Do we ship to you?.
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$15.84
Ruby red color with violet reflections. Typical varietal aromas of ripe plum, cocoa, wild fruit, and flawless...
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$49.94
A very spicy fruity wine, brilliant and clear, perfumed with carob, bergamot and orange peel. The compact ripe fruit...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.00
12 bottles:
$17.64
Lambrusco Marani, Lambrusco Salamino, Lambrusco Oliva, Lambrusco Grasparossa, and Lambrusco Maestri, co-harvested on...
750ml
Bottle:
$17.50
12 bottles:
$17.15
Lambrusco Marani (acidity), Lambrusco Salamino (perfume), Lambrusco Oliva (color and sugar), and Lambrusco Maestri...
750ml
Bottle:
$14.62
$16.25
Dark garnet. A complex bouquet of ripe plums, black pepper, and tobacco emerges from the glass. The palate has a...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.44
12 bottles:
$13.17
It is evident that food and wine are harmoniously linked in Sicily, defining the region. It is known for its rich and...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.94
$14.30
12 bottles:
$12.68
100% Cortese. The grapes used in this classic example of Gavi grew in the shadow of “Il Forte,” the iconic...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.01
Purato Nero d'Avola is packed with punchy fruit, with an excellent structure, yet is completely approachable.
750ml
Bottle:
$10.90
$12.05
Purato Nero d'Avola is packed with punchy fruit, with an excellent structure, yet is completely approachable.
750ml
Bottle:
$14.07
$15.63
Nero d’Avola gives this wine a red passion color, hints of ripe fruit and an intense and harmonious taste....
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$14.50
$15.26
Riunite Lambrusco is perfect for every occasion. Enjoyable and straight forward, its easy drinkability make it a...
750ml
Bottle:
$15.94
12 bottles:
$15.62
A firm and lightly chewy nero d'avola with earth and spice and some mushroom undertones. Medium body, solid tannins...
750ml
Bottle:
$21.94
12 bottles:
$21.50
From a 1.5-hectare vineyard planted around 30 years ago. The vines are traditionally pruned in alberello, in other...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$17.90
Straw yellow with slightly greenish reflections. Intense scents of white flowers and fruit exacerbated by a delicate...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.12
6 bottles:
$18.74
Insieme represents our wish to produce a totally natural wine, with absolutely no chemicals, from the grape to the...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.94
$14.73
Made from 100% Cortese grapes, this delicious white is both soft and crisp. With a pleasant stony minerality, this...
Cortese Lambrusco Nero D'avola Mencia
The Cortese white wine grape varietal has been grown in and around south Piedmont, Italy, for at least five hundred years. Its delicate nature and moderate acidity have made it a favorite with people around the world, and it is most commonly served alongside the excellent seafood and shellfish dishes of the part of Italy it is traditionally grown in. Cortese grapes are easily identifiable by their lime and greengage flavors, and their generally delicate and medium bodied character. Cortese wines are also notable for their freshness and crispness, again, making them an ideal match for seafood. Whilst colder years often produce harsher, more acidic Cortese wines, practices such as allowing malolactic fermentation can solve any such problems and still produce delicious white wines made from this varietal.
Some grape species are distinct and unique varietals, clearly separate from each of their cousins. Others, like Lambrusco and Muscat, are more like umbrella terms, featuring several subspecies which show slight differences from each other from region to region. Indeed, there are astonishingly more than 60 identified varieties of Lambrusco vines, and they are almost all used in the production of characterful Italian sparkling wines. They are distinguishable by their deep ruby blush, caused by strong pigments present in their skins, and their intensely perfumed character.
Lambrusco vines are grown in several Italian regions, although we most closely associate this varietal with Piedmont and Basilicata. It has also been grown successfully in Argentina and Australia. The varietal suffered from a fairly lowly reputation in the late 20th century, due to bulk, low cost production of Lambrusco sparkling wines, aimed at markets across northern Europe and America. However, things are rapidly changing, and the older, more traditional methods of bottle fermentation are returning, along with a higher level of quality and expression, as consumers become more discerning and demanding. Many of the Lambrusco sub-varieties have their own established DOC, such as Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Lambrusco di Sorbara and Modena, where new regulations are keeping standards high and methods traditional.
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.