Dalla Terra Winery Direct
http://www.dallaterra.com
About Dalla Terra™
Winery Direct®:
Dalla Terra’s current roster of producers reads like a Who’s Who of Italian family-owned wineries. Each producer has played a major role in the significant strides Italy has made over the last twenty years in improving the quality of its wines. Founder Brian Larky has chosen by design to work with only a very limited number of top producers from each wine growing region in Italy in order to emphasize distinctiveness and focus on the few estates in his portfolio.
Dalla Terra™ Winery Direct® is changing the nature of the wine importing and distribution business. “Winery Direct” is the company’s mantra. Founder Brian Larky’s non-traditional approach to selling wine skips the national importer level in the three-tier distribution system, allowing U.S. distributors to buy directly from the producer. This unique business model offers a more efficient, economical and consumer-friendly way of shipping, distributing and marketing wine--despite a strong Euro that has raised some prices as much as 25 percent. In spite of these unfavorable exchange rates, Dalla Terra continues to act innovatively to bring both quality and value to American wine consumers.
Producers:
Adami (Treviso, Veneto): Purchased by the Adami family in 1920, Adami’s Prosecco is among the finest in Italy. Adami’s grapes are sourced from both the estate’s Giardino vineyards and the Prosecco region’s Cartizze DOC vineyards, which are considered the best in the Prosecco DOC.
Aia Vecchia (Bolgheri, Tuscany): Producer of two IGT wines (“Super Tuscans”) made with Sangiovese and traditional Bordeaux varietals; the Pellegrini family have been grape growers in the region for several generations.
Ajello (Mazara del Vallo, Sicily): Producers of the native Sicilian varieties Grillo, Insolia, Catarratto and Nero d’Avola grapes, as well as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. The wines produced exceed the norm and with their “Furat” push the limits of what is “Sicilian.”
Alois Lageder (Magré, Alto Adige): The eponymous winery was first established at the beginning of the 19th century and today is run by fourth-generation Alois Lageder, who produces over 30 wines (mostly white) from various micro-climates and vineyard sites. He is a leading producer in the Alto Adige region and pioneer of innovative, forward-thinking winemaking philosophies. The wines are produced via sustainable, biodynamic, and organic farming methods and express the many nuances of the region’s microclimates and soils.
Avignonesi (Montepulciano, Tuscany): Avignonesi’s cellars date back to the second half of the 16th century and are among the oldest in Italy. In 1974 the Falvo brothers, who already owned vineyards in Cortona, acquired Avignonesi, made up of four wine-producing estates. Investing heavily in viticulture and viniculture, they have created a widely followed model for Tuscan winemaking, leading the region with their reds and the world with their fuori classe vin santo dessert wine.
Badia a Coltibuono (Chianti Classico, Tuscany): Literally translated as “Abbey of the Good Harvest,” Badia a Coltibuono was founded in 1051 by the Vallombrosan Order, a Tuscan reform of the Benedictine Monks. Since 1846, the estate known for Chianti Classico, has been owned and managed by the Stucchi Prinetti family and includes a luxury “wine resort,” including a bed and breakfast, a popular restaurant focusing on regional cuisine, and a cooking school founded by their mother, Lorenza de’ Medici (well-known for her cookbooks and television programs). Badia a Coltibuono is also highly regarded for their organic olive oils.
Boroli (Barolo, Piedmonte). Purchased by Silvano Boroli in 1997; the small production estate is comprised of vineyards and a winery in Alba as well as another winery in Barolo that includes two of Italy’s most famous Barolo vineyards: the prestigious Villero and Cerequio Crus.
Casanova di Neri (Montalcino, Tuscany): Casanova di Neri was established in 1971 when Giovanni Neri, father of current owner Giacomo Neri, acquired a large estate in Montalcino. Today Casanova di Neri owns approximately 118 acres of the best vineyards in Montalcino, producing some of the finest Brunello in Italy.
Inama (Soave, Veneto): With vineyard holdings located almost exclusively on Monte Foscarino in the renowned heart of the Soave Classico district, Stefano Inama is considered a dynamic visionary of the region. He has taken the region’s classic varietals of Garganega, Chardonnay and Sauvignon and produced wines unique to the Inama brand. Inama also grows traditional Bordeaux varietals in the Colli Berici—the oldest DOC in Italy for Cabernet and Merlot grapes; the Carmenère vineyards here date back to the 1800s.
La Valentina (Spoltore, Abruzzi): Fattoria La Valentina in the Abruzzi wine growing region was established in 1990 by Sabatino Di Properzio with a single mission: to make wines that highlight the native characteristics of the Montepulciano D’Abruzzo DOC; La Valentina focuses on the traditional Montepulciano and Trebbiano grapes, using farming methods that limit the use of chemicals and technology.
Li Veli (Salento, Apulia): Li Veli highlights the Salento region's principal native varietals of Negroamaro, Primitivo and Malvasia Nera, which make inky, dark wines of great character and elegance. The estate was purchased in 1999 by the Falvo, Guercia Sammarco, and Maci families who have given new life to a winery that was started at the turn of the last century by the Marquis Antonio De Viti De Marco, a famous Italian economist who had chosen the farm to transform it into a model winery for all of southern Italy.
