La Staffa Tasting
with Winemaker Riccardo Baldi,
and Abby Vorce of Oliver McCrum Wine & Spirits
The La Staffa wines have become shop staples for us here at Vine Street, and it's no wonder why. They're incredibly delicious, clean, vibrant, and organically certified, practicing biodynamics, and made with minimal intervention in the cellar. The only wonder here... the winemaker, Riccardo Baldi, is a WUNDERKIND. He's only 33 years old, and has already made an impact in such a way that is putting an entire Italian wine region on the map. It'd be an understatement to say that Baldi comes from a winemaking family, moreso that he comes from an entire town of winemakers (the hilltop town of Staffolo is home to 2,000 people and 20 wineries - you do the math!), but none have quite employed the creativity and vision necessary to rewrite the narrative of Le Marche.
His focus is on micro-terroir. He wants each of his wines to taste not only uniquely "Marche", but bring out characteristics unique to each plot of land. The goal here - make the Marche more akin to Barolo, where each subzone has its own unique character.
In addition to moving towards more organic farming practices and terroir driven expressions of wine, he's also having fun experimenting with production methods new to the region - expressing his own unique personality and youth. A shop favorite for us, Mai Sentito! (Italian for “Unheard of!”) is Baldi’s Verdicchio pét-nat — a first for the Marche.
Come meet Riccardo Baldi, all the way from the Marche, learn about his unique terroir, and taste his incredible expressions of Verdicchio!