All posts tagged: Italy

people drinking wine

Makers of historic sweet wines rejoice. Gen Z adores you.

The message my students are sending to the makers of the world’s historic sweet wines amounts to a love letter. My passion for these historic wines can only be described as a love affair.

North Adriatic, a guide to the region by Paul Balke

North Adriatic Producer Guide

A guide to the producers of the North Adriatic region.

Chianti Classico bottles

Chianti Classico Offers Free Online Education

If studying Chianti Classico has not made your list of New Year’s resolutions, the Consorzi Vini e Olio Classico has just handed you an incentive; a free, online training program – Mooc Chianti Classico.

Alto Adige’s mountains of earthly delight

Vineyards and apple orchards lie under the soaring peaks that surround Bolzano, the bustling center of Alto Adige, a pristine and autonomous region in northeastern Italy. Less than a two-hour drive from Innsbruck over the dizzying Brenner Pass, Bolzano is a study in contrasts; a place where Austrian and Italian cultures merge and Old and New World lifestyles converge.

Climate change a double-edged sword for Amarone producers

This year the Consorzio Tutela Vini Valpolicella marks its 50th anniversary, a milestone that coincides with the release of the challenged 2014 Amarone della Valpolicella vintage one that allowed the top performing wines presented during the anteprima tastings to stand apart. Due to wet conditions that delayed ripening and diluted fruit concentration, the consorzio wisely moved to reduce the 2014 production of Amarone by approximately half.  As a result, there were 50 percent fewer wines presented at the anteprima in January when 43 wines were poured at the blind tasting in comparison to 83 in 2017. My list of the wines that scored 89 points or greater can be found below. While vintage conditions in Valpolicella have become increasingly variable, according to University of Verona Professor Maurizio Ugliano climate change is actually working to hasten the drying process that is so critical to the production of Amarone. Regulations stipulate that producers are allowed to cool the air in the fruttai or drying rooms using fans but they cannot artificially heat it.  As such, warmer conditions …

Sicily’s native grapes and the dawn of Italian wine culture

Sicily’s native grapes and the dawn of Italian wine culture.

In hot pursuit of terroir

What are your beliefs about terroir? Researchers across multiple disciplines find some common ground at the 2016 Terroir Congress XI.

Lugana’s Turbiana Isn’t Trebbiano

The gentle, rolling terrain and southern shores of Italy’s Lake Garda are home to a unique indigenous white grape variety—Turbiana. Mistakenly referred to as Trebbiano di Lugana, the Turbiana grape is a relative of both Verdicchio and Trebbiano, but it’s genetically different from both, and the wines
produced from it differ as well.