Lo Zio Vino "Dente di Coccodrillo"

Type: Structured Red.

Variety: Pinot Noir.

Vines: 25+ years old.

Vineyard: Organic certified, 190 - 270 masl-SW, sandy loam and clay.

Region: Oltrepo Pavese.

Winemaking: 15% destemmed grapes macerated for 15 days and refined in french oak barrels (4th passage) for 6 months then refined in bottle for 7 months.

Vintage: 2023

Preceding years of cooking in NYC restaurants like ‘Cafe Henrie’ or ‘Amali,’ Evan Kretmar got his bachelors in art history and Italian in Arizona before relocating to EmiliaRomagna to start his four year master degree at the Università di Bologna, where he inevitably dived head first into the world of Italian gastronomy, culture and language.

Kretmar’s decision to start a negociant winemaking project was born in these early years in Italy out of his obsession in studying to internalize every possible corner of a tactical practice to be able to move creatively within the space of that subject. He has been working side-by-side with masters of the winemaking trade from across the spectrum to find his voce del vignaiolo, and eventually to work his own land. To be able to have some control over the winemaking process, he rents space and some tanks in a centrally - located cantina, and purchases grapes from multiple provinces to self-interpret the local vinification styles. He returns several times a year to follow the harvest, fermentation, pruning and bottling as a bare minimum. He is currently cooking up the next vintage to be made in and around Langhe and Alto-Piemonte, and is coming back to Italy for a week this month to kickstart it and to study pruning with Franciacorta maestro Nicola Gatta.