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41 Articles

AGAINST A BACKDROP of alarm and increasing global urgency over climate change, Carlo Petrini, the pioneering founder of Slow Food, is determined that each of us can still make a difference. Petrini is uniquely placed to hold such an opinion: his movement – for that’s what it is – has spread from being an all-Italian association of regional food and wine lovers in the 1980s and ’90s to its current position as a global hub for food enthusiasts, activists and farmers in more than 160 countries. His grassroots Terra Madre network, begun in 2004, is at the centre of this support for sustainable indigenous agriculture. Community champion Slow Food-Terra Madre today lobbies against transgenic crops and monoculture, fights for the rights of small-scale farmers, food communities and fishing people, and helps save plants…

Capalbo’s stars of the renaissance

Francesco Cirelli Cirelli, Abruzzo Francesco Cirelli bought this estate in 2003, high in the hills of Abruzzo. From the outset he envisioned an organic, multi-crop farm in which wine was just one element. Today, he makes non-interventionist wines in large clay jars from Montepulciano, Trebbiano and the local variety Pecorino. Giovanni Scarfone Bonavita, Sicily From his terraced vineyards in the northeast corner of Sicily, Scarfone crafts a low-intervention red and rosato from local varieties. ‘We are renewing a tradition that began here with the ancient Greeks in what had become a semi-abandoned part of the countryside,’ says Scarfone. Luca Faccenda Valfaccenda, Piedmont Producing wine in Piedmont’s less famous Roero hills, Faccenda focuses on two local varieties: Arneis and Nebbiolo. His fermentations are as wild as his mass of brown curly hair, and his approach is as refreshing as…

Capalbo’s stars of the renaissance

Reimagining BARBERA

BARBERA IS THE perfect match for simple foods at Piedmont trattoria or osteria, but it’s not just the restaurant-going locals that have overlooked this grape – leading vintners in the region have regularly disparaged it too. Early in his career, Luca Currado, winemaker at Vietti, remembers his father telling him that Barbera was a good way of honing his skills, as few would even notice if he spoiled what was considered a lowly table wine. ‘Work on Barbera, so you can ruin your first wine,’ he quipped, only half-joking. But times are changing: producers in several districts in the region now treat Barbera with a great deal more reverence, as they craft ‘serious’ versions of this wine worthy of cellaring. Piedmont’s most planted variety remains the ideal partner for a humble…

Reimagining BARBERA

Best of Barbera: Nizza DOCG

In a sign of the times, Barbera’s rising star has led to the creation of a tightly controlled denominazione dedicated to the variety. The Nizza DOCG could perhaps be seen as the culmination of Giacomo Bologna’s early work, seeking the perfect place for Barbera in the Asti province. ‘Nizza is the grand cru of Barbera,’ says Stefano Chiarlo, winemaker at his father’s eponymous estate Michele Chiarlo. ‘In the future, it will be the third Piedmont appellation, with Barolo and Barbaresco, for ageworthy reds.’ At their best, the wines made under the Nizza banner are powerful. Despite the variety’s lack of tannin, these wines have the stuffing and structure to age for more than a decade. That’s likely down to tight boundaries and stringent regulations to qualify for the designation. High-density planting and…

Best of Barbera: Nizza DOCG

Hyland’s 10: top-quality Barbera from Piedmont

1 Pio Cesare, Fides, Barbera d’Alba 2015 94 £40 Laytons, Whole Foods Market Ideal ripeness, good acidity, moderate tannins and beautiful spicy notes of coriander and cardamom, with blackberry, black plum and grilled meat notes. Subtle oak provides an overall harmony and superb varietal character. Drink 2019-2026 Alcohol 14.5% 2 Braida, Bricco dell’Uccellone, Barbera d’Asti 2015 93 £55 Sommelier’s Choice A rather ripe example, characteristic of this vintage. A little flashy and opulent, yet well balanced with powerful aromatics reminiscent of black plum, molasses, clove and tar. Fine, medium-weight tannins. Drink 2019-2026 Alc 15% Michele Chiarlo, La Court, Barbera d’Asti Superiore Nizza 2013 92 £36.95-£45 Asset Wines, Exel, Great Wines Direct, Hallgarten & Novum Expressive and flavourful with aromas of red and black cherry, coffee bean and a hint of balsamic. It is ripe and powerful, balanced by good acidity…

