Italian Wine Blog

Italian Wine Blog

Of all the blogs in all the world..... Yes another Italian wine blog has found a home on blogspot but this Italian wine blog should be a little different. In actual fact, of the thousands of blogs on wines that abound only a small percentage of them are dedicated to Italian wine.

French and Californian wines are greatly represented but Italian Wine Blogs are few and far between (in relative terms). So, that's the justification for starting one. I thought I'd share with you a few sneaky peaks of how http://www.wine90.com/ will look. Most of the pages are finished it's simply a case of uploading the vast amounts of data.

Sadly I don't have a team of trained monkeys to carry out this work for me so over the next 9 months I will be burning the midnight oil to bring out the first version of the website.

In 3 weeks time I go to Florida where the first broadcast of the Wine90 Vlogs will take place. Italian wine is available here in Rome obviously but I am interested in reporting about the attitudes and drinking habits of American wine drinkers as well as European.

Back to the website

There will be news and interviews with prominent wine producers and sellers and wine reviews as the first bottles come into the public domain. There will be Vlogs about individual wines as well as weekly reports about wine sets (maybe a grape variety, vintages or verticals).

We hope that this Italian wine blog will provide support for the website as well as becoming an important wine reference in its own right.

The blog will occasionally move away from a strictly wine format to talk about Italian food, life in Italy as well as Italian culture, politics and sport.

Ciao - Sarah Newton

Italian Wine Fraud

This year Italian Wine overtook French as the world's most exported wine so it's not surprising that the industry is riddled with con artists attempting to take a piece of the action.

Italy has been on the receiving end of some of the largest wine scams ever seen with a famous recent example effecting the Ruffino group. Ruffino were caught buying wine for their Chianti Classico from outside the classified D.O.C.G region. Ruffino themselves were not to blame as they had fallen victim, among with other smaller producers, of buying wine from supplier Piero Conticelli who stands accused of growing grapes outside the zone.

Most recently Braida were embroiled in a scam originating from the poor Puglia region of Italy. A small group were found to have copied the labels and bottles of Braida and "faked" their wine then sold it to German restaurants. The proprietor of Braida, Raffella Bologna, believes the fakes were so good that the crime was most certainly an inside job.

Expert wine tasters can usually identify a fake but it's easy to copy labels and bottles. Unscrupulous individuals can make millions by using a producers brand then filling copied bottles with cheap wine or even wine substitutes, then selling them on to restaurants.

Turning Water into Wine

There are two basic ways of faking wine, the first involves very little ageing of the wine and instead introducing lots of sugar to create alcohol. It is permissible to add some sugar to increase alcohol in poorer vintages.

The second method is more worrying. As showcased recently at a famous wine expo, it is now possible to buy packets of wine granules and "just add water" to create a passable wine. These methods have been outright banned in Italy. The granules are extremely cheap and they even pass the wine expert test making them a very easy substitute in wine fraud. The granules are very cheap to produce and, to cut a long story short, with the right bottles and labels you can produce a wine for €2 and sell it online, to restaurants, supermarkets and wine auctions for €100 a bottle. Clearly this is a major threat to the wine world in general not just Italy.

Fighting Back with the Wine Police

There is a constant technology battle between the producers and the fraudsers. In 2006, Ciacci Piccolomini d'Aragona became the first producers to implement a range of anti-fraud holograms to protect their most famous wine, the Brunello di Montalcino. The system is the same as the European Central bank's (the same type of holograms used on Euro notes). Before this many producers added special "talking" microchips which could be heard with the assistance of a small reader. However, most people do not carry such equipment with them, neither do supermarkets or restaurants so this method was useless.

These fraud fighting techniques don't come cheap and although no one want to buy wine made from granules, production costs must be absorbed thus, wine prices increase. Personally I'm happy to pay this "50c insurance policy".

The most impressive measure of all comes directly from the top. The Italian police force have taken a historical step in ensuring wine fraud is kept to a minimum by creating a special "wine fraud" task force. The roman police force can boast 150 fraud busting sommeliers! This task force spent 18 months training to detect wine forgeries and can now correctly identify a wine regions, grape etc. There are no other forces like this in operation anywhere in Europe and shows a commendable attitude from the Italian government to the nations #1 export.

