Although Italy contributes approximately 20% of the world’s wine, it remains a relative mystery to many people, due to unfamiliar grape varieties and wine region names. Wine journalist and educator Filippo Bartolotta led us exploring the rich history, modern innovation, and the renaissance of Italian classic wine styles shaping the current identity of this historical wine region. The winery principals talking about their wines in this seminar: Valentina Abbona, Mirco Biliorsi, Raffaele Boscaini, Giovanni Mazzei, Simone Nalesso, Ermes Scardova, Giacomo Sisti, and Sergio Zingarelli.
The Featured Wines:
Villa Sandi Valdobbiabene Prosecco DOCG La Rivetta 120 NV
Medici Ermete Concerto Lambrusco Reggiano Organic 2022
Umani Ronchi Casal di Serra Verdicchio Classico Superiore Organic 2022
Marchesi Mazzei Zisola Nero d’Avola Noto Rosso DOC 2018
Altesino Brunello di Montalcino 2018
Rocca delle Macìe Sergio Zingarelli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2016
Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi DOCG 2018
MASI Agricola Campolongo di Torbe Amarone 2013
Our Seminar Discussion
Filippo noted that Italy has a rich 3000-year history in wine making, although recent evidence shows the remnants of wine production 6000 years ago in southern Italy. But it does not mean Italian wines have always been good. Wine-making techniques have evolved. It wasn’t till 1888 that the first Brunello was bottled and 1895 when the Martinotti Method was developed to make sparkling wine (Prosecco).
Filippo noted that when phylloxera hit Europe, southern Italy was spared so a wave of high-volume, low-quality wines began to be exported to the affected countries. There was no impetus to change winemaking techniques until the Judgement of Paris, when American wines won over French wines. Italian winemakers moved to make big, bold opulent style wines. Slowly tastes evolved so we now know winemakers learned that you can have lightness in wines, consisting of precision, definition, and transparency. Our winery principals discussed iconic wines from regions like Piedmont, Tuscany, and Sicily and discussed the history and developments of appellations over time. Different grape varieties and styles of famous wines like Barolo, Chianti Classico, Nero d’Avola and Prosecco Superior were covered. The winery principals talked about the wines poured at the seminar and what methods they undertook to produce the quality that we taste in our glasses. The panel highlighted pioneering producers and helped illustrate the diversity within Italian winemaking. In some instances, Consorzio with their winemaking rules have helped to improve the quality of wines, such as in Chianti Classico. Some wine regions grew in producers due to pioneers leading the way, showing others the quality of wine that could be produced, such as in Marche with Verdicchio.
My Wine Tasting Notes
Villa Sandi Valdobbiabene Prosecco DOCG La Rivetta 120 NV – This winery was founded in the mid-1970s and is family-owned. The grapes for this wine come from Cartizze, the top of the hill in Valdobbiadene, and the best quality. The innovation they are following now to produce this wine is the “long Charmat” method, where the wine stays in pressurized tanks for 120 days which gives this Prosecco more elegance according to Simone Nalesso. This wine has a bright, medium-intensity lemon colour. Medium-intensity aromas of fresh stone fruits and a touch of honey. Dry, medium-plus body, lean with high acidity. You get an acidic prickle on your tongue. Ripe and tart stone fruit flavours, plus citrus, some grape stem. Some pepperiness on the finish. Medium length. 
Medici Ermete Concerto Lambrusco Reggiano Organic 2022 – This winery started in the 1890s. They produce organic wines and use the Charmat method to make their Lambrusco wine sparkle. The wine spends 5-6 days in the pressurized tank. The wine is fermented in stainless steel, so no oak treatment for this wine.
It has an opaque ruby colour. Juicy berry flavours. Off-dry with a medium-minus body. Medium acidity. Fizzy with tiny biting bubbles. Berries flavour followed by red apples and red cherries. Light tannins. An excellent wine at an excellent price BC $21.99. – 
Umani Ronchi Casal di Serra Verdicchio Classico Superiore Organic 2022 – 1983 was the first vintage of this wine and the start of their goal of quality. The wine ages in steel tanks for about 5 months in contact with its own yeasts to add texture to the wine.
This wine has a deeper, bright lemon colour. This wine has a light stone fruit nose. It has a medium-plus body with a smooth mouthfeel. Tart citrus, stone fruit, and honey flavours, along with a touch of minerality. Honey and dried stone fruits on the finish plus some drying tannins. Quality.