Hyland’s 10: top-quality Barbera from Piedmont

A GROUP OF young rebels spark a revolution in a backwater town leading to violent clashes between the local Conservative and Liberal parties. The story in Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude centres on a fictional town in Colombia in the early 1900s – but in the 1990s and 2000s, there was another ideological tussle occurring in Piedmont’s Langhe hills. The so-called Barolo Wars pitched the modernists – interpreters of smooth, round wines – against traditionalists, faithful to a vision of the ‘king of wines’ as austere and firm. The former preached thinning of Nebbiolo bunches and brandished barriques to produce a rock-n-roll Barolo, while the diehards vigorously defended their lengthy macerations and refused to give up the blues of big barrels. As if in a kind of…

Gaia’s pick: a dozen of the best from Barolo

1 Elio Altare, Vigna Bricco Cerretta, Riserva 2012 97 £103-£120 Justerini & Brooks, Millésima Altare magnificently interprets the Serralunga cru in this modern classic, which spent 24 months in barrique (20% new). There is exhilarating progression in this wine and a never-ending finish. The tannins are tight and there are menthol notes, anise and liquorice. Cellarworthy. Drink 2019-2040 Alc 14.5% Vietti, Lazzarito 2014 97 £190 Asset Wines, Bibendum, Exel A majestic cru (Serralunga), with 30 months in barriques and large barrels. Offers unmistakable personality in a ‘third way’ Barolo. Aromatic, tight-knit fruit, forest floor, tobacco and liquorice. Tannins in a state of grace. Assured longevity. Drink 2019-2040 Alc 14% 2 E Pira & Figli, Chiara Boschis, Mosconi 2014 96 £57 Asset Wines, Enotria&Coe Chiara Boschis’ take on Monforte’s Wagnerian terroir translates it into a minerally, fruit-driven symphony with refined tannins…

Gaia’s pick: a dozen of the best from Barolo

Hidden Piedmont

It’s time for an adventure: less than an hour’s drive from the sweeping hillsides of Barolo and Barbaresco, the vineyards of Asti and Monferrato lie waiting to be discovered. They promise an enticing mix of familiar and more exotic names. While Barbera is the dominant red variety, a range of lesser known grapes adds depth and lustre to the picture: as in the Langhe hills to the west, growing conditions are ideally suited to the production of premium red wines. The area covers most of the two provinces of Asti and Alessandria (and a small section of neighbouring Cuneo) and includes around 15,000 hectares of land planted to vine. President Filippo Mobrici and his team at the Consorzio Barbera d’Asti e Vini del Monferrato are charged with ensuring the wines reach…

Hidden Piedmont

SPECTACULAR VINEYARDS SHOULD produce equally special wines, and in the Alto Adige, where some of Europe’s highest vines cling to precipitous Alpine slopes, the formidable list of contenders includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer and Riesling. Yet the relatively unsung Pinot Bianco outperforms them all. Until the 1980s, Italy’s northernmost region produced mainly cheap bulk wine, much of it red, for its traditional markets of Austria and Germany. During the quality revolution that followed, Pinot Bianco was to shake off the shackles of its long-held role as workhouse white and soar to local hero status. ‘Before the 1980s,’ says Hans Terzer, winemaker at the acclaimed St Michael-Eppan cooperative, ‘Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay weren’t recognised as separate varieties and they were both known as Pinot: Verde and Giallo. But even then growers knew to…

Garner’s top Pinot Bianco picks

1 Cantina Terlano, Vorberg Riserva Pinot Bianco, Alto Adige 2015 95 £29.50-£32.99 Widely available via UK agent Astrum Wine Cellars Archetypal Alto Adige Pinot Bianco that has been partially fermented in large barrels. Luscious ripe pear with hints of kiwi, pineapple and quince jelly. Opulent texture that brings balance for further ageing. Drink 2022-2033 Alcohol 14% Le Vigne di Zamò, Tullio Zamò, Colli Orientali, Friuli-Venezia Giulia 2015 95 N/A UK www.levignedizamo.wine Extravagant and voluptuous style from partial barrel fermentation with plenty of ageing on the fine lees and in bottle. Balanced, long, poised and surprisingly graceful. Drink 2020-2027 Alc 14% Nals Margreid, Sirmian, Alto Adige 2017 95 £24.99 Define Food & Wine, Noel Young, Vindependents, WoodWinters Stony, salty nose, notes of lime and quince jelly; juicy and ginger pears on the palate. Lively acidity with flowers all over the finish.…