Marco Felluga (Collio, Friuli): Located in the Gorizian Collio region of Italy, Marco Felluga’s headquarters are in Gradisca d’Isonzo, which in the 14th century was a fortified citadel of the Venetian Republic. The city’s walls were designed by Leonardoda Vinci and are the gateway to Gorizian Collio.Marco Felluga controls over 300 acres of vineyards, most of which are family-owned and operated and are especially suited to white grape varietals; 70% of their production is dedicated to white wines, including Tocai Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Refosco, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon represent the red grape varietals.
Marchesi di Grésy (Barbaresco, Piedmont): Made up of three estates situated in the Langhe and Montferrato zones, Marchesi di Grésy is recognized for producing many of the greatest wines in the Piedmont region. The Martinenga estate vineyard in the heart of Barbaresco is one of the most treasured in the region, planted primarily with Nebbiolo grapes for the production of Barbaresco DOCG.
riff Pinot Grigio ( Magré, Alto Adige): This top-value Pinot Grigio reflects the expertise of Alois Lageder and the wines he has selected from vineyard sources in the “Tre Venezie” (Trentino-Alto Adige, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Veneto)—acknowledged as one of Italy’s prime regions for quality white wines. Alois Lageder selects the wines on-site and then transports them to his Löwengang winery where they are sur lie-matured in stainless steel tanks, blended and bottled. The name riff (German for reef) thus refers to the Dolomites’ geologic origins.
Russiz Superiore (Collio, Friuli): Located in Capriva del Friuli in the Gorizian Collio region lies the pride of the Marco Felluga family: Russiz Superiore. The winery legacy began in 1273 with its founder, a Torre-Tasso prince. The hills of Russiz provide the ideal environment for both red and white grape production due to its geomorphology, special climate and soil composition made up of marl and sandstone.
Saracco (Cuneo, Piedmont): Paolo Saracco is known in Italy as the “King of Moscato” and is a top producer of Moscato d’Asti in Piedmont; he is the only producer in the country focusing exclusively on Moscato d’Asti. Saracco’s four-star hotel, Albergo Castiglione, adjacent to the vineyards makes this a must-stop destination for Piedmont tourists.
Tenuta Sant’Antonio (Verona, Veneto): Tenuta Sant’Antonio combines the passions of four brothers (Armando, Tiziano, Massimo and Paolo Castagnedi), carrying on the tradition of their father, who tended the original vineyards as they were growing up in San Zeno di Colognola ai Colli in Verona. In 1989, the four brothers purchased an additional 74 acres of land around Mezzane, and thus began Tenuta Sant’Antonio. The estate focuses on producing native varietals and wine styles of the Valpolicella and Soave regions with an emphasis on Amarone della Valpolicella.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT JARVIS COMMUNICATIONS AT 310.313.6374Brian Larky
Founder
Brian Larky founded Dalla Terra in 1990, but not before first sailing around the world, climbing from Tibet to Nepal, and guiding rivers in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa (including the first-known crossing of equatorial Africa by boat through the waterways between the Indian and Atlantic Oceans). His joie de vivre as an entrepreneur has as much to do with Dalla Terra’s success as the company’s extraordinary portfolio of fine Italian wines, and it infuses everything he does professionally and personally.
Larky was seventeen years old when he deferred admission to Vassar College in favor of a yachting regatta in Hawaii; he then sailed back across the Pacific to California. Upon completion of his voyage, the Santa Monica, California native opted to abandon his ivy league scholarship and instead followed his love of wilderness and adventure to UC Davis, where he majored in Fermentation Sciences and ran the university’s whitewater rafting operation—hiring, training and scheduling sixty guides on rivers in CA, OR, AZ and UT. While at UC Davis Larky held several production jobs at Napa wineries such as Far Niente and Domaine Chandon. After graduating in 1985, he was offered a crush position at the prestigious Ca’ del Bosco estate in Lombardy, Italy, where he eventually became head winemaker. During his four year tenure, he witnessed Italy’s winemaking renaissance, learned about the great diversity of Italian vines and wines, and formed friendships with many of Italy’s top winemakers. Brian’s foray into wine importation began when he returned from Italy. “I had developed excellent contacts and good relationships with various producers in Italy,” he says, “and thought I could do a good job of helping them develop wines in Italy and market them in the States. Larky parlayed his love of Italian wines into an innovative business model, “Dalla Terra - Winery Direct” that eliminates the middleman in wine importation, making the wines in his portfolio more affordable for consumers and producers alike. It was a bold but ultimately ingenious move. Fifteen years later, the Italian wines represented by Dalla Terra occupy a leading and respected position on the American market and show growth rates that far outstrip their competitors. While founding Dalla Terra is chief among the entrepreneurial Larky’s many accomplishments, he continues to embrace the present tense, preferably in the wilderness or on the ocean, in his—increasingly spare—spare time. He is a private, commercial and instrument rated pilot with a Cessna based in Napa, as well as a scuba dive master who loves to fly fish remote rivers and float in deep powder from Cortina to Taos. Much of the beauty Larky encounters on his travels is captured on film (digital, these days) and outputted using top-of-the-line Epson printers.
Market visits, however, are more common than adventure trips these days as Larky personally works Dalla Terra’s markets, Manhattan to Manhattan Beach, keeping in constant touch with the trade. Occasionally, though, he can still be found on a chairlift, exuberantly exclaiming in Italian into a cell phone glued to his frozen hand. “Life,” says Larky, “is like wine. It’s to be savored with every ounce of your being.” Spoken like an expert in the field.
