Adventures in Wine > Italy
Italy
Italy is one of the world’s largest wine producing countries and offers an amazing range of styles, regions and varieties (over 1,000). Much of this is due to Italy’s climate and weather which, given its shape, changes enormously from North to South by as much as 10 degrees latitude. As a result, the weather is continental in the north and Mediterranean in south. This has a huge influence over wine styles and grape varieties.
Meanwhile, the quality of Italian wine has improved considerably in recent years both from the generic level right up its top regions. In the North-west, these include Piedmont which makes pricey Barolo and Barbaresco from the Nebbiolo grape. Further east is the Veneto which produces white Soave, red or rose Bardolino and red Valpolicella. While on the Balkan borders, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is making some of Italy’s top white wines.
Central Italy contains Tuscany, arguably Italy’s most famous region, which is home to the red wines of Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano (all DOCGs). Right now Tuscany is on a winemaking roll using its traditional Sangiovese variety to great effect and sometimes in conjunction with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
However, many increasingly regard the South as offering great potential. Here, areas like Puglia and Sicily are leading a charge with new wave winemaking techniques which are turning out great value, red and white wines. (Financial Times)
Agriverdi
Winery: Agriverdi
Region: Italy
Sub-region: DOC Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Piane di Maggio – Organic
Founded in 1830, Azienda Agriverdi is noted for it’s many prestigious international awards. All transformation processes of their grapes from organic farming are carried out through the most modern and innovative technologies. 100% hand-picked grapes.
Banear
Winery: Banear
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Veneto
Prosecco Frizzante
Banear is a relatively young winery that was founded in 1978. The cellar is in Treppo Grande, Friuli, north-eastern Italy, and at the moment owns more than 250 hectars of vineyards located in the best climatic areas for viniculture: the Collio and Colli Orientali del Friuli, that lie on the hills near the Slovenian border on fertile vineyards, and the Friuli Grave, that stretches the length of the Tagliamento’s planes.
From these three “Controlled Denomination of Origin” zones the selected grapes of Friuli reach Banear and are here vinified into our signature wines.
Banear Aziende Agricole Friulane Scarl has more than twenty years experience in wine-making. It is a cultivator led by producer and bottler passion, by people that know and love wine by tradition.
Borgo Pretale
Winery: Borgo Pretale
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Toscany
Chianti Classico ‘Le Crete’ DOCG
Borgo Pretale produces Chianti Classico in the time-honored manner.
Bosio
Winery: Bosio
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Piemonte
Moscato d’Asti DOCG
In the middle of Langhe, between the hills of the great poems of Cesare Pavese, the azienda agricola Bosio Egidio is located, in a world in which tecnology works together with rural tradition. The firm, officially born in 1967, has 21 hectares of vines, divided in the typical fashion of the Langhe. The largest production is concentrated on Moscato d’Asti D.O.C.G., the standard bearer.
Feudo di San Nicola
Winery: Feudo di San Nicola
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Puglia
Negro Amaro
Primitivo
Feudo di San Nicola Brand was born in 1995 and since then has been investing energy and passion to deliver in each bottle the unique flavors of Puglia.
La Meridiana
Winery: La Meridiana
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Piemonte
Barbera d’Asti ‘Vitis’ DOC
The Tenuta La Meridiana of the Bianco Family is situated a few miles south of Asti, in the hills of Monferrato, a region that is the shrine of winemaking Piemonte. Its vineyards are in a particularly favorable position for the production of Barbera. While most small vinegrowers started producing their own wines a few years ago, the Bianco Family has produced wines for generations. Historic documents prove that their wines, already of very high quality, were sold in the big cities in 19th century.
Principe dei Conti
Winery: Principe dei Conti
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Friuli
Pinot Grigio
Italy’s best Pinot Grigios come from the northeast near Venice. Principe dei Conti’s example comes from the village of Treppo Grande in the hilly Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region near the Slovenian border. At the foot of the Julian Alps, this part of Friuli experiences warm days and cool nights, yielding grapes with vibrant acidity and fresh fruit flavors.
This Pinot Grigio is straw yellow with green highlights. On the nose, this wine is rich and flavorful, displaying an ample bouquet with hints of almond. The taste is dry, smooth, and harmonious, and it keeps a good acidity with great fruitiness.
Categories: Pinot Grigio
Signano
Winery: Signano
Region: Toscana
Chianti Colli Senesi DOCG
Chianti Colli Senesi is one of the 8 subzones of the Chianti appellation. This wine comes from the hills surrounding Siena, a rather large zone in the southern portion of the production area of Chianti. This wine is stainless steel fermented and aged in bottle, so the result is easy to drink but also elegant and complex.
Vallerosa-Bonci
Winery: Vallerosa-Bonci
Region: Italy
Sub-region: Marche
Verdicchio ‘Carpaneto’ DOC
Cupramontana, the ancient native land of Verdicchio, is situated in the heart of the Marches, on one of the sunny, green hills bordering the valley of the Esino river.
There the Bonci family has been producing and marketing wine for at least three generations. In the first yars of this century Domenico Bonci started his own wine production but, fine connoisseur as he was, he also carefully selected the products of other business concerns.
At present, the Vallerosa Bonci farm owns 50 hectares of land, of which 35 hectares consist of a specilized vineyard. The vineyards are at an average height of 450m. (1,470 feet) above sea level. There are also two experimental vineyards, run with great care in cooperation, run with great care in cooperation with the department of Arboreal Cultivation, Milan University, which shows the family’s praiseworthy disposition to research.
The special microclimate, the careful selection of grapes, many years of artisan experience in wine making, combined with the use of the most up to date techniques, make Vallerosa Bonci a leader in the field of quality still wine.