A wine for summer? Here are 27 suggestions
On Thursday 26th June in Milan, we organised the third edition of an event to promote great wines for the summer. We chose and presented 27 wines to 450 people who took part in a magnificent place, the Chiostri dell’Umanitaria in the city centre. Besides wine bars run directly by the staff of our magazine, there were corners dedicated to Champagne Pommery and Castagner Grappas, which showed how they are perfectly able to be mixed in cocktails. There were also Fentimans drinks, Cedrata Tassoni (a classic Italian soft drink), incredible Van Nahmen fruit juices and Ciacco ice-cream. But the protagonists were the wines, of course, recommended by us. All serve chilled, at 10-12 °C. Many of them are exported, others not yet… here they are.
The perfect wine for the summer: our Italian selection
NORTH ITALY – Two perfumed white wines from the Dolomites: Cesconi’s Monovarietal Manzoni Bianco, 2012 vintage, smooth and fruity, and Santa Margherita’s (Kettmeir) great classic Impronta del Fondatore, Pinot grigio Alto Adige DOC 2013. Two fresh reds from the Veneto region, to drink a few degrees lower: Bertani Domains’ Novarè 2012 (100% Corvina), silky with good body, and Bolla’s Bardolino Classico 2013 La Doria, with nuances of raspberry and spice. Also Nino Franco’s Valdobbiadene Superiore Primo Franco 2013, a Prosecco signature. Also bubbles from Lombardy with Fratelli Berlucchi’s Franciacorta Freccianera, 2007 vintage, a blend of Pinot Blanc (50%), Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (50%). Piedmont flaunts its whites: Cascina I Carpini with its “Timorasso alternativo” Rugiada del Mattino, Colli Tortonesi DOC 2012, and Vicara Airales, Monferrato DOC 2013 (Cortese, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc), perfect as an aperitif; Tenuta Santa Caterina prefers red, Grignolino d’Asti 2012 Arlandino, with a captivating bouquet of small red fruits, geranium and rose. And from Liguria comes the smell of the sea: with Laura Aschero’s Vermentino Riviera Ligure di Ponente DOC 2013, fresh and rich, with long aromatic length.
BETWEEN EMILIA AND LAZIO – There is a sparkling atmosphere in Emilia Romagna with the fine, creamy froth of Cleto Chiarli’s Lambrusco di Sorbara 2013 Premium Mention Honorable, and the Cantina di Vicobarone’s mildly aromatic Malvasia Frizzante dei Colli Piacentini 2013. We mustn’t forget Torre Fornello’s highly-scented Pratobianco 2013: a summer intrigue. Also the two Tuscans promise very fresh wines: Banfi’s La Pettegola 2013, a fruity 100% Vermentino, and Casale Falchini’s Vigna a Solatio, Vernaccia di San Gimignano Riserva DOCG 2011, a rediscovered classic. From the Marche region on the Adriatic, Velenosi’s soft and elegant Pecorino Offida DOCG 2013 Villa Angela. While from Lazio we have Falesco’sTellus Oro 2013 (80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Blanc), complex and well-structured, and Trappolini’s monovarietal Procanico 2013 (as Trebbiano Toscano is called in Umbria and Lazio).
THE SOUTH AND THE ISLANDS – FromAbruzzo we get another interpretation of the native Pecorino variety: Citra’s Quoque 2013, with intriguing hints of acacia and sage. Then we move on to Apulia, the home of rosés, with three wines of this kind: all Negroamaro Salento IGT 2013 vintage: Castello Monaci’s Kreos, rich and mineral, Paololeo’s Grecìa Rosè, with its long aromatic persistence and Mottura’s Le Pitre, blended with Aleatico, fruity (cherry) and flowery (rose). But we can’t leave out the red version: Vinicola Mediterranea’s Il Nobile, Negroamaro Salento IGP 2013. From Basilicata, Cantine del Notaio brings us its Preliminare 2013, Aglianico del Vulture with off-the skins vinification (with Malvasia, Muscat and Chardonnay). Last but not least, the wines from the sunny Mediterranean islands: the Tenuta di Castellaro’s Sicilian Bianco Pomice 2011, rich and intense; from Sardinia Argiolas’ Vermentino di Sardegna Is Argiolas 2013, with hints of wisteria and rosemary; Sella & Mosca’s Terre Bianche Cuvée 161, 2013 vintage, monovarietal version of the native Torbato variety.
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