Wine

"In the past, St. Magdalener – a traditional cuvée made from the two indigenous grape varieties Vernatsch and Lagrein – not only played a very important role in South Tyrolean viticulture but was also one of Italy's best-known red wines. Even today, this delicately fruity and characteristically elegant red wine, named after the growing region around the wine-growing village of St. Magdalena, has many admirers and is currently being rediscovered by many a connoisseur." Rudi Kofler (cellar master at Cantina Terlano)

The Valtellina Superiore DOCG has five subzones – maroggia, Sassella, Grumello, Valgella and Inferno. The name of the fifth says it all: Inferno – hell. Not as a threat, but as a description. Because here, on the steepest and sunniest terraces in the entire Valle, there is a microclimate that is unrivalled in northern Italy. Rocky outcrops of light-coloured quartz rock protrude from the ground, reflecting the sun's rays during the day and releasing the stored heat during the cool nights. The steep slope allows the light to hit the ground vertically – maximum sunlight, maximum ripeness, maximum expression of the polyphenols in Nebbiolo. By the way: Nebbiolo is called Chiavennasca here – the local name for a grape variety that has developed independently in Valtellina over the centuries. Vineyards at 350 to 550 metres, southern exposure, strenuous manual harvesting on inhospitable terraces. In the cellar: fermentation at controlled temperatures, maturation in small oak barrels.

If any wine has made an appellation world-famous, it is this one: Santa Cristina comes from the Vigneto Massoni, Zenato's oldest and most historic vineyard, which is regarded as the greatest site in the entire Lugana region. Here, on the calcareous and clayey moraine soils south of Lake Garda, Trebbiano di Lugana reaches its most elegant expression. The vines at Podere Massoni benefit from an ideal southern exposure: optimal sunshine during the day and cool nights from the lake. After gentle pressing, the must ferments for 15–20 days at a controlled 16–18°C, followed by five months of ageing in stainless steel and further bottle ageing.

Tunella's Friulano is an archetype straight out of a picture book – authentic, balanced and with fine depth. The vines grow on the typical Ponca soils of the Colli Orientali, whose limestone-marl structure lends the wine mineral tension. White-fleshed fruit, almond blossom, ripe apple and a delicate hint of hay on the nose. Fresh yet gentle on the palate, with a soft texture, moderate acidity and a slightly almondy final typical of the variety. The 2025 vintage brings clarity, harmony and freshness to the glass – a characterful all-rounder with a strong regional identity. SUPERIORE.DE

Sauvignon bianco doesn't come from here. And that was never a problem – on the contrary. The variety from the Bordelais has long since found a second home in the hilly locations of the Collio Goriziano: The windy slopes, the marly soils of Eocene origin, the cool nights between the Julian Alps and the Adriatic Sea – all this forms a Sauvignon that has nothing in common with Loire or Nouvelle-Zélande. It's simply Friulian. Mario Schiopetto knew this. He had travelled Europe, learned precision in German cellars, elegance in France and elegance in Capriva del Friuli – and in Capriva del Friuli turned both into something of his own. His Sauvignon bianco was one of his early passions. The Pompiere version that Emilio and Alessandro Rotolo bottle today is the direct, accessible interpretation: hand-picked at the beginning of September, gentle pressing, fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature, a few months on the lees.

In the 16th century, Ludovico Ariosto had the knights of the House of Mongrana ride through fantastical landscapes in Orlando Furioso – adventurous, freedom-loving, always ready to set off. The hippogriff, the winged hybrid creature that carries one beyond all boundaries, is the symbol of this epic. Querciabella has featured both on the label of its Maremma project: the name, the creature, the ethos. Since 1997, Querciabella has been cultivating vineyards in Banditella near Alberese – right on the Tuscan coast, where sea breezes, salty air and sandy soils shape the Mediterranean character of the wine. 100% Vermentino, 20,000 bottles, organically farmed. Fermentation in small concrete and steel tanks, carried out gently and precisely. The 2025 vintage saw a balanced spring and cool nights, which slowed ripening, preserved acidity and concentrated the aromas.

