wines

Mario Schiopetto was born in 1930, he grew up in the family-owned Osteria ai Pompieri and had his first professional experiences as a fireman and later as a truck driver. In 1963, guided only by his taste and love of wine, he began to devote himself to wine production in his parents' farm and produced the first pure Tocai in 1965. The historic label at the time included the drawing of his fire engine, which he also used to deliver the wine to customers. With the 2019 vintage, the winery recalled these historical roots and resumed the cute drawing on part of its wine labels.

In the 16th century, Ludovico Ariosto had the knights of the House of Mongrana ride through fantastic landscapes in "Orlando Furioso" – adventurous, freedom-loving, always ready to set off. The hippogriff, the winged hybrid creature that crosses all borders, is the symbol of this epic. Querciabella has put both on the label of her Maremma project: the name, the animal, the attitude. Since 1997, Querciabella has been growing in Banditella near Alberese – directly on the Tuscan coast, where sea breezes, salty air and sandy soils characterise the Mediterranean character. Mongrana Rosso 2024 is made from seven grape varieties, including Merlot, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Petit Verdot – all individually grown, individually harvested, individually fermented, then blended into what best expresses this vintage. No fixed recipe, no scheme. Just the decision of the year. 2024 in the Maremma: a wet spring nourished the soil, a warm, dry summer brought ripeness. Optimum phenolic and aromatic ripeness, balanced, fresh fruit. Fermentation in small cement and steel tanks.

Pinot Nero is a rarity in the Colli Orientali – and a challenge that Tunella masters with sensitivity. The vines are planted on well-ventilated slopes with calcareous flysch soils, which give the delicate Pinot structure and freshness. A transparent ruby red colour in the glass. The nose is fine and complex: red cherry, wild strawberry, a hint of rose and subtle earthy tones. Elegant and silky on the palate with fine acidity, delicate tannins and a surprisingly long, spicy-mineral finish. The 2024 vintage is particularly clear and focussed – with cool fruit, good inner tension and an almost Burgundian noblesse. A Pinot Nero with a regional accent that perfectly reveals the delicate side of Friuli. SUPERIORE.DE

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.

The cooperative's latest achievement: Stieler Pinot Grigio comes from hand-picked hillside vineyards on the Ritten between 500 and 600 metres, where vines over 25 years old put all their experience into the grapes. When developing the Cuvée TAL, cellar master Filippi recognised the extraordinary potential of these Ritten vineyards and created a unique single-vineyard wine from them. Gentle whole-cluster pressing and six months of ageing on the fine lees in large oak barrels give this Pinot Gris its characteristic complexity.

Impeccable and dynamic Gewürztraminer: strong golden yellow colour, delicately smoky, fine orange notes, rose oil, perfect varietal characteristics. Powerful, mineral and persistent on the palate, rose petals on the finish. SUPERIORE.DE

Val di Suga is the only winery in the whole of Montalcino that has vineyards on all three important slopes of the denomination – north-west, south-east, south-west. Three exposures, three soil types, three microclimates. The basic Rosso is the direct expression of this diversity: a cuvée from young vines from all three sites, which unites the breadth of the territory in an accessible, lively wine. Bright ruby red in the glass. The nose reveals fresh red fruit, Morello cherry and a hint of orange peel – lively and precise. Fresh and round on the palate, with bright tannins and a juicy, animating finish. A wine for everyday drinking – but with the origin you can taste. SUPERIORE.DE

La Morra, calcareous sandy soils, north-eastern slopes – this is where the 20 to 40-year-old Dolcetto vines for Elio Altareclassic grow. The Barolo revolutionary, who shook up the Langhe with Burgundian vinification methods in the 1970s, remains true to his Dolcetto: a wine for every day, as the farmers have been drinking it with pasta for generations. Maceration takes just two to three days in rotary fermenters at a controlled temperature, after which the grapes mature for ten months in stainless steel tanks – puristic, without the influence of wood.

Sand. The name is geology – and programme. The Lagrein vineyards are located in Gries, a district of Bolzano, at 250 metres above sea level in a closed basin that is one of the warmest locations in South Tyrol. Sandy alluvial soils of the Talfer river, interspersed with porphyry – a subsoil that stores heat, releases it slowly and gives the Lagrein the depth it needs to develop to its full potential. Mediterranean, hot, with an intensity not found at the cooler altitudes of the mountains. Lagrein is South Tyrol's most distinctive autochthonous red wine variety – dark fruity, rich in tannins, with a typical bitter almond flavour in the final that makes it unmistakable. Hand-picked, carefully destemmed, fermented in steel with gentle pumping over, malolactic fermentation, then aged for seven months in 40-hectolitre wooden barrels.

Fiulot – simply "the boy" in the Piedmontese dialect. A name that says it all: no heaviness, no complexity at any price, but the undisguised energy of a wine that is allowed to remain entirely with its fruit. 100% Barbera from the Astigiano – hills with clayier, moister soil than the sites around Alba, ideal for this lively, aromatically open style. Maceration of five to seven days at 28°C, malolactic fermentation before winter, then stainless steel until bottling in spring.

The hills between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano have been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2019 – as a cultural landscape where viticulture and the landscape have formed an inseparable whole for centuries. Steep slopes, terraces, manual labour, and a complexity of soils that makes industrial cultivation methods simply impossible. It is here, in the central hills of the classic zone, that Nino Franco sources the grapes for his most important wine. The estate was founded in 1919 by Primo Franco. His grandson – also named Primo Franco – , now runs it in the third generation with the same conviction: Prosecco from here is not an industrial drink, but the expression of an exceptional terroir. The Rustico is their calling card. 100% Glera, carefully selected, fermented using the Charmat method, with a delicacy of effervescence and freshness that demonstrates what distinguishes Valdobbiadene Superiore from ordinary Prosecco IGT.

At the Löwenpass, tradition and lightness meet in a red wine of enchanting informality. Produced biodynamically according to Demeter guidelines, this cuvée combines Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with Petit Verdot and the autochthonous Vernatsch to create a harmonious quartet of different characters. Grapes with a natural freshness come from the calcareous gravel soils of Margreid between 230 and 320 metres above sea level. Careful vinification with mash fermentation at controlled temperatures and twelve months of ageing in large barrels preserves the lively fruitiness.

The spectacular steep slope of Römigberg rises high above Lake Kaltern – a location that comes particularly close to the ideal of a closed farm organisation. Here, oxen graze between the vines and the traditional pergola training protects the thin-skinned Vernatsch grapes from intense sunlight. On gravel-rich dolomite limestone between 250 and 330 metres, a Vernatsch of exceptional finesse is produced under biodynamic Demeter cultivation. The spontaneous mash fermentation in wooden barrels and stainless steel tanks, partly on whole bunches, gives this autochthonous South Tyrolean classic a special complexity.

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.