Category Archives: Italy

Bottega Prosecco DOC Spumante Brut, Veneto, Italy

Bottega Prosecco DOC

Il Vino dei Poeti Prosecco DOC is a Brut sparkling wine,  obtained by Glera grapes grown according to classic,  traditional techniques in the province of Treviso. Over the  years, typicality and quality, the distinctive traits of these  grapes, have remained unchanged, making Prosecco the  most famous and best-selling Italian wine all over the world.

Organoleptic Characteristics

Color and Appearance

Straw yellow with gold reflexes, fine and persistent perlage.

Bouquet

Fruity (apple, white peach, citrus fruits) and delicate floral (acacia, wisteria) notes.

Taste

Fresh, delicate, balanced, with an harmonious blend of acidity and softness.

Serving Temperature

4-5 °C

Serving Suggestions

Excellent as an aperitif and in cocktails, it is also an ideal all-around wine. It goes particularly well with pasta, risotto, fish or meat courses and vegetables, as well as with pizza.

Recommended glass

Tulip

Monte del Fra Bardolino DOC, Veneto, Italy

Bardolino Monte del fra

Grape varieties: 65% Corvina, 30% Rondinella, 5% Sangiovese

Vinification: Gentle crushing and destemming, and a brief period of maceration of the grapes prior to fermentation. This is followed by a long, delicate fermentation (with skin contact) in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.

Organoleptic description: A dry red wine.

Colour: Bright ruby red.

Nose: Delicately fruity and fragrant with notes of cherries, strawberries, raspberries, and red currants as well as hints of spices on the nose (cinnamon, cloves, black pepper).

Flavour: Rounded and dry, with the same sensations of crunchy red fruits and berries perceptible on the nose. Lightly spicy with well-balanced, fresh, and easy-drinking style.

Serving temperature: 12-15 degrees Celsius

ABV: 12.5%

Conte Loredan Gasparini Venegazzu Capo di Stato Colli Trevigiani IGT, Veneto, Italy

Conte Loredan Capo di Stato

Created by Count Loredan as a “Venegazzù Superiore” in the “Riserva della Casa”, this wine was often used for special occasions in the city of Venice. Indeed, during the 1960s, this wine numbered many heads of state among its admirers – a fact which, of course, has led to the name it bears: ‘Head of State’. Our Capo di Stato starts life in a selection of grapes, in particular those from an old vineyard planted in 1946 and known fondly as “the 100 Plants”. This vineyard is located in Venegazzù (40km north of Venice in the province of Treviso), where the Montello terroir confers its truly unique character. The grape varieties are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec from old clones. The wine is always original, profound, with a warm colour, intense boquet and rich aromas of soft fruits and spices. Through its body and fabric and its sweet tannins, it persuades the palate of an infinite silkiness. This wine has, then, a strong personality: never flattened, never fitting into the humdrum variations of fruit combed with oak: it will always express itself with aromatic originality, bringing a fighting spirit to its tasting.

Famiglia Pasqua Romeo & Juliet “Passione Sentimento” Veneto IGT, Italy

 

Pasqua Passione Sentimento

Grape Varieties

Dried grapes of Merlot 40%, Corvina 30%, Croatina 30%

Vinification

The Merlot and Corvina grapes, selected and hand harvested with great care, are then left to dry for 1 month into wooden trays in the Fruttaio. Here, thanks to the dry and well ventilated environment where the humidity level is carefully controlled, the grapes loses around 30% of their water content and gain high sugars concentration. The vinification process takes place in separate steel tanks at controlled temperature of 25-28°C for 20 days. Maturation in large cherry barrels (at second use) for 3 months. Afterwards the grapes are blended and malolactic fermentation follows to harmonize and soften the wine.

Style

Deep ruby red in colour. The nose has intense aromas of red berries with hints of spices. The palate is balanced with velvety tannins, and it has a soft and round finish.

Bolla Pinot Grigio delle Venezie, Veneto IGT, Italy

Bolla Pinot grigio delle venezie

Production Area: Delle Venezie, Northeast Italy.

Grape Variety: 100% Pinot Grigio.

Description: Pale straw in color, Bolla Pinot Grigio is well balanced with crisp acidity and delicate flavors with hints of peach, melon, pear and lime.

Skins and stalks are immediately separated from juice and fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel to preserve all typical varietal characteristics: freshness, crispness, and beautiful fruit aromas of Pinot Grigio.

Food: Bolla Pinot Grigio is a fine match for fresh seafood, white meat, creamed sauced pastas and grilled vegetables. It also makes an ideal aperitif.

Masi Campofiorin Rosso del Veronese IGT, Veneto, Italy

Masi Campofiorin veneto IGT

Full bodied, smooth and velvety, but approachable and versatile in its food pairings. Combines simplicity with style, strength and majesty. This is the original Supervenetian created by Masi in 1964 and internationally recognised as a wine of “stupendous body and complexity”, the prototype for a new category of wines from the Veneto inspired by the Amarone production method (Burton Anderson). Its own production method was

described by Hugh Johnson as “an ingenious technique”.

