I always like to try new wines, especially from regions that are less well represented in the United States. Calabria is one of those regions. I drank a wine from the Savuto in August of last year and wrote a post on it. I had forgotten about my post but discovered today that someone wrote in to say I should try wines from Colacino.
I finally got the chance to taste the wines at an event at Cipriani 42nd on February 20. I was blown away I confess. First of all, I had never heard of any of the grape varieties these wines contained. Second, I found the wines rich and elegant, persistence and exhilarating. I was really impressed. Some lucky importer is going to be very happy to snatch up these products.
Mauro Colacino was representing the winery which was founded in 1968 by his father Vittorio. The winery is located in a town called Marzi near Cosenza in Calabria. Calabria was called Enotria or wine land by the Greeks. Mauro runs the winery with his sister Maria Teresa. Mario Soldati, a famous writer, who wrote the definitive wine tome about traveling through Italy and finding true wines, Vino al Vino, apparently mentioned a wine made by Vittorio Colacino in his 1975 tract. “il vino va bevuto la dove nasce…”Nessuno e’ Savuto, Savuto e’ solo il Britto.” The Colacino family is rightly so proud of this visit and mention that the quote is prominently displayed on their website and winery materials.
Colacino brought four wines to the tasting including Amanzia Calabria IGT, Vigna Colle Barabba Savuto DOC and Britta Savuto Superiore DOC. The vineyards are at 450-500 meters above sea level.
Amanzia is a red wine made from Magliocco Canino. This indigenous grape grows only in Calabria. The wine was ruby red in color, with a refined, peppery, spice, and dried fruit bouquet. On the palate, it was concentrated and rich with similar flavors to those showcased on the nose.
Vigna Colle Barabba Savuto DOC is unoaked made from a blend of Arvino, Greco Nero, Magliocco Canino, and Nerello Cappuccio. This deep ruby red wine is intense and persistent on the nose with red fruit and rose notes. On the palate, it was complex, elegant, with spice and liquorice flavors, ripe tannins and a long finish.
Britta which means terre bruciate (burned earth) Savuto Superiore DOC is made from Arvino, Greco Nero, Magliocco Canino and Nerello Cappuccino. Britto spends time in both French and American oak and in stainless steel but is not filtered and therefore has quite an interesting rich texture. This wine is a deep ruby red, with rich red fruit notes, smoke, spice, tobacco and chocolate on the nose. On the palate, it is complex, well integrated and velvety with ripe, fine tannins and a long finish. The wine is very persistent and continues to show waves of aromas and flavors.
Mauro Colacino noted that the wine is able to achieve such richness because of the terroir, microclimate and the varieties themselves. The winery is located near a river and the changes in temperature from day to night are very pronounced. This kind of change in daily temperatures produces grapes rich in phenolics. This was truly a memorable experience.
avvinare.com 
Great post… those wines sound really interesting and I totally forgot about Mario Soldati’s book… great post…
Caro Susannah:
it’s great to explore such interesting wines and your decriptions are vivid and tempting.
And now Mario Soldati’s book is a must-read for those delving into Italian wines..
Thanks..
Thanks for the comments Jar and Dave. I really loved these wines as I think you could tell by my entry. Exciting and new. The unoaked ones actually tasted as if they had spent time in wood. Truly unique. Hope to see you both at Vinitaly…Susannah
wow, I’m a little late to the party, but I loved this post. I hope to try the wines sometime. My mom’s family came from near Cosenza and were winemakers.
thanks
Where in America can I buy Colacino wine ?
Colacino wines are not yet imported into the United States, unfortunately. I hope the winery has found an importer in the meantime. Thanks for your comment.
Hello to all!
My name is Laura Cavallo and I am the regional sales manager for CAFFO Beverages, a southern-italian liquor manufacturer and exporter. We are now the sole importer and distributor of Colacino in the United States. We will be at the Javitz center this Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with Mauro for the International Hotel & Restaurant Show. Also, we will be visiting some of our New York City clients (restaurants and liquors stores) in hopes of getting these wines on the shelves. Please feel free to contact me at Laura.Cavallo@caffo.com to inquire where the wines will be sold, or if you are interested in learning or finding information on the Calabrian cordials we sell here in the US.
http://www.caffobeverages.com
Thanks!
We bought a case of Colacino wine, distributed by Caffo to our local package store in Perryville, NJ. We previously bought our first few bottles of Colacino wiine while driving through Calabria with my wife and older daughter. It was sold in a tipico store attached to a petrol station. Although this conjures up your typical convenience store/gas station here in the states, it is a very different and much nicer proposition in Italy. We enjoyed the wine so much that we bought a case here in the states. Of course, having the same last name, it’s fun to give bottles of Colacino wine to family and friends. My family’s last name originates from Tiriolo, near Catanzaro.
Joe Colacino
Asbury, New Jersey
Joe-
Thanks for stoppin by at Avvinare. I’m glad you enjoyed the Colacino wine and it’s fun that you give it away to friends and family. I loved it when I tried it. I’m looking forward to trying some other wines from Calabria on my trip to Vinitaly next week.
Susannah
Would like to know where I can get your wine in the new York area of long island
Thank you
Joseph colacino
I would like to know where the closest liquor store to get your wine in Long Island New York USA my last name is Colacino
Joseph- I don’t know the answer to your question but you should look on wine-searcher.com. That would give you an idea. Cheers!
His there any time soon that this wine coming canada