Garner’s top Pinot Bianco picks

Cantina Valle Isarco

It’s a special place. High up in the Italy’s Alto Adige region, the Isarco Valley benefits from a heritage that is particularly suited to white wine making and a landscape and climate redolent of more southerly climes. Here, where glaciers caress the gentle hills of the Mediterranean-like landscape, grapes of extraordinary quality reach maturity on sunny hillsides at altitudes from 500 to 1,000 metres a.s.l. to make extraordinarily fine wines. The roots of the vines, by reaching deep into the soil, soak up the minerals and nourishing substances present in this wonderful soil, to give the wines they produce their typical taste profile and aromas. The light and gravelly soils, the many days of sunlight and judiciously spaced rainfall provide the ideal conditions for the cultivation of white grapes. This is…

Cantina Valle Isarco

The Loard of Ribolla Gialla

Like many of Italy’s historic wine producers, Collavini is a family company; founded in 1896 by Eugenio Collavini, and now run by his heirs: Manlio and his sons, Giovanni and Luigi. And like many of the producers in Friuli, the company makes a wide range of over a dozen different wines: white, red, rosé and sparkling, from a mixture of native and international grapes. This year marks the fortieth anniversary of Manlio’s focus on one of Friuli’s most original grapes, Ribolla Gialla, and in particular, its creation as a sparkling wine to rival Franciacorta and Champagne for exclusivity and quality. It was the 1970s when Manlio, the curious and questing winemaker, decided to investigate the local Ribolla Gialla grape. It wasn’t thought of with any great admiration then. People knew it…

The Loard of Ribolla Gialla

ERNEST HEMINGWAY KNEW exactly what to expect from his glass of Valpolicella. In his 1950 novel Across the River and into the Trees, his mouthpiece, the cantankerous Colonel Cantwell, refers to his favourite drop as ‘the light, dry red wine which was as friendly as the house of your brother’. His readers might struggle to find an example to fit that description today: Valpolicella is a wine style in real crisis. Production has plummeted and the style Hemingway loved is being squeezed flat between two monoliths: Ripasso and Amarone. The boom in the popularity of Amarone has caused an even more stratospheric rise for Ripasso: the more Amarone is made, the more lees become available and the greater the quantity of Valpolicella being refermented on those lees. A second, more invidious…

Valpolicella in a nutshell

Traditionally, Valpolicella DOC and Valpolicella Superiore DOC have been produced from freshly harvested grapes. There are small differences between the two categories in terms of production regulations, but there can be a million miles between them in terms of style. Unfortunately labelling regulations don’t help the consumer to identify what kind of Superiore is in the bottle. Occasionally a back label will state that the wine has been produced from uve leggermente appassite (lightly dried grapes) or refer to double fermentation where dried fruit must has been introduced at a later stage to kick-start a secondary fermentation; otherwise it’s a question of knowing the house style and the individual producer. In addition to Valpolicella and Valpolicella Superiore, a vineyard can produce three other styles of wine, which are based on the appassimento…

Valpolicella in a nutshell

Garner’s picks: take a fresh (or dried) look at Valpolicella

1 Ca’ la Bionda, CasalVegri, Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Veneto 2015 96 £18-£21 Bat and Bottle, Top Selection Made using fresh grapes only. Spicy red cherry nose with notes of mint and fennel. An exquisite palate that’s lean, lithe and graceful with deep, peppery and smoky-toned red fruit characters sustained by precise acidity. Stunning. Drink 2023-2030 Alcohol 14% 1 Tedeschi, Maternigo, Valpolicella Superiore, Veneto 2015 95 £24.99 John E Fells Using extra-ripe grapes from the Impervio vineyard high above Mezzane, this is a wine with real swagger. Glorious and beautifully balanced mix of freshand dried-fruit aromas and flavours. Exceptional. Drink 2020-2027 Alc 15% Monte Dall’Ora, San Giorgio, Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Veneto 2015 94 £16.49 Beacon Wines, Les Caves de Pyrene Fresh grapes only. It’s hard to believe this is their first vintage from rented vines high up at San Giorgio. Magnificent…