Serving temperature: 18° C

Alcoholic content: 13% vol.

Storage life: 15-20 years

Grape varieties

Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara.

Apassimento

Masi’s expertise in grape drying technique.

Tasting notes

Look: intense ruby red.

Nose: ripe cherries and sweet spices.

Palate: rich, intense cherries and berry fruit; good length and soft tannins.

Food pairing

Exceptionally versatile. Good with pasta dishes dressed with rich sauces

(meat or mushrooms); grilled or roast red meat, and game. Ideal with

well-aged cheese.

Colombo Silviandare Piemonte DOC Chardonnay, Piedmont, Itlay

Colommbo Silviandre Chardonnay DOCVarietal: Chardonnay

Age of vineyards: 35 – 40 years

Alcoholic fermentation: stainless steel at 12-13° C

Malolactic fermentation: None

Maturation: stainless steel on the lees for four months and then two months in the bottle.

Color: Intense pale yellow with greenish reflections, very consistent.

Bouquet: Inevitable pleasure from the intensity of this wine. Fruity and floral at the beginning, pineapple and white flowers, apple and a bit of acacia. After a few minutes the aroma evolves into notes of crusty bread and honey, which come from the maturation on the lees.

Palate: Soft and fresh in the mouth. Pleasingly persistent which allows us to appreciate the bouquet.

Alcohol content: 13% vol.

Serving temperature: 10-12°C

Pairings: Excellent as an aperitif or with light appetizers. During a meal it pairs well with white meats like pheasant, and is perfect with fish dishes such as first courses with crustaceans or main dishes like Mediterranean Sea Bass.

Winemaker: Riccardo Cotarella

Laccento Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

Laccento Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato

Area of production:

Castagnole Monferrato, Montemagno (Piedmont).

Vine training system:

Low trained Guyot system with 7-8 buds on the fruiting cane.

Grape variety:

Ruchè.

Grape harvest:

80% harvested with perfect ripening conditions 20% harvested in overriping directly in the vineyard.

Ageing:

Maturation in steel tanks and subsequently in the bottle positioned horizontally with controlled temperature.

Colour:

Intense ruby red with slight purple reactions in youth, turning garnet after the first few years in the bottle.

Nose:

Intense, persistent, slightly aromatic and fruity with aromas typical of wild berries jam.

Palate:

Warm on the palate, pleasant, rare silkiness.

Banfi Cuvee Aurora Alta Langa DOCG, Piedmont, Itlay

Banfi Cuvee Aurora Alta Langa

Vinified at Banfi Piemonte estate cellars in Strevi, this elegant wine is the expression of the Alta Langa project.

GRAPE VARIETIES: Pinot noir (70%) and Chardonnay (30%). All grapes are selected and hand-picked in hilltop Piedmontese vineyards located in the provinces of Cuneo, Asti and Alessandria.

PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE: Soft pressing of the grapes is followed by clarification of the must and by fermentation at controlled temperatures. 10% of the cuvée consists of the previous vintage wine, aged in barrique. Fermentation takes place in the bottle according to the Classical Method. Yeast contact is extended for at least 30 months followed by traditional hand riddling (remuage) on pupitres and dégorgement à la glace.

DESCRIPTION

Color: pale gold colour with tiny and persistent perlage.

Bouquet: intense and fragrant with notes of yeast and vanilla.

Taste: on the palate the wine is well balanced with gentle acidity and harmonious with a soft hint of bitterness on finish.

WINEMAKER’S NOTES: Alta Langa is a new Piedmontese DOC appellation. In each bottle of Cuvée Aurora, the current vintage is enriched by the addition of 10% of the previous vintage cuvée aged in oak barrels. The result is very round, rich and long aging sparkling wine.

Demarie Roero Arneis DOCG, Piedmont, Italy

Demarie Roero Arneis

In traditional local culture, the name Arneis is given to someone who is an extrovert, a bit of a rebel, original but with a certain charm. For this reason we are proud to present this fine white wine from the Roero hills, as it shows all the excellent qualities of its name. The sandy terroir provides this wine with a full intense aroma, and the limestone and clay, its strong body and structure. One of the great white wines of Piedmont, Arneis is the result of a lucky rediscovery, due to the intuition, headstrong passion, and the business capacity of the winegrowers of the Roero region. Within a very short time, this authentic champion of local winemaking has made itself a name in the list of international quality wines.

Variety: 100% Arneis grapes

Colour: brilliant, sunny, bright with shades of straw yellow and green reflections

Scent in perfume: full-bodied, robust and intense, composite and delicate. Floral as well as fruity nuances of broom, camomile, peach and apricot

Flavour: dry, palatable and pleasantly harmonic. Fresh and persistent with a slightly almond aftertaste

Best served at: 8-10° C. – 47-50° F.

Food matches: excellent as an aperitif, it is perfect with hors d’oeuvres, light, vegetable first courses. Ideal also with fish or poultry