Italian Wine Abroad

If you subscribe to Wine Spectator magazine you will have noticed that every other advertisement is for Italian wine. Not just Italian wine, but authentic Italian wine. The USA is the #1 importer of Italian wine so why do the Italian producers need to promote it so heavily?

Three quarters of all wine sold in the US with the word "Italian" on the bottle is not Italian at all! The advertising campaigns are state sponsored education programmes informing US customers to "look for the Rooster". A recent promotion from the Parma region of Italy was headlining, very effectively, that there may be imitations but you can not beat the genuine article.

In conclusion, Italian wine is facing assault from every angle; but when you become the MVP you have to look out for rookies taking you down. For my money, the Italian wine industry and government is doing everything it can to protect the integrity of its brand.

Remember folks - Piracy is a not a victimless crime!

Question of the Day

Is there any future for wine granules?

Altesino - Caparzo

Altesino - Quietly stealing Caparzo's thunder!

The awards have been coming in thick and fast over the past 10 years for the Altesino vineyards and yet this wonderful producer still seems to be largely unknown to a wine community obsessed with the American owned Banfi and Antinori.

Altesino's most famous wine, the Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli (pictured left), has to be one of the best Brunellos ever made. The 1997, a 5 star vintage year, received 98 points from Wine Spectator magazine and exchanges hands for €130/$200 a bottle.

Our little gem is even first alphabetically in the expert round ups but, outside of Italy, Altesino just hasn't caught fire. The labels are classy, the website is flashy and the wine is top notch so what is stopping Altesino from joining the elite ranks of Tuscan super producers?

I'll let you answer this because truly I don't know and actually I don't care. The Altesino range of Brunello and secret stash of Alte d'Altesi "Super Tuscans" are one of the few Tuscan wines you can drink guilt free.

If Altesino's light is hidden under a bushel then even more obscure is the brand that bought them out, Caparzo. Alright, a true Italian wine enthusiasts should know who Altesino is, but I'm willing to bet a Sassicaia '85 that you haven't heard of Caparzo.

The 1997 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino La Casa (94 points WS) and under €60 is excellent value for money and improving every time I drink it. What I'm interested in though is the 2001. The best vintage in Tuscany for 10 years the 2001 Caparzo Brunello La Casa is massively under-rated and is easily holding its own against the 97. This wine is selling for under €40 a bottle!

We're talking about the estates top bottling, in its best year. The last time I tried this wine was Easter 2007 and it has really started to take on flavours and aromas of real Brunello perfection. The bottle hasn't been revisited by the experts in a few years and when it does (I'm blowing the secret here I know) the prices are going to rise.

I am strongly recommending all Brunello lovers to buy a case of this now. Take this as a virtual poke in the ribs ie. drop what you are doing and order this wine. It's still a little closed but the potential is becoming obvious and it's massively enjoyable right now, a thick jammy wine, the tannins need to calm down but this bottle is going to be epic.

You have to let this wine breath! It's such a big wine that it's been misread as simple but in fact it needs time in the bottle and needs to decant. I spoke to the owners of Altesino/Caparzo a few years ago about this wine and it was their belief that this was the best Brunello they had ever made at Caparzo.

Tasting notes to follow....

Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino La Casa 2001 - €37 - BUY
Huge nose of blackberries, plums and earthy notes, hints of cedar. Massively full bodied and strong tannins this wine has the makings of a classic. Super ripe and fruity the palate is simple elegance but there is an overly tannic characteristic straight from the bottle but after some decanting the wine becomes smoother. Long finish that let's you appreciate the complexity of the wine. A sleeping giant leave this wine if possible 15 years+ 92 Points for today but I can see this being a 95+ wine over the next 5 years.

While we're talking about Altesino, I'd also like to share my notes on another wine from their umbrella of brands, the Borgo Scopeto Chianti Classico Misciano Riserva 2004.

