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White
750ml
Bottle: $20.08
12 bottles: $19.68
Made with organically grown grapes, the wine has a straw yellow color with green hints. On the nose, its elegantly...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $65.89 $66.79
Deep nose with a sharp mineral overtone to the complex aromas of white sesame, praline, grilled spices and roasted...
12 FREE
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94
WS
93
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.94
12 bottles: $19.54
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.94
12 bottles: $13.66
Made from 100% Chardonnay, half of which was fermented in oak giving lovely depth and complexity.
12 FREE
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $7.13
The Antico Fuoco Chardonnay exhibits attractive notes of apple butter and poached pears along with a lovely texture....
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $11.62 $12.91
12 bottles: $11.52
COLOR: Ruby red with purple highlights. NOSE: Elegant fruit aromas of cherries and plums with an enticing warm,...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $12.11 $12.75
12 bottles: $10.69
White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $21.80
6 bottles: $18.34
Red
750ml
Bottle: $26.00
12 bottles: $25.48
Produced from very old vines (60-65 yrs!), this Barbera exudes floral, black currant, and licorice aromas. The palate...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $20.95
12 bottles: $20.53
100% Barbera from vines located in Perno in the village of Monforte d'Alba, on the right slope in front of...
12 FREE
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.38 $20.40
6 bottles: $17.50
Laced with blackberry, black cherry and spice flavors, this red is rich and juicy. Well-structured too, yet balanced...
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90
WS
90
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $29.64 $31.99
Alluring aromas of dark-skinned berry, exotic spice and an earthy note of tilled soil come together in the glass. The...
WE
93
Red
750ml
Bottle: $87.99
6 bottles: $86.23
Like all great wines, Barbera too has its own crus. In certain areas and vineyards where it reaches the highest of...
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White
750ml
Bottle: $17.86 $18.80
6 bottles: $15.84
“Dolce far niente”. In Italian, the sweetness of doing nothing. This unoaked Chardonnay is a bliss to sip, a...
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Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.80
12 bottles: $22.34
The 2022 Frappato impresses with its soaring aromatics, blending violet pastille with sweet smoke and crushed...
VM
90
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.80
12 bottles: $22.34
100% Frappato.
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White
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $21.85 $23.00
6 bottles: $13.87
Straw yellow in color. A bouquet of pineapple and peach aromas, with hints of melon. The palate is fruit forward with...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.58 $14.30
12 bottles: $11.40
Straw yellow in color. A bouquet of pineapple and peach aromas, with hints of melon. The palate is fruit forward with...
White
750ml
Bottle: $22.48
12 bottles: $22.03
Chopped apples, cream, lemons, flint and salted crackers. Layered and smooth, with a creamy texture and medium to...
JS
92
Case only
Red
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle: $124.94
The 2019 Barbera d’Asti Ai Suma is laced with blackberry jam, crème de cassis, sweet spice, licorice, lavender and...
12 FREE
VM
93

Barbera Chardonnay Frappato Italy Switzerland

For centuries now, the beautiful red grapes of the Barbera varietal have been grown in Italy, where they are prized for their unusual high acid content and low tannins, brought about by their thin skins. The Barbera grape varietal thrives in warmer climates, and has had some success overseas in the new world, where its strongly aromatic flavors of intense hedgerow fruits make it a favorite with wineries and wine drinkers looking for a grape which offers plenty of interesting characteristics. Interestingly, the differences between young and aged wines made from this varietal are quite significant, with younger bottles holding a plethora of berry flavors, including blueberry and raspberry notes, and oak aged wines made from the Barbera grape being much loved for their ability to become extremely complex and spicy, and picking up vanilla flavors from the wood they are barreled in.

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.

There are few countries in the world with a viticultural history as long or as illustrious as that claimed by Italy. Grapes were first being grown and cultivated on Italian soil several thousand years ago by the Greeks and the Pheonicians, who named Italy 'Oenotria' – the land of wines – so impressed were they with the climate and the suitability of the soil for wine production. Of course, it was the rise of the Roman Empire which had the most lasting influence on wine production in Italy, and their influence can still be felt today, as much of the riches of the empire came about through their enthusiasm for producing wines and exporting it to neighbouring countries. Since those times, a vast amount of Italian land has remained primarily for vine cultivation, and thousands of wineries can be found throughout the entire length and breadth of this beautiful country, drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and benefiting from the excellent fertile soils found there. Italy remains very much a 'land of wines', and one could not imagine this country, its landscape and culture, without it.




Switzerland is composed by 26 cantons and 4 linguistic areas: the German one, the French one, the Italian and the Romanche. This creates a richness of various expressions, which are also reflected in traditions, lifestyles, eating and drinking manners. Its wine-producing geography is subdivided into six areas: the cantons of Valais, of Vaud and of Geneva, the three lakes' region (Western Switzerland), the German-speaking area (Eastern Switzerland), and the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino. Moreover, Switzerland's particular geographical situation, in between four wine-producing nations (France, Italy, Germany and Austria), offers an extreme diversity in the characters of its wines.


Swiss vineyards give a large choice of grape varieties, although they are still scarcely known abroad. The most typical white grape variety is Chasselas, whose extreme sensitivity to both soil and situation is reflected in subtle differences in taste. Among the red grape varieties, the most widespread is Pinot Noir which can take very different characters depending on the region from where it comes and the type of vinification it has undergone.


History



Vineyards have been cultivated in Switzerland since the Roman era. Even though certain traces can be found of a more ancient origin, many native Swiss vines have Latin names. Christianity and the needs of religious services ensured the cultivation of the vineyards throughout the Middle Age and long after it. However, wine would not be used in masses only and, despite its highs and lows, the wine-production in Switzerland lasted and developed to our days. Swiss products can now be seen abroad as cultural ambassadors of a country whose winegrowers completely dedicate themselves to producing the very best.