From the category archives:

Italy

Pazzia is “Crazy” in Italian – Primitivo di Manduria

January 6, 2012
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According to  my Italian flatmate, “pazzia” means crazy in Italian. I had her translate the back label of the 2008 Pazzia Luccarelli Old Vines Primitivo di Manduria because my Italian is not so pretty. According to the label, everyone thought that the producers were crazy to think they could coax any grapes from the poor, [...]

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Umberto Cesari – Sangiovese Riserva 2008

December 31, 2011
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Emilia-Romagna is not a wine producing region in Italy that is well known for turning out wines of quality but one producer believed in the area and founded his vineyards there over 40 years ago. Emilia-Romagna is not that far from Tuscany, situated to the north east of the area on the other side of [...]

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Il Merlonero Quotidiano 2010 – Everyday Italian

December 1, 2011
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Oddbins has been resurrected. The late and much lamented high street chain of wine shops began as a shop full of quirky, interesting, good and best of all good value wines. Oddbins was the place to go if you were an adventurous wine drinker. Sadly, over the years, mismanagement and the inability to keep up [...]

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Marks & Spencer Baglio Nero D’Avola 2008

September 19, 2011
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This could be the first Italian wine I’ve been genuinely impressed by. Sure, I’ve been mellowing in my long-standing prejudices toward what is – or was, last time I checked – the world’s number one producer of wine by volume, but generally the wines I’ve not hated have been “interesting” or “palatable” or “well-suited to [...]

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Cannonau di Sardegna, Nepente di Oliena

September 16, 2011
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Cannonna di Sardegna comes from the Italian island of Sardinia but it’s better known by it’s French name Grenache. The vine is widely planted on the eastern side of the island and is cultivated in bush vines. Sardinia is not a major Italian wine producer but recently some producers have begun to make some seriously [...]

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Giol Bio-Cocktail Sparkling Merlot

August 15, 2011
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Sort of like an organic, sparkling sangria, this is far from your average red wine, and – as its name suggests – almost more like a cocktail. It hails from that spiritual home of sparkling reds, Italy, and is a light and refreshing drink at just 5% alcohol, which barely registers on the palate at all. [...]

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Alasia Brachetto d’Acqui 2009

June 22, 2011
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I wouldn’t have ordered this if I’d known what it was, and yet, I’m really glad I ordered it. I’d been deliberating for a while on the FindWine website about how exactly to order six exciting bottles of wine while resisting the temptation to push the budget above the £10-a-bottle mark, (essentially the same decision [...]

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Frescobaldi Brunello di Montalcino, 2006

May 13, 2011
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I was invited to Harrod’s wine and spirits cellar the other day for the launch of Frescobaldi’s 2006 vintage of their CastelGiocondo Brunello di Montalcino. Let me just say right now that I love Italian wine. Whether it’s a standard vino da tavola or a world class red wine, I’m very rarely disappointed. Frescobaldi although [...]

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Cusumano Nero D’Avola 2009

March 16, 2011
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SICILY 13% ODDBINS (Buyers Choice case of 6 mixed) Plastic Cork £6.49 Buy 6 for only £5.19 each – Save 20% Mixable Ready to drink

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Best Red Wines For Making Rich Winter Risottos

January 17, 2011
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Rich, warm, robustly flavoured and wonderfully indulgent – risotto is possibly the ultimate winter comfort food. And when that risotto comes laced with an equally robust red wine, prepare to enter comfort food heaven. Many people associate risotto predominantly with white wine and it’s true that white often works best when you’re dealing with subtly [...]

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Lo Zoccolaio Barbera d’Alba 2006

January 14, 2011
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I thought the classification of French wines was complicated before I started to read a bit more about Italian wines. You need a PhD in Geography and Oneology to fully understand the complexity of the Italian DOC system and the geographic areas and their sub-regions. This is obviously a huge minefield that has to be [...]

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