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750ml
Bottle:
$12.57
12 bottles:
$12.32
Colour: Intense bright red colour with violet reflections.
Nose: Flavours of prune, tobacco and vanilla.
Taste: Dry,...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.93
$22.80
12 bottles:
$21.49
The 1st vintage of Bianco di Ampeleia was 2016. A neighbor's vineyard had old vines of a local biotype of Trebbiano...
750ml
Bottle:
$36.72
6 bottles:
$36.00
COLOR: Intense yellow in color.
NOSE: Elderflower, citrus, musk, and almond. Floral fragrances gradually give way to...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.95
12 bottles:
$18.57
Arneis/Cortese/Sauvignon Blanc/Favorita/Vermentino. The name "Arcese" is a whimsical mash-up of Arneis and Cortese,...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.95
12 bottles:
$26.41
100% Moscato. From organically farmed estate vines averaging 30 years old, planted on south-southeast-facing slopes...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$15.94
The typical aromas of the Sauvignon are tangy on the nose; sage, ripe peach, elderflower and green pepper. The Pinot...
750ml
Bottle:
$81.00
6 bottles:
$79.80
This is another fantastic white and continues to be one of the best from Tuscany. It’s so perfumed with sliced...
750ml
Bottle:
$82.88
6 bottles:
$81.22
A solid white with dried pear, apple, cream and stone aromas and flavors. It’s full-bodied with a beautiful core of...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.53
12 bottles:
$19.14
Sliced-pear some red-apple aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied with lemon zest and fresh pear on the finish....
750ml
Bottle:
$22.95
12 bottles:
$22.49
The 2022 Nero d'Avola is dark and woodsy in the glass, with dried blueberries and exotic spices lifted by sage hints....
750ml
Bottle:
$61.50
6 bottles:
$60.27
This has a pretty nose of jasmine, honeysuckle, white peach and melon. Medium-bodied with a ripe, creamy and juicy...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.00
12 bottles:
$9.51
A fresh white, with hints of fresh rosemary and orange blossoms providing a fragrant thread through notes of baked...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.49
12 bottles:
$15.83
Brilliant lemon-green in color, playful aromas of green apples and pears are underscored by notes of white peaches...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$23.42
Straw yellow color. Wine of great drinkability that finds its best weapons in freshness and elegance. The aromatic...
750ml
Bottle:
$20.95
12 bottles:
$20.53
'Arancio' (meaning the color orange or an orange tree) is 70% Malvasia Toscana/Malvasia Romagnola, 27% Trebbiano...
750ml
Bottle:
$11.94
$13.01
An excellent deep, spicy, intriguing red wine from Sicily, the 2023 Nero d’Avolo is a tank-fermented and aged, dark...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.43
12 bottles:
$13.16
Dolcemente's secret is the blend of the refined character of the Chardonnay with the fruitiness and sweetness of the...
Italian White Blends Mavrodaphne Nero D'avola Wine
In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.
Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.
Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.
Additional Information on Greek Wines
Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?
Italy’s largest island, Sicily, has a wine producing history that can put most other European regions to shame. It was producing quality wines before the days of the Roman empire, and even the Ancient Greeks were not the first to cultivate vines on the island. For as long as anyone knows, the key grape varietal of Sicily has been Nero d’Avola, the beautiful, deep blue skinned grape which produces the region’s characterful, powerful red wines. While in the past, Nero d’Avola was mainly used as a blending grape, due to its deep color and intensely full body, it is today being increasingly celebrated as a single varietal wine grape, and is perfect for those who like their wines boisterous, loud and strong.
Nero d’Avola is grown pretty much everywhere on Sicily, as demand for wines made from this grape have never been higher. Despite its power and body, it is quite a versatile grape - it can be aged in oak barrels, which produces a dense and dark wine which puts its intense characteristics to good use, but it is also often drunk quite young, which allows its jammy, plummy character to come forward. It is also used to make rose wines in some appellations of Sicily, demonstrating a softer side to this otherwise heavy, deeply flavorful grape.