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In 2009, the Belgian entrepreneur Virginie Saverys took over Tenuta Avignonesi – and transformed it into one of Tuscany’s most ambitious biodynamic estates. Biodyvin-certified, organic, vegan, B Corp: at Avignonesi, wine is understood as an expression of living soils – and Montepulciano as a place that reflects this with exceptional clarity. The Vino Nobile comes from vineyards on sedimentary soils of marine origin – calcareous, with varying proportions of clay and sand from the Pleistocene and Pliocene periods, planted between 1995 and 2017 at altitudes of 270 to 375 metres. Fermentation takes place using yeasts from the estate’s own ‘pied de cuve’: the first batch of grapes is harvested in advance to select the naturally occurring yeasts on the skins. A process that deepens the connection between the wine and the vineyard and anchors the sense of place. 20 to 25 days’ maceration, followed by 18 months in large casks and tonneaux.

A small marvel, perfectly harmonised with multi-layered aromas of tropical fruits, apples and honey. A highly interesting white natural wine that is far more than just a casual pleasure, as it offers an extremely full, well-structured flavour. Fermented with the skins using the red wine method. Strong yellow colour with golden reflections. Intense aroma of dried herbs, incense, candied lemon peel and a hint of bitter orange. Fresh citrus notes on the palate, an exciting acidity and a powerful structure lead into a very long finish, crowned by a hint of bitter almonds. Very complex and a wonderful accompaniment to food – be sure to aerate! SUPERIORE.DE

Riccardo Dalisi worked with iron, copper and brass – with the humble materials of craftsmanship, to which he lent an archaic, almost sacred dignity through his sensitivity. He received the Compasso d’Oro twice: in 1981 for his coffee pot, and in 2014 for his social commitment. Feudi di San Gregorio owns two of his works. From this enduring connection, an idea emerged: the coloured glass mosaic ‘S.T.’ from 1990 – deep blue, vibrantly colourful, imbued with that effervescent energy that defines Dalisi’s signature style – adorns this bottle. No decorative label. A close dialogue between artist and wine.

The latest wine from Manetti – and yet one that bears the Montevertine hallmark like a second skin. Pian del Ciampolo is more than just an entry-level wine: it is the accessible side of that uncompromising philosophy for which Sergio Manetti abandoned the Chianti Classico DOCG in 1981, because he refused to blend white Trebbiano into his Sangiovese. This wine comes from parts of the two major bottlings – le Pergole Torte and Montevertine – as well as from grapes grown on younger vines. What elsewhere would be called a second or third wine is here pure Sangiovese character in its freshest form.

A white wine with Mediterranean lightness and a Friulian character: Shàris is a charming blend of Chardonnay and Ribolla Gialla – —two varieties that reveal their finest qualities here on the marl and sandstone soils of the Collio. A skilfully composed white wine with character that is never overwhelming, yet never seems mundane – but rather a true flagship of Friuli’s modern white wine culture and, incidentally, the winery’s bestseller.

Riesling (Riesing renano, not Riesling italico) is regarded as the soul of Northern Europe – moselle, Rhine, Alsace. The fact that it finds a completely unique voice in the hills of Trentino is down to two men who started out in Faedo in 1975, and two soils that could hardly be more different. In Cembra, Maso Besleri, Località Val Bona, the vines grow on volcanic porphyry – —dark, grainy, rich in rounded pebbles. The slopes have a gradient of up to 50 per cent: heroic in every respect, Guyot training, 6,000 vines per hectare. In Faedo, Località Palai, the soil is the exact opposite: limestone and dolomite of marine origin, sedimentary, light in colour and providing structure.

Light yellow in the glass, with greenish nuances - this Soave surprises with its clarity and elegance. The nose has aromas of green apple, lemon, white peach and a subtle hint of almond blossom. The palate is fresh, juicy and racy, with lively acidity, delicate fruit structure and a fine hint of mineral tension. The ageing in stainless steel preserves the typical muscat flavour of Garganega and its pure origin. An uncomplicated, stylish white wine with Mediterranean freshness, ideal with seafood, light dishes or simply on its own in the sunshine. SUPERIORE.DE

Damascene roses bloom on the label – the ‘painters’ roses’, one of the oldest rose varieties in the world, renowned for their exceptional quality and enchanting fragrance. Planeta did not choose them by chance: the Damask rose describes the wine better than any technical term ever could. Nero d’Avola and Syrah – complemented by a small proportion of Sauvignon Blanc – from the vineyards of the family estate in Menfi, in south-western Sicily, on clay soils bathed in the Mediterranean breeze and Sicilian sun. Organically farmed.