In 1966, Vernaccia di San Gimignano became the first wine in Italy to be awarded DOC status. This was followed by DOCG status in 1993. A long history for a grape variety whose name derives from "vernacolo", meaning "local" or "native to the area": A grape so deeply intertwined with a place that it bears its name. Il Colombaio di Santa Chiara is situated on the San Donato hill, at an altitude of 250 to 360 metres, on sandy soils rich in stones and fossilised marine organisms: a fossilised sea beneath the Tuscan sky. Organically farmed, 5,000 vines per hectare, hand-harvested in the third week of September.

South Tyrol's autochthonous king grape variety finds its ancestral terroir on the permeable gravel and crushed stone soils of the Bolzano valley floor at 250 metres. Here, where "Lagrinum" was first mentioned in a document as early as 1379, Lagrein thrives in its heartland – the warm, sun-drenched vineyards around Gries with their extreme day-night temperature fluctuations. The traditional mash fermentation in stainless steel with controlled fermentation and gentle mash movement, followed by malolactic fermentation and six months of ageing in large oak barrels, gives Rubeno its characteristic structure and elegance.

Anyone who understands Ribolla Gialla understands Friuli. The variety is old, unique and uncompromising – it gives the best of itself on poor soils and does not forgive any laziness in the cellar. It is no coincidence that the small vineyard around the archbishop's castle in Capriva del Friuli is still home to Ribolla Gialla today: as a silent commitment to the regional identity of the house. The soils of the Schiopetto vineyards – flysch, called "Ponca" in Friulian, from marine sediments of Eocene origin – are the ideal terrain: poor, stony, draining. The vine has to fight, and this fight shapes the character. Harvest at the end of September, fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature, short ageing in steel – the technique takes a back seat, the fruit takes centre stage.

While the Blanc des Rosis brings together four grape varieties, the Friulano speaks only for itself. That is intentional. Because Friulano – the historic grape variety that Mario Schiopetto was the first to bottle pure and unblended in 1965 – needs no company. It is Friuli. The vineyards of Capriva del Friuli lie on Eocene clay and marl: soils that impart minerality and a cool, herbaceous depth to the grapes. Harvest by hand in the second and third decade of August, fermentation in steel at a controlled temperature, eight months on the lees – no wood, no effort that would distract the wine from itself.

Gavi del Comune di Gavi is the strictest level of the Gavi appellation – only grapes from the commune of Gavi itself qualify. 100% Cortese, 15 days fermentation at 18 °C, no wood. What is created in the vineyard should arrive in the glass. A beautiful white wine with fish, shellfish and everything the sea has to offer. Pale straw yellow with a green tinge – the typical colour of Cortese. Bouquet of flowers, citrus, fresh fruit – direct and clear. Dry and harmonious on the palate, with lively acidity and a mineral freshness that defines the wine. A Cortese of great typicity and personality – quiet, but convincing. SUPERIORE.DE

Nebbiolo is the king of Piedmont, and Neive is one of its finest terroirs. Anyone who produces Barbaresco here knows just what this grape variety is capable of. Fontanabianca's Langhe Nebbiolo is the gateway to this world: the same limestone-rich clay soils at 300 metres, the same climate, the same family – but younger vines, shorter ageing, and greater approachability. Vines aged 12 to 15 years, trained using the Guyot method, fermentation in stainless steel at a controlled temperature, traditional ageing with brief contact with wood. This is not a wine that demands patience – it is one that demonstrates what Nebbiolo from Neive has to offer even in its youth. Matteo Pola, Aldo's son, now bears the estate's oenological hallmark and has given the Langhe Nebbiolo a contemporary, elegant character.

