($13, Banfi Imports): Vernaccia di San Gimignano, a light white wine, was the first to be awarded DOC status in 1966. Despite that accolade, it seems to have lost panache, which is too bad because it’s a great choice for a multitude of lighter styled seafood dishes. … Read more
Category Archives: Italy
Val delle Rose, Morellino di Scansano Riserva (Tuscany, Italy) 2009
($22, Banfi Imports): Though Tuscan and made from Sangiovese, the wines from Morellino di Scansano are far different from those of the Chianti region. The 2009 Val delle Rose Riserva is an excellent example, focusing more on dark, Bing cherry-like flavors more than the earthy spicy ones found in Chianti. … Read more
Fontodi, IGT Colli Toscana Centrale (Italy) “Flaccianello della Pieve” 2010
($120, Vinifera Imports): 
Flaccianello is the flagship wine from Fontodi, a superb producer located in the Conca d’Oro (the golden shell) or heart of the Chianti Classico region. This pure Sangiovese beauty comes from their best grapes. Giovanni Manetti says they look for the smallest bunches, usually found on the vines at the top of their vineyards, that provide a better ratio of skin to juice. … Read more
Castello Banfi, IGP Toscana (Italy) “Cum Laude” 2010
($33, Banfi Imports): Castello Banfi, one of the top producers of Brunello di Montalcino, also makes excellent wines from outside of that revered DOCG zone. This one, a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese, and Syrah, clearly nods toward the “modern” style with lush red and black fruit flavors, but still has an complementary and intriguing Brunello-like dark, earthy, almost chocolaty component. … Read more
Castello di Monsanto, Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany, Italy) 2010
($25, MW Imports): Monsanto, a Tuscan producer that consistently turns out stellar wines, eschews the use of “international” varieties in their Chianti Classico. Monsanto’s 2010 Chianti Classico Riserva, a traditional blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo and Colorino, delivers a wonderful combination of cherry-like fruitiness and spicy earthiness. … Read more
Castello di Monsanto, Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany, Italy) “Il Poggio” 2009
($55, MW Imports): 
Il Poggio, a 13-acre single-vineyard that sits about 1,000 feet above sea level, is the source of Monsanto’s flagship wine. The 2009, from a ripe vintage, is positively explosive with a captivating smoky and mineraly quality. Racy acidity balances the ripeness so there’s no mistaking it for anything but great Chianti Classico. … Read more
Fontodi, Chianti Classico (Tuscany, Italy) 2010
($35, Vinifera Imports): Combine a top vintage, 2010 in Tuscany, and a top Chianti Classico producer, Fontodi, and you get, not surprisingly, a top wine. There is plenty of deep red, almost black fruit flavors here and enough earthy spice and acidity to remind you this is still Chianti Classico — a very complex one at that. … Read more
Planeta, Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Sicily, Italy) 2011
($23, Palm Bay International): Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily’s only wine to be awarded the DOCG status, is a blend of two indigenous grapes, Nero d’Avola and Frappato. Planeta’s 2011 begs for springtime with its fresh cherry-like aromas and taste. The paucity of tannins in this charming red makes it perfect for chilling and a more substantial alternative to rosé when the weather and the food call for one.… Read more
Sicily: Hotbed of Italian Innovation
Winemakers in Sicily bubble with enthusiasm and a sense of discovery the way Etna bubbles with lava and smoke. Three decades ago, Tuscany was Italy’s epicenter of experimentation. It was there that a revolution took place, expelling white grapes from Chianti, demonstrating the stand-alone greatness of Sangiovese, introducing French varieties as fuel for “Super Tuscan” wines, and propelling Brunello into stardom. … Read more
Negroamaro: Black & Bitter from Italy’s Heel
“Black and bitter.” It certainly wasn’t a name create by a public relations firm. To be fair, Luigi Rubino, President of the Puglia Best Wine Consortium points out the name really means “black and black” from both the Latin (negro) and Greek (amaro) for black. … Read more
Puglia Will Fool Ya
Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, is hot, mostly flat, and sun drenched. Italy’s third largest wine producing region after the Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, Puglia accounts for more wine even than Sicily. This is, basically, a recipe for low-quality bulk wine. … Read more
