Clai Komovica Reserve (Grappa)
Type: Fortified Wine (Grappa)
Country: Croatia
Region: Istria-Kvarner
Viticulture: Natural Wine | Biodynamic | Certified Organic
Climate: A climate where the cold from the Alps meets the Mediterranean heat
Terroir: Vines grows on white argilo-calcaire soil, karst, marl. Very mineral. The vineyard has an altitude of 150m
Winemaking: After vinification, the grape skins are distilled in alambic in a traditional way. After at least one year of ageing in stainless steel tanks, the grappa is bottled in 0.5l and 0.7l bottles
Color: Clear, transparent
Nose: Fruity, vinous
Palate: Soft and clean balanced
About the Winery:
After a long and successful career in the restaurant industry in Trieste, Giorgio Clai, colloquially known as “the Godfather of Istrian Wine”, followed his passion and returned to his ancestral home, in Istria, to take over his family vineyard.
His vineyards are situated 10 km inland, on grey/white limestone flysch soil, and at sufficient altitude to still benefit from the cool Adriatic sea breeze. Clai’s cellar of wines have one key factor in common – the whites, just like the reds, are all skin-contact wines, otherwise known as orange wines. These wines are food wines, well balanced, rich and complex. Historically, in Istria, Slovenia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia, orange wine-making was the norm and Giorgio is resolute in his mission of sustaining and evolving this tradition.
Clai’s wines are certified organic, and winemaking techniques follow natural and biodynamic principles.
Giorgio quickly became recognized as a pioneer in orange winemaking – identified by Simon Woolf (The Amber Revolution) as an expert: “Clai’s skin-contact whites are one of the pinnacles of the ‘orange wine’ style – few European winemakers have managed to achieve this level of finesse, balance and pure drinkability.”
