Wine friends,

Open Tuesday features the wines of just a handful of producers in both the spring and fall. 

Friuli’s Marco Sara is one such producer. 

I simply like too many of his wines way too much not to offer at least one red and one white every season. (There may even be two of each type in the spring!)

Every bottle Marco makes, be it white or red (or dessert wine), seems to have a subtle lift and magic to it. 

As I’ve written previously:

In Friuli (Colli Orientali), Marco Sara stands alone. While there are a few other small producers making excellent organic wines in the region, their wines are either much more expensive or much less consistent.

I continue to feel very fortunate to be able to offer these truly special artisanal wines from Marco Sara. 

Today, we have the next vintage of Marco’s Friulano, the 2023, and his latest Schioppettino release, the 2022. 

Marco Sara - 2023 Friulano (Friuli Colli Orientali)

Marco Sara’s 2023 Friulano is a focused, fruit-forward organic white wine with a long and savory mineral finish. Compared to his 2022, Marco’s 2023 Friulano shows leaner fruit, with an extra splash of lemon-tinged freshness. The ripe melon and nutty hints are still present, but less pronounced. This is a wine that can be enjoyed in the near term, but will certainly evolve and improve in the cellar for 5-10 years.

Marco Sara - 2022 Schioppettino (Friuli Colli Orientali)

Marco’s 2022 Schioppettino is a firm-but-elegant aromatic medium-bodied organic red wine that’s peppery, high-toned, and sleek in texture. Compared to the 2021 Schioppettino we offered last spring, this wine is less tannic and slightly more fruit-forward, with  notes of dark cherry, asian spice, and clove. It goes down effortlessly, revealing its completeness in the middle of the palate, and on the close. 

Friuli’s native Schioppettino grape produces some of Italy’s most unique red wines, and this is one of the best examples on the market.

To order, just click one of the blue links above and follow the prompts.

Here’s Marco Sara on the map of northeastern Italy. Marco only makes about 25 thousand bottles of wine a year. 

Both of these wines are frequently poured by the glass at Osteria Francescana, aka the world’s best restaurant. They are benchmarks for their type. 

Friulano, formerly known as Tocai Friulano, is native to this part of Italy. Evidence of its existence in the Friuli region dates back to the 12th century AD.

Friulano pairs well with roasted vegetables, chicken or fish dishes. Marco likes to serve his Friulano with “fish, risotto con asparagi (Italian rice with asparagus) and cjalcions (stuffed ravioli-like pasta), a typical northern Friuli dish.” The Schioppettino works well with most meat dishes, especially those seasoned with pepper or herbs (such as rosemary, oregano, or thyme). 

We are the only retailer in North America already selling Marco’s just-released 2023 Friulano. (Please see retail prices elsewhere using the same link.)

Wines purchased through Open Tuesday will be sent directly from Italy, by air, in a temperature controlled environment. No hot warehouses, and no retail shelves.

Happy Tuesday,

Chris

If you have any questions or feedback, please email us: [email protected].  

Receive a $25 credit for every referred member after the purchase of their first bottle.

How it works: 

After clicking one of the links above, you’ll be able to request 1-12 bottles. Actually, that’s all you have to do!

About a week later, when we close the offer, you’ll get an email confirming how many bottles we allocated to your account. We will charge you when the wines are allocated.

We’ll do our best to allocate all the bottles you request. When there are more requests than bottles available, we’ll allocate one bottle to all requesting members before allocating a second bottle to anyone. We want as many members as possible to try these wines.

This is the fourth offer of our 2024 fall season. In September and October, we’ll send 18 wine offers to Open Tuesday list members.

We ship in increments of 12. With 18 offers this season, there should be plenty of chances to get to 12, 24, or 36. 

If you don’t have an increment of 12 at the end of this fall season, we can hold your wines until the spring offer season.

Wines allocated in the fall will ship in November for $5 per bottle (if you have an increment of 12.) This is about the same as the price to ship coast-to-coast within the U.S. – but our wines come directly from Italy.

Once your payment method is on file, you can make future requests with just a few clicks from the offer email. If you don’t have a card on file, you can add one during your first order. Your personal financial information is protected by Stripe.

Chris MacLean

Rob Genova

Open Tuesday Wines S.r.l.s.

Milano - Italy