Italy Archives - Page 2 of 6 -

Punta Crena Lumassina 2023 Review – Bright and Fruity

Lumassina is a native grape to Liguria in northwest Italy, and is one we hadn't heard of until beginning our quest to try every grape varietal in the world.

As soon as our bottle was delivered, we realized it looked familiar. Borderline low alcohol per the label, a pale yellow color with a slightly green tint, and colorful branding? Well, it felt a lot like a Vinho Verde before opening.

So we paired it with a vegetarian feast on a hot summer day and were quite pleased to find out the wine was exactly like what we expected.

One thing we love about wine is finding varietal bottles featuring grapes that are historically used for blending. In the Etna region of Sicily, Nerello Cappuccio is one such grape, often found in small proportions with more commonly grown grapes, like Nerello Mascalese (the dominant red grape of Etna DOC).

So when we stumbled upon a varietal bottle when tasting at Benanti, we were overjoyed. Even better? It was a fantastic bottle, and we bought one of the bottles to age a little bit more at home.

The staff at Benanti recommended not holding onto it for too long, as it was drinking really well at the time, so our curiosity got the best of us about a year later and we opened it up when it was about 11 years old.

What a treat this one was!

Nosiola is often considered to be the only native white grape variety of Trentino, and is known for being a crisp white wine with dominant citrus flavor and an underlying minerality.

While versatile, being made dry, sweet, and dried for Vin Santo, we tried the dry white from Cesconi for this review!

When we went on our wine tour of Piedmont, we knew we had to stop in Barbaresco town for an afternoon. Naturally, the coop Produttori del Barbaresco has a tasting room right in the heart of Barbaresco town, and within minutes from parking we were in their doors sampling some wine.

Although their base Barbaresco wine is widely distributed and is in most stores we frequent, we also have to admit, this one is delicious!

We picked up a few bottles of their 2019 when in Piedmont to bring home, and cracked open our first one in 2025 to see how it was tasting with just under six years of age.

One of our favorite things about Italy is that there is no shortage of wine grapes to try.

In the Lazio region, Casale del Giglio produces wine from the Bellone grape, Anthium, and they believe this one may have Uva Pantastica as its ancestor grape- a varietal that was seemingly praised by Pliny the Elder in the first century.

Grapes with ancient origins, and a new one for our quest to try them all? We're in!

Ferrari is synonymous with traditional method sparkling wine in Trentodoc in northern Italy, and is one of those bottles you've likely seen in the store many times due to its wide distribution.

We have been getting more and more into Italian sparkling wine made in Champagne style and decided to pick this one up and enjoyed it for an all-around lovely bottle for flavor and price point!

Gran Selezione is a somewhat new classification for Chianti, and rises one step above Riserva categorically. Similar rules apply for production area limits and grape requirements (must be estate grown, and >80% Sangiovese), the bottles require 30 months of total aging, a slightly higher alcohol floor (13%), and at least three months in bottle before release.

While these rules are not too different from Riserva, they do allow for some interesting, estate grown wines all the same. Tenuta di Capraia Effe 55 was one such bottle, and the six year old bottle we opened could just as well spent another decade or so in our cellar!

So whether you enjoy this one now or hold it for later, an impressive wine is in your future.

Sicilian-made Grillo is quickly becoming one of those grapes that we enjoy no matter how it is made. Young? Delicious. Oaked? We can dig it. A bit older? A lot have developed some nice character with time, too.

So while we were in Sicily, we made sure to buy as many bottles of Grillo as we could to bring home. One bottle was Marco de Bartoli Vignaverde, which, true to name, drinks like a light and refreshing wine all with the character of Grillo we know and love!

There really is something special about Sicily. This Italian island in the Mediterranean has just about everything- beautiful landscapes, incredible food, and, of course, even better wine.

It is because of this (and more) that Sicily draws us back again and again. I've visited the country on immersive visits twice, and am already planning a third because no matter how much time you spend on the island, it never seems to be enough.

So let's dive down into how to plan a trip for wine tasting in Sicily- what you can try, where you should go, where you should stay, and what else there is to do outside of tasting wine!

Tenuta Regaleali is a wine producer we had our sights on when visiting Sicily but, sadly, did not make it out to visit. So when we found a bottle of their Guarnaccio (Perricone) in the store, we knew we had to pick it up to take home.

While perhaps a lesser-known grape by Sicilian standards, this one packed a punch and showcases why Sicily is one of the most versatile, and delicious, wine regions in Italy!

Punta Crena Lumassina 2023 Review – Bright and Fruity

Benanti Nerello Cappuccio 2014 Review – A Rare Find

Cesconi Nosiola 2022 Review – Citrus Driven With Minerality

Produttori del Barbaresco 2019 Review – A Classic Nebbiolo

Anthium Bellone 2022 Review – An Ancient Grape With Flavor

Ferrari Brut NV Review – A Classic Traditional Method

Tenuta di Capraia Effe 55 2018 Review – One Intense Chianti

Marco de Bartoli Vignaverde 2023 Grillo Review – Bright Acid

How to Plan a Wine Tasting in Sicily – Tips and Advice

Tenuta Regaleali Perricone 2021 – Run the Flavor Spectrum