Italy

Occhipinti SP68 Bianco 2022 Review – Bright and Floral

Occhipinti has quickly become one of our favorite producers in Sicily, and this Vittoria-based winery makes some of the finest Frappato and Nero d'Avola you'll find on the island.

But this one makes more than these famous grapes, and their SP68 Bianco is one such bottle featuring Albanello and Muscat of Alexandria- or as it is known in Sicily, Zibibbo!

After finding this one in a store in Ragusa, we knew we had to pick up a bottle to take home with us and enjoy later- partly for being one of the only bottles containing Albanello we have ever seen. For those who like bright, semi-floral bottles, this one is for you!

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Revi Cavaliere Nero Rose Reserva 2015 Review – Aged Rose

When we normally think about rose wine, we often think of young, fresh bottles meant to be enjoyed shortly after bottling.

But Cavaliere Nero Rose Reserva is not your typical rose, and this sparkling bottle from Trentodoc is meant to have a bit of age. We were fortunate enough to try a sample bottle of the 2015 for this review, and at nine years old this rose still has a lot of life left in it!

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Moser 51,151 Brut Review – A Wine With A Story

Moser 51,151 is an interesting bottle, not only because it is a lovely traditional method sparkling wine from Trentodoc, but because of the origin of the name.

51,151 is reflective of Francesco Moser's setting the Hour Record in cycling in 1984, the same year that the family winery started making traditional method sparkling wine from Chardonnay!

A wine with a history to match? We're in for this one.

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Monfort Le General Dallemagne Extra Brut 2015 Review

I have to admit, my experience with Trentodoc sparkling wines has been fairly limited. My first time I think I ever had one was on my WSET Diploma D4 exam, and since then, well, that was it. Truly, it was a region of sparkling wines that I knew very little about!

So when I had the opportunity to try some sample bottles provided courtesy of Trentodoc, I was quite excited to learn more about their traditional method wines from the region.

Up first? Monfort's Le General Dallemagne Extra Brut from 2015. With 60 months of lees and a few more years of time in bottle on top, this was one stellar bottle!

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Masseria Li Veli Susumaniello 2021 Review – Aromatic Intensity

Italy is one of those countries we go back to again and again in our quest to try new grapes, and the red grape, Susumaniello, from Puglia was high on our list.

Masseria Li Veli's Susumaniello was an interesting and complex red on the aromas that, admittedly, was a bit less complex on the palate than we would prefer. That said, if you are a fan of Cabernet, this one will be right up your alley!

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Pecchenino Bricco Botti Dogliani Superiore 2019 Review

As far as Italian red wines are concerned, Dolcetto is typically not the first bottle we reach for. Most entry-level bottles of this grape are made to be easy drinking, fruity wines which, while tasty, have not been for us.

It wasn't until we traveled to some excellent wineries in Piedmont, particularly in the Dogliani region known for world-class Dolcetto, that we became converts.

This is where we stumbled upon Pecchenino and their stellar lineup of ageable Dogliani. We brought several bottles home with us, and their Bricco Botti Dogliani Superiore 2019 was the first bottle we opened.

This is the kind of bottle we're glad to have bought extras of to age!

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Cavit Pinot Grigio 2022 Review – Straightforward White Wine

We have to admit we have a bit of a personal bias against Pinot Grigio.

The wine made from this grape, stylistically speaking at least, is just a bit too simple for our liking. Throw on that the Pinot Gris counterpart here is often just a bit more interesting, mainly because of where it is grown (Alsace, for example), means we generally just don't buy many bottles labeled Pinot Grigio outside of a few instances.

But, as always, we love trying name-brand bottles to see what they're all about, and we did just that with Cavit Pinot Grigio from Valdadige, Italy.

Although this one hit us with what we expected for a flavor profile (and dare we say, pretty spot on at that), this grape and style is still just not for us.

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Librandi Duca Sanfelice Reserva 2019 Review – Nuanced Red

We always love a red wine that we can sit around and discuss for quite some time, and the Gaglioppo grape from southern Italy makes for one such wine.

Librandi's Duca Sanfelice Ciro DOC Reserva certainly was an interesting one, and if you are a fan of Sangiovese, this grape (which is said to be a cross between that and another, unidentified grape) may be for you!

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Abbazia di Novacella Kerner 2021 Review – Textural White

Kerner is an interesting white grape that was bred in 1929 and is a crossing between Riesling and Trollinger. Grown in cooler climates, this one is often found in Germany, Austira, Switzerland, and northern Italy- the latter where we found Abbazia di Novacella's Kerner from Alto Adige.

For those who like a white wine with light phenolic textures, this is one to seek out!

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