If you're not the type to spend €37 on a bottle of wine then let me introduce a Chianti Classico that has a very small production that is very popular in Italy but relatively unknown in the UK and the USA.

This is the best Chianti Classico I've tasted from 2004 and far better than the Cecchi/Banfi/Fontodi Chainti Classicos I'm seeing. This is the riserva bottling and retails around €15. This is a real VFM and is drinking beautifully today. Possible to cellar for up to 15 years if you wish to.

Borgo Scopeto Chianti Classico Misciano Riserva 2004 - €15 - BUY
Beautiful nose full of spices, blackberries, cappuccino & oak, super structure and rounded tannins, a medium to full bodied wine with a fruity, pleasant, long and silky finish. 90-92 Points

The 2004 Chiantis haven't been reviewed yet but the comparison to 2003 is not worth making. I'm getting seriously good 2004's coming through so stock up on your favoured producers.

Question of the Day

Who is your favourite Tuscan producer and what is it about them that makes them so special?

Battle of the Dolcettos

Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alba 2006 Vs Voerzio Dolcetto Priavino 2005

Anyone who knows Italian wine will know that these two superstars of the Italian wine world are about as different as Parmigiano and Buffalo Mozzarella. One is a huge producer of world famous Barolos and Barbarescos with a massive output of 500,000 bottles a year whilst the other has a tiny portion of Piedmontese heaven and a tinsy winsy production of 35,000 bottles a year. Both are considered among the very best winemakers in Italy and both produce some of the very best, if not THE best Barolos in the world. This is undeniable, indisputable and its a good job we are not here disputing it. What I find amazing is the difference in their Dolcettos.

This week I was lucky enough to spend time in the company of some of the most knowledgeable connoisseurs in Italy at the St Regis Hotel, Rome. The discussion, as it invariably does, turned to Barolo and then, as it never does, to Dolcetto. It's generally agreed that Dolcetto is for the proles. A poor wine for the grape pickers of the Piedmont, not the reserve of the wine quaffers in the capital. This sent me red. Not the usual bright red I go when any alcohol passes my lips (damn these ruddy English cheeks), but red because Dolcetto .... is my guilty little pleasure.

So this weekend I decided to crack open two Dolcettos by the very finest producers in the Piedmont. In the red corner, Bruno Giacosa's Dolcetto D'Alba 2006 and, in the blue corner, Roberto Voerzio's Dolcetto Priavino 2005. I fully expected nothing but pleasure and delight for myself as well as my invited houses guests, instead I may have turned a member of our group off Italian wine for life.

How? Let's just say, having championed Roberto Voerzio all evening the Dolcetto Priavino was a complete... turkey! I've never tasted a more expensive Dolcetto, and at €15 I have to give this wine a huge pass. It pains me to do so as Roberto Voerzio is my favourite wine producer in all of Italy. Simply put, there is no VFM here. Have you ever opened a bottle with high hopes and found yourself going back to it every 15 minutes to see if it just needed time? Last night was comical. I waited for the Voerzio wine to throw me a bone, it never did, this wine has NO finish. The wine has a fine dark purple colour and a nice nose of cherries, dark fruits, licorice and a little smoky tobacco but was so light and dead on the palate, the finish lasted just 3 seconds which, as it was so terrible, came as a relief! "It needs a few more years in the bottle"? I'm glad I didn't buy a case.

Bruno Giacosa's Dolcetto d'Alba saved the night. Last month, I sampled and reviewed the 2005 which scored a massive 91 points. Dolcetto is a very simple wine so to score a Dolcetto 91 is huge. The 2006 needed more time in the decanter and is not quite as fruity as the '05 and for this I'm marking it down to 89 (still a huge score for a Dolcetto). Both these vintages are roughly €10 and available from http://www.wineshop.it/ and even in general winestores.

Full tasting notes to follow...

