Red Wines
Tastings, reviews and insights on the best Italian and international red wines.
Worth Trying at Any Cost
Amarone Cantina di Soave 2007 The comparison with Ludi and 57 The last wine in our mini review is certainly not last in the popularity ranking. This Amarone produced in the Veronese area sits at the top of the mini price ranking, surpassing...
Opera Prima, Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato
We have already discussed Ruchè di Castagnole Monferrato in relation to the wines of Montalbera and Franco Morando. We return to the subject to tell the story of Opera Prima by Luca Ferraris, a different interpretation of Ruchè and its territory. The appellation...
Barolo Levoluzione Montalbera: just a range-filler wine?
Montalbera is therefore synonymous with Ruché. But not only: beyond the production of other wines from the Piedmontese tradition (such as Grignolino, Moscato d'Asti and Barbera) and a fair presence of international varieties, Franco Morando, whom we previously interviewed...
Montalbera, the Rediscovery of Ruchè
Ruché is to Montalbera as Montalbera is to Ruché. It has been a true challenge, one we can now say has been won, since the wine is now recognized by the market and in 2010 it even obtained the coveted DOCG. Even though the winery produces other wines...
Quarantale 2010, another gem from Rosa del Golfo
We have already encountered the winery Rosa del Golfo when we tasted the magnificent rosato del Salento that bears the name of the cantina itself. The winery is located in the hinterland of the Salentine peninsula, the southernmost tip of...
Luca Maroni and the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Bio for €3.49
One day I decided to walk into a Lidl (yes, it happened to me too!), I found some great DIY tools and decided to go in and buy something, but being a curious sort, I couldn't help nosing around the wine aisle...
Pino di Stio 2011: can a great Pinot Nero be made in the south?
"You're a fan of Cantina San Salvatore – haven't you tried the Pinot Nero yet?" "Why did they start making that too?" "Yes, I went to drink it at the winery myself!" I couldn't resist this provocation! Pinot Nero no...
Guado San Leo 2010 D'Alfonso del Sordo: legendary wine
When people talk about Troy, aside from the vulgar and banal Italian jokes, the mind turns to the stories of Ulysses, Hector, Paris, Achilles and all the heroes whose deeds Homer sang of. Beyond the historic city razed to the ground by the Greeks, in Italy, and pre...
The Best Lambrusco in the World: Otello Nero di Ceci
I'll start by saying I'm not a Lambrusco lover. I lived through, in the early Eighties, the entire arc of this wine destined, in containers, toward the United States, where it was called "Red Cola". Those were the dark times of lambrusco sold for next to nothing on the motorway, with a plastic cork and a dubious flavor with added carbon dioxide...
Mater Matuta 2011, the Dawn of Lazio
Mater Matuta is an ancient Italic deity, goddess of the Dawn, protector of procreation and fertility. The veneration of this deity was a common practice in central Italy, so much so that a temple was dedicated to her in the ancient city of Satricum...
Lidl French Wines: Really a Bargain?
Tasting: Bourgogne Gamay 2013 Pasquier Desvignes We've already talked about Private Label wines, and in particular about the Assieme Coop wine, as well as having guided you through supermarkets and wine storage with Pasquale Testar...
Dante Marramiero, the Decade-Long Vertical Tasting
We met at the enoteca Achilli, a stone's throw from Parliament. This time, the weighty task was to understand how the Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Dante Marramiero Riserva evolves over time – a wine that reaches the enoteca's shelves only after at least ten years from the harvest have passed...