Italy

Ligurian Ambrosia – Moscatello di Taggia

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ligurischer-weinbauThe 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 ...

Verduzzo – typically Friulan

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Zitronen-Ricotta-Mandel-KuchenIt 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 ...

Moscato di Scanzo from Bergamo

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Moscato di Scanzo II
“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 ...

Sardinian red sweetness

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Rotweinreben auf SardinienIn 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 ...

Feinherb to sweet Muscat wines

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Moscato Weine

… and all priced below 10 €. We tasted three different muscat wines, two sweet wines: a gold muscatel from the winery Erste + Neue from South Tyrol and a Moscato from Gallo from California, plus a feinherb muscatel from the winery Kesselring from the Palatinate.

All are muscat wines, but of at least two different varieties: Gold Muskateller and Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, provided that the feinherb wine from Palatinate has been made from yellow muscatel.

For quick readers ahead: None of the wines could be one of our favorites – more in the conclusion. All wines were tasted blindly.

Muskateller feinherb Bio 2014, Winery Kesselring
light pale … Read more ...

Aleatico dell‘ Elba with Schiaccia Briaca

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Traditionelle Weinerziehung ElbaAleatico is an indigenous red variety of Central and Southern Italy, mainly of Latium, Umbria, Tuscany and Puglia. The DOC or DOCG wines produced from Aleatico are mainly amabile or dolce, that means semi-sweet or sweet. There is sweet Aleatico mostly in two different forms: as Passito and as alcohol-fortified Liquoroso.
In most regions with Aleatico it is prohibited to use this aromatic muscat-like tasting grapes for dry red wines . There are dry IGT wines, however, produced from the Aleatico grape as varietal red wines and even pressed as white wines, as well as frizzante (www.occhipintiagricola.it).
The most famous DOC for Aleatico sweet wines are Gioia … Read more ...

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