There is Vin Santo not only in Tuscany, but also in Umbria, Emilia Romagna, Veneto and Trentino. However, the first Vin Santo in Italy is said to originate from Tuscany – a wine of legendary origin. There are several different versions of the name origin. One version is, that it should have been the healing effect of the wine on plague sufferers in the Siena of the 14th century, another one, the misinterpretation of the exclamation of a Greek bishop after the tasting of the wine as ‘santo’, ie sacred, instead of ‘Xanthos‘, as of originating from the Greek island of the same name.
Most likely, … Read more ...
There are 3000 years of viticulture on Samos. Even today, Muscat Blanc á Petits Grains thrives under the burning southern sun for the sweet Samos wine. The grapes grow mostly on small terraces on the northern slopes of the Ambelos Mountains, up to 800 meters altitude.
The EOSS (Union of Cooperatives Vinicoles de Samos), the Association of Winegrowers’ Cooperatives on Samos, formed in 1934 from 26 local cooperatives, is not only responsible for the vinification and quality of sweet Samos wines, but is also responsible for marketing and public relations. Nearly 80% of the approximately 70,000 hl Samos per year are exported.
There are four different varieties of samos wine, … Read more ...
The Moscatello di Taggia has been a welcome guest at the English and Flemish royal courts as well as at least some papal tables since the 14th century. For a long time, this wine was considered a symbol of Ligurian viticulture, until in the 19th century the phylloxera decimated the existence of this variety to the point of insignificance and thus the grape variety was forgotten. It was only in 2003 that around 20 plants of this grape variety were rediscovered as part of an oenological research project by the University of Turin in the municipality of Ceriana (province of Imperia).
The winemaker Eros Mammoloti had already initiated this search … Read more ...
It is said in Friuli that the Verduzzo was drunk by the farmers at the time of the fiefs, while the landed gentry drank the aristocratic sweet Picolit. Even today, the Picolit coming from the Collio orientale del Friuli, outside Friuli, the better known of the two. The Verduzzo is however the typical sweet wine from Friuli. It is made from the grape Verduzzo Friulano as a sweet (amabile or dolce) DOC wine in the Friulian wine regions Collio Orientale, Friuli Annia, Friuli Aquileia, Grave and Isonzo. In Carso, Collio and Latisana the Verduzzo is not pruduced as DOC wine. There is also a sweet Verduzzo Riserva… Read more ...
“É un regalo” said Gabriele, when I asked him about the price of the bottle Moscato di Scanzo. In his restaurant Sali e Tabacchi in Maggiana on Lake Como we had celebrated the wedding of a friendly couple this weekend and he had noticed that I had searched in vain for this wine in the surrounding wine shops. Overnight, he organized a Moscato di Scanzo from a winemaker friend. It was from the neighboring community of Scanzorosciate and thus a Vino da Tavola and not the Scanzo from the DOCG, but still a wine from the grape Moscato di Scanzo and dolce – a circumstance that did not impair his … Read more ...
The Valais, with about 5,200 hectares of vineyards largest wine region in Switzerland, located mainly on the southern slopes of the upper Rhône Valley, offers spectacular, often terraced vineyards and a large variety of indigenous grape varieties. The vines thrive on different types of soil, which include granite, morainic gravel, slate and highly calcareous soils.
With its approximately 2,100 hours of sunshine per year, the low annual average rainfall of less than 600 mm and especially the autumnal warm winds, the Valais offers the best conditio
ns for the harvest of healthy, ripe grapes. The almost always beautiful late autumn in Valais, with still very warm days and cool nights, … Read more ...
In the northeast of Sardinia there is the Gallura, which is a region and a wine-growing area at the same time. Gallura is best known for the Costa Smeralda and the Vermentino di Gallura, Sardinia’s only DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) wine.
About five kilometers from the sea, the Vigne Surrau winery cultivates about 50 hectares of vines in the easternmost part of the Gallura, predominantly Vermentino and Cannonau, but in smaller proportions also Carignano, Muristellu (Bovale Sardo), Caricaggiola, – an authochtone red variety of Gallura -, and to a small extent also Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. In the vineyards a … Read more ...
Commandaria is reminiscent of command – and really, the name goes back to the headquarters of a Crusader order, which was stationated in the region, where the from the ancient world known Cypriot sweet wine Nama was made. End of the 12th century, this headquarter named La Grande Commandarie was the eponym of this wine, which is still known as Commandaria. At that time, the export of Commandaria began to flourish and the fact of being one favorite wines of many European royal houses, has supported this.
Even today, Commandaria is made from the two most grown grapes in Cyprus – the autochthonous white grape Xinisteri (23% of all vineyards) … Read more ...
“Like syrup! – Liquid raisins! – Incredibly sweet! ”- this and the like can sometimes be heard when tasting sherry made from Pedro Ximénez (PX) or Moscatel grapes. These Sherries are definitely sweet, as Moscatel sherry must have at least 160 g / l residual sugar – PX sherry even at least 212 g / l. Simple, not very mature specimens can then often be too little complex and such appear “just sweet”.
A visit to the Bodega Tío Pepe of González-Byass in Jerez de la Frontera is practically a “must” if you are exploring sherry in the sherry triangle between the cities of Jerez, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. A visit to this bodega was also on the agenda of the trip of the wine academy beginning of October this year.