Marchesi Mazzei Zisola Nero d’Avola Noto Rosso DOC 2018 – This wine comes from Sicily near Mount Etna The property is only 50 hectares in size and vineyard 24 hectares. The Nero d’Avola grapes are bush-trained, as well as the other grapes in the vineyard. The first vintage of this wine was in 2004. The grapes are hand-picked and after fermentation, are aged for 10 months in French oak barrels. The soil is rich in limestone and stony gravel, plus the vineyard is close to the sea with its cooling breezes which is ideal to produce wines of complexity, refinement and elegance.
This wine has a clear translucent medium garnet colour. Light aromas of red fruits and red cherries. Dry with a lean mouthfeel. Medium acidity and tannins. Tart red fruit and red cherries on the palate plus minerality and a touch of oak. Medium length with a mouth-watering finish. 
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Altesino Brunello di Montalcino 2018 – The Altesino winery started in 1972 and was purchased by the current family in 2002. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s there were about 40 producers of Brunello di Montalcino, the historical producers. There are now almost 300 producers. The Santi family started the wines we know of Montalcino. Journalist James Suckling promoted this region in the 1980s and 90’s. The current owners of Altesino acknowledge climate change so decided to invest in new vineyards in Montalcino. You can see the locations of the vineyards at this link. They picked the north side of the hill where the village of Montalcino is located. Why the north side of the hill? It would be cooler than the other three directions so the Sangiovese clone would not overripen.
2018 was a challenging vintage with 20 days of rain in May followed by rain at the end of August and the beginning of September. So we should expect a lighter-bodied wine, which is what I picked up in my tasting notes. This wine has a light, clear garnet colour with bricking. A light cherry nose. Dry, medium-minus body with lean mouthfeel. Restrained red fruit flavours plus pepperiness. Medium acidity and tannins. Medium length with a tart red fruit finish. -
Rocca delle Macìe Sergio Zingarelli Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG 2016 – Gran Selezione is the top-tier for Chianti Classico wines, which was defined in 2014. The grapes must come from a single vineyard or selected from an estate’s best-suited vineyards. There has to be at least 90% Sangiovese grapes used in the wine and no international grape varieties. Gran Selezione wines may only be released on the market after 30 months of cellaring plus a set period in the bottle. Rocca delle Macie is a relatively new winery started in 1985, but the history and quality control for Chianti Classico wines is much longer. The Consorzio for Chianti Classico, which controls the regulations for the three tiers of Chianti Classico wines celebrates 100 years in 2024.
This wine, made from 100% Sangiovese grapes, has a medium-plus darker garnet colour. Light aromas of red cherries. It has a medium-plus body with a smooth mouthfeel. Medium plus acidity and medium intensity fine-grained tannins. Red cherry flavour plus light Old World oak on the palate. Medium-plus length with tart fruits and grippy tannins. A wine that needs to be aged before enjoying it. –
Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi DOCG 2018 – A winery with a long history, Marchesi di Barolo was founded in 1806. In 1929 the Abbona family purchased the winery and are the current owners. Cannubi is a long, gently sloping hill which rises in the central Barolo area. It is one of the top Cru’s in Barolo. The Cannubi hill is surrounded by higher hills which protects Cannubi from bad weather.
This wine has a clear, translucent medium-minus garnet colour. Very light aromas of red cherries and oak. A light, lean mouthfeel. Minerality, bright tart cherries, oak, and light pepperiness on the palate. Medium-plus length with tart fruit and medium-plus tannins on the finish. –
MASI Agricola Campolongo di Torbe Amarone 2013 – Amarone is the top tier of the Valpolicella wines. The concentration from this wine comes in part from the drying, appassimento, of the grapes on racks to concentrate the sugars and flavours before fermentation.
This wine was first made in 1958. The vintage we tried was made with 70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, and 5% Molinara grapes. After drying the grapes were fermented for 45 days in large Slavonian oak barrels and underwent malolactic fermentation. The wine then spends 3 years aging in oak barrels of various fills before bottling. We were told this wine has an aging potential of 35-40 years.
This wine has an opaque black-garnet colour in the glass. Lighter aromas of dark fruits. This wine is dry, with a medium-plus body, a smooth and round mouthfeel. Medium acidity and tannins. Dark sweet fruits, plus touches of oak, pepper, and nutmeg. Medium-plus length with lingering flavours and drying tannins.
Thank you to VanWineFest 2024 for providing me a seat at this seminar and thanks to the winery principals for their insights and wines to taste, and lastly thanks to our moderator, Filippo Bartolotta.