Sardinia: Italy’s Other Island
“People can’t find Sardinia on a map,” complained Valentina Argiolas, a member of the family that owns Sardinia’s leading winery. She was speaking literally in describing the fundamental hurdle producers need to overcome to sell their wines. At a recent tasting and seminar of Sardinian wines in San Francisco and again in Japan, she was mortified when the map the organizers projected onto the screen failed to show Italy’s second largest island. … Read more
Ornellaia: An Italian Icon, Part 2
As Axel Heinz, the winemaker at Ornellaia, pointed out, luck played a role in Ornellaia’s success. It was lucky that Lodovico Antinori, Ornellaia’s founder, went to California in search of vineyards because it was there that he met André Tchelistcheff, Beaulieu Vineyards’ legendary winemaker. … Read more
Ornellaia: An Italian Icon
“It was luck,” according to Axel Heinz, the winemaker at Ornellaia, that accounted for the extraordinarily rapid ascent of Ornellaia in the eyes of the world. “It was lucky that Mario Incisa della Rocchetta [owner of Sassicaia] planted Bordeaux varieties when [in the 1940s] and where he did [Bolgheri]. … Read more
Brunello di Montalcino 2.0
In preparation for my attendance at Benvenuto Brunello, the annual tasting of the newly released 2005 Brunello di Montalcino, held in that Tuscan hilltop town, I did some homework by opening and drinking some from my cellar—a 2001 La Gerla, a 1999 Fulgini, a 1998 Banfi Poggio alle Mura, and a 1997 Banfi Poggio all’Oro.… Read more
Italy’s Soave region split over DOCG label
Italy – Everything should be coming up roses for Soave. The wines, historically among Italy’s best whites, have never been better.
Yet a debate over whether to use a new designation, Superiore DOCG, threatens to spoil the renaissance of a region that has finally recovered from a long spell as a source of underwhelming wine.… Read more
Abruzzo, The New Tuscany, Part II
Although I’ve said it before, it’s worth repeating: wines from Abruzzo deliver more bang for the buck than you’d expect. The region is starting to realize its enormous potential for making high-quality, well-priced wines. Part one of this two-part series was an overview of the region.… Read more
Abruzzo on the Rise
If you are looking for wines that deliver more than their price suggests (and who isn’t during these economic times?), it pays to learn about Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, an intense red wine that stands up to the flavorful, chili-laden Abruzzi cuisine.
These wines often have a rustic side, which can be appealing, but when not controlled can impart wild ‘horsey’ flavors. … Read more
Campania’s world-class white wines
Taurasi, Campania’s best wine, has a powerful allure. Years ago, I spotted one on the shelf of a simple seafood trattoria outside of Naples, where instead of a wine list the choices were arrayed on a shelf. I asked for this sturdy red even though we had ordered grilled langoustine.… Read more
Super Tuscan producers size up Syrah
It was the first time I’ve been stopped by customs officials going into Italy. At Rome’s Leonardo di Vinci International Airport, the uniformed official looked up from his coffee and conversation with several co-workers as I pushed my luggage chart through the green — nothing to declare — channel.… Read more
Prosecco: Sparkling Summer Sipping
Prosecco, Italy’s unique and stellar contribution to the world of sparkling wine, must have been invented for summertime. Although the Italians drink it year round as an aperitif (consuming over two-thirds of the region’s 3 million case annual production), summer is the perfect discovery time for those unfamiliar with the joys of this light and “friendly” wine. … Read more
It Takes a Noble Grape to Make a Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano exemplifies the confusion surrounding Italian wine labels. This wine’s meteoric increase in quality over the past decade has yet to be matched by its price, so it’s definitely worth unraveling the name.
The Italians name their wines by place name, such as Chianti, or grape name — think Pinot Grigio — or both, Dolcetto d’Alba. … Read more
Reserve Wines Score, But at What Price?
Bait and switch, an unsavory tactic in the used-car business, is finding its way into the wine industry. Think of the bait as a New World reserve wine that is produced simply to generate a 90-point-plus score from a top wine critic.… Read more