Formats

A multi-faceted introduction to the world of Benanti wines – this Etna Rosso reflects the polyphony of the volcano. The grapes come from altitudes between 450 and 900 metres, distributed on all sides of Mount Etna. The soil is barren and volcanic-sandy, rich in minerals and perfectly aerated – conditions that enable finesse, freshness and crystalline structure. 80% Nerello Mascalese/20% Nerello Cappuccio. The Nerello Mascalese matures predominantly in stainless steel, with only around 20% in used oak barrels, while the Nerello Cappuccio remains entirely in stainless steel tanks. Both varieties ferment with Benanti's experimental, indigenous yeasts for several weeks at a controlled temperature, followed by blending and further ageing in the bottle.

Dievoles Chianti Classico Catignano is the result of the endeavour to highlight the identity characteristics of particularly suitable vineyards, leading to ever more precise expressions of Sangiovese. Catignano is a plateau at 370 metres above sea level, with vineyards of different ages and a large proportion of Alberese. The exposure is westerly and south-easterly, which means plenty of sun during the day, but also cold temperatures at night, with a good temperature range that favours the aromatic development of the grapes.

A Chardonnay with a distinct terroir profile and signature style – typical of Jermann. The grapes come from the hilly regions of Friuli, where cool autumn winds and limestone-rich soils lend the wine freshness, structure and aromatic clarity. In the glass, it is a pale straw-yellow colour with a greenish sheen. On the nose, subtle yet distinct notes of Williams pear, yellow apple and citrus, with a hint of almond and floral accents. On the palate, it is dry, straightforward and finely structured, with fresh acidity, a delicate creaminess and a pleasant, slightly salty finish. A fresh, stylish Chardonnay without any heaviness, which impresses with its clean lines, regional character and great typicity. SUPERIORE.DE

SP68 Rosso is perhaps Arianna Occhipinti's most direct expression of terroir, grape variety and philosophy. The Frappato and Nero d'Avola grapes come from organically farmed plots on calcareous and sandy soils at an altitude of 280 to 290 metres. Fermented with natural yeasts in concrete, aged for six months in cement tanks, bottled unfiltered – no intervention, no embellishment, pure essence.

A classic from the Collio region, masterfully interpreted: Livio Felluga's Pinot Grigio impresses with its depth, precision and expression of terroir. The vines are rooted in the famous "Flysch di Cormòns" – calcareous marl and sandstone formations that lend the wine its subtle minerality. In the glass, it is a luminous straw yellow with golden highlights. The aroma is delicate and complex: white peaches, ripe pears and a hint of citrus zest, complemented by floral notes and a touch of toasted hazelnut. On the palate, it is dry, supple and well-structured, with well-integrated acidity and an elegant finish. This is no run-of-the-mill summer wine, but a Pinot Grigio to be taken seriously, with substance, which clearly benefits from the estate's style – unpretentious, clear and with fine depth. SUPERIORE.DE

Lagrein is one of South Tyrol's indigenous grape varieties and, at Franz Haas, thrives in sunny vineyards at altitudes of between 220 and 250 metres. Here, at a significantly lower altitude than the white wine vineyards, this late-ripening variety benefits from warm, broodingalluvial soils with a high gravel content. The south-south-west aspect guarantees optimal sunshine right up to the late harvest – crucial for the full phenolic ripeness of this demanding grape variety. After careful hand-harvesting, the grapes are gently destemmed and fermented in open stainless-steel tanks. The cap is submerged gently and not too frequently to avoid the risk of excessive tannin extraction. Following alcoholic fermentation, the wine matures for 10 to 12 months in tonneaux, where malolactic fermentation also takes place. A few months' bottle ageing round off the wine's development before the Lagrein is released onto the market.

"When Baron Philippe de Rothschild plants Sangiovese, I will switch to Cabernet Sauvignon." John Dunkley, the British founder of Riecine, uttered these words at a time when Sangiovese was under pressure in Tuscany. It was a declaration of faith. And it remained the foundation of the estate through all changes of ownership – until July 2024, when Alessandro Campatelli, the cellar master and director since 2016, acquired the remaining shares and Riecine became entirely his own.

Bastonaca. This is not just any plot of land in Vittoria. This is the starting point. When Giambattista Cilia, Giusto Occhipinti and Cirino Strano brought in their first harvest on 5 October 1980 and filled 1,470 bottles, they were standing right here. Bastonaca is the place of origin of COS – and the 25-year-old Nero d'Avola vines from this vineyard are the basis of Pithos Rosso. When Occhipinti visited Georgia in 1999 and learnt about the Qvevri tradition of terracotta vinification, the first amphorae arrived from Spain in 2000. The wooden barrel disappeared from the cellar. The amphora took over. 150 clay jugs, one of the largest collections of its kind. The Pithos Rosso is the red soul of this project: Nero d'Avola on Pliocene sandy soil, 230 metres, spontaneous fermentation on the skins with natural yeasts in the amphora, maturation in clay jars and in the bottle.

