The village of kurtatsch and its surrounding vineyards courtesy of benjamin pfitscher cover copy

Trentino-Alto Adige: Pushing the Limits

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Mar 2024

Over the past two decades, Trentino-Alto Adige was largely unaffected by the negative impact of climate change yet is now dealing with successive warm vintages. While we can still depend on their production of cool, crisp whites and alpine reds, recent years have reshaped the wines and forced producers to begin thinking outside of the box.

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Borgo del Tiglio Rosso Riserva: The Road Less Traveled

Verticals & Retrospectives, Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Mar 2024

Why would one of the greatest producers of white wine in Italy want to organize a tasting of the second label of their red wine? This is the question that was on my mind as I drove down the country road that leads to Cormòns, the small hamlet that is home to Borgo del Tiglio.

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Veneto: A Constant State of Evolution

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Feb 2024

Veneto remains a hotbed of activity and a source of many of Italy’s finest wines. Amarone, Valpolicella Superiore and Soave, along with an exciting mix of IGTs and Bordeaux blends, make for a large selection of high-quality wines. Wide stylistic differences, varying levels of quality from one estate to another and new releases that span multiple vintages (especially for Amarone) mean readers have plenty to choose from.

Sparkling wine 2023 cover

Sparkling Wines from Italy for Every Occasion

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Dec 2023

The holidays are upon us. While I don’t think anyone needs an excuse to open a great bottle of sparkling wine, the reality is that more bottles in this category will be sold in the next three weeks than at any other time during the year.

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Trentino-Alto Adige: Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, May 2023

Is there such a thing as too much good wine? In Trentino-Alto Adige, there may be. Quality is exceptionally high, prices are incredibly fair, and producers continue to raise the bar. However, consumers have to navigate a multilingual system and wade through an ocean of entry-level wines to get to the best the region has to offer.

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Pride and Tradition: The Friulian Way

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Apr 2023

Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s potential is evident every time I visit and taste with winemakers. A melting pot of traditions, cultures and terroirs, Friuli-Venezia Giulia is capable of producing world-class wines from a staggering list of indigenous and international grape varieties. However, the region faces many hurdles in fully realizing that potential at a higher level.

1 looking out across valpolicella from the high elevations of the maternigo vineyard of tedeschi copy

Veneto: The Land of Opportunity

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Mar 2023

Veneto is undergoing a remarkable transformation. Amarone is achieving a newfound balance, Valpolicella is seeking more refinement, and Soave increasingly emphasizes terroir-driven, expressive wines. In addition, the interior areas boast a number of under-the-radar gems, making Veneto a region to get genuinely excited about.

A number of standouts from my recent valle d'aosta tastings copy

A Valle d’Aosta Interlude

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Jun 2022

Italian by definition, yet more influenced by French and Swiss neighbors, Valle d’Aosta is quite unique relative to other regions in Italy. It’s precisely that diversity that makes Valle d’Aosta both fun and intriguing to explore.

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Trentino & Alto Adige: The Sky’s the Limit

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Jun 2022

Trentino and Alto Adige appear to be on the cusp of grasping unheralded potential. For many years, a microcosm of cooperatives and growers, both large and small-scaled, have been turning out some of the best white wines in Italy, but they were the exception, not the rule. However, through a renewed sense of place, a focus on purity and, in some cases, the effects of global warming, that number is steadily increasing.

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Friuli-Venezia Giulia: Just Try to Keep Up

Italy: North, featured

Eric Guido, Apr 2022

Friuli-Venezia Giulia is one of the most culturally and climatically diverse regions in Italy. It should come as no surprise that the region produces a vast range of wines as a result. From crisp varietal whites and richer blends, to wild, indigenous reds and extended skin-contact, amphora-aged wines, the wines of Friuli run the gamut. Quality can be variable, so readers must be selective.