Susumaniello by A. Mano – the Donkey of Puglia Susumaniello is a red grape native to Puglia, grown mainly around the major southern port of Brindisi, in the heel of Italy’s boot. Like some other Italian native grapes, Susumaniello became rediscovered in the late 1990s. Modern wine-growing has enabled it to make a significant comeback in this area, with around …
Titolo by Elena Fucci, Aglianico del Vulture
Titolo by Elena Fucci, Aglianico del Vulture Welcome to the final Part 3 of a feature on Italy’s three greatest red grape varieties. These three were written in honour of Burton Anderson, the best writer about Italian wine in the English Language. So far in the series, we’ve covered Nebbiolo in Part 1 from Barolo DOCG in Piemonte (north), and …
Les Crêtes – Petite Arvine – An Ode to Joy
Les Crêtes – Petite Arvine – An Ode to Joy You could be forgiven for assuming that the Les Crêtes winery, run by the Charrère family, is French. In fact, this is an Italian producer based in the Valle d’Aosta, the autonomous Italian region bordering France and Switzerland. For many, the Aosta Valley provides the first experience of Italy when …
Garda is evolving – What’s new in Garda DOC?
Garda is evolving – What’s new in Garda DOC? Regular readers of these pages will recall that I visited Lake Garda last year. This was to explore the Garda DOC appellation at their annual Garda Wine Stories event. You can read about this in a two-part article here and here. Part 1 was about Lake Garda and the role of …
Parusso 100 Mesi Extra Brut – Ancient Yet Contemporary
Parusso 100 Mesi Extra Brut – Ancient Yet Contemporary The Parusso estate is at Monforte d’Alba, with a stellar reputation for great Barolo DOCG, one of the world’s greatest red wines. Meanwhile, Monforte d’Alba is one of the major wine villages of the Barolo DOCG. It has previously featured on these pages several times, and is one of my favourite …
Ronchi di Castelluccio in Romagna
Ronchi di Castelluccio in Romagna Ronchi di Castelluccio is a boutique winery at Modigliana, on the hillsides of Romagna in Italy. When the opportunity to try their flagship wines arose, no further encouragement was necessary. This wasn’t just because of high-quality or because the wines of Romagna deserve better recognition abroad. In fact, it was a way to revisit this …
Ben Ryé Meets Westmorland Pepper Cake for WOTY 25
Ben Ryé Meets Westmorland Pepper Cake for WOTY 2025 Welcome to the Wine Alchemy Wine of the Year (WOTY) award for 2025. This year, it is also part of the occasional series that pairs Wine with Cake. This year’s WOTY is Ben Ryé, one of the world’s greatest sweet wines, and a true masterpiece. Here it pairs with Westmorland Pepper …
Bellone from Lazio – Anthium by Casale del Giglio
Bellone from Lazio – Anthium by Casale del Giglio Bellone is an extremely high-quality autochthonous white grape variety from the Lazio region of Italy. A stunning example is made by the Casale del Giglio winery in Lazio, 50 km south of Rome. Called Anthium, it’s 100% Bellone, designated as a Lazio Bianco IGP. All this deserves better recognition here in …
Vicoregio 36 – Three Classic Italian Reds, Pt 2 – Sangiovese
Vicoregio 36 – Three Classic Italian Reds, Pt. 2 – Sangiovese Castello di Fonteruloli in Chianti Classico embraces the Chianti Classico Gran Selezione category, producing not just one but three examples. They are all 100% Sangiovese, but each comes from a distinct terroir. One of those wines features here: Vicoregio 36. Fonterutoli is a place where the ancient sits comfortably …










