Posted November 2, 2015 Brunello & Rosso di Montalcino Tighten Their Regulations Brunello di Montalcino, already among the highest-quality wine denominations in Italy, is updating its disciplinare (the rules governing wine production) to ensure that quality in the production zone remains at a level that will continue to justify its lofty reputation and price. New […]
We are very pleased to share this article by Andrew Chalk, IWP, who recently took the Italian Wine Professional program on his own initiative to evaluate its relevance for sommeliers and others looking to improve their knowledge of Italian wine. Chalk’s conclusion: “The Italian Wine Professional program represents the future of wine certification.” The article […]
Gran Selezione and New Labeling Terms Posted June 11, 2015 For a three-century-old denomination, a lot has been going on in Chianti Classico lately. Much of the activity follows from a major scientific study known as Chianti Classico 2000, which spent 16 years (1987–2003) doing experiments in the vineyards to determine what “best practices” means […]
Posted May 19, 2015 Fresh from creating a new quality level (gran selezione) for their wines, the producers of Chianti Classico are now contemplating another way to distinguish the best of their wines from the rest of the pack. Taking a cue from Barolo, Barbaresco, and a few other regions, Chianti Classico is thinking about […]
Posted May 18, 2015 With summer just around the bend, interest in rosato wines is again increasing with the 2014s arriving weekly. Two denominations that specialize in this refreshing style of wine are located near Lake Garda, which lies between Veneto and Lombardy. One, Bardolino, is well known, while the other, Valtènesi, deserves to be. […]
Posted December 4, 2014 Quick quiz. Pignoletto is: A. An opera by Giuseppe Verdi B. A fairy-tale puppet that magically becomes a little boy C. A sketch from The Muppet Show D. An Italian grape variety The correct answer is none of the above. Until very recently, Pignoletto was the name of a white grape […]
Posted August 10, 2014 With the Nizza DOCG nearing reality, Italian Wine Central interviewed some leading producers of Barbera d’Asti DOCG Superiore from the Nizza subzone about the future of this region. The participants were Stefano Chiarlo, winemaker at Michele Chiarlo; Luca Currado, winemaker at Vietti; Erika Abate, export manager for Bersano; and Ignazio Giovine, […]
Posted June 23, 2014 UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) on June 22, 2014, added Barolo and Barbaresco to the list of World Heritage sites. The Vineyard Landscape of Piedmont: Langhe-Roero and Monferrato (Italy) joins about 1,000 other sites around the world that are recognized by UNESCO for their “outstanding universal value.” […]
“Definitive” is the term that comes to mind for this book. It is rare to find a book that seems to cover its subject so thoroughly that it banishes the thought of needing any further resource on the matter, but Native Wine Grapes of Italy by Ian D’Agata is such a book. Make no mistake—this […]
