An exceptional dessert wine. Local wild cherries are infused with the prior year's vintage (Montepulciano and Sangiovese). Deep red and intense, with cherry aromatics and bright, balanced acidity. 

Primitivo comes from Puglia in the south of Italy where the hot Mediterranean climate provides ideal growing conditions to ripen grapes into a big, full bodied, plush and fleshy red wine, such as this one from Giordano.

This is a next level expression of a grape renowned for making big, dry, friendly drinking reds. It drinks well now and can age for another four to five years, developing into a more complex, savoury wine.

Here's a great little red blend from Antinori, which is a gorgeous expression of the insanely beautiful Tuscany region, but which is made from an interesting mix of Italian and French grapes. Sangiovese leads the way here with small quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, all grown in Tuscany. 

Antinori's winemakers describe this wine as firm bodied on the palate, supple with  velvety tannins and a long, savoury aftertaste.

Here's a big, bold red number from Puglia in the south of Italy and it's made from a blend of the two most popular red grapes there, Negroamarro makes up 80% with Primitivo at 20%.

Powerful dark fruit flavours are held together in a smooth, full bodied red wine with soft tannins and a lingering depth of flavour on the finish, thanks to being made using the Italian appassimento winemaking technique, which sees a portion of dried grapes added to the ferment to create richness of flavour and concentration. 

This is a lot of fun; a sparkling, savoury Italian wine has a pale pink colour savoury and was made using the method? ancestral winemaking technique. This means it was fermented in the bottle where the CO2 dissolved into the wine to make it sparkling. It was not disgorged after fermentation so it retains lees (yeast cells) and therefore a light hazyness. 

Dry, refreshing, lively bubbly. Drink lightly chilled. We think this is great fun and great value.

This Langhe Nebbiolo offers a great opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the world's great (and one of the trickiest) red grapes. Concentration of flavour and fresh acidity with earthy darkness and flavour interest all make this wine a winner - and, we think, one that offers stunning value for money as a great introduction what the superlative Nebbiolo grape is all about.

Claudio Fenocchio is the fifth generation of winemakers in the family and succeeded his father Giacomo in running the family business in 1989, triggering debate about modernist versus traditionalists in Barolo. Claudio's approach is different yet again; radical traditionalism. His aim is to make wines that are approachable in youth rather than austere but can also age impressively with time in the bottle.

Nero D'Avola is Sicily's big red success story; it's the most planted grape on this large Mediterranean island and also the most popular in terms of taste and style, delivering consistency juicy, plump, rounded and refreshing deeply coloured red wines from low priced to premium, such as this wine.

Caruso Nero is also organically certified and punches above its weight, delivering beautiful fragrant aromatic appeal and smooth, rich flavours right now, but also has the ability to age for up to 10 years, improving and evolving into a spicy, complex red over time.

Muscat of Alexandria grapes grown on the sandy volcanic soils of the island of Sicily yield a this delicate, yet sweet wine, with delightful notes of yellow peaches, melon and citrus fruits.

Cantine Pellegrino

Cantine Pellegrino is one of Sicily’s most important and prosperous wineries. Today they are one of very few families who can trace their lineage back to the original 19th Century founders of the Marsala trade.

Members of the Pellegrino family married into the Alagna, Renda, Tumbarello & Bellina families, members of which now collectively manage the company. 

In 1880 Paolo Pellegrino, local notary and vine grower, founded his winery in the heart of the city of Marsala on the West coast of Sicily. With the help of his son Carlo, he built the company up from nothing into one of Sicily’s leading Marsala producers. After the death of his father, Carlo took the reigns of the company, assisted by his wife Josephine Despagne, daughter of a famous Sauternes oenologist Oscar Pierre Despagne. 

Today the company has 150 hectares of vineyards, and three wineries. Pellegrino have been instrumental in putting Sicily on the winemaking map, with the family’s Marsala, fine wine and sweet Pantelleria wine, all exported around the world.

"Amazing wine of power," we wrote in our notes after tasting this maverick blend of Nebbiolo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from the great Gaja family in Barbaresco, in Piemonte, north west Italy. This wine is produced along biodynamic guidelines and is named after the site of Moresco, hence Sito Moresco; a reference to the previous owner of the vineyard, to whom Angelo Gaja and his daughter, Gaia Gaja both want to pay tribute. 

On the face of things, it can sometimes seem at odds with the strong personalities of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo to blend them both together, but it works in this wine because both get to express themselves, with Merlot adding juicy ripe flavours.

This complex and affordable Chianti Classico is a full bodied, ripe and powerful wine made from a blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Colorino and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, each grape contributing depth, body and balance to the wine. 

This brand was traditionally produced by a well known cooperative with over 60 different grape growers contributing to the blend but the brand has now been acquired by Tenute Piccini, which employs the highly respected consultant oenologist, Riccardo Cotarella.

THE CHIANTI CLASSICO APPELLATION

Chianti Classico is the heart of the wider Chianti production zone and its wines are distinguished by a trademarked black rooster on their labels. The wines of Chianti Classico are higher in quality and noticeably so in taste than wines labelled Chianti, which come from a broader area in Tuscany. The wines taste better because the vines are planted on hillsides with a higher degree of  iron rich soils and a greater diurnal temperature range, which provides more powerful, riper fruit flavours, which are balanced by higher acidity thanks to the cooler night time temperatures. 

The Sangiovese grape must make up 80% of all wines labelled Chianti Classico compared to 70% Sangiovese for wines labelled Chianti. 

Chianti was first defined as a wine producing sub region within Tuscany in 1716 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III, whose wanted to protect the integrity of the wines and prevent fraud. The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was formed in 1924 with the distinctive Black Rooster trademark chosen to feature on the labels. 

Classic old school Negroamaro created by the legendary oenologist Severino Garofano; considered to be one of Puglia’s greatest. Severino passed away in 2018, and the winery is now run by his brilliant son and daughter. Both are trained winemakers, who only work with Negroamaro – Salento’s most ancient grape variety.

Redolent of liquorice and tobacco with cherry fruit and spice, this is an elegant wine that totally over-delivers for its price.

100% Albana di Romagna

Made from dried Albana grapes, this dessert wine opens with ripe yellow peach and apricot aromas that carry over to the savory palate together with acacia honey and toasted hazelnut notes. Fresh acidity balances the sweet flavors.

Source - winemag.com

Masseria Li Veli Orion Primitivo is an exceptional red wine hailing from the sun-drenched vineyards of Puglia, Italy. Crafted with meticulous care by the renowned Masseria Li Veli winery, this Primitivo showcases the rich heritage and vibrant flavours of the region. The combination of ample sunshine, cooling sea breezes from the Adriatic and Ionian seas, and the region’s unique terroir allows Masseria Li Veli to produce high-quality Primitivo that truly reflects the character of Salento.

With its deep ruby hue, Orion Primitivo offers an enticing bouquet of ripe red berries, plums, and hints of spice. On the palate, it delivers a full-bodied experience with velvety tannins and a harmonious balance of fruit and earthy notes. Perfect for pairing with hearty Italian cuisine or enjoyed on its own

The 2021 Abbazia di Novacella Praepositus Moscato Rosa is a sweet, red wine from the Alto Adige DOC region of Italy, made from 100% Moscato Rosa grapes. This wine features a brilliant garnet red colour and an aromatic profile with notes of rose, dried fruit like figs and peaches, berries, and hints of chocolate and spice. It is described as a sweet but refreshing wine with a spicy finish, balancing its residual sugar with acidity