Gewürztraminer is one of South Tyrol's iconic aromatic wines, and Franz Haas interprets this demanding grape variety with the precision of a perfectionist. The vines are trained using the Guyot system at altitudes of between 350 and 650 metres, where south-west-facing, stony loam soils create ideal conditions. These medium altitudes preserve the balance between aromatic opulence and fresh structure – crucial for a Gewürztraminer that does not become stifled by overripe heaviness. After a short maceration period, the must ferments at low, controlled temperatures in stainless steel. This is followed by six months' ageing on the fine lees, during which the lees are stirred weekly – a labour-intensive process that lends the wine a creamy texture and added complexity. This patient work with the yeast clearly distinguishes Franz Haas's interpretation from simpler Gewürztraminers, which are bottled after just a few months.

Before there was Soave, there was this wine. In the fifth century, the Roman senator Cassiodorus praised a sweet wine made from dried grapes at the court of the Ostrogoth king Theodoric – acinaticum, the original form of what is now called Recioto di Soave. Fifteen hundred years later, in 1998, it became the first Venetian wine with DOCG status. And yet very few people know it. The story has been reversed: Amarone, which originated in the 1930s as a "runaway" Recioto – a barrel that accidentally fermented through –became a world star. Recioto, its ancestor, remained in the shadows. Guerrieri Rizzardi's version comes from old pergola vines in Costeggiola, planted between 1960 and 1998 on volcanic gravel. Only a third of the harvest is deemed worthy of drying in fruttaio for three to five months – a selection within the selection.

The Carbonare vineyard lies halfway up the slope, facing east, and feels different from Monte Foscarino. It’s not just my imagination – it has a different microclimate. Cool air flows down from the Val d’Alpone and its Piccole Dolomiti. Nearby streams reveal the underground water that flows deep beneath the vineyard. A precious resource for a great white wine. The basalt here is rich in colour: shifting from black to green, red and orange, depending on the degree of iron oxidation. When Inama first tasted the grapes, the character was immediately clear: lively citrus notes, vibrant acidity, mineral freshness. The Carbonare wine was born. 100% Garganega. Short maceration, fermentation and 12 months’ ageing in steel on the fine lees, followed by a further 6 months’ bottle ageing. No oak, no bâtonnage, no distraction from the terroir.

When a woman who brought Valpolicella wines to the world as "Lady Amarone" acquires a vineyard in Montalcino in 2007, it is not to repeat the tried and tested, but to break new ground – but to break new ground. Marilisa Allegrini, the first Italian woman on the cover of Wine Spectator and named "Cavaliere del Lavoro" in 2020, now runs San Polo together with her daughters Carlotta and Caterina. The estate is located on the south-eastern flank of the hill, in Podernovi, at an altitude of around 450 metres – where the extinct volcano Monte Amiata protects the vineyards from hot winds and has left behind pyroclastic soils that give the Sangiovese an unmistakable mineral signature.

The name says it all – and nothing less. Titolo is Elena Fucci's great promise: one of the most concentrated, structurally rich Aglianico del Vulture wines ever, from the oldest vines of the Contrada Solagna del Titolo at the foot of Monte Vulture. The Pink Edition is the same address, the same conviction – but a different phase in the life of the vine. For the Rosato, Elena Fucci chooses the youngest vines of the Titolo vineyard: vines between six and ten years old that give more fruit than structure, whose vigour gives the wine energy instead of heaviness. The grapes are deliberately harvested a little earlier than for Titolo Rosso – first week of October, by hand, in small crates, immediately into the cellar. This is followed by cooling, then four days of cold maceration on the skins – cryomaceration – to extract colour, aroma and the volcanic mineral character without taking away tannin or weight. Gentle pressing, steel tank, two and a half months maturation, unfiltered in the bottle.

For decades, the Porer vineyard on the Margreider alluvial fan has been regarded as the source of Lageder's most refined interpretation of Pinot Grigio. At altitudes of between 230 and 240 metres, where stony, sandy and highly calcareous soil, combined with dramatic day-night temperature fluctuations, creates a unique microclimate, grapes of exceptional complexity ripen. The organic cultivation of this single vineyard follows strict sustainability principles. The secret of the Porer lies in its three-stage vinification: one third is pressed immediately, another portion remains on the skins for 15 hours, whilst the final component is macerated with stems and skins for up to eight months. This orchestrated blend of different textures gives the wine its characteristic tension. Six months' ageing on the fine lees in stainless steel rounds off the complex aromatic profile.

In 2007, the Rosato was born – because Marco de Grazia's three-year-old daughter, Elena, insisted on it. There was a red wine, there was a white. Why not one in pink too? The winery was already painted pink. All that was missing was the wine. De Grazia, who had not planned to make a Rosato until then, set to work. The result is not a frivolous summer wine, even though it is often enjoyed in summer. De Grazia's stated ideal for his Rosato is: "il corpo di un bianco e l'anima di un rosso". And he adds: "joyful without being frivolous; tension without being austere." Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio from vines aged between 25 and 60 years on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, at altitudes of between 600 and 900 metres, on volcanic soils from the estate's various vineyards.

Cabernet Sauvignon is considered a traveller – an international grape variety that arrives everywhere and rarely really settles down. In Margreid, it does. Lafot Riserva is not a cosmopolitan Cabernet here, it is a South Tyrolean one. The vineyards at the foot of the slope of Margreid, 220 to 350 metres, south-southeast, white limestone gravel soil with deep humus – it is the same terroir that gives Levad Merlot its minerality. Cabernet Sauvignon, however, needs more time to open up: Hand-picking, destemming, fermentation in steel tanks with gentle mash agitation, then twelve months in barriques and a further year in the bottle. The result is not a quick wine.