Tal Lùc 2012 by Lis Neris

© Simone_ph Pixabay

On February 3 in Munich, Slow Wine presented , its wine guide of the year 2020, which includes wineries from Italy, California and Oregon. Slow Wine focuses on wines whose regional origin is recognizable and which also take ecological aspects and handcrafted production into account. That doesn’t mean that their taste is secondary.

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Rosenmuskateller – South Tyrol’s sweet red wine


Moscato Rosa del Trentino – called in South Tyrol Rosenmuskateller – a grape variety that is found almost exclusively in northern Italy and especially in South Tyrol, does not come from Sicily, as often claimed in Italy, but most likely from Dalmatia. In this respect, the synonym of the variety Moscato Rosa del Trentino is a bit misleading, as far more than 85% of the approximately 100 hectares of the Italian Rosenmuskateller vineyards are in South Tyrol. Outside Italy you will find some Moscato Rosa del Trentino on Lake Neusiedl, as well as in Rheinhessen and Istria. It should be noted that the variety is a descendant of Moscato BiancoRead more ...

Recioto di Soave from volcanic soil

Viticulture near Verona © Pixabay

Recioto is a typical term in the northern Italian Veneto, used for a wine produced from rosinated grapes – in the remaining areas of Italy, such a wine is called Passito. The name Recioto goes back to the local dialect which names the external grapes of the vine as Recie, which at least in earlier times, exclusively were used to produce this kind of sweet wine.

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South Tyrol – feinherb to sweet


Around 70% of South Tyrolean wines are produced by cooperatives, which belong to the pioneers of quality development. At this year’s wine trip to South Tyrol, the Winery Bolzano was on our visit program. The new construction of the winery has not only caused a stir architecturally. With around 40 million €, this is the most expensive investment in the wine sector in South Tyrol so far. 220 members of the cooperative are growing vines around Bolzano and manage about 350 hectares of vineyards, which are between 200 and 900 meters altitude. The winery is well known for its Lagrein and St. Magdalener wines, but it also offers many … Read more ...

Muffato della Sala – Italian Sauternes?

At our Italian evening Hans and I agreed in the judgment of the Muffato della Sala 2011 by Castello della Sala: In the nose like Sauternes, on the palate somehow stronger, the sweetness a bit too noticeable, there are some similarities with Passito, nevertheless no Passito – in short one very good, original Italian sweet wine.

The Castello della Sala, a winery owned by the Antinori family, is located near Orvieto. There, on soils infused with fossils, loamy, from sedimentary and volcanic origin, the vines for the muffato flourish. The Muffato is made from 60% Sauvignon Blanc, the remaining 40% comes from Grechetto, Semillon, Traminer and Riesling. Classified … Read more ...

Ruché Passito di Castagnole Monferrato

Vineyards in  Monferrato © pixabay.com

Since 2010 the Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato has a separate DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) although the grape variety, so to speak, was rediscoveredonly in the 1970s in Piedmont. Its then discoverer, Father Don Giacomo Cauda, ​​was so taken with the quality, body, aromas, flavors and aromas of the wines of his ten rows of ruché vines that he not only cultivated more of this variety, but even to inspire winemaker to increase plantings of it. Already in 1987 there was the DOC status, which at that time as well as today and also in case of the DOCG

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Cashmere from Tramin’s limestone

Wine cellar tour with Elena Walch

One third of the South Tyrolean winegrowing areas can be found in the Unterland winegrowing zone, which is the largest of the seven winegrowing areas in South Tyrol. The region Unterland is also the warmest and extends from Altenburg, about 5 km north of Tramin, along the Adige River to the Salurner Klause, the German-Italian language border. The Unterland also has the highest vineyards in South Tyrol. At an altitude of 1,000 m, the grapes for a well-known dry wine from South Tyrol, Feldmarschall von Fenner, ripen on the Fennberg near Kurtatsch. The proximity to Lake Garda with its mild climatic

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Via dei sapori: Friulian Picolit

The Consorzio Friuli Venezia Giulia Via dei Sapori had invited to trie Friulan products from the kitchen and the cellar. On 13 February this year, seven restaurateurs, twenty winegrowers and eleven delicatessen producers presented local specialties from the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in Munich. An excellent opportunity to introduce the outstanding products, the excellent, innovative and at the same time traditional cuisine as well as the variety of the very good Friulian wines to a wider audience. The offer, such as San Daniele ham, matured Montasio cheese, zabaione ice cream, sepia tagliatelle with young artichokes or pumpkin flan with cod and freshly passed tomatoes showed that the Friulan cuisine, coined … Read more ...

Vin Santo – holy wine?

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 ...

Ligurian Ambrosia – Moscatello di Taggia

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 ...