Wine

Guardia Sanframondi, Benevento. Clay-limestone hills at the foot of the Matese mountains, 350 to 450 metres above sea level, organic. Greco grows here – one of the oldest grape varieties in southern Italy, rooted in this region for centuries. Carlo and Filomena Iacobucci vinify it as it should be: in steel, fresh, without detours. Straw yellow in colour with green reflections. Intense floral notes, citrus peel, pear, white peach, a light hint of wild herbs. Refreshing on the palate, with lively acidity and a mineral finish that reveals its origin. Uncomplicated, precise, honest. SUPERIORE.DE

Falanghina is one of the great white wine classics of southern Italy – and Feudi di San Gregorio interprets it in its purest form. The grapes come from the gentle hills of the Sannio, a high altitude area with calcareous soils and striking day-night differences. Brilliant straw yellow in the glass with greenish reflections. Aromas of white peach, apple blossom, lime and a hint of broom. Fresh, fruity and delicately flavoured on the palate, the minerality remains subtly in the background. A confident, clear white wine from a traditional grape variety that does not want to be fashionable, but speaks its origins. Ideal with seafood, pasta with vegetables or simply as an aperitif on a warm evening. SUPERIORE.DE

A wine like a little declaration of love to Sardinia: Maluentu is made from the rare Nieddera grape variety, which is only cultivated around Oristano in the west of the island. The vines grow on sandy alluvial soil near the coast, ventilated by the steady mistral. The ageing process is deliberately purist: exclusively in stainless steel and then a few months in the bottle – in favour of freshness and authenticity.

Delicate straw yellow colour with a silvery sheen and lively perlage. The nose opens with fresh apricot, white flowers and a hint of lemon zest, accompanied by mild herbal notes and fine yeast spice. On the palate, the Spumante creates a fine interplay of animating freshness and delicate creaminess, carried by lively acidity and youthful fruit. The combination of the autochthonous Verdicchio and Passerina grape varieties lends minerality and balance, while the Charmat method ensures a certain directness and a lovely drinking flow. An aromatic spumante – perfect as a light aperitif or a stylish accompaniment to summer dishes. SUPERIORE.DE

Bertani and Soave – at first glance, this sounds less obvious than Bertani and Amarone. Yet the estate, founded in Grezzana in 1857, has put down deep roots in the Soave Classica zone. The Sereole vineyard, situated between the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d'Alpone, is one of the historic Garganega sites in this area, which sets Soave Classico apart from its industrially pressed counterparts from the plains like night and day. 100% Garganega. Aged for four to five months in French oak "tini" – large vessels that lend the wine texture and structure without overpowering it with oaky aromas. Three months in bottle. "The Soave you'd expect." By this, Bertanis means: no experiment, no outlier, but a precise statement of what Garganega is capable of achieving in the Classico region.

Since 1897, Nino Negri has been the house that represents Valtellina to the outside world – and the Quadrio is one of its most reliable ambassadors. The name refers to the 15th century Castello Quadrio di Chiuro, the ancestral seat of the winery, named after Stefano Quadrio, once governor of Valtellina. Today, cellar master Danilo Drocco, a Nebbiolo purist from Alba, manages the winemaking process with a Piedmontese view of the Alps – and brings precisely this tension to the wine. Quadrio is a cuvée made from 90% Chiavennasca – the local name for Nebbiolo – and 10% Merlot, whose terraced fruit gently balances out the alpine austerity. The grapes come from south to south-east exposed steep slopes at 350–500 metres, on sandy limestone soils behind dry stone walls, harvested by hand as they have always been. Maceration in steel for ten days, followed by 18 months in large Slavonian and French oak barrels.

A wine that tells in every facet where it comes from – that is Contado Riserva. Made from 100% Aglianico from organically farmed slopes of the Ramitello vineyard in Molise (Contrada Camarda), it shows the potential of this robust grape variety and the special region. The soil is calcareous with clay and sand, giving the wine mineral depth and vigour. The late harvest is followed by a long maceration period, after which the wine matures for a total of around three years: partly in barriques and tonneaux, partly in stainless steel tanks, and finally with extended bottle ageing. This careful ageing philosophy gives the wine complexity, elegance and a fine power of integration in every vintage.