Bruno Giacosa Dolcetto d'Alva 2006 - €10 - BUY
A dull dark purple/violet with interesting ruby reflection, full bodied to the eye. Knockout nose, so strong that the glass had to be left for 30 mins. Characteristic nose of cherries and vanilla, very clean and with just a hint of spices and pepper. Full out attack on the palate, medium body, good acidity and balance with a mid length finish of berries and a touch of plum. Smooth with balanced tannins. Decant for a minimum of 1 hour. 89 Points

Roberto Voerzio Dolcetto d'Alva Priavino 2005 - €15 - PASS
Intense dark purple colour in the glass verging on black. Superb and strong notes of cherry, dark fruits, licorice and hints of tobacco on the nose. Very pungent nose that mellowed over time. Surprising light bodied on the palate, tannic and drying with a short, sharp finish that lasted only 3 seconds. The wine improved after several hours of decanting, but only a little. 83 Points

Question of the Day

I know many wine experts who like to believe they are completely uninfluenced by their expectations of a wine when tasting non-blind. I clearly returned to the Voerzio because of my expectations, had the wine been from an unknown supplier at €3 it would have taken its trip down the sink much sooner. Have I been unjustly harsh because of my high expectations? So todays questions is: To what degree does your expectation of a wine effect your tasting notes and scores?

Wine 90 - A homage to Italian wine

Ciao, Salve, Buongiorno,

Welcome welcome Welcome to the very first Wine90 blog entry. Now, it may be a little unusual for the blog to appear before the website (http://www.wine90.com/) BUT, have a heart, there are 5000 Italian wines that scored 90 or more with Parker and WS over the last 20 years and THAT is a huge task by anybodys standards. We require patience on your behalf but, when the website launches, there will be a bevy of information, reviews, vlogs and data about all Italian wines scoring 90 points of more.

Why would someone give themselves such a tortuous task?

Wine90 was the brainchild of an English expat living in Rome, Sarah Newton.

I, Sarah Newton, decided to create Wine90 for a number of reasons that I'll talk about very briefly. I moved to Rome, Italy from the UK (via Spain) about two years ago and became swept up in the Italian love for their culture. During my time in Italy I have been exposed to some wonderful wines and some abysmal wines. So this blog, and eventual website, will only be profiling the very best of Italian wines. That doesn't always mean the most expensive, sometimes it does, but there are many wonderful Dolcettos, Barberas, Chiantis, Primitivos, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and more for under £10/€15/$20 a bottle that are trully magnificent wines.

The great majority of wines making the Wine90 list are the wines of the Piedmont and Tuscany followed, not closely, by wines of the Veneto and Campania. However, Southern Italian wines and the wines of Abruzzo are gaining in quality and need to be brought to the public attention so we will profile every region of Italy and review the very best wines of the region. Any website about Italian wine will be top heavy on Barolos, Barbarescos and Brunellos, these are the crown jewels of Italian wine and will receive in depth attention.

THE WEBSITE - under construction


Italy is the most varied and interesting wine region in the world with a huge number of grape varities and a unique set of terriors that are capable of producing world class wines. Through this blog and the website we hope to be able to show you, via vlogs and regular blog entries all the wine making regions of Italy.

Wine90 will not be a slave to Parker and Wine Spectator, indeed, many of the newer vintages and many estates are not covered at all by the Big Two. Wine90 will bring you reviews of the latest vintages and newly opened vineyards before anyone else, giving you the chance to enjoy 90+ point wine at the lowest possible prices because, as we all know, the minute wines get a good rating from the Big Two their prices shoot up dramatically overnight.

One by one all the wines (5000 wines - did you read that bit?) on the website will contain a recorded video tasting note giving you the most information of any website in the world on each and every quality Italian wine from each and every vintage. We will also be listing the cheapest retailers for each bottle (and case) who deliver to the UK, the USA and the rest of Europe.

Wine90 itself will not sell any wine, so you can trust all the reviews to be a genuine expression of the wine in the glass.

We will be filming mini documentaries with myself in front of the camera as I explores the Italian countryside, cuisine and it's people. I find, maybe you do too, that the Italian wine enthusiast is not just a wine-head, but an Italophile who loves to talk about (and enjoy) Italian food, football, history and culture so we'll try to combine the wine reviews with other aspects of Italian life.

Grazie Mille and Salut

SEN