The Bertolino family has been producing this Nebbiolo for over 50 years – and old adverts from the early years show what has never changed: deep ruby red, delicate violet perfume, a wine that was intended from the outset as a storage wine. Not as a substitute for Barolo, but as an independent statement about a grape variety that appears in many guises in Piedmont. The grapes come from Castellinaldo in the Roero – the area west of the Tanaro, which is known for its particularly elegant Nebbioli. Here, on sandier, calcareous soils, the Nebbiolo develops a finesse and accessibility that distinguishes it from the more structured Barolo style. Hand-picked in crates, last week of October. Maceration in steel at a controlled temperature. Then 18 months in 25-hectolitre oak barrels, followed by further bottle ageing before release.

On 12 May 1937, King George VI of England was crowned. At the coronation banquet that followed the historic ceremony, there was one wine on the table: Bertani Soave. Not champagne, not Bordeaux. Soave. From a house that, ever since 1857 – when Gaetano Bertani trained under Jules Guyot in Burgundy – had been committed to the belief that the wines of Verona need not shy away from comparison with the best in the world. The Original Vintage Edition pays homage to this heritage. Made according to the estate's traditional recipe, from vines on the western slope of the Soave hill north of the Castello, the historic heart of the Classico zone, where Garganega grows on volcanic-limestone soil and the air smells of old vineyards. 100% Garganega. Nine months in concrete tanks. Six months in bottle. The concrete preserves freshness and allows the terroir to express itself without overpowering it.

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.

Mozart knew what he was doing. In the second act of Don Giovanni, his hero calls for wine – and it is the Marzemino that he desires: "Eccellente Marzemino!" It was to be his last indulgence before his just punishment. The variety, which is related to Refosco and Teroldego, has lost little of its seductive power since then. Maculan cultivates it in Fara Vicentino, on a vineyard called Cornorotto – volcanic tuff hills, mineral-rich soil. The grapes are lightly dried for a week before being placed in steel tanks – a quiet trick that brings concentration and depth without heaviness.

Where the first rays of sunlight wander over Gallura's granite hills and the ancient tomb of Coddu 'Ecchju has looked eastwards for thousands of years, the young vines for Capicheras Lianti grow. The name itself tells of this mystical connection – liànti means "Levant", the East, where light is born every day. Just as the Nuragic builders once orientated their sacred sites towards this heavenly gate, this wine also turns its face towards the rising sun. From the youngest vineyards of the estate, where five to ten-year-old Carignano and Syrah vines thrive on weathered granite soils, an authentic Sardinian red wine is produced in its most original form. The hand-picked grapes macerate for three weeks in stainless steel tanks before the wine then matures for around six months in steel and cement.

In 2010, Marco Cirese, grandson of Noelia Ricci, started a project within Tenuta Pandolfa: nine hectares of the best plots, a radical focus on Sangiovese, back to the origins. The label is adorned with a wasp – the insect that lives in the vineyard like no other. The vines are planted at an altitude of 250 to 300 metres, on ochre-coloured clay soils with limestone marl, in 2002. Spontaneous fermentation, 18 days of maceration, then six months in stainless steel – without clarification, without filtration. Purism as a principle.

Here is a Vermentino that's perfect for both special occasions and everyday enjoyment. Is Argiolas is the melody of the Sardinian coast – a star white wine, elegant and complex. The grapes come from the sandy-limestone hills around Selegas (single vineyard), where they develop mineral depth thanks to the granite subsoil. Following cool fermentation, the wine matures on its fine lees in stainless steel – a philosophy of uncompromising clarity.

"We want this land to say: Barbera. We've always thought that, ever since the first vineyards that grandfather Giuseppe left to his father Giacomo, where grapes were grown for La Monella. Then the ones between Rocchetta and Belveglio (the vineyards of Bricco dell'Uccellone), which mother Anna brought as a dowry, and the vineyards of Montebruna, which we bought and merged - and which we still look at with great pride." Familie Bologna