of having an interview with Lamberto Frescobaldi, President of Frescobaldi wines. It turns out he is friends with the Sena family that I have known my whole life. The Sena family owns and operates several top restaurants in Philadelphia including Ristorante Panorama which is a wine lover’s dream. It has the most wines by the glass of any restaurant in the country with cruvinets that run behind the entire bar. They also have an upscale restaurant called La Famiglia with a wine list that is like an encyclopedia of Italian wine.

Anyway, I met Lamberto when he was in town on the same night that the Senas were having a wine dinner at their restaurant Le Castagne. Chatting with any wine legend is so cool and exciting. He gave me his card and said that I could contact him anytime!

Family History

My interview with Lamberto Frescobaldi started off with a little Frescobaldi family history. His father Vittorio Frescobaldi was president for more than 30 years. He has 2 uncles named Ferdinando and Leonardo. Ferdinando worked alongside Vittorio as the Commercial Director of the Italian Market. Leonardo worked as the Commercial Director of Exports. Family history is very important to Europeans and the Frescobaldis are the same. I asked him who started Frescobaldi in the wine business?  He said, “Wine is in our blood since the 1300s.”

Wineries and Wines

Frescobaldi runs seven wineries in total. They are in partnership with Robert Mondavi on a few wines. While Lamberto couldn’t tell which Frescobaldi wine is his favorite, he did tell me what some of the top wines from some of his wineries are. At Castello Nippozano, he said that it would be Mormoreto. Personally, I haven’t had the pleasure of it yet, but their Nipozzano Chianti is one of the best. I believe it’s the touch of Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend.

While at Tenuta Castelgiocondo in the heart of Brunello country, Lamberto chose, Ripe al Convento Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. From Tenuta Castiglioni, he selected Giramonte. Finally, for Castello Pomino he recommended a white made from chardonnay called Benefizio How I would love to taste the last! Traditional grape varieties are rare in Italy.

Lamberto

If you ever get a chance to meet Lamberto, you will find a pleasant and professional individual. I asked him what his favorite wine was and he said, “No way I can tell you if I have a favorite wine. “Then I asked him what his favorite food and wine pairing was and he said, “Any bad food is bad with good wine, any good food makes the wine even more delicious!” I love that answer and didn’t expect it. What came next was expected. I asked him about dessert wines and he said, “Vin Santo, the one and only dessert wine!” Being Italian myself, I agree with him totally. It’s traditionally served with biscotti after dinner or if you have company.

More from My Interview with Lamberto Frescobaldi

When I asked Lamberto if they had any wines that are not imported to the US, he said, “Leonia sparkling wine.  We don’t produce enough”. It also comes in a rose style as seen below. I asked if they offer tours, wine tastings, cooking classes, wine dinners and lodging, etc. and he said that they can be booked on their web site. If you haven’t experienced any of this yet, I highly recommend you include Frescobaldi in your future plans.

Next I asked which Italian wines he liked other than his and Lamberto replied, ” I love them all from Friuli to Sicily. But I taste rather than drink.” The difficulties consumers have in the U.S. and all around the world, are a lack of time to get deeper and knowledge into the world of fine wines”. Americans often buy varieties and that favors New World wine sales. “What does Frescobaldi do to help that?” I asked. He replied, “We try to give lectures, wine dinners and speak to our distributors”.

All in all, I thought it was an outstanding experience to hear from one of the wine industries giants. If you visit a few of their properties, you can cover more than half of Tuscany! Florence, Siena, Pisa,etc. Learn, learn and learn more!!!

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Amazing Interview with Lamberto Frescobaldi Wines And Italian History