The name says it all: Badilante pays tribute to the workers who, for generations, used their spades to drain and cultivate the marshy lands of the Maremma. Simone Castelli, son of the legendary OenologistMaurizio, vinifies this single-varietal Sangiovese at the organically farmed Podere 414 vineyard near Scansano. The grapes grow at an altitude of 230 metres in loamy-clay soils with a high proportion of coarse material. Spontaneous fermentation in concrete, 15–18 days’ maceration with délestage and remontage, followed by ageing partly in concrete and partly in wood.

Here is one of the finest expressions of the white Carricante grape variety, aged on the fine lees for six months. Alta Mora Bianco comes from vineyards on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, where Carricante vines thrive at altitudes of 600 to 900 metres – directly on volcanic rock rich in minerals and ash. The cool altitude, combined with intense sunshine and significant day-night temperature variations, imbues this wine with an unmistakable freshness, structure and salty tension. The wine is aged exclusively in stainless steel to ensure that the purity of the grape variety and the terroir is conveyed unadulterated in the glass.

"Susu lu somariellu!" – run, little donkey! That’s what they used to shout in Salento when the young Susumaniello vines bore such an exuberant crop that the pack animal could barely move forward. The name stuck. So did the grape variety – albeit only just. Susumaniello had almost been forgotten before northern Salento, around Brindisi, led the way in its rediscovery. Masseria Li Veli is one of those estates that takes this rare variety seriously. Clay-sand soils with a limestone subsoil, cordon speronato training, hand-harvested at the end of September. Temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, aged in French oak barrels.

1976 was Paolo De Marchis’s first year at Isole e Olena. He was 25; at the time, Chianti Classico was a wine that hardly anyone thought had a future, and the two medieval hamlets – isole and Olena – were what his father Francesco had bought in 1956: two dilapidated farmsteads in the hills west of Castellina. Paolo stayed. For almost fifty years. What he made of this estate changed the history of Chianti Classico. He was one of the first to vinify Sangiovese separately, one of the first to bring the hillside terraces back into cultivation, and one of the first to take Sangiovese seriously as a single variety. His Cepparello – , first bottled in 1980 – became one of Italy’s benchmark wines. Emanuele Reolon, the new technical director at Isole e Olena, sums it up as follows: “Paolo brought the Piedmontese style to Tuscany. He treated Sangiovese like Nebbiolo.” That was revolutionary at the time. Today, it is dogma.

Kretzer – this is what the rosé from Lagrein has been called in South Tyrol for centuries. The name sounds more determined than Rosato, and it is: Lagrein is one of the most independent grape varieties in the country, almost exclusively at home in South Tyrol, with an aroma that no other rosé grape displays in the same way. Wild berries, violets, a hint of dark spice – and the freshness that comes from vinification as a rosé. Martin Foradori aptly describes this wine as a character type between two worlds: "the freshness and fragrance of a white wine, the fruity juiciness and delicate spiciness of a red that can be drunk young".

In Renaissance Florence, the Spezieri were merchants of spices and rare essences – masters of the art of blending. Col d'Orcia has dedicated a wine to this profession, and the name fits well: Spezieri combines Sangiovese with Ciliegiolo – the cherry grape variety that has been at home in Montalcino for centuries – and small quantities of other varieties from the estate. A Tuscan blend, organically grown on 140 hectares around the hamlet of Sant'Angelo in Colle. Col d'Orcia is one of Montalcino's most important estates. Spezieri is its most accessible wine – fruity, flavoursome, light-footed, intended for everyday drinking. In summer, it can be enjoyed slightly chilled, in winter at a table setting.

Belguardo – the beautiful view. The Mazzei family gave their Maremma estate this name in 1997, and it fits: From the hills between Grosseto and Montiano, the view stretches as far as the Tyrrhenian Sea, just ten kilometres away. This proximity is not a romantic detail – it is terroir. The sea breezes cool the vineyards every day, slowing down ripening and maintaining the freshness that characterises Vermentino on these sandy Arenaria soils.

