We're Gonna Take You Higher - Vintage Berkeley


The Ottins are alive... with the taste of the hills!

2018 Ottin Fumin

Normally: $33.

Our price on 1: $30. 
(Best in US!) Buy here.
Our price on 6: $27.50. 
(17% Off!) Buy here.
Our price on 12: $25
(24% Off!) Buy here!


TL; DR: Can mountain magic be trapped in a bottle? Can a grape you've never heard of be something you absolutely need? Can the region renowned for making the best Pinot Noir in all of Italy... have a red grape that everyone there accepts is even better? Yes, yes, and yes! Wanna go higher? Elevate your mind (like, to 550-700m or so), outgeek your neighbors, and get the best deal ever offered on one of the coolest alpine reds the whole world over! (Our 1-bottle price is the best in the US... and our case price is the best in US history!)


An Ordinary Evening in the VdA

Mountain Magic: It's Real.

Tucked away in the shadows of Mont Blanc, in Italy's northwesternmost corner, there sits an Alp-enclosed nook that looks like your wildest Heidi fantasies have come true: the Valle d’Aosta. It's nothing less than Italian winemaking at its most lunatic outer edge... and it's here that some of the world's greatest and rarest grapes — i.e., Fumin — find their happiest place.  



"Ummmm... if it's so great,
why haven't I heard about it?"


Firstly, smuglord? Because there's not much to be had! (Only 650 cases of this one were made, i.e.!).

Secondly: it's an insanely difficult grape to grow! Fumin doesn't like leaving its wintry home; late to bud and late to ripen both, it's ideally suited to the VdA's challenging weather. (In fact it's often harvested in the snow-covered vineyards of November!) 

Thirdly, because the locals aren't stupid! The Valdotians (yes, that's really what they're called) drink almost all of it there! (Despite CA's best efforts, they still don't see a need to import any Zin!) So as little as is made, even less makes it to our shores!

Fourthly, the Valle d’Aosta is somehow juuust off most vinous adventurers' radar screens; Mont Blanc's here... but the infrastructure to enjoy it is on the French side of the border, so it gets no Mont Blanc "bump!" The Matterhorn's here, too... but its postcard-ready "Toblerone" side faces Switzerland! And when it comes to dreams of alpine Italiana, too often it's the Clooney-fied Italian Lake District that captures the high-altitude attentions of Fuminophobic plebes! 


Fumin say what?

And in an America focused on ordering their wine by its grape variety? ("I'll take a Cab, please, and she'll have the Chard...")? Too few are ready to go "off-piste," and order alpine wonderments like Petite Arvine, Cornalin, Mayolet and Petit Rouge!

But... that's not you!

Chances are, if you're reading this email, you're among those who Choose to Subvert the Dominant Vinous Paradigm! This, then, is your chance to get an all-time great deal... on one of alpine Italy's rarest wines! 


"There is no doubt that Fumin is the soul of the region’s best reds today." 
-Ian d'Agata, author, Native Wine Grapes of Italy


 Elio Ottin is one of the Valle d'Aosta's most undisputed stars. Nestled right up against the border of Ricola-popping, Alphorn-blowing Switzerland, Ottin runs a small polycultural farm (cattle, apples, grapes, more); it's farmed 100% organically and powered entirely by renewable sources. This is a man whose wines are positively spasmed over by those lucky enough to get their hands on them. The Slow Wine Guide recently wrote a review of the man & his wines... and you could tell they could scarcely keep from shouting: 

"Elio Ottin produces some of the best wines in all of Italy. His house-cellar-stable is located between the Western Alps, just outside the city of Aosta. Here at an altitude of 600+ meters he raises vines of Petit Arvine, Cornalin, Fumin and Pinot Noir on calcareous and stony soil on steep slopes.​ ​In this harsh, cold and dry climate, the vine struggles to survive and Elio works like crazy to give life to extraordinary wines. He is not fully aware of how good they are.“  


The Alp-Kissed Vineyards of Ottin

Whether he's aware of it or not? His 2018 Fumin is as good as ever! Deep ruby-purple in hue, it's structured, earthy, and loaded with dense dark fruit. Think notes of blackcurrants, tea leaf, bark and violets, with Fumin's characteristic peppery and delicate smoky accents. Ever wondered what a lovechild of high-elevation Syrah would taste like if it eloped with Nebbiolo and set up a chalet in the Swiss Alps? Wonder no further!

Between a) natural scarcity, b) worldwide critical love, c) an insatiable local market, and d) the minuscule amount imported to the US, it's amazing to even be able to get this wine. But to get it at the best price in the US on one bottle, and the best price ever offered on a case? It's a nigh-Mountain Miracle!

2018 Ottin Fumin

Normally: $33.

Our price on 1: $30. 
(Best in US!) Buy here.
Our price on 6: $27.50. 
(17% Off!) Buy here.
Our price on 12: $25
(24% Off!) Buy here!