Cantina Tramin and their path to Alpine wines

Paul HowardAlto Adige/Südtirol, Articles, Blog, Italy, Sustainability, Wine Business

Cantina Tramin

Cantina Tramin and their path to Alpine wines Cantina Tramin is one of the leading wine producers in the Alto Adige (Südtirol) region of northeast Italy. This co-operative is in the village of Tramin (Termeno), comprising some 300 members and 270 hectares of vines, some of which are now organic. In this mountainous region, individual family holdings are frequently tiny, …

Malvirà Roero Arneis – Stylish White Wine in Two Guises

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Piemonte, Sustainability

Malvirà Roero Arneis

Malvirà Roero Arneis – Stylish White Wine in Two Guises Arneis is a fashionable Italian white grape variety. It has an exciting story to tell and can make excellent wines. Two of those wines feature here, both from the Malvirà winery, showing contrasting styles. Malvirà is at Canale, the unofficial “wine capital” of the Roero DOCG, in Piemonte, northern Italy. Arneis is …

Le Pupille – Delicious Summer Drinking

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Toscana

Le Pupille Terroir Morrellino di Scansano

Le Pupille – Delicious Summer Drinking For many lovers of Italian wine, the Fattoria Le Pupille winery and founder/owner Elisabetta Geppetti will need no introduction. Le Pupille’s name derives from the two farmhouses (the Pupils), located on the top of the hills near the village of Pereta, in the deep south of coastal Tuscany. We are in the Maremma, in a DOCG …

MonteRosola, Emerging Tuscan Star

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Toscana

MonteRosola Estate, Autunno

MonteRosola, Emerging Tuscan Star MonteRosola is a contemporary winery in the hills close to the hilltop town of Volterra in Tuscany. Volterra may be less familiar to some, so let’s start there to understand how MonteRosola and its wines fit into this delightful Tuscan landscape. Volterra claims the title, “the oldest town in Tuscany.” Indeed, various peoples had continuously occupied …

Chiesa del Carmine – an authentic taste of Umbria

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Organic, Sustainability, Travel, Umbria

Chiesa del Carmine – an authentic taste of Umbria Chiesa del Carmine is a restored estate in Umbria, some thirty minutes north of the twin delights of Perugia and Assissi. It’s near the Tuscan border, in a small limestone valley accessed from the river valley of the Upper Tiber (Fiume Tevere). This short article is about why their wines are worth …

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Vigna a Solatio

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Toscana

Vernaccia: San Gimignano from Casale Falchini

Vernaccia di San Gimignano Vigna a Solatio Riccardo Falchini bought the property now known as Casale-Falchini back in 1964. This was an ancient convent located outside the San Gimignano city walls, with forty hectares of vineyards and olive groves occupying the green rolling sandstone hills. From there, the famous medieval towers of the city dominate the skyline. He has worked …

Runcata Soave Superiore DOCG, Tenuta Corte Giacobbe

Paul HowardArticles, Biodynamic, Blog, Italy, Organic, Travel, Veneto

TENUTA CORTE GIACOBBE RUNCATA

Runcata Soave Superiore DOCG, Tenuta Corte Giacobbe I recently had the pleasure of visiting Tenuta Corte Giacobbe, to find out more about their top Soave Superiore DOCG called Runcata. Runcata is made only with the Garganega grape variety. It’s a single vineyard right up on the Eastern border of Soave. The terroir here has different characteristics from others in Soave, …

Tabarrini Adarmando, Bianco dell’Umbria IGT. WOTY 2018

Paul HowardArticles, Blog, Italy, Umbria

Tabarrini, Montefalco, Umbria

Tabarrini Adarmando.  Bianco dell’ Umbria IGT.  WOTY 2018 WOTY? It stands for Wine of the Year of course! In 2018 I encountered many outstanding wines, seemingly in every colour and style. Each brought great pleasure, and the best often taught me something new. However, in selecting from all these, there can only ever be one WOTY 2018. This year it’s an …

The magic of Caiarossa wines

Paul HowardArticles, Biodynamic, Blog, Italy, Toscana

Caiarossa head

The magic of Caiarossa wines Background Profile Caiarossa sits alone amidst unspoilt rolling hills in the Val di Cecina near the Tuscan coast. It’s a few miles north of the now-famous Bolgheri wine region. The blank canvas that was Tuscany’s coastal strip underwent a transformation a few decades ago. A slew of wineries and vineyards now occupy this previously virgin land, …