in Monleale -- SUSTAINABLE
FUSO is our kind of daily drinker: affordable, natural, everyday-delicious wine, from interesting growing areas and grapes (read: no Pinot Grigio or Merlot).
Sometimes, wine's taken way too seriously; it must give spiritual healing, be sexy, offer a forced epiphany and give airs of luxury while being low-cost. Conversely or additionally, some folks dumb wine down to furry little creatures on lables. Why not celebrate delicious wines with no pretense? Don't get me wrong, there's a place for great, aged wines, but there's also a place for genuine daily drinkers that have some character.
FUSO, as a name? It's a play on two Italian words: sfuso and fuso:
Sfuso: a noun for the everyday drinking wine you'll find on tables here in Italy, more of an osteria or pizzeria than ristorante style of wine; fresh and delicious, vinified in steel, and made to drink in the first few years.
Fuso: an adjective that describes a person feeling “out of it,” or, “a little confused."
FUSO brings a little, happy, momentary order to life's daily confusion.
But, where does FUSO come from?
Under the FUSO label, we asked some top-notch producers to offer what they usually sold off to locals. We got some cool stuff: Barbera from Walter Massa in the Colli Tortonesi in Piemonte (roasted cran-raspberry and minerals; no oak); and, a white Verdicchio (green apple and tangerine with a little tingle and some mineralality; again, no oak), from the quality cooperative Belisario (think Alto Adige level of quality but not price), in the little known DOC of Matelica in Le Marche region.
FUSO --Barbera di Colli Tortonesi from Vigneti Massa --NON-FILTERED BARBERA
Walter Massa is a trip and he first said "No" to our request, but we tied him down eventually to a "Yes," pledging that we would, in offering this wine to the US market, give all walks of life easy smiles, thus lightening the hearts of woman and man alike. (He's a festive guy and likes to makes folks happy. His famous and outstanding Derthona Timorasso, he calls his "head wine," while his FUSO Barbera is his festive merry-maker and rabble-rouser wine.
It's vinified in steel and has the classic zip of Barbera, with just a touch of tannin to give structure. Minerals, roasted cranberry, and some raspberry notes; there's also a creme fraiche texture that comes from these parts, that's quite different from either the lemon-acidity of simple Barbera's from Asti and Alba. It's a delicious wine that accompanies all kinds of food from burgers and pizza to vitello tonnato or pasta and veggies on a Wednesday.
To differentiate the soils of Barbera di Colli Tortonesi from the larger zones of Barbera d'Asti and Barbera d'Alba, you could note the sand and clay soil in the Colli Tortonesi version, along with what is called Ophitic soil: relating to or denoting a poikilitic rock texture in which crystals of feldspar are interposed between plates of augite (you all ask me about soil so here we are!).
As a side note to fresh delicious, easy drinking wines, we had cru of this wine (see Sentieri or Monleale), a 1973 Barbera from Walter recently that was just singing; and, we tasted a string of old vintages From Tortona neighbor and producer,Valli Uniti; all the wines were in great shape.
Now in screw-cap!
