0.75 liter

Marc de Grazia made history on Mount Etna when he rediscovered the forgotten volcanic slopes over two decades ago. His Etna Rosso – is the estate’s ‘calling card’ – now blends grapes from various plots at altitudes between 600 and 900 metres, where Nerello Mascalese grows on ancient volcanic soils. The vines are situated on the cool northern slopes of Mount Etna, surrounded by black pumice and lava rock – — a terroir that lends every sip its unmistakable mineral character.

Luigi Veronelli was regarded as Italy’s most influential wine critic of the 20th century. In the 1970s, he named the Müller-Thurgau from Pojer e Sandri’s Località Palai vineyard his absolute benchmark wine for the variety. Mario Pojer recalls: “Today, 50 years on, we pay tribute to the variety that has found its ideal habitat.” Fifty years later – the character remains the same. The conviction remains. Palai lies at 700 metres. This is the estate’s highest vineyard – the very same that gives Pinot Noir its alpine coolness and Riesling its precision! For Müller-Thurgau, it is the ideal terroir: a long growing season, cool nights, pronounced temperature variation, chalky soils, and the breeze of the Ora del Garda.

Malvasia Istriana is not Malvasia. At least not what most people know by that name. While other varieties of this ancient Greek grape family are often lush and sweetly aromatic, the Istrian variety shows a completely different face: richer, more complex, more mineral and capable of true greatness in Collio Goriziano – and capable of its true greatness in the Collio Goriziano. Schiopetto has been vinifying it as a single variety since 1974: hand-picked at the beginning of September, fermented in steel at 16 degrees for ten to twelve days, matured on the fine lees for nine months. The result needs no explanation, just a large glass.

Vermentino is generally regarded as an everyday wine at a good level. Fresh, aromatic, made for summer. Vigne Surrau challenges this assumption with its "Life Edition". The same Vermentino, the same granite weathered soils of Arzachena in Gallura – but a radically different idea behind it: What happens if you give Vermentino time? Real time, that is. Hand-picking from mid-September, cooling immediately after destemming, short maceration at low temperatures, fermentation in stainless steel tanks at 16 to 18 °C with bâtonnage. Up to this point, the Life Edition corresponds to the famous Sciala. Then comes the difference: 12 months of ageing in equal parts in 225-litre Liters containers and Liters concrete vats – two neutral, low-oxygen vessels that mould the wine without overlaying it. Then at least 9 months in the bottle.

GROSSO is a Blanc de Noirs produced using the traditional Champagne method and aged on its fine lees for 24 months. A delicate pink colour and a fine, persistent effervescence. A crisp bouquet of violets, citrus zest, nectarine and wild strawberry. On the palate, it has lovely momentum, with very straightforward notes of red berries. Very well-balanced, it dances its way to a respectable finish with subtle spice and impressive freshness. SUPERIORE.DE

Crognolo is a wonderfully balanced wine that offers the tangy freshness and acidity of Sangiovese, which is balanced and softened by the small proportion of Merlot. The wine smells of cherry, blackberry and plum. Its primary intensity is bright and cheerful. The juicy finish shows a nice density, extraction and well-integrated tannins. SUPERIORE.DE

When Giuseppe Russo talks about his rosato, his eyes light up with the same intensity as the powder-pink glow that settles over the Contrada San Lorenzo in the early days of October. Here, where eighty-year-old Nerello Mascalese vines are rooted in volcanic soil at an altitude of 700 metres, one of Italy's most elegant rosés is created – born from the perfect balance between timing and technique. The magic begins with the early manual harvest, when the grapes have that crystalline freshness that only the cool Etna nights can give. Giuseppe uses a traditional vertical press in which the whole grapes are gently pressed for five hours – long enough to extract the delicate colour, short enough to preserve the mineral elegance. No maceration on the skins, no artificial intervention: just the natural connection between grape and volcanic terroir. After spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, the wine matures for six months in stainless steel, where it develops its characteristic finesse.

Vinified from selected, south to south-west-facing plots in the heart of the Langhe, this Barbera exemplifies Sandrone's understanding of balance between varietal expression and elegance. The 2022 vintage, characterised by warm, dry summer months and cool nights, yielded fully ripe harvestwith concentrated aromas and fresh acidity. The short maturation in used wooden barrels rounds off the texture without overpowering the varietal freshness.

Schiopetto has been producing Pinot Grigio since 1968 – long before it became Italy's best-selling mass-produced white wine (unfortunately in many other regions) – and the Rotolo family has never forgotten what it can really do: Depth, juiciness, mineral tension. On the Ponca hills of Capriva del Friuli, in marly soils of Eocene origin, the variety finds a soil that does not allow it to be arbitrary. Gentle pressing, short sulphur-free decanting, fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature – eight months on the lees. No wood, no detours, everything focussed on the Ponca.

