Antinori Cervaro Della Sala Chardonnay 2010 750ml

Winery: Antinori

Varietal: Chardonnay

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

Region: Umbria

Umbria in central Italy is one of the country's smallest wine regions, and is often overlooked due to its proximity to Tuscany. However, Umbria specialises in using its stunning Tuscany-esque terroir – all rolling hillsides and lush, green vineyards – to their full potential, and producing stunning wines of character and distinction for extremely reasonable prices. In particular, Umbria is renowned as something of a home of innovative Italian wine making, taking native varietals such as Sangiovese and Grechetto, and blending them with Bordeaux red and white wine grapes in order to produce spectacular aged, blended wines. By taking traditional viticultural practices, and shaking them up a bit, Umbria is quickly discarding its former poor reputation, and proving that it is a wine region to watch and explore.

Country: Italy

Italy is recognised as being one of the finest wine producing countries in the world, and it isn't difficult to see why. With a vast amount of land across the country used primarily for vineyard cultivation and wine production, each region of Italy manages to produce a wide range of excellent quality wines, each representative of the region it is produced in. Any lover of Italian wines will be able to tell you of the variety the country produces, from the deliciously astringent and alpine-fresh wines of the northern borders, to the deliciously jammy and fruit-forward wines of the south and the Italian islands. Regions such as Barolo are frequently compared with Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, as their oak aged red wines have all the complexity and earthy, spicy excellence of some of the finest wines in the world, and the sparkling wines of Asti and elsewhere in Italy can easily challenge and often exceed the high standards put forward by Champagne. Thanks to excellent terrain and climatic conditions, Italy has long since proven itself a major player in the world of wines, and long may this dedication to quality and excellence continue.