A Prosecco is a prosecco, right? Well, yes, but this one has a little bit of that next level dry taste and intensity about it, while retaining fresh, crisp, citrusy notes too. 

Highly appealing and super refreshing. Top value sparkling wine buying. Certified Organic.

This is a top notch everyday sparkling wine from the epicentre of the world's most popular bubbles today, the Veneto, in north east Italy - home to Prosecco.

Clean, fresh and lemony in taste, it offers a medium bubble and lingering lightly fruity finish, making it very good value for money for high quality Prosecco.

Hand harvested grapes were selected to make this lovely dry, next level Prosecco, which is produced by the Bortolin family - now in its fourth generation of winemaking. 

Arneis is a white grape varietal from the Piedmont region in Italy. This wine is tangy, dry and full-bodied. The nose is bright and floral with a fresh pear quality. The palate is rich with stone-fruit and a light nuttiness.

100% Arneis from the Roero Arneis DOCG

The grapes are selected from vineyards located in the middle of the Roero region, in Santo Stefano Roero. The vineyards are approximately 25 years old and are planted with 4.500-5.000 vines per hectare. Harvest starts around mid-September and the grapes are first pressed and then clarified. Alcoholic fermentation occurs in stainless steel autoclave at lower temperature (14-16°C, 57-60° F) to preserve some natural CO2 from the fermentation.

The wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation to preserve acidity and freshness and is held in stainless steel tanks on fine lees until bottling.

Description: Pale straw yellow color with fresh floral, citrus and melon aromas with almond hints. An unoaked, dry, medium bodied white wine with crisp acidity, the Arneis is well-balanced, elegant wine with good complexity and a lingering finish.

Food Pairings: As an aperitif with light hors d’oeuvres, crudités, seafood, salads, light soups, simply prepared veal, pork, chicken and creamy cheese.

One of our favourite Italian white grape varieties here at Regional Wines and definitely one of the world's least well known whites. - Timorasso. This Italian white variety comes from the tiny hillside appellation of Colli Tortonesi DOC in Piemonte. 

The grapes in this wine were grown on vineyards located in Monleale in the Alessandria Province, which has a south east and south west exposure and clay limestone soils.. 

This dry white has high acidity with a medium to full body and white floral notes with flavours of peach, nectarine and a nutty taste on the finish. It drinks well now but definitely has the potential to age. 

Winemakers Elena and Luca Currado Vietti fell in love with Timorasso when they first tasted it in the 1990s and have now joined the ranks of producers of this grape, which they describe as a thoroughbred varietal. 

Timorasso...

Timorasso can be traced back to the Middle Ages and is a vigorous grape in terms of growth. It was nearly extinct after the European phylloxera epidemic of the late 1800s and has slowly been revived so there is now a total of 110 hectares, of which Vietti has 7.1 hectares. 

Its production is centred around the town of Tortona, known in Roman times as Derthona, hence the name on the label.

Dolcetto is a one of the hidden treasures of Piemonte with its smooth rounded mouthfeel and impressive body and drinkability. This is a deliciously complex example from Dogliani in the region. 

Plantings of this grape declined in the 1990?s in favour of the more expensive, easier to market Barolo and Barberescos. It came down to money, not quality and quietly the wine world mourned. Luckily a few faithful enclaves remained faithful to the grape like in Dogliani just south of Alba.

The wine is jet black in colour with a sumptuous nose of blackberries dusted with exotic spices - fruity with great length and structure.

Delicate but powerful full bodied red made from Nebbiolo grown in the mountains in north west Italy. This is a stunning wine made in small volumes and imported in even lower volumes. 

If you love Italian wines, this is a must buy.

A lovely wine crafted mainly from Barbera but also with Dolcetto and Nebbiolo. Made with temperature controlled fermentation with indigenous yeasts and 10 to 15 days maceration exclusively in stainless steel tanks. Each component is vinified separately and then blended before bottling, based on the vintage.

This is an elegant medium to light bodied wine with a a fruit forward core balanced by lovely savoury elements and racy acidity.

It takes a fair bit of work to create a Pinot Grigio as complex, rewardingly delicious and layered as this one from the northern Italian wine region of the Veneto. Dry with intense flavours of lemon pith, red apples and hints of saltiness, this wine makes an outstanding match with salads and seafoods and is a great aperitif on its own. 

Hand picked grapes were gently pressed and given temperature controlled fermentation with wild yeast. The finished wine was aged for three months pre release. 

An outstanding Pinot Grigio.

This fabulous Italian red is old school Barolo with a modern twist; clean, bright and fresh with savoury, earthy flavour notes and a truffly overtone that says Piemonte and Nebbiolo in every lingering sip.

Castellero is a 0.4 hectare vineyard, situated between Bussia and Cannubi, which produces wine full of earthy freshness and flavours of roasted mushrooms, porcini supported by a firm backbone of refreshing floral notes and firm acidity, which provides this wine with its long finish. 

