Etna and Alto Adige masterclass in London

Thank you Catherine and Federica

Christine Marsigliano, a Master of Wine from Canada in love with Italy provided us with a surprising match of Italian wines from two extremely different regions: Alto Adige (Südtirol, South Tyrol) and Sicily, specifically the Etna wine making region. The UK Sommelier Association led by Andrea Rinaldi and Federica Zanghirella organized this event that wraps up the season for 2025.

Alto Adige

Most wine From AA are produced by cooperatives, some 70%. In the past, cooperative wine was synonymous with cheap and, at most, sometimes, cheerful. Hardly ever high quality. How times have changed. In AA coops were first introduced in 1893, when the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and today there are 12 of them to carry the tradition forward.

AA outputs 40m bottles per year, of which some 600k are sparkling wines. This is the result of 2500 years of wine making history, begun even before the Romans expanded and organized production much as they did all over Italy and, indeed, Europe. 96% of wines are doc (Alto Adige denomination) while about 100 sport the "unità geografica aggiuntiva" to indicate specific subregions.

Next to the coops are 32 private estates thrive in their own boutique way and 4800 wine growers provide the raw materials.

AA production makes up less than 1% of Italian wine, so a small amount even if Italy is, on and off, the largest producer of wine in the world. Only 5850 hectares, located between 200 and 1000 meters above sea level specialize in just 20 varieties.

The Habsburg brought foreign varieties like chardonnay and pinot noir, and today 65% of the resulting wine is white while 355 is red. I was surprised to hear that it used to be the other way around when lots of schiava was planted for Austrian and German markets.

Here are my tasting notes:

1. Pinot Grigio Nals Magreid 2024

Floral, zesty, good balance, moderate length. 14% abv! 

Score 90

2. Sauvignon (not specify... blanc) Porphyr & Kalk, Ignaz Niedrist 2023

Intense aromatic nose, fresh, almond. 

Score 88

3. Gewurztraminer Joseph, Hofstadter 2024

Very intense aromas, pineapple, vanilla, ripe fruit gives good smoothness, glycerin very present. Salty spicy. Very long. Can probably age well. 

Score 91

4. Pinot nero riserva St Daniel Cantina Colterenzio 2022

300 members in Coop 

Ripe cherries, smoky almost. Can feel a bit of alcohol 

Score 88

5. StMagdalener classico Vigna Premstellerhof by Hans Rottensteiner 2024

StMag is mostly schiava with some Lagrein check 

Ripe red fruit, good balance. 

Score 89

6. Cabernet Sauvignon riserva Freienfeld, 2018 cantina Kurtatsch

Black fruit, intense nose. Rough tannins despite age. Needs several more years of aging in bottle. 

Score 86

ETNA 

Planted on east north and south, lava tends to flow mostly to the west. Consorzio Etna started in 1994 but there is a long history before that.

It is recorded that in 1848, well before Italy was created as a unitary state, 26,000 hectares were planted in the Etna region and by the 1880s Catania, the local provincial capital, boasted as many as 90,000 hectares of vineyards, more than any other in Sicily.

Fast forward to 1968 and Etna DOC is one of the first controlled origin denominations established in Italy, and the first in Sicily and it now comprises 1350 hectares divided among 474 producers, about half of 1% of all Italian vineyards.

Etna bianco makes up just over 40% of wine production, rosso is just over half and the rest is rosato and sparkling, for a total of some 6 million bottles per year.

Here are my tasting notes:

7. Bianco Lavico Duca di Salaparuta 2024 

Carricante 100%

White flowers, Balanced and moderately long. 

Score 88

8. Bianco Tifeo Gambino 2023

Carricante 70% Catarratto 30%

Similar to n. 7, smooth. 

Score 88

9. Bianco superiore Contrada Rinazzo Benanti 2023 

Carricante 100%

Perfect balance, mineral, moderate complexity and length. 

Score 90.

10. Rosso Andico Zumbo 2020 

Nerello mascalese 100%

Easy, rough corners need to be smoothened out. 

Score 85

11. Rosso 2019 Fischetti Muscanento 

Nerello mascalese e cappuccio 

A bit rough, aggressive. 

Score 86

12. Rosso tenute San Michele, Murgo 2020 

Nerello mascalese 100%

Smoother more balanced than previous wines. Moderate length and complexity. 

Score 87

Amarone masterclass in London

Another year and another great Amarone day organized by the UK Sommelier Association, after the previous editions which I reviewed here for 2022 and here for 2024 . Thank you to Andrea Rinaldi and Federica Zanghirella for the opportunity to attend, and especially to benefit from a select tasting during a masterclass led by the every faithful Peter McCombie, an old hand at Amarone.

