Meroi, Paolo Meroi

	Friuli, Italia. (Butttrio) 14 hectares.
	Meroi. (may-ROY)
	Paolo Meroi. (PAO-loh may-ROY)
	Paolo Meroi. (PAO-loh may-ROY)
	Hand-harvested. No irrigation.
	900 cases.
	Meroi has been part of the Small Vineyards family since 2005.

A local legend in the town of Buttrio, third generation micro-producer Paolo Meroi is quickly becoming a hot commodity in Europe. Paolo makes only monovarietal, classic wines in an ageworthy process of barrel fermentation and excruciatingly low yields. With his wife, he owns one of the best, albeit smallest, restaurants in Northeast Italia–Trattoria al Parco, complete with a gorgeous, round, open-hearth fireplace in the center. This is where 80% of his wines are sold, the rest are primarily sold to collectors in Europe and the US. The total production of this amazing estate, with all of its wines combined, is only 900 cases per year! 

Inspiring anecdote: During WWII, the Meroi family home was occupied by the Nazis. In addition to losing their house, the Meroi family was subjected to the additional humiliation of having to regularly cook, in the family’s restaurant, for the Third Reich. In the dead of night, Paolo’s grandfather, Dominin, succeeded in creating a false wall in the cellar to hide the family’s best wines. One day, a German soldier accidentally rammed a hole in the wall with his rifle butt. Had he bothered to look through the hole, the gunman would have seen the wines and other family valuables. But as Paolo Meroi, his grandson tells the story, “the German chose to berate Italian engineering instead of considering our cunning!”