Italian Wine – Uncorked. On Video. Online.
Welcome to ‘Italy Vino’ – our regular online and on video Italian wine review. Here, we do the wine tasting for you – and rate the results – so you can confidently choose the perfect bottle on your Italian holiday, or in your favorite Italian restaurant.
Italy is the world’s biggest wine producer and Italian wines are a real treasure trove.
Robust, full-bodied reds; cool, fragrant whites; fruity pinks perfect for summer drinking; and delicious sparkling wines offering a great alternative to champagne – at a fraction of the price.
The trick is picking your way through the huge choice on offer – and that’s where ‘Italy Vino’ comes in !
New ‘Italy Vino’ episodes will appear on this page – and both the series and individual reviews are also available as free video podcasts from the Apple iTunes Store.
Video: Italy Vino 26. Vino Novello 2012 November's when the new season's wine is released across Italy. The latest Italy Vino tastes choice offerings from Tuscany, Piedmont and Abruzzo.
Video: Italy Vino 25. Valpolicella Classico Amarone 2005 Valpolicella Amarone is one of Italy's very best red wines. This bottle from the excellent 2005 vintage is a perfect special occasion wine.
Video: Italy Vino 24. Prosecco Valdobbiadene. DOCGProsecco is Italy's favourite sparkling wine. Join us for a bottle of the best - it's just been awarded DOCG status, the highest that Italian wines can achieve.
Video: Italy Vino 23. 'Ramitello'. Di Majo Norante, 2006, DOCAn intriguing single-vineyard blend of Montepulciano and Aglianico from the best producer in Molise. A premium Italian red wine at a non-premium price!
Video: Italy Vino 22. Riesling 'Montiggl' 2011 DOC. St Michael-Eppan Another brilliant wine from Italy's SudTirol-Alto Adige region. A cool riesling from St Michael -- the area's most outstanding wine producer.
Video: Italy Vino 21. Barbera D'Asti DOCG 2009. Cascina Castlet Influenced by the label on a wine bottle ? Then what will you make of the iconic branding on this bottle of Barbera D'Asti -- one of Italy's best reds !
Video: Italy Vino 20 - Cerasuolo 'Villa Gemma' 2011. Masciarelli 'Villa Gemma' is the best Cerasuolo in Abruzzo. A fruity, refreshing, blush wine made from Montepulciano D'Abruzzo grapes just perfect for summer drinking
Video: Italy Vino 19. Barolo DOCG. 2004. FontanafreddaBarolo is the acknowledged 'King' of Italian wine - and here's a bottle from the excellent 2004 vintage from award-winning producers Fontanafredda
Video: Italy Vino 18. Sauvignon Blanc "Winkl", 2010The best Italian varietal whites today come from the Sud Tirol-Alto-Adige region. Enjoy this full-on single-vineyard Sauvignon Blanc from Cantina Teran.
Video: Italy Vino 17. Montepulciano D'Abruzzo "Testarossa"Latest in the Italy Vino series featuring special Italian wine is top Montepulciano D'Abruzzo "Testarossa" - my very favourite Abruzzo red wine.
Video: Italy Vino 16 - Valpolicella Ripasso 2006One of the most sought-after Italy red wines -- continues the new Italy Vino series on prestige, special occasion Italian wines.
Video: Italy Vino 14. Vino Novello 2011Time to sample the first release of the Italian 2011 wine vintage on ‘Italy Vino’, with new red wines from Abruzzo, Tuscany and Campania.
Video: Italy Vino 15. Nebbiolo d'Alba 2008A red wine from the heart of the Piedmont region provides the first in a new-look Italy Vino series, featuring some of Italy's premium wines for special occasion drinking.
Video: Italy Vino 13. Valpolicella & VerdicchioTwo excellent wines you’ll find at most Italian restaurants. Valpolicella, from near Verona is a reliable red that’s a great accompaniment to pasta and pizza. Verdicchio from Le Marche is a cool, top-value white.
Video: Italy Vino 12. Merlot & CabernetHere are two exciting red wines from the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region in northeast Italy. Much better value than many better-known Italian red wines, these are two great discoveries we know you’ll enjoy!
Video: Italy Vino 11. Soave & Orvieto ClassicoItaly Vino tastes two more renowned Italian white wines. Soave, from the Veneto; and Orvieto, from Umbria. One is delicious – but the other’s strictly for cooking only. Discover which !
Video: Italy Vino 10. Pinot Grigio & FrascatiFrascati is the white wine of Rome; Pinot Grigio is one of the top-selling Italian white wines worldwide. ‘Italy Vino’ reveals which is best – and which is best to avoid…
Video: Italy Vino 9. ChiantiChianti is Italy’s best-loved red wine. Here are two of the finest, plus tips on how to spot the best-tasting – and best-value – Chianti on any Italian restaurant wine list.
Video: Italy Vino 8. Summer PinksPerfect for cooling down those long, lazy, al fresco summer meals, try these refreshing, thirst-quenching – and very different – Italian pink wines.
Video: Italy Vino 7. Cannonau & Vermentino di SardegnaSardinia’s top two wines. A gutsy red and a crisp white – both perfect with Sardinia’s regional cuisine, which is a real contrast to what you’ll find throughout the rest of Italy.
Video: Italy Vino 6. San Gimignano & Morellino di ScansanoThere’s so much more to Tuscan wine than just Chianti. Tasted and rated here are two of the region’s lesser-known (and extremely good value) DOCG offerings.
Video: Italy Vino 5. Fiano di Avellino & Greco di TufoThe region of Campania around Naples is currently producing some of Italy’s most stunning white wines. Here are two of the very best – perfect for summer drinking.
Video: Italy Vino 4. Primitivo di Manduria & Salice SalentinoHere are two contrasting Italian red wines from Puglia. An Italian take on California’s famed Zinfandel, Primitivo di Manduria is rich, dark and powerful, while Salice Salentino is lighter, softer and fruitier.
Video: Italy Vino 3. Pecorino FrizzanteJoin us for a glass of a new Italian sparkling white wine from the Abruzzo region. Fun, frothy and delicious, it’s a really superior alternative to Prosecco – and the Villasfor2 ‘house sparkler’ !
Video: Italy Vino 2. PecorinoNothing to do with Pecorino cheese but instead, an ancient Abruzzo heritage white-wine grape rescued from the brink of extinction in the mid-1990s and now producing perhaps the region’s finest white wine – and our own ‘house white’ !
Video: Italy Vino 1. Montepulciano D’AbruzzoThe first in the ‘Italy Vino’ series and where better to start than with the trademark red wine of Abruzzo – Montepulciano D’Abruzzo. It’s one of Italy’s rising stars – and also the Villasfor2 ‘house red’ !