2022 Italian Red Wine

Like their Etna Bianco, Etna pioneer Benanti’s Etna Rosso is a blend of multiple vineyards on the volcano’s northern and southern slopes and is built for pure pleasure enjoyment! As Vinous says, it “wafts up... Read More

“Gulpable” Chianti Classico isn’t really a thing, but maybe it should be? This blend of 90% Sangiovese plus Merlot and Colorino aged in big Slavonian oak casks would be a fine example. It’s bursting with... Read More

The whole staff endorses this pure, nicely dense, super refreshing, tiny production, Barbera gem. Antonio Galloni’s note in the 92 point review is perfect: “Plump, juicy and super-expressive. A rush of dark cherry,... Read More

One of the finest Barbera in all of Italy whether enjoyed now or with a decade-plus in cellar. As Wine Advocate describes it in the 94 point review, Offering a level of aromatic clarity and elegance that is not always easy for... Read More

Organic/Bio 22 hectares nestled in the core of the Chianti Classico region, Gagliole’s Rubiolo shows the best of what the region has to offer. Pietraforte rock being the base of the soil gives the wine smoothness and delicious,... Read More

As you’d guess from the label, this is super-traditional Barbera picked ripe and juicy and aged just a brief time in large oak for a touch of structure. Big aromas and flavors of crunch red and juicy black fruits gain complexity... Read More

This is a fabulous bargain in very high-end Etna red. It's mainly Nerello Mascalese with a smattering of the softer Nerello Cappuccio from sites across the north slopes of the volcano. It’s wonderfully layered and complex,... Read More

Organic/Bio As Wine Advocate said last year, “Giuseppe Russo makes some of the best wines on Etna. Full stop.” And this is Doug’s favorite pretty much every year. From roughly 50 year-old vines at 500 meters,... Read More

Vinous describes this cheerful, fun, Abruzzo Montepulciano well: opens with a darkly floral blend of wilted violets and lavender, giving way to crushed blackberries and sage. It's soft and round with a silken texture and masses... Read More

Sometimes you want the flavors and a character of Brunello di Montalcino in a more open, easy, style. And at a drink anytime price point. That’s what you get here in a wine made from the Brunello grape – Sangiovese... Read More

Biodynamic Lower ABV In an ocean of Valpolicella, Agricola Montenigo stands out for its commitment to biodynamic farming and a noticeable sense of fun. Like here! This is the Valpolicella trio of Corvina, Corvinone and Rondinella... Read More

Organic/Bio A triumph of winegrowing in a difficult vintage and a steal of a price from a family that resolutely refuses to chase fame. As Vinous says in the 92 point review, A gorgeous, super-classic wine from Ormanni. Readers... Read More

Organic/Bio Someday I'll go to Le Contrade dell'Etna and taste wines from every important contrade on the volcano. Until then, though, my position is clear and absolute: Guardiola is my favorite and, arguably, the best.... Read More

Organic/Bio With just 1HA of vines on the 2,800 foot elevation, lava-covered, Contrada Sciaranuova, this is always one of the more limited wines from Passopisciaro. The name translates to new lava flow which covered the site in... Read More

A blend of classic Sicilian grapes - Nero d'Avola and Frappato - loaded with Cerasuolo or cherry charcater. As Vinous says in the 91 point review, Peppery and floral, the 2022 Cerasuolo di Vittoria wafts up with a spicy blend... Read More

Organic/Bio Without question, Planeta is the most important winery in Sicily and has done more than anyone to drive up quality and awareness of good Sicilian wine around the world. Etna is just a small part of what they do but,... Read More

Nicola Argamante and his wife, Loredana, make around 7,000 cases of wine per year from their 30 acres of vines near Monforte d’Alba. This is their daily drinker, mainly Dolcetto plus splashes of Nebbiolo, Barbera, Albarossa... Read More

Organic/Bio Here’s proof that great farming and straight-ahead winemaking can deliver fine Chianti – and even finer value! – from outside the Classico zone. More and more Chianti is either all Sangiovese or Sangiovese... Read More

If you want to know how good a Barolo winemaker is, the saying goes near Alba, taste their Dolcetto. Because while it sells for daily drinker prices, Dolcetto is easy to mess up and hard to get right. Tenuta Cucco got this VERY... Read More

Organic/Bio Easygoing the folks at JamesSuckling.com called this in the 90 point review, and that captures it nicely. It's full of ripe cherry/berry fruit with a hint of leather and a tart cranberry and fine tannin finish.... Read More

Organic/Bio Perhaps the finest vintage ever of this benchmark blend of Nerello from key sites across the north face of Etna. For the first time, Marc de Grazia and team were able to hold this in barrel for around 15 months –... Read More

Organic/Bio With San Lorenzo, one of Terre Nere’s three Grande Terroir Ellittico wines, so designated because of their very rare and pure volcanic sand soils from the Ellittico eruptions dating from 15,000 to 60,000 years... Read More

Organic/Bio A new wine from Terre Nere, this celebrates the first harvest Marc de Grazia took from this Grand Cru vineyard in 2002 by pulling grapes from his first new vine planting there. Planted in 2006 and 2007, these vines... Read More

Just as in the rest of Europe, when phylloxera devastated most of the volcano's vineyards when it finally arrived here in the mid-20th Century. But two small plots of Nerello Mascalese on Calderara Sottona's steep slopes... Read More

Marc de Grazia has designed San Lorenzo one of his three Grande Terroir Ellittico wines, so designated because of their very rare and pure volcanic sand soils from the Ellittico eruptions dating from 15,000 to 60,000 years ago.... Read More