The Abruzzo wine region resides due south of Marche along the Adriatic Sea on the east coast of Italy. Home to possibly the most fun grape name to pronounce: Montepulciano. One more time, Mon-te-pul-ciano! Just makes you want to talk with your hands as it rolls off your…
27 Search Results for ‘Understanding Italy’
Understanding Italy: Marche
Le Marche wine region in Italy. Located on the central eastern coast of Italy, and home to Cesare Mondavi (Father of Robert and Peter), this is a region sadly somewhat overshadowed on a global stage by its neighbors Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Abruzzo, and Umbria, yet in no short supply…
Understanding Italy: Alto Adige
Alto Adige, a wine producing region residing in the northernmost reaches of Italy, sitting just due east of the center, and producing a whopping <1% of the country’s wine production, a small, yet world-renowned region for wine production. The region is known for its Austrian influences not only…
Understanding Italy: Piemonte
Beautiful Piemonte, home to Barolo and Barbaresco. Well, home to Nebbiolo more correctly. Take it a step further, home to Barbera, Dolcetto, Moscato, Cortese, and Arneis in addition to other local and international varietals. In addition to a plethora of grape varietals grown in Piemonte, the region produces…
Understanding Italy: Chianti & Chianti Classico
In both Chianti and Chianti Classico, Sangiovese is the main grape. So what is the difference between the two? No one would fault you if you believed (until reading this) that one is what it is and the other is the more “classic” expression of the wine. Sorry,…
Understanding Italy: Super Tuscans
Super Tuscans are wines made in Tuscany, outside of the well known Chianti and lesser known Tuscan regions per DOC guidelines. In the 1970s winemakers wanted to experiment with blending Sangiovese (the main regional variety) with the noble grapes of Bordeaux (and in a few cases Syrah from…
Understanding Italy: DOC, DOCG, IGT & VdT
European wine labels can be confusing if you don’t speak the language they are written in, furthermore they have all types of different classifications from one country to the next without consistent naming or labeling even existing within the same country itself, and to make things even more…
Lot 913 2021 Puglia, Italy Primitivo
Italian Primitivo with incredible power and elegance, sourced from producers with more than 100 years of family history in winemaking across multiple regions of Italy. An iron fist in a velvet glove—that pretty much sums up the incredible balance of power and elegance that you’ll find in our Lot…
Understanding AOC: The AOC
When you buy a bottle of Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, or any other French wine, there is a governing body that oversees the labeling and production standards to guarantee the finest provenance for the labeled product. That body is the Appellation d’origine contrôlée, or more simply, the AOC. The…
New Release: Lot 820 2020 Piemonte Gavi
Northern Italy’s Piedmont (Piemonte in Italian) is justifiably famous for its top-shelf reds: think Barolo, Barbaresco, and Nizza Barbera. Those big reds tend to overshadow the fact that Piedmont is arguably Italy’s most diverse wine region. After all, this is where Gattinara, Moscato d’Asti, Ruche, and Grignolino also…