San Giusto a Rentennano – the name is of Etruscan origin and carries the centuries within it. The medieval estate is located in the southernmost tip of the Chianti Classico, where the area meets the upper reaches of the Arbia and the hills become wider, quieter and rougher. A Cistercian monastery once stood here – san Giusto alle Monache. In 1204, the Florentines fortified the area as a border post to Siena. The underground vaults from that time are now the storage cellars of the Martini di Cigala. The family has owned the estate since 1914 and Luca, Francesco and Elisabetta now run it with the conviction that has defined the house since the early 1980s: Sangiovese needs no shortcuts. It needs low yields, ripe harvestand time. Organically farmed since 2006, green pruning in July and August by 30 to 50 per cent. 95% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo harvested by hand.

L'Altro is one of the house classics. A Langhe Chardonnay full of character that combines the clarity of the stainless steel, the fine spiciness of the wood and the subtle depth of the lees in a very charming way. The grapes come from higher-lying parcels around Treiso, Serralunga d'Alba and Trezzo Tinella; harvested cool and vinified parcel by parcel. Around three quarters are fermented in stainless steel, the smaller part in French barriques; the wine then remains on the fine lees for several months – regularly stirred for more texture and complexity.

With Family & Friends, Feudo Maccari reinterprets the concept of a Mediterranean white wine – not as a light side dish, but as a broodingGrillo with a strong character that was born in the Moretti family. 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. A complex, vibrant wine with structure and balance.

C'eragià – which is Sicilian and means: "Once upon a time." An allusion to something improbable that nevertheless came true. Because Chardonnay on the northern slope of Mount Etna, at an altitude of 740 metres, in the Contrada Rampante – sounds like an experiment that shouldn't actually work. And yet it is exactly the opposite: proof that the volcanic soil of this mountain moulds grape varieties that behave differently elsewhere.

Bright straw yellow with a greenish tinge, inviting and clear. The grapes for this Gavi come from well-exposed, well-ventilated plots of land that develop an excellent terroir profile through natural cultivation and care. They ripened under the influence of the Mediterranean in the midst of calcareous, sandy soils – a combination that gives Cortese its fine minerality and aromatic finesse.

For decades, the Sottimano family in Neive has vinified five individual Barbaresco vineyards separately: Cotta, Pajoré, Fausoni, Basarin and Currà – each with its own signature, each an independent argument for the terroir of the municipality. The Langhe Nebbiolo at Sottimano is normally made from the younger vines of the Basarin vineyard, while the older vines contribute their material to the five Barbaresco cru.

The small, museum-like island of Mozia in the Marsala lagoon is a production site of unrivalled uniqueness. It is a marine ecosystem that has always been linked to the vineyard. The English, who came to Marsala at the beginning of the 19th century and recognised its great potential, initiated the first planting. The vines are cultivated naturally using the Gobelet system with natural irrigation. The grapes are harvested in crates, brought to the mainland in flat-bottomed boats and then transported to the Regaleali winery in air-conditioned lorries to guarantee their aromatic integrity.

Val di Cava – the valley of the quarries. A sober name for one of Montalcino's most precious addresses. The Abbruzzese family estate is located in the Montosoli area to the north of Montalcino – one of the coolest locations in the entire appellation, at around 350 metres, with a soil of galestro, limestone and clay, which gives the Sangiovese elegance, freshness and structure all in one. Bramante Abbruzzese bought the estate here in 1953. His grandson Vincenzo has turned it into one of the quiet legends of Brunello viticulture. The philosophy of the estate is clear and uncompromising: exclusively Sangiovese from its own vineyards, large Slavonian oak wood for ageing, no intervention that obscures the purity of the grape variety. The Rosso di Montalcino comes from the younger vines of the four single vineyards Filai Lunghi, Lago, Cipressi and Nova – the same Galestro-rich soils as the Brunello.

Cottanera's Etna Bianco draws its expressiveness and a certain depth from Carricante grapes, which thrive at an altitude of around 750 metres in the barren, dark volcanic soils on the north side of the volcano. The interplay of high altitude, cool climate and mineral subsoil characterises the tension and freshness of this charismatic white wine. Straw yellow in colour with a silvery sheen. White flowers meet yellow citrus fruits, crisp pears and a hint of wet stone on the nose. Clear and straightforward on the palate with lively acidity, a fine texture and salty minerality that reflects the Etna terroir. A refreshingly purist Etna Bianco that harmoniously combines finesse and depth – ideal with oysters, ceviche or simply as a meditative soloist. SUPERIORE.DE