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Emilia-Romagna: Chomping at the Bit
Italy: Center & South, featured
, May 2025
Emilia-Romagna is transforming before our eyes. Winemakers are redefining the boundaries of Sangiovese, offering surprising depth and a newfound purity, while categories like Lambrusco have started down a more artisanal path. The only thing holding the region back is Mother Nature.
Abruzzo Weathers the Storm: Surviving the 2023 and 2024 Vintages
Italy: Center & South, featured
, May 2025
Being a winemaker in Abruzzo these days is a challenge. While the area undergoes massive changes to reform its DOC, reorganize its subregions, keep bottling of Montepulciano within the region and work out a system to add place names to its labels, Abruzzo has also endured two of the most difficult vintages imaginable. Somehow, the best winemakers persevere and continue to keep spirits high.
Southern Italy: Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria & Molise
Italy: Center & South, featured
, Mar 2025
The wines of southern Italy present many challenges for the discerning consumer. While the potential for excellence exists, winemakers often focus on making forward, easy-drinking wines. A number of cultural factors may contribute to this trend, including wineries prioritizing local sales and a general reluctance to embrace innovation. Nonetheless, many exceptional estates are widely deserving of considerable attention.
Umbria: Peeling Back the Layers
Italy: Center & South, featured
, Oct 2024
Umbria’s diverse landscape, terroirs, styles and grape varieties can be a lot to handle. However, navigating this complexity and the wide range of vintages in the market is well worth the effort, as Umbria consistently produces some of Italy’s most exquisite wines.
Abruzzo: Trials and Tribulations
Italy: Center & South, featured
, Sep 2024
Come heat waves, drought, torrential rain or frost, winemakers in Abruzzo continue to push forward to prove their value. Readers will find exciting new releases in both 2022 and 2023, but these are also two vintages with extremely low production because of challenging weather conditions.
Tiberio's Fonte Canale: Redefining Trebbiano d'Abruzzo
Verticals & Retrospectives, Italy: Center & South, featured
, Aug 2024
In only 12 years, Fonte Canale has become one of Italy's iconic white wines. Tiberio’s Fonte Canale is made from the hard-to-find Trebbiano Abruzzese grape. This vertical, spanning the first official release in 2012 up to a preview of the yet-to-be-released 2022, will give readers a good idea of how the wines develop over time.
Unveiling the Diverse Palette of Sicily: New Releases and Beyond
Italy: Center & South, featured
, Jun 2024
Sicily has impressed me over the last decade, surpassing expectations and proving its worth in the grand scheme of Italian wine. My recent trip reconfirmed that the region's forward momentum is far from over, from the simple yet wonderfully pure weeknight quaffers to the highest levels of fine wine from Mount Etna. Through it all, I get the feeling that this is just the beginning of Sicily’s rise.
Getting in on the Ground Floor: Aglianico del Vulture
Italy: Center & South, featured
, May 2024
Aglianico del Vulture is the best source for world-class, long-lived Italian wines that have yet to gain full recognition. This is one of the most improved categories in Italy. It won’t be long before the rest of the world catches on.
Breaking the Mold: Campania’s Push to Reinvent Itself
Italy: Center & South, featured
, May 2024
Producers in Campania continue to go against the grain in an attempt to overcome the reputation of the past. The purity and quality of Aglianico, Piedirosso and Fiano across the region continue to rise. Moreover, the best of these wines offer tremendous value.
Marche Stays the Course Amidst Future Uncertainty
Italy: Center & South, featured
, May 2024
The writing for Marche is on the wall. Quality remains exceptionally high. A new focus on terroir and a focus on exalting a sense of place has been wildly successful. Moreover, the wines remain extremely well-priced. That said, Marche faces significant challenges in maintaining its share of international markets.