Garner’s picks: take a fresh (or dried) look at Valpolicella

The Collalto family have been connected with viticulture for over a thousand years. It was, in fact 958 AD when King Berengario II granted the territory of Lovadina with its pastures, woods and vines, of course, to Rambaldo I. Ever since then, in an uninterrupted line for the last 1060 years, Rambaldo’s heirs have looked after a territory which remains almost unchanged to this day. In 2007, Princess Isabella Collalto de Croÿ took over personal control of the company and its vineyards, dedicating the same love and attention to them as her ancestors. It’s a unique story, and a long history, and over the years Collalto has played a leading role in winemaking history, too. Thanks to Count Antonio Rambaldo, this was the first place the Austrian red grape, Wildbacher, was…

Three new wines

Celebrating the 1060th Anniversary of the company, Conte Collalto launched three new wines in 2018, designed to encapsulate the history and philosophy of the family: Ponte Rosso Brut Nature Millesimato 2017, presented at Vinitaly 2018, is made with grapes produced in the eponymous locality near the Castle of San Salvatore, where the soil is particularly rich in clay. In the past, this red clay was used to make the bricks and roof tiles for the houses in the Corte dei Conti di Collalto. The red colour was so pronounced that that is how the “Ponte Rosso” area got its name. Glera grown here is mineral rich, perfect for a well-structured Brut Nature: austere and mineral in taste. This is our Ponte Rosso. Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, Rive di Collalto DOCG “Isabella” Brut…

Three new wines

Discovering the drier side

THERE’S A BUZZ in the Prosecco Superiore hills of Valdobbiadene and Conegliano. A new generation of producers is emerging and the established names in the region are releasing premium, limited-selection bottlings. There is greater sensitivity in the vineyard as producers seek to express a sense of place, and increased diversification in winemaking styles. Quality is stepping up – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it is being forced up by the need to distinguish Prosecco Superiore DOCG from the commercially rampant Prosecco DOC of the plains. In lockstep with these developments, there has been a significant swing towards drier styles in recent years. Prosecco has three categories, from driest to sweetest: Brut (including Extra Brut and variously named zero-sugar styles), Extra Dry and Dry. Paolo Bisol of Ruggeri…

Discovering the drier side

Baudains’ picks: the drier side of Prosecco

1 Silvano Follador, Metodo Classico, Superiore di Cartizze Brut Nature 2016 96 £13.95 Slurp Complex and inviting on the nose: spring flowers, white peach, a hint of crème fraîche and bread crust. Crisply elegant, long, light but beautifully balanced. Pristine lime and lemon finish. Pure class. Drink 2019-2020 Alcohol 11.5% 2 Bortolomiol, Grande Cuvée del Fondatore, Motus Vitae, Superiore Brut Nature 2016 95 £19.55 Tannico Understated but enticingly fresh; orange blossom, rose petal, acacia. Light and airy but deep and long – concentrated fruit and touches of almonds and honey. Zippy finish. Drink 2019-2020 Alc 12% 3 Frozza, Rive di Colbertaldo, Superiore Brut 2017 95 £18.30 Stannary St Wine Co Fresh, delicate but complex nose with jasmine, apricot, wild herbs and hints of sweet biscuit. Super-fine texture and a finish of lemon and almond. Absolutely classic. Drink 2019 Alc 11% 4 Roccat,…

Baudains’ picks: the drier side of Prosecco

The Bortolomiol winery, run by sisters Elvira, Maria Elena, Giuliana and Luisa Bortolomiol, is convinced that to produce top quality wines it is essential to start with conscientious and responsible care of the land and its vineyards. 2011 saw the launch of the Green Mark Management Protocol, an internal procedural policy which grape suppliers must adhere to, aiming to increase the quality of the wine produced while at the same time seeking to manage the vineyards so that there is the least possible impact on the environment. Giuliana Bortolomiol is in charge of the family vineyards, and is a passionate advocate of organic farming. Bortolomiol went organic in 2008 when the decision was made to change the vineyards over to an organic growing system. The aim is to preserve the natural habitat…

