Vintage 2025

We are talking about the summit of the extinct volcano Monte Foscarino, 350 metres above sea level. Up here, where volcanic tuff forms the base and oak forests provide cool night breezes, one of Roberto's most precious treasures has been thriving since 1982. The Capitel Foscarino was already a legend when Roberto was still part of the Soave consortium – today it stands for pure typicality of the vineyard without regulatory DOC compromises. 90 per cent Garganega and ten per cent Chardonnay from horizontally trained vines that are rigorously thinned out in June so that only the most vigorous berries survive.

The three sisters from Fittà: Meri, Valentina and Alessandra Tessari have turned the winery founded by their parents Giovanni and Rosetta in 1982 into one of the most respected addresses in Soave Classico. Suavia is the Germanic origin of "Soave" – the name says it all. While their neighbours from the flatlands have long since bowed to industrial pressure, the sisters cultivate exclusively the autochthonous Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave grape varieties on twelve hectares at an altitude of 300 metres. Their vineyards are located on the volcanic hills of Fittà, on copper-red, black and grey soils full of basalt and other volcanic rock. Here, where 50-year-old vines thrive on mineral-rich subsoil, wines of unmistakable expressiveness are produced.

Here comes the Vermentino for demanding and everyday life at the same time. Is Argiolas is the melody of the Sardinian coast – a white protagonist, elegant and multi-layered. The grapes come from sandy, chalky hills around Selegas (single vineyard), where they develop mineral depth in the granite subsoil. After cool fermentation, the wine matures on the fine lees in stainless steel – a concept of clarity without compromise.

Christian Bellei has dedicated his life to precision. For generations, his family in Bomporto has been producing excellent sparkling wines with the meticulous care of a watchmaker – everything controlled, everything intended, everything calculated. And then: OOPS. Mi è scappata la bollicina. The bubble that crept in uninvited – and then simply stayed. 100% Pinot Nero from the alluvial soils of the Secchia. What was intended to be a still red wine – —or so the story goes –, took on a life of its own in the cellar. The perlage was not corrected. It became the defining feature of the style.

Pinot Grigio has a difficult time. Too often softly rinsed, too often vinified for quantity – a name that promises more than it delivers. Things are different in Capriva del Friuli. Here the variety was once called "Ribolla di Capriva", here it is at home on Eocene marl and clay, here it is the last white vine to ripen – it is only harvested in the last decade of September, when the nights get cooler and the flavours settle. Emilio and Alessandro Rotolo vinify the Pinot Grigio with the same rigour as all the wines in the Pompiere line: soft pressing, fermentation in steel at low temperatures, short bottle ageing. No effort that goes beyond the fruit. The wine is allowed to show what the soil has to offer.

Gewürztraminer is the local variety of the South Tyrolean lowlands – and Kurtatsch is its home. Here, between Bolzano and Lake Garda, on the South Tyrolean Wine Route, the grape variety has found the Mediterranean warmth and Alpine freshness that make its distinctive bouquet possible in the first place. Tiefenbrunner has been cultivating it since 1968 – and Merus Gewürztraminer is its most accessible expression. Three sites give this wine its multi-layered character: Penon, Hofstatt and Rain at 400 to 650 metres with calcareous dolomite soils and eastern exposure – for freshness and minerality. Entiklar and the Margreider Leiten at 220 to 350 metres, on limestone gravel soils from moraine deposits – for structure and depth. Brenntal and Frauenriegel at 220 to 350 metres, on red, sandy loam soil – for warmth and fullness. Vinified in concrete vats, 5.0 g/l residual sugar – subtle, never sweet.

Giovanni Massolino sold his first wine in 1896. It was a Barbera. Since then, it has been the oldest wine of the house, the most constant link between the family and the hills of Serralunga. Four generations, one and the same variety, one and the same promise: to press the Barbera as it is. Massolino calls it "the queen of the Langa table" – and means it without irony. In the Langhe, Barbera is not the entry-level wine that you drink while waiting for Barolo. It is the wine that is opened daily, that accompanies the meal, that carries the company. On the limestone soils of Serralunga – four hectares, well exposed, low yields – it develops more character than elsewhere: more fruit, more tension, more depth. The decision to age it exclusively in steel is an attitude. No barriques, no wood notes, no cladding. 10 to 12 days of maceration at around 30 degrees, BSA, short maturation in steel, release in the spring of the following year. What is in the bottle here is Barbera in purezza.

Pinot Bianco arrived in South Tyrol as early as 1850 – and the Schulthaus site, above Castel Moos in Appiano Monte, is probably the most historic Pinot Bianco site in the entire municipality. The Schulthauser has been bottled as an independent wine since 1982 – and since then it has become one of the best-known expressions of this grape variety in South Tyrol. The vineyards lie at an altitude of 540 to 620 metres, exposed to the south-east, on limestone gravel soils with a light clay content – high enough for the evening downdraughts from the Mendel Mountains to have a daily cooling effect. Hand-picked at the end of September. In the cellar: 85% fermentation in steel, 15% in large wooden barrels with malolactic fermentation. Blending in February to create a wine that combines creamy softness and pronounced acidity in rare harmony.

