Italian wines…
of course.

ATNEUS – ALTROVE Walter de Battè – Liguria

Altrove means ‘somewhere else’ straight from the stunning Cinque Terre in Liguria, a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline, where vineyards are cultivated in steep terraces overlooking the sea and where viticulture is often called heroic.

The holy juice is made of Vermentino, Rossese bianco, Marsanne and Rossane grapes.

Maceration on the skin for 4-5 days. No filtration.

An exhilarating explosion of all the aromatic plants of the Mediterranean region, such a marjoram, thyme, oregano and the sea on all its form, algae and iodine. Along with ripe fruits and mango medlars. Rich, mouth feeling, persistent …

One of Passione vino most precious gems, available by the glass all week long.

GATTAIA PINOT NERO 2014 by Terre di Giotto – Tuscany

PINOT NERO by @michele lorenzetti. Take a biologist and oenologist who since 2004 carries a consultant in Biodynamic Viticulture all over Italy, who one day in the far 2006 decides to start his own project in the high 500-600 m asl hills of #vicchiodelmugello, Provence a Florence, one of the only areas of Tuscany that lacks of DOC and has no strong tradition in cultivation of the vine.

Take this #vignaiolo who decides not to plant the classic local grapes, but goes all the way to France and comes back to start a dream : breaking down the ancient barriers between Italy and France, the never ending wine production competition … simply planting a French clone of Pinot Noir in Italian terroir.

Take years of hard work, love, expertise, attempts … to produce a nectar with #nocompromise : biodynamics treatments, no chemicals, no filtration, manual harvest and so on.

Take all of these and you’ll have a truly unique Pinot Nero available by the glass!

BRAMATERRA 2013 by LA Palazzina – Piedmont

The Bramaterra DOC of Piedmont is one of several in the region to base is wine on Nebbiolo grape, 60 miles north of those which makes the famous Barolo and Barbaresco. between 300-400 m asl this 3.5 hectares of vineyard lie over a dormant volcano “supervulcano della Valsesia” discoverer not long time ago – giving a volcanic soil.

It’s not that Barolo can’t be pretty (it very much can) but it’s not often gentle. By contrast, today’s Bramaterra abstain from Nebbiolo’s typical high tannins and alcohol in favour of Pinot Noir-ish silkiness, yes it has a benefit of 9 years of ageing, but clearly this wine was never massive.

What we see in the Alto Piemonte are wines which, while not as structured as Barolo/Barbaresco counterparts, are capable of both greatness and longevity. Explosively mineral, impeccably balanced, juicy wild strawberries rose petal, blood orange peel, fresh, incredibly lively with ripe and very fine tannins.

Not to be missed.

 

LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2017 by CASCINA DISA Elio Sandri

Nebbiolo grapes in the Langhe area in the 2017 vintage saw endless sunshine and very little rain.

The fruit expresses in the wine all the balmy season it had faced, resulting in a powerful Nebbiolo, exceptionally concentrated, deeply perfumed.
On the nose, a fruity aroma of Cherry Jam gradually opens with spicy scents.
A full and long-lasting taste denoting a considerable extract, with a good presence of tasty and plentiful of pleasant and intense tannins and of course the signature uplifting minerality of Sandri wines.

If you are looking for a powerful but still vertical Nebbiolo, this is your boy.

 

 

VALTELLINA SUPERIORE DOGC, (2014) by DIRUPI 

THE WINE 🍷
Grape :Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca).
Boutique wine in the Valtellina. Dirupi Superiore is an elegant and full-bodied red wine born from old vines on steep slopes and aged 18 months in oak barrels.
Deep and elegant perfumes and an intense, warm and smooth taste expresses the energy of the Nebbiolo from the Alps. Packed with fruits like cherry and plum, this wine gives immediate pleasure.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
Valtellina is an Alpine Valley of rare beauty in Northern Lombardy, just a few miles from the Swiss border. It’s one of the most dramatic vineyard landscapes globally.
The whole area is covered with picturesque terraces creating a breathtaking view of one of the most charming and no-by-chance called heroic winemaking zones.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
The Dirupi Team is composed of two of the most energetic and talented young winemakers: Davide, aka Faso & Pierpaolo, aka Birba.
2 Friends who used to play basketball together during primary school and then reunited while at University, where they both studied winemaking.
It’s hard to describe this duo with words as only the energy you feel when you meet them gives you an accurate idea. They are among the craziest yet most lovable and passionate teams in the wine scene, and as a result, their wines can’t be anything other than magic and exceptionally made.