The autochthonous Lagrein grape grows in the middle hills between 250 and 400 metres, where clay meets calcareous inclusions, to produce one of the most characterful rosés in South Tyrol. The traditional Tramin winery, founded in 1898 by the visionary priest Christian Schrott, preserves a centuries-old South Tyrolean tradition with its Lagrein Kretzer. Pink to light ruby red in colour, the wine shimmers in the glass and develops a delicate, pleasantly fruity bouquet. The extreme interplay between sunny, Mediterranean-influenced days and cold down winds from the mountains gives it that lively freshness that is stimulating and invigorating on the palate. A classic South Tyrolean rosé with an authentic character. SUPERIORE.DE

In the Middle Ages, it was a monk from Montepulciano Abbey who was the first to write down how to make wine from the local grapes. Sabatino Lulli, known as Sabazio, left behind no major works – just a few lines about the local grape varieties and how they were processed. La Braccesca has given its name to a wine that reflects this modesty: direct, fresh and uncomplicated. The Marchesi Antinori estate covers 500 hectares on the border between the Val di Chiana and the hills of Montepulciano, at an altitude of around 280 metres. 85% Prugnolo Gentile – the local Sangiovese clone that gives Rosso di Montepulciano its characteristic freshness and fruitiness – complemented by 15% Merlot, which contributes body and smoothness. Both varieties are harvested separately: the Merlot in mid-September, the Prugnolo Gentile a month later. Separate fermentation in steel, short malolactic fermentation in large casks, followed by four months' ageing. Fresh, light, with no hint of oak.

"Cerasa" – means ‘cherry’ in the Sicilian dialect. And it has not only given this wine its name, but also its colour and character. Cerasuolo di Vittoria is Sicily’s only DOCG – the highest distinction that Italy’s appellation hierarchy can bestow, and one that has designated this area between the sea and the Iblean Mountains in the south-east of the island as exceptional since 2005. The vines are planted at Tenuta Dorilli, named after the nearby River Dirillo, on loose red sand with a layer of tuff 90 centimetres deep – —a soil profile that regulates the vines’ water supply in Vittoria and explains the characteristic freshness of these wines. Nero d’Avola brings body and dark fruit. Frappato – genetically related to Sangiovese – , brings floral notes, strawberry and lightness. Both are organically grown and hand-harvested.

Grandmother Rosa would be proud: the brothers Giuseppe and Pierino Bisci dedicated this pale pink-coloured wine to the matriarch of their family – a loving tribute to the generation that laid the foundations for Bisci's success. While the winery has been world-famous for its legendary Verdicchio wines since 1972, "A Nonna Rosa" shows a rarely seen facet of Marche: elegant rosé vinification from Sangiovese and Merlot from those two hectares that are not planted with the main grape variety. In the hills between Macerata and Ancona, at an altitude of 320 to 370 metres, the red grapes thrive on calcareous clay soils – the former sea basin that also characterises Verdicchio's minerality.

In Serralunga d'Alba, everything revolves around Nebbiolo. The limestone, the steep slopes, the microclimate – everything is geared towards it, everything serves Barolo. The fact that the Massolino family also cultivates Dolcetto on these soils has less to do with compromise than with conviction: What comes from a great terroir bears its signature, regardless of the variety – regardless of the variety. 2.5 hectares of Dolcetto at 330 metres, in the shadier plots of the Serralunga hills – because the variety ripens quickly and needs some protection from the midday heat of the limestone slopes. Hand-picked, 7 to 9 days of maceration in steel at around 30 degrees, BSA, short maturation in the bottle – the wine is released at the beginning of the following year.

A bestseller and classic with a reputation: "Duca Sanfelice" is a flagship for the indigenous Gaglioppo grape variety and demonstrates the expressive wines that can be produced from the sun-kissed hills around Cirò. The Riserva comes from old vines on clayey and calcareous soils, vinified in steel tanks and then matured in stainless steel for 24 months. Deep ruby red in colour. Dark cherry, dried plums, herbs, some liquorice and a hint of tobacco on the nose – spicy and Mediterranean flavours. Dry on the palate, with ripe fruit, pithy tannins and balanced acidity. The finish is long, powerful and carried by earthy warmth and fine spice.

