Wine & Spirits - October 2020 - 13

MILLA
HANDLEY
19 51-2020
I don't remember the name of the restaurant, nor does my wife. But it
was in the Anderson Valley in mid-September 2006. We'd been married
for ten years at that point and were looking to celebrate our anniversary. I'd also been working at Paul Marcus Wines, in Oakland, California, since 1996, happily drinking and selling Milla Handley's wines,
so in a conversation with Paul, while doing just that, he suggested we
stay up at Handley Cellars for a few nights.
I called the winery and Milla answered the phone, immediately suggesting we meet her on our first night. She greeted us as old friends
might, with a bottle of her 1996 sparkling rosé. It was fresh and bright
and filled the room with the scent of strawberries and dirt. She modestly told us how she loved making sparkling wine, but the profit could
never be measured in dollars. Do all winemakers seek labors of love?

Milla had brought us to the Deep End and, in the years that followed, Milla was a point of constant intersection between my path and
the paths of new friends. When I think of Milla and all she did for the
wine industry, for female empowerment, mostly I find myself thinking
about how she connected people and places with her wonderful wines.
Milla's daughter Lulu (Milla Louisa McClellan), now runs the winery
and is due to give birth in a few weeks. Of course, I see her mom in her,
and every time we go up to Handley with our daughter, Aya, we make
a point to share a meal with Lulu and Scott. One day, soon, I know our
kids will play together in the vineyards Milla planted.
-Chad Arnold

Wine Windows
In Florence, an architectural curiosity has found new life: In an
effort to adhere to social distancing guidelines, the city has opened
its previously-defunct "Wine Windows." Buchette del vino became
common in Florence during the 17th century as an effort to slow the
spread of the bubonic plague: Citizens would knock on the shutters
of the windows and hand their flask through the opening to be filled
with wine, leaving their payment in metal trays which were then
disinfected with vinegar. Many windows were destroyed in floods
during the mid-20th century, and a cultural association was formed
in 2015 to preserve those that remained. Today, restaurants and
cafés are using over 150 re-opened windows to dispense varied
offerings such as wine, espresso and frozen treats. Find a map of
them at buchettedelvino.org.-C.W.

Cocktails, Simplified
Dee Charlemagne and Alex Doman want to
simplify your home-or outdoor-mixology, with
Avec. They canned mixers need nothing more
than a double shot of your preferred spirit and
some ice. Available in five flavors-Hibiscus
& Pomegranate, Jalapeño & Blood Orange,
Ginger & Pineapple, Yuzu & Lime, Grapefruit
& Pomelo-the mixers are lighter and lower
in sugar than classic cola mixers, so you can
still taste the spirit in your cocktail. $18/per 6
8-ounce cans, avecdrinks.com -C.W.

BaroloMGA
360°
Diving into BaroloMGA360° is a bit
like riding on a drone, flying above the
Langhe hills while wearing glasses that
superimpose the names and borders of
each MGA, as well as the names of some
producers who own plots within them.
It's the latest project from Alessandro
Masnaghetti, whose detailed vineyard
maps have made his books-Barolo MGA
Vol. I and Vol. II, and Barbaresco MGA-the
Bible for nebbiolo enthusiasts.
The subscription-based site
(barolomga360.it) offers loads of
explanatory text as you take your virtual
tour, much of it from his Barolo MGA
volumes but some of it new, like the lists
of recommended wines that exemplify the
style of particular MGAs. Subscriptions
run about $23 per month or $58 per year;
some of the features are publicly available
and clearly marked with a "Free" icon.
Nothing beats a real trip to Barolo, but
this is the next best thing until we can all
travel again. When you do finally get to go,
the time spent on this site will make you
feel like an old pro, even on your first visit.
- Stephanie Johnson

WINE & SPIRITS

OCTOBER 2020

https://buchettedelvino.org/ http://www.barolomga360.it http://www.avecdrinks.com

Wine & Spirits - October 2020

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