 

 

 

Compagni Di Viaggio Ravenna Rosso IGT 2008 Ca’ de Noci

THE WINE 🍷

This wine is obtained by a field blend of 3 indigenous grape varieties local to the Emilia Romagna region. Sangiovese Centesimino + Longanese. The first one is well known to many, and it’s the grape variety behind Chianti wine. The other 2 are rarely known and have been rediscovered and revived in the Emilia Romagna region over the past 20 years. Each grape gives its personal contribution to this wine.

Sangiovese 🍇
brings plenty of sour red cherries and fragrant flavours, with earthy aromas and tea leaf notes.

Centesimino 🍇
is also known by the name Savignon Rosso in the area. Due to its high acidity, it ages very well and gives a hint of dark ruby red in colours to the wines, along with aromas of rose, orange, anise and liquorice.

Longanese 🍇
It’s another little known grape from Emilia, a rare gem. It brings to the blend an explosion of red fruit flavours like cherry and strawberry, with some vanilla and even liquorice overtones, plus plenty of tannins.

The wine is rich, full of fruit and with the perfect amount of tannins and acidity to balance its richness and intensity. Aged for 4 years in oak barrels, plus other 10 years in bottle.
Expect body and a pleasant rustic aroma, with some salty notes dancing with the big fruit. Open half an hour before drinking and decant it.

 

 

 

TERAN Venezia Giulia IGT, (2015) by SKERK

THE WINE 🍷
Grape : Terrano
Terrano grape descends from the Refosco Famly, and it’s the most attractive red grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia region (in the northeastern part of Italy, right at the border with Slovenia).
This 2015 Teran is undoubtedly special. It has a deep ruby-red colour and a dry and pleasant acidic taste and it’s fresh, fruity, herby and tannic. The most important signature, however, it’s a stony minerality with plenty of depth, due to the high iron content found in the terroir where it belongs and thrives at its best: the karst plateau.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
The karst, also known as the Karstic plateau or Carso, is a rocky limestone land that extends from the northeast of Italy to the extreme northwest of Croatia, all across western Slovenia and the north of Istria.
There is a particular kind of soil called Terra Rossa, or “red earth,” in this little corner of the world and it is said that Terrano reaches its greatest heights only when grown on this terra rossa soil. When dirt turns red, it is usually because of high iron content.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
Sandi Skerk took over from his Father Boris, like many in the Carso, their production is tiny and natural. He uses oak for fermentation and ageing rather than concrete or Amphoras.
Skerk remains organically certified as he has been for ten years but still refuses to mention it on the bottle due to his dissatisfaction with the weak standards allowed by the certifying bodies.

 

 

CONFONDO ROSATO IGT ANCESTRAL METHOD by buccianera

THE GRAPE 🍇
Grape: Ciliegiolo.
The grape thrives in warm hillside vineyards, especially in areas like Maremma and Chianti, and is not traditionally bottled as a varietal wine. Vinified on its own, Ciliegiolo produces a wine with a lush red colour, distinct cherry fruit (Ciliegiolo means “little cherry”), soft tannic structure, and restrained acidity.

THE WINE 🍷
Lobster pink with beautiful opalescence. On the nose, it displays hints of yeast and bread making and then opens up with fruity aromas of cherry, wild strawberries, white currant and rose petals. The taste is dry, full, with very delicate but persistent bubbles, fresh and savoury with good length. Red fruits return at the aftertaste and finish. The mouth remains pleasantly dry and clean.
The presence of bottled yeasts is an additional positive factor in the taste-olfactory part of the tasting.

 

 

 

From one of the most scenic wine areas globally, mount Etna, Passione presents the new vintages of Alnus and Ante by I Custodi winery.

🌋
Mount Etna is a current darling of the Italian wine scene. I Custodi is among the 21st-century Etna Renaissance producers who are now making wines as compelling as the active volcano’s cooled lava flows.

