Category: Italian Wine

Anteprima Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2022 – an immersive experience in one of the most ancient red wine zones of Tuscany – Filippo Magnani

The unmissable preview of “Vino Nobile di Montepulciano” was held inside the Fortress of Montepulciano at the end of March in the centre of the medieval town. The doors were officially reopened to the public. For the first day of the event, wine journalists and Trade from the Montepulciano area had the opportunity to not only taste the wines, but to also meet the producers behind these beloved productions of refined quality. Two main vintages were presented:  Nobile di Montepulciano 2019, considered a great vintage, and the Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 2018.

The Consorzio of Nobile di Montepulciano had previously introduced a variation to the chart of regulations last year introducing 12 Unità Geografiche Aggiuntive called “Pievi .” The name conceals the roots of the past of this Tuscan territory, and it refers to the social organization in smaller areas and the role of the monastic orders since late Roman and Lombard times.

The wine estates together with a select scientific research group, have carried out studies on both the geological and pedological side of the territory and an in-depth analysis of the territory’s history. The project started during the pandemic, and it has culminated with the production of 500,000 bottles that will be labelled Pieve, and which oversaw the public administration and its boundaries.

The bottles waiting to become Nobile di Montepulciano Pieve are now maturing, and we will have to wait until 2024 to appreciate the extraordinary work done by the consortium and the producers.  The new qualification of the vineyards of Montepulciano lays another brick in the consolidation of identity and a clearer recognition of the extraordinary Tuscan wine territory.

 

MY TASTINGS at “ANTEPRIMA”…

My favourite wines:

Winery: Poliziano
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2019

Ruby core with rims. Intense bouquet of cherry with balsamic overtones and slight scent of black pepper. Lovely entrance, round with ripe fruit, medium body. Firm, velvety tannins with a long finish.

Winery: Dei
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2019

Brillant, ruby red with compacted rim. Pronounced flavour of cassis and violet. Spicy with overtones of leather. Full bodied with quite bright acidity. Well balanced with rich red fruit and elegant tannins. Harmonious finish. A charming wine with aging potential.

Winery: Il Mulinaccio
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano “La Spinosa” Docg 2019

Clean with a deep ruby core. Lovely aromas of ripe plum with a touch of vanilla. Black cherry in the palate with a light toasty scent. Full body with round, sweet tannins. Fresh and harmonious finish. I liked it!

Winery:  Bindella
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2019

Ruby colour turning slightly purple. The nose expresses flavours of red fruit and rhubarb with a hint of mint. The palate is balanced with notes of ripe cherry and prune. Dry and fragrant, with soft tannins and long persistence. Full body with a nice end.  A great wine.

Winery: Tenuta della Talosa “Alboreto”
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2019

Brilliant, deep ruby core with violet hues. Intense flavour of black cherry and liquorice with overtones of lavender and new leather. Fragrant entrance with discrete alcohol and ripe fruit. Sweet, velvety tannins and quite long aftertaste. A harmonious, charming wine…

Winery:  Boscarelli
Wine:  Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2018 Riserva

Bright with paler reflections. Pronounced flavour of red cherry, wild blueberry, and balsamic notes and anise. Rich and well structured, good balance of body, fruit, acidity, and velvety tannins. An excellent wine.

Winery:  Le Berne
Wine:  Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2018 Riserva

Brilliant deep red. Attractive bouquet of strawberry and violet mixed with spicy notes of black pepper. Full body with lots of red fruit in the centre palate with smoky scents on the back. It expresses harmony with velvety tannins and long, fresh finish.  A lovely wine.

Winery: La Braccesca
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Docg 2018 Riserva, Vigneto Santa Pia

Medium ruby core, paler towards the edge. The wine displays intense flavour of wild berry with scents of new leather. Rich and powerful, good balance of body, fruit, acidity, and firm tannins. A lovely wine with great potential.

Winery: Contucci
Wine: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Selezione “Mulinvecchio” 2017

Intense and brilliant garnet colour. Its bouquet is intense and ample with notes of blackcurrant and violet. The palate is rich and elegant. Full bodied with impressive freshness and velvety tannins. A long finish. A great wine.

