21 July 2021
Twenty years on from those initial tremors, when a group of trail-blazing producers – Messrs. Cornelissen, Franchetti, Graci, de Grazia, Foti/Benanti – recolonised the abandoned lava terraces & started making a (new) case for vini dell’Etna, it was time to return with my colleague Chloe, plus four DBGitalia amici produttori (Manuel Marinacci, Martina Fiorino of......
15 February 2021
In the Roero & Langhe in particular, the winter season was cold but not particularly snowy; in March, while Burgundy was burnt by frost, the Roero & Langhe enjoyed cold temperatures & dry days; April remained chilly & dry (compared to the warmer & damper April 2015); this continued into May, with temperatures mirroring the......
28 May 2020
From North to South, here are some brief reports from our amici produttori (& Me!): Thomas Niedermayr, Alto Adige From the stunning, light-filled Dolomitic terraces overlooking San Michele Appiano, Thomas reflects on a smaller than usual crop, the harvest of which started on 20 Aug with the PIWI grape Solaris & finished on 1st October......
10 March 2020
On our last trip to Piedmont it was fascinating to taste so many different expressions of Nebbiolo, especially from the re-emerging and captivating region of Alto Piemonte, as well as from the Roero, and the Langhe itself. Carema First, we visited Chiussuma, in Carema. Ok technically it is not in the official ‘Alto Piemonte’ appellation,......
25 October 2019
Sicilia, Etna – Rori Parasiliti at SRC Vini counts himself lucky to have escaped the recent hailstorm that hit parts of Randazzo. “Uva perfetta”, he says! Flowering occurred without incident; August saw lots of rain, but September has been hot. Still a month to go, with quantity up 30% on 2017. Basilicata, Vulture – Luca......