The etna wine-producing region stretches from almost 500 feet above sea level to an elevation of around 4,000 feet and includes some of the highest vineyards in Italy.
At the highest elevations, vineyards are terraced, cut into the steep slopes of the mountain. Much of the harvest and vineyard maintenance must be done by hand as the terraces are too narrow for mechanical equipment.
Viticulture in the area is called heroic.

“ANTE” ETNA BIANCO DOC 2018
Grapes: Carricante, Minnella, Grecanico.
The pure flavour of the mountains, expressing in its wonderful minerality. You can find all the fire and flames of the active volcano, with a pleasant salty aftertaste. Well structured.

“ALNUS” ETNA ROSATO DOC 2019
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese & Nerello Cappuccio
This rosé is fresh and sharp-edged like a great white, and at the same time complete and comforting as only an excellent red Etna can be.

 

 

 

Vermentino “Il BIanco” IGT, Il Torchio (2020) – Liguria

Vermentino from Liguria has an indelible imprint that is exalted perfectly by Edoardo & Gilda – brother and sister – running il Torchio winery.

Hints of Mediterranean scrub, citrus peel and dried fruit, with an intrusive minerality. It encloses all the salt carried from the wind that blows from the sea.

Dynamic and refreshing white wine in this vintage is vinified in steel tanks with a short maceration of half of the grapes.

 

 

 

 

VINO BIANCO “ZINO” = Gift of Zeus.

Massimo and Paola are the founders of I Mandorli winery in Tuscany.
In the summer of 2018, they returned from a holiday in Pantelleria (Sicily) and – bewitched by the island’s scents, colours, and flavours – they decide to recover one hectare of a vineyard in the island that hosts more than 60-year-old Moscato di Alessandria vines.

The “PANTELLERIA AGRICULTURAL PROJECT” was born.

The Wine 🍾
Grape variety: 100 % Moscato di Alessandria (locally called Zibibbo)

Soil: volcanic origin soil, rich in pumice stone and sand.

Vinification: the fermentation is spontaneous, and it starts in open tanks with five days of skin contact. Ageing in amphora for six months and then rest in the bottle.

Hurry up: only 600 bottles were produced in total!

ATNEUS – ALTROVE Walter de Battè – Liguria

Altrove means ‘somewhere else’ straight from the stunning Cinque Terre in Liguria, a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline, where vineyards are cultivated in steep terraces overlooking the sea and where viticulture is often called heroic.

The holy juice is made of Vermentino, Rossese bianco, Marsanne and Rossane grapes.

Maceration on the skin for 4-5 days. No filtration.

An exhilarating explosion of all the aromatic plants of the Mediterranean region, such a marjoram, thyme, oregano and the sea on all its form, algae and iodine. Along with ripe fruits and mango medlars. Rich, mouth feeling, persistent …

One of Passione vino most precious gems, available by the glass all week long.

GATTAIA PINOT NERO 2014 by Terre di Giotto – Tuscany

PINOT NERO by @michele lorenzetti. Take a biologist and oenologist who since 2004 carries a consultant in Biodynamic Viticulture all over Italy, who one day in the far 2006 decides to start his own project in the high 500-600 m asl hills of #vicchiodelmugello, Provence a Florence, one of the only areas of Tuscany that lacks of DOC and has no strong tradition in cultivation of the vine.

Take this #vignaiolo who decides not to plant the classic local grapes, but goes all the way to France and comes back to start a dream : breaking down the ancient barriers between Italy and France, the never ending wine production competition … simply planting a French clone of Pinot Noir in Italian terroir.

Take years of hard work, love, expertise, attempts … to produce a nectar with #nocompromise : biodynamics treatments, no chemicals, no filtration, manual harvest and so on.

Take all of these and you’ll have a truly unique Pinot Nero available by the glass!

BRAMATERRA 2013 by LA Palazzina – Piedmont

The Bramaterra DOC of Piedmont is one of several in the region to base is wine on Nebbiolo grape, 60 miles north of those which makes the famous Barolo and Barbaresco. between 300-400 m asl this 3.5 hectares of vineyard lie over a dormant volcano “supervulcano della Valsesia” discoverer not long time ago – giving a volcanic soil.