Never forget your roots

How do you get to be a family company and produce quality wines for 50 years? Founded in 1968, Tinazzi is a family-owned winemaking enterprise driven by a “tradition-plus-innovation” mantra. Nowadays, the company owns several wineries and estates in two key regions of wine production in Italy: Veneto and Puglia. This is their receipt for becoming a well-established company without losing a focus on quality. 1. Start from the bottom: a tiny village in the Verona province The Tinazzi adventure started in 1968 when the company was founded by patriarch Eugenio Tinazzi. His son Gian Andrea was only 18 years old when he started to produce and sell wine from a tiny cellar in a small village of the Veneto. Gian Andrea was extremely poor, but driven by passion, perseverance and an…

Never forget your roots

Back on the MENU

HOW LONG ARE you staying in Emilia Romagna,’ asks Mattia Montanari, director and winemaker at boutique Lambrusco producer Opera02. ‘One week,’ I reply. He feigns a quick mental calculation, and jokes: ‘Okay, so you’ll gain about three kilos by the time you go home.’ He then presides over a lavish lunch and I realise that maybe it wasn’t a joke. This corner of Italy is famed for its substantial cuisine, home to everything from Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parma ham to ravioli, lasagne and myriad pastas. Emilia also harbours the perfect foil for all that indulgent fare on the table: the delightfully frothy red frizzante, Lambrusco. It remains hugely popular within the region and across Italy, but Lambrusco’s international reputation is less than sparkling. It all went flat after the glory days of the…

Back on the MENU

Beyond Lambrusco

Lambrusco may be the best known of Emilia Romagna’s effervescent offerings, but there is a multitude of other varieties and areas that also produce delightful frizzante and spumante wines. Bubbles are the norm for many of the traditional wines in Colli Piacentini, the DOP tucked in the far northwestern corner of Emilia Romagna. The heady Malvasia di Candia Aromatica often plays a leading role in white frizzante wines and some of its most successful producers, including Massimiliano Croci, Montesissa Emilio and Podere Pradarolo, continue the area’s ancient tradition of macerating white varieties on skins before a spontaneous second fermentation in the bottle. These wines have charm, an attractive rusticity and often fairly substantial tannins. Colli Piacentini is also home to reds, both still and sparkling, made under the Gutturnio DOP. A…

Beyond Lambrusco

Woolf’s top Lambrusco picks

1 Francesco Bellei, Metodo Ancestrale Pignoletto, Modena 2016 92 £14.95-£15.99 Jeroboams, The Solent Cellar Expect spicy, pungent aromas in this col fondo – a bit of a pet project of winemaker Sandro Cavicchioli. Tangy apple fruit along with earthy, yeasty hints. Worth cellaring. Drink 2019-2024 Alcohol 11.5% Croci, Campedello, Vino Bianco 2016 91 £29 Naturallywines This macerated, just-frizzante style is not an official Lambrusco. Undisgorged, with fermentations occuring spontaneously, this is effectively an Emilian pet-nat. Deliciously aromatic, but with grippy tannins which crave food. Drink 2019-2026 Alc 12.5% 2 Ca’ de Noci, Sottobosco 2015 93 £27.57-£28.99 Gergovie Wines, Selfridges, Tannico Made with some rarer Lambrusco varieties, this spontaneously refermented blend is complex, crammed with bright forest fruits, earthy notes and electric acidity. Drink 2019-2023 Alc 11% Lusvardi, Lambrusco dell’Emilia Brut 2017 92 N/A UK www.lusvardi.it The Salamino variety’s assertive tannins provide the perfect foil…

Woolf’s top Lambrusco picks

Exploring Chianti Classico

TUSCANY’S RENAISSANCE ARTISTS depicted every nuance of Chianti Classico’s landscape – the subtle changes in light and shade across its vineyards, olive groves and towns. They would be stunned that Chianti Classico bottles are so randomly ordered on contemporary wine merchants’ shelves. Unlike Burgundy, for example, Chianti Classico wine labels cannot display the name of their towns of origin. Imagine Leonardo da Vinci asking Michaelangelo if he had painted a particular Tuscan townscape and Michaelangelo replying: ‘Yeah, I did. But regrettably the law forbids me from telling you exactly which town it was.’ There are nine towns in the Chianti Classico area and in 2015, wine-growers in one of those towns – Panzano – challenged the status quo by adding the name ‘Panzano’ to the front label of their wines. This move…