A house that is world-famous for its monumental Barolo crus produces one of the best Moscato d'Asti ever – this is not a contradiction, but a Piedmontese matter of course. The grapes come from forty-year-old Guyot vines in Castiglione Tinella, on soils rich in limestone and clay, where Moscato Bianco has been at home for generations. After gentle pressing and natural cold clarification, the must is stored at the lowest possible temperature without the addition of sulphites – and only fermented in batches in an autoclave when required. At around 5.5 per cent by volume, a cold shock stops the fermentation and thus preserves the natural residual sweetness and delicate aromas.

The legendary Mockhof is enthroned high above Bolzano – a single vineyard site that offers Sauvignon Bianco perfect conditions for its development. Situated at an altitude of 500 metres on steep porphyry slopes, the vines benefit from extreme daytime temperatures and cool nights, which allow for exceptionally slow ripening. This exposed location is one of the latest harvest areas in South Tyrol – a circumstance that gives the Mock its characteristic aromatic complexity. Cellar master Stephan Filippi vinifies this single-vineyard wine with the utmost care: gentle pressing, temperature-controlled fermentation and maturation exclusively in stainless steel preserve the intensity typical of the grape variety.

In the vineyards of Eppan and Kaltern, between 350 and 500 metres above sea level, Pinot Noir finds the alpine conditions that allow it to mature into an elegant interpretation of the Burgundian grape variety. The grapes thrive on moraine debris with limestone and gravel in a temperate climate with cooling winds, which give the variety its characteristic freshness and aromatic clarity. The St. Michael-Eppan winery, one of the leading cooperatives in South Tyrol since 1907, cultivates its vineyards with respect for the grape and favours environmentally friendly cultivation with targeted yield regulation.

Gewürztraminer polarises opinion. Some love the opulence, the rose blossom, the exotic heaviness. Others avoid it for this very reason. Alois Lageder has a clear stance on this: Gewürztraminer should be aromatic – but not overwhelming. It should show juiciness, drinkability and mineral depth. No perfume that overwhelms. A grape variety that shows what it can do without forgetting its limits. The answer lies in the diversity of its origins: twelve winemaking partners in Margreid, Kurtatsch, Tramin and the Eisack Valley – 230 to 740 metres above sea level, calcareous and volcanic soils side by side in rare diversity. The warm Unterland sites provide substance and fruit, while the cooler Eisack Valley delivers freshness and finesse. Temperature-controlled fermentation in steel and partly in large wooden barrels, a small percentage fermented and macerated on the intact grapes. Matured mainly in steel on the fine lees for around four months.

The evening fall winds of the Mendel Mountains characterise the entire terroir of the St. Michael-Eppan winery. They ensure cool nights and give the grapes those extraordinary characteristics that characterise the aromas, unmistakable freshness and longevity of the wines. The fall wind is the natural force that blows over the vineyard every day, positively influencing the climate and supporting the valuable work of the cooperative winery's winegrowers. The Fallwind wines are ambassadors of their terroir and reflect the strengths of the growing region in a unique way. In most cases, these are selected sites that have been used for viticulture for centuries. Strict quality guidelines, low yields, intensive manual labour in the vineyard and gentle and individual ageing in the cellar make them what they are: Characterful, precise and unique wines with varietal characteristics that will win over every connoisseur.

The Fallwind wines are ambassadors of their terroir and reflect the strengths of the growing region in a unique way. Most of them are from selected vineyards that have been cultivated for centuries. Strict quality guidelines, low yields, intensive manual labour in the vineyard and gentle and individual ageing in the cellar make them what they are: Characterful, precise and unique wines with varietal characteristics that will win over every connoisseur.

A tribute to Saint Maurice, patron saint of the small hamlet of Söll above Tramin – this is how the name came about for this characterful Pinot Blanc from the highest vineyards of this long-established winery. At altitudes of between 400 and 600 metres above sea level, where the vines thrive on calcareous loam soils with a gravelly component, the extreme temperature fluctuations between sunny days and cool Alpine nights shape the unmistakably crisp character of this elegant South Tyrolean white wine.

The evening fall winds of the Mendel Mountains characterise the entire terroir of the St. Michael-Eppan winery. They ensure cool nights and give the grapes those extraordinary characteristics that characterise the aromas, unmistakable freshness and longevity of the wines. The fall wind is the natural force that blows over the vineyard every day, positively influencing the climate and supporting the valuable work of the cooperative winery's winegrowers. The Fallwind wines are ambassadors of their terroir and reflect the strengths of the growing region in a unique way. In most cases, these are selected sites that have been used for viticulture for centuries. Strict quality guidelines, low yields, intensive manual labour in the vineyard and gentle and individual ageing in the cellar make them what they are: Characterful, precise and unique wines with varietal characteristics that will win over every connoisseur.