It’s not that Barolo can’t be pretty (it very much can) but it’s not often gentle. By contrast, today’s Bramaterra abstain from Nebbiolo’s typical high tannins and alcohol in favour of Pinot Noir-ish silkiness, yes it has a benefit of 9 years of ageing, but clearly this wine was never massive.

What we see in the Alto Piemonte are wines which, while not as structured as Barolo/Barbaresco counterparts, are capable of both greatness and longevity. Explosively mineral, impeccably balanced, juicy wild strawberries rose petal, blood orange peel, fresh, incredibly lively with ripe and very fine tannins.

Not to be missed.

 

LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2017 by CASCINA DISA Elio Sandri

Nebbiolo grapes in the Langhe area in the 2017 vintage saw endless sunshine and very little rain.

The fruit expresses in the wine all the balmy season it had faced, resulting in a powerful Nebbiolo, exceptionally concentrated, deeply perfumed.
On the nose, a fruity aroma of Cherry Jam gradually opens with spicy scents.
A full and long-lasting taste denoting a considerable extract, with a good presence of tasty and plentiful of pleasant and intense tannins and of course the signature uplifting minerality of Sandri wines.

If you are looking for a powerful but still vertical Nebbiolo, this is your boy.

 

 

VALTELLINA SUPERIORE DOGC, (2014) by DIRUPI 

THE WINE 🍷
Grape :Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca).
Boutique wine in the Valtellina. Dirupi Superiore is an elegant and full-bodied red wine born from old vines on steep slopes and aged 18 months in oak barrels.
Deep and elegant perfumes and an intense, warm and smooth taste expresses the energy of the Nebbiolo from the Alps. Packed with fruits like cherry and plum, this wine gives immediate pleasure.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
Valtellina is an Alpine Valley of rare beauty in Northern Lombardy, just a few miles from the Swiss border. It’s one of the most dramatic vineyard landscapes globally.
The whole area is covered with picturesque terraces creating a breathtaking view of one of the most charming and no-by-chance called heroic winemaking zones.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
The Dirupi Team is composed of two of the most energetic and talented young winemakers: Davide, aka Faso & Pierpaolo, aka Birba.
2 Friends who used to play basketball together during primary school and then reunited while at University, where they both studied winemaking.
It’s hard to describe this duo with words as only the energy you feel when you meet them gives you an accurate idea. They are among the craziest yet most lovable and passionate teams in the wine scene, and as a result, their wines can’t be anything other than magic and exceptionally made.

 

 

 

Compagni Di Viaggio Ravenna Rosso IGT 2008 Ca’ de Noci

THE WINE 🍷

This wine is obtained by a field blend of 3 indigenous grape varieties local to the Emilia Romagna region. Sangiovese Centesimino + Longanese. The first one is well known to many, and it’s the grape variety behind Chianti wine. The other 2 are rarely known and have been rediscovered and revived in the Emilia Romagna region over the past 20 years. Each grape gives its personal contribution to this wine.

Sangiovese 🍇
brings plenty of sour red cherries and fragrant flavours, with earthy aromas and tea leaf notes.

Centesimino 🍇
is also known by the name Savignon Rosso in the area. Due to its high acidity, it ages very well and gives a hint of dark ruby red in colours to the wines, along with aromas of rose, orange, anise and liquorice.

Longanese 🍇
It’s another little known grape from Emilia, a rare gem. It brings to the blend an explosion of red fruit flavours like cherry and strawberry, with some vanilla and even liquorice overtones, plus plenty of tannins.

The wine is rich, full of fruit and with the perfect amount of tannins and acidity to balance its richness and intensity. Aged for 4 years in oak barrels, plus other 10 years in bottle.
Expect body and a pleasant rustic aroma, with some salty notes dancing with the big fruit. Open half an hour before drinking and decant it.