Exploring Chianti Classico

Tenuta di Biserno

The majestic Tenuta di Biserno estate was discovered by Marchese Lodovico Antinori back in 1995 while he was still at the helm of Tenuta di Ornellaia. Lodovico moved on from Ornellaia in 2001 and he started Tenuta di Biserno jointly with his brother Piero. This was in fact the first time that the two brothers, from one of the world’s oldest wine dynasties, had actually worked together. Now, Lodovico is the heart and soul of Tenuta di Biserno and the estate is under his guidance. Tenuta di Biserno is situated in Bibbona, a little-known village of the Alta-Maremma, which borders on the famous Bolgheri region. The estate is only a few kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea and benefits from its cooling sea breezes. The soil is very complex, full of minerals and…

Tenuta di Biserno

Pasqua has always linked its name with one of the most important and iconic traditions of Italian and Veronese winemaking excellence: Amarone. Whether opulent or austere, an Amarone created by Pasqua brings with it an unmistakable sense of origin, the perfect synthesis of terroir and winemaking expertise, first in the vineyard and then in the cellar. “We look for elegance in every bottle of Amarone,” says company president Umberto Pasqua, “and we are not afraid of innovation and showing new interpretations of this wine which we think will work well within the protocols of the denomination.” The Pasqua family controls vineyards ranging from the Valpolicella Classica area in the western part of the province of Verona, to the easternmost areas of the denomination with the Vigneto San Felice, Vigneto Mizzole, Vigneto Castello di…

CONSIDERING ITS GLOBAL fame, Brunello di Montalcino is a relatively new star in the world of wine. The region remained an inside tip for almost a century until lifestylers and wealthy investors discovered its wines and unspoiled landscape in the 1970s. The new entrants propelled Brunello, the local name for the Sangiovese grape, to international stardom and Montalcino’s young incumbents are set to refine their wines further with an emphasis on improving the health of the vineyards for future generations. Andrea & Francesca Ciacci Tenuta di Sesta The Ciacci family has an historic role in the Brunello di Montalcino story: in 1966, the same year that Brunello became a prized member of the new DOC family in Italy, Giuseppe Ciacci became one of a handful of producers making and bottling Brunello. Giuseppe’s son Giovanni…

Vignaioli del Morellino di Scansano

Environmental sustainability is becoming an increasingly popular topic in the wine industry. Climate change and consumers’ high expectation require wineries to focus not just on producing high quality wines, but accomplishing this while safeguarding the environment. This is a challenge that Vignaioli del Morellino di Scansano, a winery founded in 1972 in the heart of Maremma, in the southern part of Tuscany, has taken on with great care. With a good 600 hectares of vineyards and around 150 members, the winery has a prominent role in the local community and in representing the Morellino di Scansano DOCG appellation in Italy and abroad. “By focusing on environmental sustainability we take care of our consumers too…” Earlier this year they were the first winery in Europe to receive the PEF certificate, the first European…

Vignaioli del Morellino di Scansano

Florence fringe

ALL TOO OFTEN overlooked in favour of their august Chianti Classico neighbour, the Chianti Colli Fiorentini and Chianti Rùfina regions boast centuries-old estates making authentic and approachable wines, close to the Tuscan capital. The Florence fringe offers dreamy views and country-chic accommodation while never losing sight of the city’s cultural happenings and myriad attractions. Take in the family farms and multinational flagship wineries, ancient castles and noble villas, while staying conveniently close to suburbia. Fattoria Lavacchio For some of the most bucolic vineyard views near Florence, Fattoria Lavacchio’s recently restored working windmill marks your destination. At the organic estate’s shop, Bottega del Mulino, you can purchase wines and exquisite extra virgin olive oil, artisan cheeses and freshly baked bread; or book a table at the adjacent Mulino a Vento restaurant whose panoramic…

Florence fringe

The name Ruffino is synonymous with the world’s most beloved Tuscan wines. Founded in Tuscany in 1877 by cousins Ilario and Leopoldo Ruffino, the company quickly became a benchmark for the region through the use of strict quality standards and meticulous technical research in an ideal location. The founders believed their wines should reflect Tuscan lifestyle, handing down the values of the land and its people through the simple pleasures of family life and warm, shared experiences. Ruffino wines won important medals quickly; Gold Medals at Milan in 1881 and Bordeaux in 1895, for example. The Duke of Aosta was a prominent admirer at the end of the 19th century and selected the Chianti Stravecchio for his noble table. In turn, Ruffino dedicated a special cuvée of its Chianti Classico, Riserva…