The ‘120’ in the name refers to the number of days: exactly 120 days of ageing on the fine lees following the second fermentation in the autoclave. In the Charmat method, this is unusual – a level of patience more commonly associated with the Metodo Classico, but which has been deliberately applied to Prosecco here. The name La Rivetta refers to Villa Sandi’s most famous location: its own vineyard in Cartizze, the Grand Cru of Valdobbiadene. The 120 does not come from Cartizze – but from the surrounding hills of San Pietro di Barbozza, on morainic soils with calcareous sandstone and clay. 100% Glera, hand-harvested, maximum yield 120 Doppelzentner per hectare. Gentle whole-bunch pressing, controlled fermentation at 15–16 °C – followed by the aforementioned 120 days.

Sauvignon is a grape variety that does not hide its character. Gooseberry, elderflower, nettle, flint – if you recognise these attributes, you don't have to guess for long. Hofstätter cultivates Sauvignon in cooler mountain vineyards, which appear under the designation Vigneti delle Dolomiti – a reference to a terroir that has more altitude and more alpine freshness than the vineyards along the South Tyrolean Wine Road. The result is a Sauvignon with clear varietal typicity and the unmistakable Hofstätter style: not an obtrusive wine, but one that carries its flavour with elegance.

The classic grape variety from the Loire finds its southern alpine perfection on the calcareous clay soils between 300 and 500 metres. These medium altitudes offer ideal conditions for Sauvignon Blanc: The alpine microclimate with cool nights and warm days preserves the typical varietal flavour and lively acidity. Pale straw yellow in colour with greenish reflections. The intense bouquet reveals the variety of aromas typical of the variety: elderflower harmonises with ripe gooseberries, tropical nuances of passion fruit and kiwi blend with subtle herbal notes. On the palate, the Sauvignon Blanc is gentle yet structured with perfectly balanced acidity. The six-month yeast ageing gives it a silky texture and additional depth and length. Appealing, very crisp final. SUPERIORE.DE

An elegant sweet wine with a history: Bricco Quaglia was one of the first selected single-vineyard Moscato in Italy. The organically cultivated vines (approx. 300 metres above sea level, calcareous-sandy soil) lend it style and origin. Pale straw yellow in the glass with a visible perlage. The nose opens with fruity freshness: green apples, pear and juicy peach, plus floral notes of honeysuckle and elderberry and a fine hint of sage. Lively and juicy on the palate: sweet fruit, accompanied by elegant freshness, fine sweetness and a wonderfully balanced, sparkling texture. The finish is clean, clear and long – a Moscato with an animating lightness and polished flavour structure. SUPERIORE.DE

Ischia's wine-growing tradition dates back to the ancient Greeks: the Eubeans introduced the vine to the island in the 8th century BC. The famous Nestor bowl in the Archaeological Museum of Lacco Ameno still bears an inscription praising the good local wine today – a testimony to thousands of years of wine culture. Extraordinary wines are produced on the volcanic pearl in the Gulf of Naples. Monte Epomeo, the extinct volcano, with its mineral-rich soils of green tufa, characterises the wines. The sea breezes from the Tyrrhenian Sea temper the warm Mediterranean climate and give the wines their natural freshness. The eponymous "Parracine" – kilometres of dry stone walls made from green tuff – are the centrepiece of the island landscape. Built by generations of Ischitanian stonemasons, these walls protect the spectacular terraces and enable heroic viticulture on the steep slopes.

Moscato Bianco di Canelli – the most aromatic variety of Muscat, at home in the hills of Astigiano for centuries. Prunotto, one of the most reliable addresses in the Langhe since 1904, presses a wine from it that makes no compromises: only fruit, only flavour, only freshness. Hand-picked from 4 to 16 September 2025, the grapes are pressed and initially spend a short time in the press – enough time for the flavours from the skins to pass into the "mosto fiore". Stainless steel tanks, controlled fermentation down to 5.0% alcohol, then fermentation interrupted by cooling. No wood, no detours – the wine remains entirely its own.

A genuine Lambrusco cru from the 15-hectare Vigna del Cristo vineyard, which underwent a second fermentation using the Charmat method for three months in a pressure tank. Salmon pink in colour. Aromas of pink grapefruit and subtle hints of raspberries. On the palate, it is bold, fresh, lively and bone-dry – —perfect for fans of zero dosage. Very fine bubbles that linger for a long time. A long finish with delicately tart fruit. Ideal as an aperitif, with mussels, oysters and cold fish starters. SUPERIORE.DE