About Montepulciano

The village of Montepulciano is situated on a gentle sloping hill of limestone composition that separates the Val di Chiana from the Val d’Orcia. It is in one of the most popular and explored wine destinations in Tuscany, a symbol of local culture. Montepulciano has been a wine production zone since ancient times and witness to the progress in the cultivation techniques from the Etruscans to the modern days. Among the pillars of the Olympus of wine production in Tuscany, Montepucliano represents an open-air museum of the wine culture of the region. It is an extremely interesting destination for wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs who arrive in this magnificent territory from all over the world.

The charming old town is enriched by Etruscans finds, large Renaissance structures, important churches decorated by illustrious artists, ancient theatres, and local artisan’s shops. It is a charming village full of wonderful peculiarities where you can emerge yourself in its beauty and history and explore with help of one of the best guides of the Tuscan territory: WINE!

Production zone

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vino Nobile Vintage Chart

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Italy’s largest Wine Museum to open in Verona

A few weeks ago, it announced that the city of Verona has the approval to develop a wine museum “Museo del Vino (MuVin)”, with support from the Italian Ministry of Tourism and various Italian tourism agencies. Verona is also hosting Vinitaly, one of the world’s largest wine fairs, a wine museum seems to be a good fit.

“I was in Edinburgh, Scotland, years ago, and there I had the opportunity to visit the popular Scotch Whisky Experience”, said Enrico Corsi of the Veneto Regional Council, who promoted and developed the idea behind the project, to wine news platform Decanter. “I wondered why something similar could not be done with wine in Italy. I realised that we did not have anything comparable in our country, apart from a bunch of smaller private initiatives.”

Minister of Tourism Massimo Garavaglia was pleased with the promotion. “The real innovation here is that, with the MuVin, Verona will become a hub for the whole country and in particular for the Italian wine tourism sector. This project has the capacity to go far, and we’re 100% behind it”, Italian food news platform Foodtop reported.

MuVin is now a €50 million project that will feature a museum, visitor and exhibition centre located in Verona’s Gallerie Mercatali. The venue will be opposite the city’s exhibition area, which hosts a number of popular shows all year-round, including Vinitaly itself. MuVin will also feature an ‘experiential path’ that will show visitors the history of wine, viticulture, wine production, the impact of climate change on wine production, and wine and food pairing.

The museum wants to offer educational activities as well, with wine lovers welcomed to learn wine-tasting techniques as well as to conduct virtual visits to wineries and UNESCO heritage vineyards in augmented reality rooms. According to Corsi, the project should be finished in four years. “We expect MuVin to be ready by 2026, when Northern Italy will host the next Winter Olympics.”

Sources: Decanter, Euronews, Foodtop (Italian), L’Adige (Italian)

 

#wine #winenews #winetrade #winetourism #winemuseum #verona #MuVinVerona
#italianwine #italianwinelovers #Vinitaly #wineandfood #MuseodelVino #MuseodelVinoVerona
#winelovers

Sicilia en Primeur 2022…. It’s a Wrap!

What an amazing experience attending Sicilia en Primeur 2022!  Assovini Sicilia has certainly set the bar high for its eighteenth edition, and I believe the attending journalists will attest that this.

By the Numbers

This year is the 18th edition. In attendance were 80 national and international journalists. There were 7 wine tours, over 500 wines tasted, and 1 Masterclass.

After two years, the itinerant event organized and produced by Assovini Sicilia, was held in Erice, in the historical venue “Centro di Cultura Scientifica Ettore Majorana.” The medieval town of Erice has previous welcomed journalists, scientists, scholars, institutions, and enologists.

Inaugural Conference – some highlights 

The conference and opening of Sicilia en Primeur 2022 was held on April 30 with renowned Journalist Massimo Giletti as the host and various guest speakers giving their technical-scientific presentations on the theme “Back to the roots. Sicily experiencing the future.” Including a presentation by Professor Antonio Zoccoli, (President of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics) “Wine is also physics, and neutrino detectors are useful to unmask wine frauds” and he further states that “There is no wine without neutrino.”

Professor Marco Moriondo (Institute of Bioeconomics of CNR in Florence) states “Wine-growing Sicily is less exposed to climate change thanks to its soils, terroir, biodiversity and microclimates.”

Enologist Mattia Filippi and founder of Uva Sapiens states “Sicily is nowadays enjoying a privileged condition and its viticulture structure is so strictly connected with its traditions that a series of productive variables are extremely relevant also with regard to climate change.”

