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 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 February 17, 2014 The anticipated new premium level for the wines of Chianti Classico DOCG — Gran Selezione (Great Selection) — has cleared its final hurdle and is now officially part of the Chianti Classico portfolio. Gran Selezione is a new classification above Riserva, made using grapes harvested only from the winery’s own vineyards, […]
Posted January 23, 2014 [Note: Nizza DOCG was approved as of December 2014, making it the 74th DOCG; others have been added since.—ed.] Proposed Nizza DOCG Moves Forward After two years of utter calm, there may be some stirrings of activity in the list of denominations in Italy. If the wine growers in the area […]
Posted November 8, 2013 Trebbiano is the second most planted grape variety in Italy. Or is it? The answer depends on how liberal your definition of Trebbiano is, because there are several different subtypes of Trebbiano around Italy—and it appears that most of them are not really related. [Ed. note: Since this article was written, […]
What is this delectable drink we call Amarone? And how is it made? Amarone is a dried-grape wine made using the appassimento (ah-pah-see-men-toh) method—a process whereby grapes are left to dry for several months and then pressed once they have lost between 40% and 50% of their original weight. Grapes are picked while they still […]
