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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 […]
Letter from the Prosecco Consorzio June 24, 2015 As has been widely reported, global sales of Prosecco reached 306 million bottles last year, compared to 241.5 million bottles the previous year. Even with this documented increase, there have been reports in the media that there is a current shortage. We felt the need to issue […]
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 November 5, 2014 The OIV (International Organization of Vine and Wine) has released its early estimates of the global wine production volume for 2014, and as expected, it’s France’s turn at the head of the pack this year. After two disappointing harvests in a row, France’s 2014 harvest came in above average in volume, […]
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.” […]