There’s one place in Chianti Classico I’ll always think about with a mix of admiration and sadness: Castell’in Villa. Its restaurant closed last summer. I wanted to write about what made it special — and why it mattered so much to me and the friends I used to go there with. Where It Is Castell’in…
New vintages of Chianti Classico were presented on February 2024 in Florence. I could taste 120 of them during the 2-days event. These are the Chianti Classico wines that are going to be on the market this year. The vintage 2022 was presented for young Chianti Classico (so-called “annata”), even though some producers prefer to…
One Saturday afternoon, about ten of us reached the winery Castellinuzza in Lamole (Tuscany). After leaving the regional road 222 Chiantigiana at Greve in Chianti, we drove uphill on a narrow and winding road. The road itself was the first sign of a change in landscape, but after a few bends we immediately found ourselves…
Pagani de Marchi winery has become an excellent producer in the territory of the Tuscan Coast; the last restyling proofs the maturity achieved and clear ideas, where Sangiovese is blended with international varieties. A convincing range of wines results from a non-interventionist approach and some original choice. It deserves to be visited and their wines…
For several years now Provençal rosé wines are dominating the scene. It is a trend that has influenced all wine producers with the objective to make rosé wines as pale as possible. Luciano Ciolfi, from Podere San Lorenzo, well-established producer of Brunello di Montalcino, does not follow that trend. His rosé wine is made with…
On February 14, 2023 I participated at the contest “Master-Ais of Chianti Classico”; it was the third edition to declare the “best sommelier of Chianti Classico”. After passing the written test and the semifinal test on the stage, I won the contest and got the honored recognition. In the same contest I was also assigned…
The event “Benvenuto Brunello 2022” gave us the chance to taste in preview the 2018 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino, which will be released on the market starting from January 2023. The Riserva 2017 was preseted too, even if few had produced it, considering the difficult climatic conditions and the low yields of that vintage….
The vintage 2016 was great in Tuscany. A warm, regular summer allowed for perfect ripening; interesting diurnal range of temperature improved aromas developing and crispness. Monteraponi is a boutique winery in Radda in Chianti, owned by the Florentine Braganti family. The wines produced by Michele Braganti have a very refined personality due to 2 reasons:…
Conte della Vipera was a historical owner of the estate Castello della Sala, now belonging to the Antinori family. The Castle was founded in the Middle Age close to the city of Orvieto, which is in Umbria but very close to the border with Tuscany. Antinori owns the Castle since 1940 and has transformed its…
Viticulture did survive and improve from the Middle Age to modern times thanks to the Monasteries. In Tuscany a place where you can still breath the Monks’ tradition is Badia a Coltibuono (Abbey of good harvest), that was founded in the XI century. The family Stucchi Prinetti, current owner of the Badia, has improved viticulture…
Brunello di Montalcino is a beloved wine, it takes 5 years to be released and can be really long-lived. But there’s another wine coming from the same hill, the same vineyards and the same grape variety (i.e. Sangiovese): this wine is Rosso di Montalcino DOC. Rosso di Montalcino comes from exactly the same territory as the Brunello…
The estate was founded in the territory of Bolgheri (Tuscany) with the redemption of the land belonging to the Count della Gherardesca, that used to be worked in sharecropping until 1945 by the family of Giulio Batistoni, grandfather of the current owner, Stefano Billi. With its roots in the Bolgheri countryside, the family has always…