Following on from yesterday’s post advocating the use of international varietals, Oliver Barton argues that we should embrace the richness and diversity of indigenous grapes. Who wants a burger when abroad? We are living in a world increasingly dominated by bland globalization; with the same companies popping up to make all cities look alike. We […]

In the second extract from our new book, Exploring & Tasting Wine, Chris Pollington – Italy Specialist – describes how the arrival of French grapes in Tuscany produced a clutch of new wines – and helped to spark a revival of the region’s indigenous varieties. Sangiovese, the great indigenous grape of Tuscany, is heralded today […]

As we release the 2011 vintage from Italy, Chris Pollington – Italy Specialist and Private Account Manager – reports on how the country’s various regions fared, and what you can expect from the wines. After the great highs and lows of the 2010 vintage in Italy, 2011 saw a return to more homogenised normality; lovely, […]

As we unveil our annual offering from the length and breadth of Italy, Juel Mahoney (otherwise known as Wine Woman & Song) recounts the story of Marco de Bartoli, the man who changed Marsala’s fortunes. Marco de Bartoli is a small traditional winery on the westernmost point of Sicily, in the wine-shipping town of Marsala. As […]