My grandmother used to call Mondays, “hard days” in Russian. And it was on this Monday, October 19, 2020, when life took an easier turn for one hour.
During a global, COVID-19 pandemic and a time when Americans are banned from traveling to Italy, I took the opportunity to feel like I was in the family-owned farm/vineyard, Casa di Baal, in Salerno, Italy through a virtual wine tasting.
Dry Farm Wines is the largest curator of natural wines in the world, and Casa di Baal is one of the winemakers. Casa di Baal showed me its sustainable vineyard, where its natural wines are produced in the region of Campania. With 30 hectares of land, five hectares are vineyards with mainly Aglianico and Fiano grapes. The vineyards are organic with no pesticide, herbicide or insecticide used. In addition to the vineyards, the family farm has olive orchards, oranges, lemons, cherries and almonds.
As I watched the videos on Zoom of the grapes and vineyards, it was as if there was no pandemic, no political division and no problems. For a moment, I felt like I was on this farm, which sits at 180 meters above sea level and is just 5 kilometers from the coast. In my mind, I was walking through the vineyards, eating the fresh fruits and vegetables and dipping my fresh bread in the olive oil that’s made here too.
While I couldn’t actually taste the food from the farm, I could taste the wines that were shipped directly to me. The wines are biodynamic, low in sugar, low in sulfites, low in alcohol and toxin/chemical free. In interest of full disclosure, I’m not a sommelier, but I couldn’t wait to taste these wines and fully transport to Salerno.
The tasting started with a sparkling wine, the Oro di Baal. I typically associate sparkling wines with being very sweet, but I was surprised with this one as that wasn’t the case. It’s light, refreshing, and the minerals are at the center of its taste.
Then it was time to move on to the white, one of the vineyards most popular, the Fiano di Baal. The image on the front of this bottle features homes, which are the homes of the di Baal family. And if that doesn’t make you feel right at home with them, the wine will with its aromatic apple and citrus taste. It can be paired well with fresh mozzarella and grilled vegetables — from their farm — or the nearest grocery store.
And while I didn’t want the tasting to end, it was complete with a classic red, the Rosso di Baal. It’s a wine that the di Baal family has been drinking since they were children. This dry red wine that tastes like black cherry went down so smoothly that I could see how it’s easy to drink the whole bottle. Paired with tomato, zucchini, Parmasean cheese and Prosciutto, I pictured this red on their family table and almost asked them to adopt me.
Just like that, the hour was up and my tasting had to come to an end. There was no plane to depart, but I still felt a sadness to return. I thought about how lucky the di Baal family is as their self-sufficient life with food that’s consumed and grown on their farm has given them an escape from the pandemic. Even if it was for just one hour, I was thankful to be part of it and to have a Monday in Italy.
