Wine Tasting - Wine Tours in Italy

‘Sogno Uno’, the wine produced by American porn celebrity Savanna Samson was awarded with 90/91 points from the emperor of wine, Robert M. Parker.
That makes Sogno Uno a sure seller at around $40 a bottle.

Sogno Uno is an Italian blend of the following Italian grapes: cesanese (70%) - an ancient and little heralded grape found mainly in the Lazio region, sangiovese (20%) and montepulciano (10%).
It was made by Ms Samson’s Italian winemaker friend Roberto Cipresso. ( Source )

Italian wine makers have drammatically increased the quality of their productions in the last 20 years.

They replaced quantity with quality.
Below a few figures testifing their quality-oriented strategy.

The overall production decreased by 37.4 percent, if compared with 1986, but the number of DOC, DOCG and IGT (appellation controlling the quality of wines) brand Italian wines increased from 228 in 1986 to 460 in 2005, and their production now accounts for 58 percent (+10 percent respect 1986).

For the Tuscany, prominent region of Italy for wine export, the percentage of quality wines up from 44.6 to 88.4 percent of the overall production in the last 20 years.

These facts and figures were excerpted from the document “The Renaissance of Italian wine. From the methanol crisis to a brilliant economic future”, jointly released by Associazione Città del Vino, Coldiretti and Symbola.

In Montalcino, Tuscany, land of the famed ‘Brunello di Montalcino’, a wine festival will be held on February 24 and 25.

The festival, ‘Benvenuto Brunello’, draws in Montalcino crowds of importers buyers, critics, and wine passionates from all over the world.
Brunello di Montalcino is of one of the favorite Italian wines in USA, with 25 percent of the production exported in US.

In the Montalcino area more appreciated wines are produced: Rosso di Montalcino Doc, Moscadello Doc, the whites and reds Doc of Sant’Antimo.

In the area, there are 250 producers, all of them enrolled in the Brunello Consortium, the supervising body for the safeguard and control of Montalcino wine.

The total extension of vineyards amounts to 3,000 hectares; the average value is 350,000 euros per hectare, according to a estimate by the National Agricultural Institute (INEA).

Comments:

- Melgab International Wine Importers says:

2006-02-23 If you happen to find yourself in Tuscany tomorrow, then you may want to take note…The festival, ‘Benvenuto Brunello’….

Restaurant ‘I Cavallini’, 29 Route 34 S., Colts Neck, NJ, will offer a regional tour of Italian cuisine every Tuesday night through April.

Each week, a four-course dinner from a different region will be featured and paired with a selection of wines.

The cost is $39.95 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Visa, American Express and MasterCard.
Reservations are required. (732) 431-2934.
(Source)

The wine itinerary proposed is centered on the Monferrato, in Piedmont, an area offering a host of interesting wine and gastronomical attractions.

The most important city in the area is Asti, 35 km from Turin, via A21 Highway.

From Asti start two itineraries: one heading toward north to the ‘Basso Monferrato’, the other one toward south to the ‘Alto Monferrato’ (now we are mostly covering the wines from ‘Basso Monferrato’).

- Some among the typical local Wines -

- Dolcetto d’Asti. (DOC); ruby red wine; dry still; Alcohol: 11.5%
- Barbera del Monferrato. (DOC); bright red wine; dry still / dry sparkling sweet / sweet still ; Alcohol: 12%
- Asti. (DOCG ); straw yellow ; sparkling sweet / sweet still ; taste: sweet; Alcohol: 12%
- Cisterna d’Asti. (DOC ); ruby red ; dry; taste: dry delicate; Alcohol: 12%
- Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese. (DOC ); ruby red ; dry still; taste: dry delicate; Alcohol: 11% - 13%

- Some Wineries in the area -

- Araldica Vini Piemontesi: 14040 Castel Boglione (AT); www.araldicavini.com
- Antica Casa Vinicola Scarpa 14049 Nizza Monferrato; www.scarpavini.it
- Bava 14023 Cocconato (AT); www.bava.com
- Bersano &

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