The winemaking is considered traditional. Long macerations of up to 40 days see the wine go through a natural fermentation without added yeast in steel tanks. It was then aged for 30 months in Slavonian oak barrels. It's old school with a modern twist; clean, bright and fresh with savoury, earthy flavour notes and a truffly overtone that says Piemonte and Nebbiolo in every lingering sip.

What the critics say

Wine Enthusiast - 94 points

"Rose, wild berry, baking-spice aromas mingle with whiffs of menthol. Linear and structured, the vibrant palate delivers raspberry, orange zest, cinnamon and tobacco set against tightly knit, refined tannins while bright acidity keeps it balanced and energized. Drink 2024–2036."

Vinious Media - 93+ points

"The 2016 Barolo Castellero captures so much of what makes this site special. Mint, lavender, blood orange, raspberry and chalk notes give he 2016 striking aromatic brightness to play off its translucent, mid-weight feel. A wine of tremendous fascinating complexity, the Castellero will delight readers who enjoy classically-built Barolos. The Castellero is perhaps not quite as deep as the most complete wines in this lineup, but that is really splitting hairs at this level."

James Suckling - 93 points

"Aromas of strawberries and spices and hints of wet earth follow through to a medium body with firm, silky tannins and a long, driven finish, Better after 2022."

Giacomo Fenocchio's winemaking philosophy

Giacomo Fenocchio is regarded as one of the best Barolo producers today. Here's a piece that sums up why he is so highly respected and what makes his wines an authentic expression of Piemonte as a wine region.

"Claudio Fenocchio took over from his father Giacomo in 1989 – probably the moment of greatest pressure to follow the ‘modern’ winemaking path of short fermentations and aging in new barriques. In fact, it’s difficult now to understand how much pressure was exerted – from peers and neighbors, old and young, from the press, importers, customers, and that mysterious thing called “the market”. It took a strong will to resist, and a strong devotion to tradition. Lucky for us that Claudio stuck with the best of tradition – organic farming, long fermentations, and aging in large Slavonian oak casks. Easy for us too, since we get to drink his wines. Here’s a rare group of Fenocchio bottles spanning the generations, and ending with the beautiful 2016s."

From Chalmers Street Wine

Gavi is a wonderfully, mineral-driven white wine made in and around the eponymous township in south east Piemonte. The only difference between 'Gavi DOCG' and 'Gavi di Gavi DOCG' is that the latter can only be made of fruit grown within the borders of the Commune or township.  Other than that, they're identical wines and, more importantly, utterly delicious!  With its characteristic greenish tinge and notes of acacia flowers and green apple, it delivers a mineral-laden yet fruity wine with a bitter almond finish that pairs beautifully with all manner of dishes.

Barbera is the juicy popular everyday red wine from Piemonte in north west Italy but it can also be complex, layered and succulently good, like this great example. Aromas of spice and fresh cedar lead into a full bodied, rewardingly interesting and smooth Italian red.

100% Nebbiolo from the commune of Castiglione Falletto where the vines have an average age of between 35 to 50 years and grow at an altitude of 250 to 300 metres on calcareous marl soils facing south west. Vinification is in stainless steel and aging in traditional oak casks. 

“The Produttori del Barbaresco 2021 Montestefano possesses heady aromas of iris, violet, red berry and spice. Firm and full-bodied, the palate boasts great energy and intensity that lifts ripe Morello cherry, orange peel, cranberry and licorice. It’s well balanced, with bright acidity. Drink 2029–2036.
98/100 Kerin O’Keefe

Montestefano is a great single vineyard Barbaresco and is one of the nine cru Barbarescos made by the cooperative winery that is arguably Italy's highest quality minded one, Produttori del Barbaresco.

This wine is a keeper and drinks beautifully now when decanted. 

This highly respected winery cooperative was founded in 1958 and now has 51 members who collectively own approximately 100 hectares of the entire appellation, which means they own approximately a seventh of the appellation. The single vineyard wines, such as this one, are only made in highly rated vintages (all of the grapes go into a blend in other years) and released after four years maturation in the riserva programme. 

All single vineyard cru wines from Produttori del Barbaresco are fermented at 30°C and given 32 days of skin contact time before being pressed in large oak barrels for 36 months of maturation in wood followed by a further nine months aging in bottle, prior to release. 

Winemaking Philosophy
The Arneis vineyards used for this selection are cultivated on loose soils with a strong presence of silica and a particular microclimate, which can give wines aromatic and elegant.

The grapes are picked by hand and the harvest is followed by cold maceration with soft pressing. The must then undergoes temperature controlled fermentation at 16-18 °C for about 10 days. The last important phase for this wine is a short period of bottle ageing, in order to develop its structure and pleasant bouquet.

Tasting Notes
Colour: clear straw yellow.
Bouquet: complex, intensely fruity with attractive notes of vanilla, face powder and candyfloss.
Palate: well balanced and elegant. The finish shows notes of peach and honey.
Statistical information
Grape variety: Arneis
Alcohol: 13.50 % vol.
Appellation: Roero Arneis DOCG
Aging: on the lees in steel vats.