Taming the beast

IN THE THROWAWAY consumer culture of the modern world, Sagrantino is an anomaly. This thick-skinned, extremely tannic black grape is difficult to tame in both vineyard and winery. It needs five years or more in bottle to come around, but when it does, it’s a wine of great character and personality with an enviable capacity for long ageing. It is worth the wait. Sagrantino grows almost exclusively around the town of Montefalco, Umbria. The region is best known for its white Orvieto wines and is called the Cuore Verde (‘green heart’) of Italy, due to its central location and its very green landscape. Having no sea access, Umbria has always been a little hidden. It is quieter and less touristy than its more famous neighbours, Tuscany to the north and Lazio…

Taming the beast

Six producers to look out for

Arnaldo Caprai Arnaldo Caprai bought 45ha of land in Montefalco in 1971. His son Marco’s passion for Sagrantino has been instrumental in improving its quality and gaining international recognition. In 2008 he began The New Green Revolution project, focusing on environmental, economic and social sustainability – not just in his winery, but across Montefalco. His flagship wine, Spinning Beauty was made to celebrate the memory of his father. Benedetti & Grigi Umberto Benedetti used to sell grapes to a local co-op, but when it closed he formed a partnership with Daniele Grigi to make wine. They now own 68ha of vines. Winemaker Daniele Di Mambro heads up a young, motivated team and their Sagrantino di Montefalco won a DWWA Gold in 2018. Perticaia Perticaia owns 16ha in a beautiful location in Casale, south of Montefalco,…

Six producers to look out for

Hulme’s picks: eight of the best Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG

Rocca di Fabbri 2013 93 £27 Tannico The estate was founded in 1984 by Pietro Vitali who had a background in antiques, and the family owns a wonderful country resort with rooms to rent. I loved this wine’s purity and focus, its very velvety texture and refined tannins. Drink 2019-2027 Alc 15% Terre de la Custodia 2013 93 £30.74 (2012) Alivini Owned by an Umbrian family who also produces oil, flour and craft beer, this is one of the larger estates, making a million bottles annually at its winery near Gualdo Cattaneo. A modern, accessible, fruity style with concentration and beautifully refined tannins. Drink 2019-2029 Alc 14.5% 1 Tenuta Alzatura 2012 91 £25.99 (2010) Valvona & Crolla In the late 1990s the Cecchi family from Chianti Classico invested in Sagrantino di Montefalco, buying three vineyards in three different locations. Spice,…

Hulme’s picks: eight of the best Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG

PUGLIA’S STAR IS slowly rising. It remains the country’s most productive wine region despite subsidies aimed at curbing its excess. An EU-sponsored vine pull was intended to reduce vineyard on Puglia’s vast fertile plain, but it led to the loss of many precious old vines. Things started to look up when Primitivo was identified as the same grape variety as Zinfandel in the US. However, it has taken time for winemaking to catch up with the potential of this region’s raw material – though greater attention in the vineyard and winery is resulting in higher quality wines. The Puglia region, which forms Italy’s stiletto heel, makes diverse wine styles. The northern half grows late-ripening varieties including Bombino Bianco, a remarkably modest-in-alcohol white that has the added bonus of fresh acidity. Local producers…

It’s a new winery, operative only in the last decade, but it is Sardinia’s most awarded, recognised by Decanter first, and featuring in the lists chosen by Robert Parker and James Suckling, too. It all started with a: Gold Medal (Decanter World Wine Awards competition) for Maìa, a Vermentino di Gallura Superiore DOCG the first vintage the company ever made! Numerous Decanter medals followed, but this year, 2018, was the year of greatest success (so far): Platinum Medal (Decanter Asia Wine Awards competition) for Spèra, Vermentino di Gallura DOCG another one of the company’s three Vermentino di Gallura wines. So what makes the company special? First of all, of course, it’s the terroir. Siddùra is located in the heart of the Gallura region of Sardinia near the beautiful village of Luogosanto, where winemaking has…

