At its eleventh edition, the event that attracts the leading experts in the sector every year as well as thousands of enthusiasts, this year doubles, with the weekends of 12-13 and 19-20 September.
Brunello di Montalcino is the Tuscan wine with the longest maturation: it requires over 4 years of ageing. By law, it must remain in wooden barrels for at least 24 months and can only be put on sale starting from January of the fifth year following the harvest. So, this year the 2015’s Brunello are coming out (2016’s Brunello will be released from January 2021).
On our left, the vineyard extends along the slopes of a small closed and concave valley, protected by winds and sudden changes of temperature and guarded by the castle of Albana, rising at the beginning of the valley.
Like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot is a successful grape of the Bordeaux region in France, that has been planted all over the world. There are sought-after wines made with Merlot like Château Petrus in Pomerol (France). At the same time, Merlot is sometimes blamed for its simplicity.
At parties, you know, the sparkling wine is inevitable. Bottles, slightly rounded in shapes and with slender necks, stand out in the centre of large tables, ready to be uncorked.
In a border area between the Chianti Classico and the Val d’Elsa, halfway from Florence and Siena, overlooking the marvellous city of San Gimignano and its towers, for almost 40 years I Balzini has been producing long-lived, elegant wines. The winery was founded by Vincenzo D’Isanto, later joined by his wife Antonella and more recently by his daughter Diana. Since few years Diana is leading the family business.
Driven by curiosity for the birth of the new vintage, we started for a ‘hit and run’ in the heart of Umbria by Sagrantino, visiting my friend Paolo Bartoloni from Cantina Le Cimate, a full-blown intrusion during the harvest.
The boom in winemaking along the coast of Tuscany is relatively recent. Sassicaia, on the market since 1972 (harvest 1968), acted as a trailblazer of an incredible enological progress of the area to the south of Pisa (province of Livorno).
When were they born? Who made them famous? What are the differences that characterize them? A brief history of “bubbles“, the Italian Champagne, and how they are loved today by wine experts from all over the world.
By going to the estate founded by Roberto Cavalli in the upper part of the Panzano area (heart of Chianti), although inspired by the notoriety of the fashion brand, you will discover an authentic love for the land. It is that of Tommaso Cavalli, Roberto’s son, involved at 360 degrees in wine production.
