Located in Italy’s toe, Calabria presents a very different landscape to that of Puglia’s stilettoed heel. Different not just geologically but also in the way their society appears to be woven together. The net effect has obviously influenced the character and quality of their wines. In November last year I ventured south, in search of the […]

Last week I led a group of Berrys’ suppliers from across Italy to Tuscany to exchange views and experiences with five Chianti Classico counterparts, including Bibbiano, Badia a Coltibuono, and Castello di Ama. A fascinating experience viewed through the eyes of Italians, and at the same time reminding me of just why ‘Chianti-shire’ remains such […]

Spurred on by an impressive display of Italian wines made from autochthonous southern grapes at the June’s event ‘Radici del Sud’, as covered in my blog, I took to the road last week to explore the vineyards of Puglia, stretched out across the ‘heel’ among the olive groves, in an attempt to find out where […]

Fanciful thinking maybe, but there’s something compelling about this northern Piemonte hillside that reminds me of the Rhône’s most perfumed expression of Syrah: the combination of predominantly acidic, igneous soils, altitude, steep slopes, handkerchief-sized zones and pocket-book estates (!), the use of other grapes (Vespolina mainly) to give complexity…terroir interpreted this time through the Nebbiolo […]