SARDINIA: a buyer’s guide

SARDINIA IS OFTEN mistaken for a tropical island or confused with Sicily,’ sighs viticulturist Salvatore Mura at his family’s estate in Gallura. ‘Sometimes it’s missing from Italian maps altogether.’ Mercifully, Sardinia’s stunning beaches attract tourists from around the globe, though few explore inland beyond her turquoise waters. They are missing out. Inhabited since Paleolithic times, Sardinia is a treasure trove of mysterious artefacts and traditions. It is also the second largest island in the Mediterranean. ‘It’s like a continent,’ says Daniela Pinna, owner of Tenute Olbios. Shaped by winds from every direction and created over several eras, ‘Sardinia’s soil and climate are completely different between the north, centre and south’, she explains. This diverse terroir, coupled with a long history of occupation by various cultures, yields a rich viticultural landscape. In the…

SARDINIA: a buyer’s guide

The pace in Sardinia is slow. Give yourself time to get around, especially if you’re venturing off the beaten track: marvellous rewards lay at the end of those long and winding roads. If flying into Cagliari, wander up the city lanes that snake to the top of the fortress to complete the day with a breathtaking sunset over the harbour and an elegant dinner al fresco at Sarti del Gusto (www.isartidelgusto.it). Stock up on wine at Enoteca Cagliaritana (www.enotecacagliaritana.it) before heading southeast to taste Sulcis Carignano or relax on the remote beaches of the Costa Verde. The Catalan-flavoured city of Alghero makes a great base to explore the awe-inspiring Grotto di Nettuno, the white sandy La Pelosa beach and the wineries around Sássari. Be sure to take in the colourful town…

Morris recommends: top Sardinian dry whites and reds

1 Gioacchino Sini, Biancosmeraldo, Vermentino di Gallura Superiore 2016 92 £20.50-£22.70 (2015) Davy’s, Tannico Drop-dead gorgeous nose of white peach, verbena, juniper and lemon balm. Brilliantly saline and mineral palate. Limpid without lacking concentration. Confident, refreshing and appetitestimulating. Bring on the Pecorino Sardo cheese. Drink 2019-2021 Alcohol 13.5% 2 Siddùra, Maìa, Vermentino di Gallura Superiore 2016 91 £26.48 Mondial Wine Grown on sandy decomposed granite, this beautifully linear Vermentino is aged on the lees in stainless steel. It resonates with marine breezes, citrus and wild broom through to the long, sappy finish. Utterly cleansing. Drink 2019-2021 Alc 14% Argiolas, Iselis Nasco di Cagliari 2016 90 £18.42-£21 Eurowines, Great Wines Direct Luxurious and seductive. Musk, melon, ripe apricot and honeyed notes knit seamlessly in this well-proportioned, creamy white. Just a smidgeon of small French oak lends a hint of hazelnut. Drink 2019-2022…

Morris recommends: top Sardinian dry whites and reds

Discover Sicily: 20 great buys

SICILY HAS LONG bewitched me with its distinctive colours, sights and smells. The island first cast its spell over me 30 years ago and I vividly remember a visit to the small town of Noto one evening: in the glow of a blood-orange setting sun, widows in black formed stark silhouettes against a brilliant white baroque church. Sicily is a magical place, whether it is the snowcapped, smoking Mount Etna against a forget-me-not blue sky, the warm smell of lemon groves at night or the air rich with the sound of cicadas. Sicilian wines have not always captured the island’s magic. Heavy, full-flavoured wines were often used to bolster wines from other parts of Italy and consumers showed little desire to discover the wealth of the island’s native grape varieties. While…

Discover Sicily: 20 great buys

Top high street Italian reds

IT COULD BE argued that wine consumers today have a much better choice in terms of quality, value and diversity than they did five or 10 years ago. The range of countries, regions, grape varieties and styles is mind-boggling. Italian wines are at the forefront of diversity, so this tasting was an ideal way to look at a range of red wines between the £10 and £15 price points. Quality is generally very good at this level – more than 50% of wines submitted achieved 90 points or more (Highly Recommended), with one wine rated Outstanding (95 points). Italy has come a long way in wine terms in the past 30 years. Once associated with leafy and astringent Chianti, thin and simple Valpolicella, or rugged, tannic Barolo, today’s Italian wines are as…

Top high street Italian reds

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