QuerceRosa – a brand new Tuscan Rosato by Castello di Querceto Regular readers will be familiar with Castello di Querceto, an historic winery and founder member of the Chianti Classico DOCG, based near Greve-in-Chianti. Their wines have appeared previously on these pages; in 2025 with their Chianti Classico Annata and Riserva wines and in 2022 with their two Chianti Classico …
A Stella Supernova
A Stella Supernova Regular readers of these pages will know of my fascination with Italy’s Collio DOC. In particular, Tenuta Stella, a winery near Dolegna del Collio, has become a personal favourite. I first discovered their wines when visiting the Collio in 2023, with two previous articles written about some of their wines. You can find the first one here, …
Agroforestry, in Search of Tomorrow’s Viticulture – Mosnel 190
Agroforestry, in Search of Tomorrow’s Viticulture – Mosnel 190 April 2026 marked the 190th anniversary of the Mosnel winery in Franciacorta. A major part of the celebrations was attending a conference about Mosnel’s Agroforestry project, which is the subject of this article. Ten years ago, I was privileged to attend the celebrations of Mosnel’s 180th anniversary 1 This time, their …
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 …
Castello di Querceto – Chianti Classico Annata and Riserva
Castello di Querceto – Chianti Classico Annata and Riserva In January 2022, I wrote an article about two Chianti Classico wines from Castello di Querceto. These representatives of the top of the Chianti Classico quality pyramid were their 2018 vintage Gran Selezione wines, namely Il Picchio and La Corte. You can read about those here (including new updated prices and …
Mosnel Franciacorta Brut – their landmark 44th Edition
Mosnel Franciacorta Brut – their landmark 44th Edition In 2016, it was an honour to be one of the guests at Mosnel’s 180th birthday celebrations. While there, a unique tasting of their flagship Franciacorta Extra Brut, called EBB, was special. You can read all about Mosnel and that superb sparkling wine here. A return to Mosnel via these pages was …
Poggio Valente by Fattoria Le Pupille
Poggio Valente by Fattoria Le Pupille Poggio Valente is one of those rare wines where just one glass made me want to visit Fattoria Le Pupille to find out more. So, some years ago I did, and I’ve followed its development from afar ever since. Given this, I can’t quite understand how I’ve not previously written about it. That’s especially …
Rioja Vega tasting at Avanti, Kirkby Lonsdale
Rioja Vega tasting at Avanti, Kirkby Lonsdale Rioja DOCa remains Spain’s most prestigious and well-known wine region. Aged red Rioja is predominant and rightly popular. Indeed, the UK remains Rioja’s largest export market. However, the Rioja region has had a welcome rejuvenation over the past few years, with new wines and styles gaining acclaim. Hence, the opportunity to attend a …
Rossese Bianco from Josetta Saffirio is WOTY 2024
Rossese Bianco from Josetta Saffirio is WOTY 2024 Wine Alchemy’s Wine of the Year (WOTY) 2024 goes to Sara Vezza in Piemonte, Italy. This is for the rare white wine Josetta Saffirio, Rossese Bianco, Langhe DOC, 2022. As is usual, the Wine Alchemy WOTY is inspirational. Exceptional taste is a given. But, in addition, the winning wine must be genuinely …
Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella
Two More Bright Stars From Tenuta Stella I wrote an article about Tenuta Stella in the Collio DOC in June 2024. This featured their excellent Malvasia Istriana wine. You can read about that here. At that time, a further article about two more wines from this excellent organic winery was mentioned, and here it is! These are equally bright stars, …