The Mayor of Erice, Daniela Toscano, along with Lorenzo Zichichi, both hosts of the “Centro di Cultura Scientifica Ettore Majorana”, mentioned the historical and scientific vocation of the medieval town of Erice.

Laurent de la Gatinais, the President of Assovini Sicilia, spoke of Sicily as “a miniature continent. Its diversity will be the key of our future. Therefore, we need to focus on vine, its study, its development. It has always been said that the human factor is fundamental in the production cycle, and today I strongly believe that it is more and more actual and understood as science, knowledge, and know-how. This is the only way we can tackle important issues, such as that of climate change. Assovini Sicilia wants to be the advocate and pioneer in leading the future of Sicilian viticulture following new models.”

“Sicily is today the largest organic wine area in Italy” comments Antonio Rallo, the President of Consorzio di Tutela Vini DOC Sicilia. It is a territory that by its very nature identifies sustainability as the keystone of the Sicilian viticulture system. This is the direction to where the industry of the island is moving, towards quality wines, authentic and recognizable in their identity and sustainable throughout the whole production process.”

Sicilia en Primeur is not only an important event for the Sicilian wine industry. It is also a perfect opportunity to showcase Sicily’s viticulture and historical-archaeological heritage through its wine tours. Stay tune for my updates on the wine tour.

#winesofsicily #sicilianwines #italianwines #travelsicily #siciliaenprimeur2022 #siciliaenprimeur #DocSicilia #ViniDocSicilia #SiciliaDoc #Sicilia #Sicily #SicilyWine #WineofSicily #DrinkSicily #sicilianwine #sicilianwines #vinosiciliano #vinosicilia #vinisiciliani #winelovers #wineexperience #travelling #instadaily #winetravels #winetourism #traveler #travelgram #winetasting #wineinfluencer #wineadventures #traveldiary #traveling #italianwine #italianwinelovers #AssoviniSicilia #erice2022

The Balio Gardens – Erice Sicily

A few days ago we had an amazing lunch with local specialities, accompanied with some lovely Sicilian wines on the grounds of The Balio Gardens, Erice.

Some History and Viewpoints

The Balio Gardens are built in 1872 by Conte Pepoli around the Castle of Venus. The gardens are of English design and style.

While enjoying our incredible lunch at the various stations around the castle, we are welcomed with stunning panoramic views of the Gulf of Trapani, salt pans of Trapani, Egadi Archipelago and the coast of Marsala. Apparently, on a clear day, it is possible to see Capo Bon, North East Tunisia.

#foodiesofinstagram #eats #foodstagram #instafood #foodpic #foodgasm #delicious #foodoftheday #foodpics #Italianfood #foodandwine #foodandwinetasting 

#winesofsicily #sicilianwines #italianwines #siciliaenprimeur2022 #siciliaenprimeur #SicilyWine #WineofSicily #DrinkSicily #sicilianwine #sicilianwines #vinosiciliano  #winelovers #wineexperience #travelling  #winetourism #traveler #wineinfluencer #wineadventures #traveling #italianwine #italianwinelovers #AssoviniSicilia #erice2022

@assovinisicilia @just_sicily @wineinsicily 

Sicilia en Primeur 2022: April 27 to May 1

From April 27 to May 1, the town of Erice is hosting the most important Sicilian wine event. “Sicily has proven to be able to govern the climate change and it is a candidate for pioneer and leader in sustainable viticulture 4.0 even in the new context related to climate change”

I’m absolutely thrilled to participate this year in the 2022 Sicilia en Primeur! This year it is back is back in the historic medieval town of Erice for the 18th edition.

This year the theme is: “Back to the roots, Sicily experiencing the future”, this not only represents a message of sustainability of the Sicilian wine production, but it is also representing the future of Sicily’s viticulture.

Besides presenting a preview of the wines of the previous vintage, the event was organized by Assovini Sicilia, who also introduce the Italian and international press to the extraordinary variety of wines with a series of tastings of 500 wines from Assovini Sicilia associate wineries.

Sicilia en Primeur is also an opportunity to promote Sicily’s viticultural and historical-archaeological heritage through wine tours hosting national and foreign press, to emphasize that the binomial wine and culture is an increasingly winning drive in Sicily.