For a general discussion of Amarone winemaking, terroir and some facts and figures I'd like to refer to the two posts linked above.

Just a quick update: the more recent figures show that Corvina, the main grape, uses up to 56% of the vines devoted to Amarone, Rondinella 19%, 

Corvinone 17%. A bit is left for Molinara. Amarone has to be made with minimum 90% corvina. Training by the 2200 growers is mostly pergola. In 2024 some 50% of all production was recioto, 25% each for Valpolicella and amarone. Just as a quick reminder, amarone is the product of appassimento, dry on "arele", which are racks in a protected environment, and lose up to 50% of weight, while it is almost never botrytis. This increases glycerin, concentrates polyphenols, sugar. 

Here are my tasting notes for this year.

1. Bottega docg 2021

Fruity, tannins need some rounding in the bottle, some sugar becomes evident in aftertaste.

Score 86

2. Contrada Palui docg 2020

Moderate intensity and structure, alcohol is felt over glycerin. Maybe help could come from decanting. 

Score 87

3. Tenuta Santa Maria di Gaetano Bertani docg classico riserva 2019

Intense, balanced and moderately complex and long. 

Score 90

4. Corte Saibante docg classico 2017 

Very well balanced, smooth, mod complex and long. 

Score 91

5. Gerardo Cesari Spa, docg classico riserva "Bosan" 2016

Mod intensity, perfect balance, long. 

Score 90

6. Falezze di Luca Anselmi docg riserva 2016 

Structure is strong and balanced, tannins still there, could use a few more years or some decanting. 

Score 92

7. Clementi docg classico 2015

Intense, perfect balance, complex and long. A harmonious wine. 

Score 96

8. Vigneti Villabella docg classico riserva "Fracastoro" 2013 

Plump fruity full bodies, balance with a smooth ending and a hint of sugar. 

Ready to drink now. 

Score 95

Meet the producer: Baglio Diar, Sicily, Italy

Diar's vineyard makes a strong overall impression because they make organic wines which are remarkably stable and balanced. 

It is well known how difficult it is to produce high quality stable and balanced organic wines, and while the Sicilian climate helps only few manage to achieve Diar's qualitative results.

Each Diar bottle recalls Sicilian culture, an emotional connection between the land and some of the people who made Sicily the trailblazer of Italian culture in recent decades.

Sicilian literature figures prominently on all the labels, and as advertised on their website, for the name of our wines they took inspiration from five female characters who appear in the work of Verga and Pirandello, two giants of the island's literature: Fantasia, Nedda, Selene, Velata and  Dida.

One more original and unique way to underline the fact that wine is part of our culture.

Below are my tasting notes for the samples that were kindly provided to Roving Somm.

They also make extra virgin organic olive oil.

Grillo 2023

Grillo is the archetypal grape from the Marsala region, and it is used for the famous fortified wine. It is born from a cross of Inzolia and Catarratto. This bottle is generous with aromas, fresh and well balanced. A stronger character than your typical Grillo, amplified by a good length.

Score 90

Catarratto 2023

Another signature grape from western Sicily. A gentle mix of floral aromas gives way to a well structured palate with good acidity and balance.

Score 90

Zibibbo 2023

Moscato d'Alessandria from Sicily is known around the world for sweet or almost sweet wines, but not only. Diar has produced a dry but smooth wine with a remarkable structural character that does not prevent the emergence of fruit and floral notes. Excellent balance, a constant of Diar, and good length.

Score 91

Syrah 2023

This bottle is not from an indigenous grape variety but it is well known that Syrah (or Shiraz as it is called in some parts of the world) has established its own tradition in Sicily for some time. I paired this smooth and complex wine with saffron rice.

Score 89

Perricone 2023

Intriguing violet color in the glass for this most Sicilian perricone which exudes delicate red fruit aromas and a gentle acidity that makes for a wine ready to drink now. I would recommend cooling this bottle slightly in order to contain its alcoholic exuberance.

Score 91

Inzolia

A lot of character for this inzolia. Nutty notes do not overpower its lively citrusy overtone that confers a pleasant freshness to the palate. An excellent, versatile wine for Summer dishes in the warm Sicilian climate.

Score 90

Rosé

To complete the range here is a bottle of rosé made with nero d'Avola grapes. This is an easy wine, dry but with a touch of candy flavors that linger in the palate. I can see this for a Summer garden party, served well chilled as aperitif.

Score 80

Meet the producer: Zonin, Veneto and Tuscany

London offers a boundless range of opportunities for the wine trade and we wine writers are lucky to have access to superb opportunities to develop our palates and our skills. It is impossible to attend even a small fraction of all the available events, so I have decided to prioritize those that offer masterclasses. This is always a more structured and educational opportunity to learn than the free pours where even the most meticulous taster can easily become overwhelmed.

