Some time ago I was talking with a distributor of wines, wines that, in most cases, can be described as “natural wines”. He said to me that the majority of those wines had no added sulfites, other than a little “sprinkle” at the time of bottling. From what I could gather, these wines have a content of Total SO2 way below 30-40 mg/L. What is the legislative framework in EU for solfites in wine? The legal limits are 150 mg/L for reds, 200 mg/L for whites. The new “organic wine” protocol, just approved a few weeks ago, lower the upper limits to 100 mg/L for reds and 150 mg/L for whites (for wines with a residual sugar content < 2 …continua
Vinitaly 2012 what’s what
A week from Vinitaly 2012, tempus fugit! Looking forward to it, new format this year, it will start on Sunday (25th of March) instead the usual Thursday, and it will end on Wednesday (28th of March) instead of the usual Monday. What that does mean? Well, basically, it means cutting out one day (Saturday) of the two messy days when …continua
When is the Morellino going to join the Anteprime Toscane?
I’ve been reading, not without some feeling of jealousy, the ample summary of the Anteprime Toscane wine tastings, recently held in Florence, San Gimignano, Montepulciano, Montalcino, ecc. So why is Morellino left out? There will be plenty of reason for it to be there: Morellino is at the moment (but in the next vintage, joined by the Montecucco) the only …continua
Three out of ten of the most sold wines in Italian supermarkets are Morellino di Scansano
(source: Newsletter Tre Bicchieri) I couldn’t believe my eyes! According to a recent survey, three out of ten of the most sold wines in Italian supermarkets (red wines) are Morellino di Scansano DOCG. This is amazing, 2.310.000 millions of bottles out of a total of 8.726.000, more than 26%, are Morellino di Scansano (from three different brands). Much more than …continua
book review: Authentic wine J.Goode, S. Harrop and The Science of wine, J.Goode
In order to complete the first semester of the Diploma course of the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust), I had to do an assignment that had this title: The role of science and technology in wine production. I had quite a lot of fun in preparing it (I’ll publish it after it’s been marked), I read a lot of …continua
Italian wine guides on Tuscany’s Maremma
What I’m trying to do here is to put on a google map all the wineries (and all the wines) that have achieved at least one award from the main (according to me!) Italian wine guides. In the last decade we have seen a multiplication, and in some instance, a radical change in Italian wine critic: some guides have chosen …continua
bye bye #harvest2011
It’s over, finish, no more grapes on the vines. How was it? Medium quality I think, I’m telling you straight away (if it was a wine it would receive a 87 Parker points, not spendable in the US or Asian market, if you care about those things…) Yes, nobody this year has yelled to the “harvest of the century”. Not …continua
Finally, our Ciliegiolo became “slow”
Yes, our Ciliegiolo single vineyard “Vallerana Alta” is a “Slowine“. This is the award given to about 200 Italian wines – out of 20.000 – by the new edition of Slow Food Italian wine guide 2012. Which is, in fact, called Slowine. That is how they define a Slowine: These are the wines of the our heart, the wines that …continua
We are half the way #Harvest2011
We have done more than half, that’s a good thing. What can it be said already? 2011 harvest started two weeks earlier (you know that), but it is not going to end two weeks earlier, probably. some vineyards were negatively affected by a heat wave during the second half of August. other vineyards, who knows why, simply weren’t. It had …continua
Another award for Capatosta 2009 Morellino di Scansano: the 5 “grappoli” from the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS)
I wasn’t even thinking about it, when I’ve received this email communicating that the Morellino di Scansano Riserva “Capatosta” 2009 has been awarded with the highest prize, the 5 Grappoli (grape clusters – here all the awards), from the wine guide published by the Italian Sommelier Association (AIS). The AIS was founded in 1968, and it is the oldest and …continua
Espresso Italian Wines Guide 2012 awards us with 2 “Eccellenza” wines!
Well, this is a good news, right in the middle of the harvest. We have just been notified that 2 of our wines, Capatosta, Morellino di Scansano Riserva 2009 and Vallerana Alta Ciliegiolo 2009 have received the maximum award from the “Guida dei Vini d’Italia” of the L’Espresso. This wine guide is considered to be stricter and more selective than …continua