“The topic chosen for this edition, “Back to the roots. Sicily experiencing the future”, takes on a significant and actual value because it puts the Sicilian wine production at the center of the debate on climate change, and nominates the island as a pioneer in sustainable viticulture 4.0 also in this new context, says Mr Laurent de la Gatinais, President of Assovini Sicilia. Thanks to its privileged position, its pedoclimatic and geopedological characteristics, continues Mr de la Gatinais – Sicily proves to be capable of ruling the consequences of climate change. The ability of producers and of the Sicilian territory to adjust to certain extreme conditions over the years – from lack of water to high temperatures- has allowed them to acquire a know-how which is today the base of a Sicilian model of sustainable viticulture, as well as the key to success. Variables such as biodiversity, good traditional practices, current and sustainable agronomic techniques and indigenous varieties play a fundamental role in the future of Sicilian viticulture. All these elements, combined with research, study, experimentation and the quality of production, make Sicily a unique wine laboratory and a leader in the sustainable management of climate change”- concludes Mr de la Gatinais.

In this edition and after two years of absence, Italian and international journalists started wine tours April 27 and will end on April 29 followed by all meeting up on April 30 with the conference and opening ceremony of Sicilia en Primeur 2022. Numerous speakers will give their technical-scientific contribution to the topic of Sicilia en Primeur “Back to the roots. Sicily experiencing the future”, including professor Antonio Zoccoli, (President of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics – “There is no wine without neutrino”), Professor Marco Moriondo (Institute of Bioeconomics of CNR in Florence “Climate change: observed and expected impacts on viticulture”) and the enologist Mattia Filippi (Uva Sapiens “The good practices of Sicilian wine companies following climate change”). The latest news includes a special focus on Catarratto, with the masterclass held by Professor Nicola Francesca “Catarratto: Time and Altitude giving Birth to the Beauty of an Aroma”.

The première of the wines from the latest vintage will be at the center of the walk-around tasting, which has always been an opportunity of confrontation and meeting between the press and Assovini Sicilia producers.

The technical tasting organized by AIS (Italian Sommelier Association) scheduled on May 1st, will be the final event for Sicilia en Primeur 2022.

“Sicilia en Primeur is an important event for the Sicilian wine sector because it represents its excellence. Assovini Sicilia plays a fundamental role in spearheading new solutions and understanding the challenges. Today, over 94% of the wine sector is represented by three pillars: Assovini Sicilia, the Consorzio di Tutela vini DOC Sicilia and the Fondazione SOStain Sicilia. Together, we can lead the change” states. Mr. de la Gatinais, President of Assovini Sicilia.

#winesofsicily #sicilianwines #italianwines #travelsicily #siciliaenprimeur2022 #siciliaenprimeur
#DocSicilia #ViniDocSicilia #SiciliaDoc #Sicilia #Sicily #SicilyWine #WineofSicily #DrinkSicily #sicilianwine #sicilianwines #vinosiciliano #vinosicilia #vinisiciliani #winelovers #wineexperience #travelling #instadaily #winetravels #winetourism #traveler #travelgram #winetasting #wineinfluencer #wineadventures #traveldiary #traveling#italianwine #italianwinelovers #AssoviniSicilia #erice2022

The première of the wines from the latest vintage will be at the center of the walk-around tasting, which has always been an opportunity of confrontation and meeting between the press and Assovini Sicilia producers.

The technical tasting organized by AIS (Italian Sommelier Association) scheduled on May 1st, will be the final event for Sicilia en Primeur 2022.

“Sicilia en Primeur is an important event for the Sicilian wine sector because it represents its excellence. Assovini Sicilia plays a fundamental role in spearheading new solutions and understanding the challenges. Today, over 94% of the wine sector is represented by three pillars: Assovini Sicilia, the Consorzio di Tutela vini DOC Sicilia and the Fondazione SOStain Sicilia. Together, we can lead the change” states. Mr. de la Gatinais, President of Assovini Sicilia.

#winesofsicily #sicilianwines #italianwines #travelsicily #siciliaenprimeur2022 #siciliaenprimeur
#DocSicilia #ViniDocSicilia #SiciliaDoc #Sicilia #Sicily #SicilyWine #WineofSicily #DrinkSicily #sicilianwine #sicilianwines #vinosiciliano #vinosicilia #vinisiciliani #winelovers #wineexperience #travelling #instadaily #winetravels #winetourism #traveler #travelgram #winetasting #wineinfluencer #wineadventures #traveldiary #traveling#italianwine #italianwinelovers #AssoviniSicilia #erice2022