The UK Sommelier Association, expertly led by Andrea Rinaldi with a passionate deputy and indefatigable event organizer in Federica Zanghirella is a leader is organizing highly instructive master classes.

Here below my notes about two such pearls that revolved around the production of the Zonin house, originally from Venetia, where they still make the bulk of their wines, but now well established in Tuscany as well.

 

Thanks to Andrea Rinaldi always my mentor at AIS in the UK.

Masterclass 1: Ca' Bolani whites: Opimio Pinot Bianco and Aquilis Sauvignon.

Christopher Burr, Federica Zanghirella presenting with Roberto Marcolini, winemaker of Ca' Bolani

Zonin is based in Venetia, in the heart of the Aquileia DOC region. Here people have made wine for over 3000 years, started well before Romans who however developed viticulture in a systematic way.

There are now 570 hectares of vines, mostly 5,000 vines per hectare.

The area is protected between sea and mountain, and the trademark bora wind regularly dries the air, which is of course good for viticulture. Significant day night temperature variations create good condition for ripening. Very diverse soils over estate.

Flight 1: Optimio, 100% pinot bianco

The names comes from a Roman consul who was well known for the good wines produced under his rule. In Venetia, as in most of Italy and indeed Europe, the Romans were pioneers of viticulture, expanding and developing what they learned from the Greeks and the Phoenicians.

We tasted three vintages of this underrated grape, which I love because it is a versatile wine, unpretentious but always surprisingly well versed to match medium structured food. Besides the obvious fish and white meat dishes you can have these with medium aged cheese and some Indian masala recipes or southern Chinese sweet and sour dishes. I'd like to try it with dim sum from Guangzhou or Honk Kong. 

2020

Pinot bianco, smooth with lingering freshness, moderately long

Ready now might benefit from a couple of further years of evolution in the bottle 

Score 88

2018 

Smoother than 2020 still good freshness. Drink now

Score 89

2016

Unsurprisingly the most evolved, smoothest and most complex and long of the trio.

Score 90

Flight 2. Aquilis sauvignon blanc Friuli Doc 

2018

A surprising sauvignon with nutty and vanilla notes that make it a unique interpretation of this classic grape. Complex and long. 

Score 92

2016 

A more evolved bottle, smoothness is raised to higher levels to the point of making an elegant wine with a mouthful of complex sensations. 

Score 93

2014 

Mature long complex 

Score 94

Thanks to my teacher Federica Zanghirella for introducing the day's food and wine pairing combination and the eccentric exhibition by Christopher Burr 

Masterclass 2: A culinary trip in Tuscany with the most iconic wines of Castello di Albola paired with traditional Tuscan dishes by Executive Chef Giovanni Zagni.

Castello di Albola is owned by the Zonin house since 1979. It now has a substantial 900 hectares of farms, but only 110 of these are vineyards. Mostly work on single vineyard wines. They started organic conversion in 2016, and it is now completed. They claim to fame as pioneers in respecting environmental, social (employment condition) as well as economic sustainability. 

Poggio alle Fate 2022 

Chardonnay 

Strong acidity attack but evolves in the mouth to a perfectly balanced and long wine. 

Paired with pappa al pomodoro. 

Paired by concordance of medium structure and contrast of acidity with sweet tendency of the tomato. 

Score 91

Chianti classico 2023 

sangiovese

Again with pappa al pomodoro 

Still young, tannins need a bit of time in the bottle.

Tannins contrast well with tomatoes but slightly overwhelm their sweet tendency.

Score 88

Chianti classico riserva 2021

sangiovese

A majestic Chianti, ready but with a few years of evolution potential. 

Matched with vegetarian ribollita, good concordance pairing between moderate tannins and moderately structured food with delicate sweet tendency. 

Score 92

Il Solatìo 2019 gran selezione

sangiovese 

Powerful elegant chianti, absolutely ready now with balance and good length. 

Paired with pici alla buttera (homemade pasta with ragoût and black olives) 

Score 91

Acciaiolo 2016

cabernet sauvignon 80% sangiovese 20%

First harvest 1988, one of the original "Super Tuscans"

Ready masterpiece, perfect balance and length 

Paired with pappardelle al cinghiale, concordance of strong structures and contrast of tannins with fatty sauce. A harmonious wine.

Score 95

Vin santo 2010 

Trebbiano and malvasia

Harvested late, in October.

Dried on racks, pressed in December, obviously very little yield. 

Almonds orange peel notes. Sink cantucci biscuits, or similar dry biscuits with nuts, in this wine. 

Score 93