Ah, amore. It’s such a beautiful thing. Two young lovers from rival families breaking all the rules to run away with each other. It’s romantic–and tragic!
The story of Romeo and Juliet is one that we all know well. These amorous Italian teens were destined to be together, even if that meant only through death. Their defiance of authority and the rules for partnering added an element of scandal and intrigue to their narrative. It just wouldn’t have been the same love story if they waited until they were older to marry the right person and settle in with a couple of kids, now would it?
The point is that there is something exciting about breaking the rules–for love– and for wine! This is exactly what the Pasqua family has done when it comes to their line of wines out of the famed Verona region; the very place where Romeo and Juliet found their fate. When you are drinking Pasqua’s wines, you’re reliving a tale through the labels and the tradition of rule-breaking in Veronese winemaking. You see, Pasqua prides the family name on their IGT wines, which were made in clear defiance of Italian winemaking rules for the region. Instead, the family chose to follow in the footsteps of folklore and love and create wines that speak to your spirit and live in your heart, while tantalizing your senses.
11 Minutes Rosé
11 Minutes is all you need for skin contact, and that goes for grapes and lovers. According to the Pasqua family, 11 minutes is the ideal time for these grapes to have skin contact in order to achieve that perfect pastel pink color in the bottle. And according to the ancient Roman poet, Catullus, 11 minutes is the perfect amount of time for lovers to also make skin contact. Coincidence? Nah.
The unique bottle shape of the 11 Minutes Rosé is also an ode to Catullus’ lover, Lesbia, who he spoke so lovingly of in the poem “Odi et Amo,” or “I hate and I love,” which we can all appreciate.
As far as the wine? It’s divine. The blend is 50% Corvina, 25% Trebbiano of Lugana, 15% Syrah, and 10% Carménère. (Que interesante!)
On the nose, the wine is floral and dainty with just barely ripe red fruit aromas. In the mouth, it’s soft and refreshing with mouth-puckering acidity and gentle red berry flavors that drift lovingly into a long embrace on the finish. Nothing too complicated here. Just a perfect wine for a sultry summertime romance.
PassioneSentimento Prosecco
Who doesn’t love a celebration bubbly with passion and feeling? Instead of the usual 30 days in tank, the Pasqua family left their juice in the tank for 60, giving it just the right amount of elegance for a sexier perlage.
Lively and bright with green flavors of pear and apple and a clean, lingering finish, the PassioneSenitmento Prosecco is a lovely sparkling wine you won’t forget quickly.
Romeo + Juliet
The next two wines are made with dried grapes in the appassimento style, made famous in the Veneto region of Italy. You may know appassimento wines if you enjoy Amarone. This is a winemaking technique of drying the grapes so that they lose a large volume of water, around 60%, in order to make a more concentrated, aromatic, and flavorful wine. In the Romeo + Juliet wines made by the Pasqua family, the grapes are only dried so that they are less 15%-30% of their water volume, which creates a balance of body, flavor, and sugar concentration for a voluptuous drinking experience.
Romeo + Juliet PassioneSentimento Bianco
The label (also used on the prosecco) is a symbol of rebellion and love–the wall on Cappello Street in Verona that marks the home of Juliet.
The wine is made from 100% Garganega grapes, native to the region, that are dried to sweetened perfection. A portion of the juice is aged in French oak barrels for several months to add a hint of body and spice to this affair. Curvaceous but energizing, stone fruit and citrus mingle with a touch of a creamy texture for a long-lived tasty sensory experience.
Romeo + Juliet PassioneSentimento Rosso
What’s not to get excited about when we are talking about the only dry red wine in the U.S. market made from 100% dried grapes that is not an Amarone or Valpolicella? Another rule-breaking wine, this red blend is dominated by Merlot at 40%, followed by Corvina at 30%, and Croatina at 30%. How scandalous. 
It’s alluring, to say the least, with its deep ruby color and spicy, dried fruit aromas. Drink me in, it says as you breathe in the pronounced scent of plum and clove. Who are you to stop there? Savor the balance of a structured wine that carries weight in all the right places, with elegance to both its tannins and acidity. Concentrated red fruit flavors like cranberries, cherries, and plum roll along the tongue, and slip away not too soon, as it could be some time before their essence wanes. Don’t be in a rush, but allow yourself to revel in the passion and the feeling of these wines.
History & Wine 
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