Cascina Tavijn 'Ruschena' Ruche 2021
- In stock, ready to ship
Press 4 Mix/Red • May 2024 Direct Press Selection
"I'm not sure why you carry my wines, we have all the faults: Brett, volatile acidity, carbon dioxide, residual sugar, mouse..." This was the self-effacing statement Nadia Verrua of Cascina Tavijn floated to me when I visited her in 2022. She's right—her wines often have many of the above issues. But they are nevertheless charming and heartwarming, never boring. She has built a very loyal following of natural wine lovers around the world by sticking to her zero/zero approach when others would have long ago succumbed to the venal sin of adding sulfur to clean things up.
Part of the appeal of her style is that there is little changed from the way her father, Ottavio, and generations before him made wine for the locals, mostly in glass demijohns. Today they use some larger fiberlass tanks, but little else in the cellar would suggest the 21st century. On the other hand, Nadia upended the traditional patriachal order when she finally convince her father to include her in the farming and winemaking after returning home at age 23. Nadia didn't venture afar to learn winemaking from experts with chemistry degrees, she is upholding a long tradition of rustic winemaking that is unashamedly arresting and proudly feral.
She works about seven hectares in Monferrato and focuses on local varities like Barbera, Grignonlio, or Ruché, the obscure Piedmont grape featured in this varietal wine. It's wild and spicy with some barnyard notes, grippy blueberry skin, and sage. Chewy, complex, and herbaceous, it's not shy but brimming with the exuberance and unpredictability of life itself. Pair it with wild boar sausage or pasta with some tomato, guanciale, Pecorino, and black pepper. Jonathan Kemp
Order before noon and get it the same day — anywhere in Brooklyn, Queens, or Manhattan for just $15.
Orders over $190 qualify for free delivery.
For our local customers (within 0.5 miles of our shop) orders over $95 qualify for free delivery.
Direct Press wine club deliveries are free to members.
For wine delivery outside of New York we ship via common carrier. Direct Press wine club shipments are free to members.
We currently do not ship wine to the following states: AL, AR, CO, DE, GA, HI, IA, KS, KY, NC, MD, MS, MT, OK, PA, SD, UT, VT, WI. As statutory laws are constantly changing, please note that this list is updated frequently, and acceptance of an order does not guarantee that we will ultimately be able to ship wine to you.
By law, we are not permitted to ship spirits outside of New York State.