Ceuso

Ever had a euphoric wine experience? Well I did and I’m not ashamed to admit to having this delirious experience. To start at the very beginning. Arriving at Ceuso winery, through serene country roads, giving up on Jessie, the GPS, who was driving us insane, we spotted a sign in the vicinity. Parking the white beast of a car, we waited for Luisa. Promptly she arrived and she was not alone. I had communicated with Vincenzo who had agreed to meet us for a wine tasting. Unfortunately he had to travel and instead put me in contact with his niece Luisa. Luisa in turn, turned up with her boyfriend and uncle who is the oenologist for Ceuso wines. This aspect excites me due to the fact that meeting this person is like meeting the heart and soul of Ceuso wine.

Giuseppe, blue eyed, tanned and ever so charming, commenced with the wine process technique. What intrigued me, the stainless steel tanks were specially designed to suit the specific requirements of the winemaker. These stainless steel tanks had a space to pump water in between the to lower the temperature. I had never seen something like this and I voiced my opinion. Giuseppe said “well actually they were made purposely for us.” Throughout the detailed explanation I sensed the ‘grande amore’ and passion oozing out from his lips.

Entering the tasting room, nicely laid out, we proceeded to sit down to start sampling. By this time, every pore in my body was wide open, wanting to absorb as much info as I could. I got a sense of nostalgia. Remember a time, when you had a teacher or a lecturer who taught for the fondness of a subject, that may even be the most boring, may suddenly become your favourite, why? Because the teacher instills that appreciation in the subject and treats her or his job as a pleasure and not a chore. In this case, I already have a deep interest in wine and Giuseppe, combined with his gesticulations and speaks like a Ferrari going at top speed in Italian, enhanced it even more.

I enjoy Grillo and Ceuso produce only one white the rest are red. Giuseppe, realizing that I have some knowledge on winemaking, got him in top form. He knew I loved interesting wines and asked me to accompany him to the stainless steel tanks. Taking three wine glasses, he opened the tap and started filling the glasses directly. Oh my goodness, this Grillo, unfiltered, rich in citrus and body tasted more complex than the filtered bottled one. The unfortunate difference is that these wines are only drinkable for a month, which obviously is highly impossible for marketing, and distribution purposes. If you ever have the opportunity to sample the same wine from a bottle and tank try it, you will be pleasantly surprised. The basic difference is, an unfiltered wine retains more character, no sulfites to preserve the wine, resulting in pure grape juice, without any frills and jazz. Seeing how intrigued and excited I was, without me noticing, Giuseppe silently placed another Grillo in front of me. I swirled and nosed the wine, I had a sip and my goodness, the hairs on my arm stood up excitedly. This was even younger, the colour, a deeper yellow, more body and lively on the nose and on the palate, God help a student in a blind tasting exam.

My favourite red was the 2009, an elegant smooth wine that reminded me of a mediterranean Bordeaux. Those who love Bordeaux wines would thoroughly enjoy this.

Bidding arrivederci and lovingly clutching some wine bottles, we departed after a good three hours of wine fun, with my head buzzing in fascination.