A fragrant bloomer from the hot south: Alastro, named after the wild flower that grows around Cantina Ulmo, combines the Mediterranean clarity of Grecanico with the aromatic freshness of Sauvignon Blanc. Delicate straw yellow in the glass with silvery reflections. The nose opens with tangerine, white peach, lychee and a hint of yellow blossom. Elegant and silky on the palate, with a smooth texture, clear fruit structure and lively, balanced acidity. The ageing on the lees gives the wine additional depth and finesse without detracting from its freshness. Alastro is a charming white wine for modern connoisseurs – aromatic, precise and multi-faceted. Ideal with cold pasta with summer vegetables, courgette carpaccio or grilled fish. SUPERIORE.DE

Marsala dry – that still sounds like a surprise to many. Yet dryness was the norm for a long time: before sweetness and flavour additives degraded most Marsala to a kitchen commodity, it was a serious, dry liqueur wine. Pellegrino is a reminder of this. The "Old Marsala" in its new, dry interpretation is superlative quality: 24 months in wooden barrels, Grillo, Catarratto and Inzolia from western Sicily. No mosto cotto, no sweetening – the wine is left to its own devices, works oxidatively, develops depth.

In the glass, it is a pale straw-yellow with a greenish sheen; even visually, Grivò conveys freshness and lightness. On the nose, it offers a straightforward, delicately fruity bouquet of Williams pear, green apple, white peach skin and a hint of bread. On the palate, it is juicy and slender with a crisp texture, delicate acidity and a subtle flinty note on the finish. Maturation in stainless-steel tanks preserves the variety’s purity of flavour and emphasises its typically Friulian straightforwardness.

This powerful blend of Nero d'Avola and Syrah comes from Tenuta Presti e Pegni in Monreale and impressively demonstrates the versatility of Sicilian winemaking. The vineyards thrive at an altitude of 250 metres in the hills behind Palermo, where loamy soils and the Mediterranean microclimate create ideal conditions for international grape varieties. Just ten kilometres from the coast, the vines benefit from the cooling sea breeze, which tempers the heat of the day and ensures balanced ripening. The name Benuara is derived from a small flower that grows near Syracuse – a poetic reference to the southernmost regions of Sicily.

In 1857, the brothers Giovan Battista and Gaetano Bertani founded their winery in the Valpantena valley, east of Verona. Not in the more famous Valpolicella Classica, but here – in a valley that has since borne the estate's name. A commercial document from the Verona Chamber of Commerce dating from 1888 confirms that Bertani Valpolicella Valpantena was already being marketed worldwide at that time as one of the finest examples of Italian wine. That was before Amarone, before the crus, before everything else. 80% Corvina Veronese, 20% Rondinella. Six months in concrete tanks, three months in the bottle. Direct, fresh, uncomplicated.

Dry Moscato from the Noto coast – unusual, but all the stronger in character. Allemanda comes from the south of Sicily, where the calcareous, sandy soils of Tenuta Buonivini and the Mediterranean climate create a unique terroir for aromatic grape varieties. Maturation in stainless steel tanks emphasises the purity and finesse of this rarely dry Muscat variety. Pale straw yellow in the glass with silver reflections. The aroma is clear and animating: lychee, white peach, lemon balm, wild flowers and a hint of nutmeg. Lively and dry on the palate, with a lean structure, well-integrated acidity and a delicate, almost salty finish. No opulence, but precise flavours with a fine spiciness. Allemanda shows that Moscato in the right location can also be a fragrant, elegant white wine. Ideal with summer cuisine, ceviche or marinated fennel with citrus. An original wine for explorers. SUPERIORE.DE

Poggio al Lupo brings the trendy white Vermentino variety in its sunny, Mediterranean form with clear elegance. A light, slightly golden straw yellow colour in the glass. The aroma is reminiscent of green mandarin, lemon zest, white peach and a hint of Mediterranean herbs. The palate is fresh, with animating acidity, delicate salty minerality, ripe fruit and crisp drinkability. Fruit sweetness and freshness balance each other out. An uncomplicated, reliable Tuscan from the west coast – lean, typical of the region and ideal with seafood, grilled vegetables or light fish. SUPERIORE.DE

A white wine from the heights. Peter Zemmer's Müller Thurgau thrives at 800 metres above sea level on terraced slopes in the South Tyrolean lowlands. The cross between Riesling and Madeleine Royal – named after the Swiss botanist Hermann Müller from the canton of Thurgau – finds ideal conditions here on calcareous gravel soils from moraine sediments. The exposed altitude, gentle slope and optimal sunlight ensure that the grapes ripen slowly and evenly.