South Tyrol's Gewürztraminer has some top-class competition here: this unique white wine is made from one hundred per cent Albana grapes, 20% of which is only harvested as a late harvest after botrytis infestation in November. Only 2,800 bottles are sold.

When you say Braida, you mean Barbera. Ever since Giacomo Bologna proved in the 1980s that this underestimated grape variety can reach barrique maturity and world class, the name has been synonymous with the Piedmontese red wine revolution. Connoisseurs know that the family also produces white wines – but La Regina, Re di Fiori and the Asso di Fiori are deliberately labelled differently: Serra dei Fiori. This is the name of the vineyard near Trezzo Tinella in the Langhe, which the Bolognas acquired together with the Giacosa brothers in 1988. A separate terroir, a joint venture, a separate project. This makes what Giuseppe and Raffaella Bologna now dare to do all the more significant: the first white wine to bear the name Braida. Vinified not in the Langhe, but in the historic cellar of Rocchetta Tanaro – the heart of the estate. The grapes come from the Colli Tortonesi, the hills east of Alessandria, where the Timorasso has been rooted since the Middle Ages and was saved from extinction thanks to pioneers like Walter Massa.

The Winkl has been vinified as a single variety since 1956 – at a time when Sauvignon Blanc was still a rarity in South Tyrol. Winery manager Rudi Kofler says that this grape variety has always felt at home around the oldest farms in the Terlan DOC area. You believe him when you taste the wine. The vineyards lie at 280 to 580 metres above sea level, exposed to the south-southwest, on steep to very steep slopes. The soil is quartz porphyry – volcanic primary rock, crystalline-mineral, with a slightly acidic pH value and an almost natural self-limitation in yields. It is precisely this microstress that produces the terroir's own polyphenols, which give Terlano wines their characteristic saltiness and tension. No other soil, no other result. Hand-picked, gentle whole-cluster pressing, slow fermentation – then 7 to 8 months on the fine lees, 80 per cent in steel, 20 per cent in large wooden barrels. This silent wood component only serves the texture, it gives the wine substance without masking its origin.

Monogramma is an approach: we wait. Whilst standard Traminer is harvested at the usual stage of ripeness, Mario Pojer and Fiorentino Sandri leave their best plots on the vine for a further 10 to 12 days. What happens during this time is not overripeness – ; it is a concentration, a densification of the aromas, a slow transformation of fresh fruit into something more complex. Gewürztraminer is, in any case, one of the most expressive grape varieties in the world. Normally: rose, peach, lychee, elderflower – — explosive, direct, immediate. In the Spätlese selection from the plots in Faedo/Coveli (300 m) and Cembra (450 m), an additional dimension emerges: tropical fruit, spices, a deep, rich texture that the wine develops through the late harvest. The house method remains the same: washing the grapes, pressing in a controlled atmosphere without oxygen. What ends up in the glass is solely a reflection of the place and the time.

The oldest documents in the family archive date back to the middle of the 16th century. In 1967, Lisini was one of the 24 founding members of the Brunello Consortium. One of the oldest and most enduring houses in the appellation – and one of the most stylistically independent, because Sant'Angelo in Colle has its own character. The vineyards are located in southern Montalcino, between the fractions of Sant'Angelo in Colle and Castelnuovo dell'Abate, at an altitude of 300 to 350 metres, on tuff-rich soil of Eocene origin. The warm Maremma winds that blow up from the coast every day characterise the microclimate: ripe fruit, Mediterranean warmth and a freshness that other locations do not offer.

Campanaro is the flagship white cuvée from Feudi di San Gregorio – a masterful blend of Fiano and Greco, two indigenous grape varieties that develop their full potential in the cool, high-altitude vineyards of Irpinia. The grapes come from particularly well-ventilated plots with clay and limestone soils at an altitude of up to 650 metres – ideal conditions for fresh acidity, fine flavours and long ripening times. Brilliant straw yellow in the glass with golden reflections. Rich, complex aromas on the nose: yellow apple, ripe apricot, candied lemon peel, roasted hazelnut, some fennel herb and a hint of smoky minerality. The short maturation in barriques leaves behind delicate hints of vanilla and toasted bread without masking the fruit. Elegant and full-bodied on the palate, carried by the natural freshness of the vintage, with a firm structure and a lively, almost savoury length.

Pinot Bianco reveals its aristocratic side at the high altitude of Zuc di Volpe. The privileged single vineyard site near Togliano offers ideal conditions for this elegant grape variety: cool nights, calcareous soils and excellent aeration, which enables slow, balanced ripening. Maturation in stainless steel tanks with an extended maturation period on the fine lees preserves the clear fruit and at the same time lends depth and structure. The nose reveals aromas of white peach, pear and a hint of camomile, underpinned by a fine nutty note. Finely crafted and precise on the palate, with a creamy texture, firm minerality and a long, balanced finish.

Here is one of the most serious and at the same time most exciting sparkling wines that can be made from the Sorbara variety! Pale to dusky pink in colour with a fine foam and accentuated, persistent perlage. The bouquet is almost magical and yet very distinguished, with hints of raspberry and wild strawberry, which is what makes a top-class Lambrusco, but still seems to be an unattainable goal for many local winegrowers. A fine acidity on the palate, with delicate, dry bitter notes and an exciting brightening of fruity tones of wild strawberry and pomegranate. The overall impression is bone-dry and the bottled dream of a Lambrusco produced using the champagne method, which is unrivalled in the wine landscape. SUPERIORE.DE

In 1886, Carlo Campagnola founded his winery in the Marano Valley, in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. In 1907, he won the first gold medal for the best Recioto at the Verona Wine Fair – since then, the family, now in its fifth generation, has continued what began as a small farm. The vineyards for this Amarone are located on calcareous slopes between 200 and 350 metres above sea level, where Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella are harvested by hand at the end of September. The traditional appassimento drying process takes around 100 days until the grapes have lost 35–40% of their weight. Gentle pressing in December, 30 days of maceration, then ageing: 60% matures for 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, 40% for 18 months in new Allier oak barriques.

Already the famous Italian wine critic Veronelli rated the Colli Berici together with Bolgheri as one of the best growing areas for the Bordelais grape varieties. This rare Merlot is dedicated to its creator Alfredo Lazzarini, whose vineyards Inama recently acquired, and it represents the history of the Colli Berici. Dark ruby garnet, violet reflections, delicate watery rim. Spicy nuances of black cherries, ripe plums, forest floor, some jasmine and a pleasant touch of precious wood. Juicy on the palate, with good complexity and a chocolaty texture, round tannins and a discreet extract sweetness on the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

The name Shardana refers to a mysterious, seafaring people of the Bronze Age, described by historians as part of the legendary Sea Peoples. Many assume that the Shardana originated from Sardinia – or at least settled here – before they became famous in the Mediterranean as fearless warriors and skilful navigators. Their symbols – horned helmets, round shields, depictions of ships – can still be found today in nuraghi and ancient inscriptions. With the name Shardana, Cantina Santadi builds a bridge from the past to the present. The wine symbolises the island's ancient, proud identity: unshakeable, powerful, full of character. It is no coincidence that the Carignano – a grape variety with deep roots in the south of the island – takes centre stage here. Like the Shardana itself, this wine defies time and fashion, remains true to itself and tells a story of origin, resistance and pride.

Light, dense ruby colour. A cool Cabernet profile with blue fruit on the nose: Blackberry, blueberry, blackcurrant, plus cedar wood, graphite, laurel and a hint of juniper. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, yet polished: juicy, dark fruit, very fine-grained, ripe tannins and a lively acidity that benefits from the constant coastal wind and the day/night temperature gradient. The spice remains elegantly in the background, the wood is perfectly integrated and supports the texture without masking the freshness. Long, straightforward finish with a salty, mineral flavour. The 2023 shows the sunny side of the Tuscan coast with balance instead of vigour: a precise, modern Maremma Cabernet – accessible in its youth, with reserves for several years. Ideal with grilled beef, lamb chops, savoury mushroom dishes or mature pecorino. SUPERIORE.DE

The blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Syrah combines the aristocratic depth of Cabernet with the seductive flavour of Syrah - both grape varieties that find Mediterranean ripeness in the chalky, sun-drenched soils around Noto. Cultivated organically, this wine conveys the sunshine of Sicily with a down-to-earth character and structure. The wine was originally only intended for private occasions – a heartfelt project that today celebrates with its name the connection to people and moments that are more than mere consumption. The grapes for it (label: "only the best grapes") come from strictly selected plots around Noto, where chalky soils, salt winds and intense sunlight characterise the aroma and structure.

Maldafrica describes an "inner longing for a distant land" and is not love at first sight, but it is one of Sicily's most interesting wines. It is initially very subtle and nuanced and it opens up gradually on its own timetable, but then: spontaneously fermented in amphorae, Maldafrica overwhelms the senses with dark fruits, spices, chopped herbs, savoury notes, sulphur, leather and damp tobacco. Its mouthfeel is over a minute long and its acidity provides the perfect amount of astringency to refresh the senses for all its opulence. A quiet monument that sets the standard for the entire wine region and leaves a lasting impression for all its longing. SUPERIORE.DE

Named after the "Seggio" stream, the largest watercourse in the municipality of Castagneto Carducci, this elegant Bordeaux blend epitomises the accessibility and finesse of Bolgheri DOC. The historic watercourse rises in the Etruscan Colline Metallifere near Sassetta and flows through the entire Bolgheri area, its alluvial deposits enriching the characteristic clay soils with valuable pebbles. This harmonious cuvée comes from the privileged vineyards of Le Sondraie and Via Bolgherese. The vines, which are around 19 years old, thrive on well-drained, skeleton-rich soils with a clay layer and a high magnesium and iron content – ideal conditions for the international grape variety assemblage.