 

 

 

TERAN Venezia Giulia IGT, (2015) by SKERK

THE WINE 🍷
Grape : Terrano
Terrano grape descends from the Refosco Famly, and it’s the most attractive red grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia region (in the northeastern part of Italy, right at the border with Slovenia).
This 2015 Teran is undoubtedly special. It has a deep ruby-red colour and a dry and pleasant acidic taste and it’s fresh, fruity, herby and tannic. The most important signature, however, it’s a stony minerality with plenty of depth, due to the high iron content found in the terroir where it belongs and thrives at its best: the karst plateau.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
The karst, also known as the Karstic plateau or Carso, is a rocky limestone land that extends from the northeast of Italy to the extreme northwest of Croatia, all across western Slovenia and the north of Istria.
There is a particular kind of soil called Terra Rossa, or “red earth,” in this little corner of the world and it is said that Terrano reaches its greatest heights only when grown on this terra rossa soil. When dirt turns red, it is usually because of high iron content.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
Sandi Skerk took over from his Father Boris, like many in the Carso, their production is tiny and natural. He uses oak for fermentation and ageing rather than concrete or Amphoras.
Skerk remains organically certified as he has been for ten years but still refuses to mention it on the bottle due to his dissatisfaction with the weak standards allowed by the certifying bodies.

 

 

CONFONDO ROSATO IGT ANCESTRAL METHOD by buccianera

THE GRAPE 🍇
Grape: Ciliegiolo.
The grape thrives in warm hillside vineyards, especially in areas like Maremma and Chianti, and is not traditionally bottled as a varietal wine. Vinified on its own, Ciliegiolo produces a wine with a lush red colour, distinct cherry fruit (Ciliegiolo means “little cherry”), soft tannic structure, and restrained acidity.

THE WINE 🍷
Lobster pink with beautiful opalescence. On the nose, it displays hints of yeast and bread making and then opens up with fruity aromas of cherry, wild strawberries, white currant and rose petals. The taste is dry, full, with very delicate but persistent bubbles, fresh and savoury with good length. Red fruits return at the aftertaste and finish. The mouth remains pleasantly dry and clean.
The presence of bottled yeasts is an additional positive factor in the taste-olfactory part of the tasting.

 

 

 

From one of the most scenic wine areas globally, mount Etna, Passione presents the new vintages of Alnus and Ante by I Custodi winery.

🌋
Mount Etna is a current darling of the Italian wine scene. I Custodi is among the 21st-century Etna Renaissance producers who are now making wines as compelling as the active volcano’s cooled lava flows.

The etna wine-producing region stretches from almost 500 feet above sea level to an elevation of around 4,000 feet and includes some of the highest vineyards in Italy.
At the highest elevations, vineyards are terraced, cut into the steep slopes of the mountain. Much of the harvest and vineyard maintenance must be done by hand as the terraces are too narrow for mechanical equipment.
Viticulture in the area is called heroic.

“ANTE” ETNA BIANCO DOC 2018
Grapes: Carricante, Minnella, Grecanico.
The pure flavour of the mountains, expressing in its wonderful minerality. You can find all the fire and flames of the active volcano, with a pleasant salty aftertaste. Well structured.

“ALNUS” ETNA ROSATO DOC 2019
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese & Nerello Cappuccio
This rosé is fresh and sharp-edged like a great white, and at the same time complete and comforting as only an excellent red Etna can be.

 

 

 

Vermentino “Il BIanco” IGT, Il Torchio (2020) – Liguria

Vermentino from Liguria has an indelible imprint that is exalted perfectly by Edoardo & Gilda – brother and sister – running il Torchio winery.

Hints of Mediterranean scrub, citrus peel and dried fruit, with an intrusive minerality. It encloses all the salt carried from the wind that blows from the sea.

Dynamic and refreshing white wine in this vintage is vinified in steel tanks with a short maceration of half of the grapes.

 

 

 

 

VINO BIANCO “ZINO” = Gift of Zeus.

Massimo and Paola are the founders of I Mandorli winery in Tuscany.
In the summer of 2018, they returned from a holiday in Pantelleria (Sicily) and – bewitched by the island’s scents, colours, and flavours – they decide to recover one hectare of a vineyard in the island that hosts more than 60-year-old Moscato di Alessandria vines.

The “PANTELLERIA AGRICULTURAL PROJECT” was born.

The Wine 🍾
Grape variety: 100 % Moscato di Alessandria (locally called Zibibbo)

Soil: volcanic origin soil, rich in pumice stone and sand.

Vinification: the fermentation is spontaneous, and it starts in open tanks with five days of skin contact. Ageing in amphora for six months and then rest in the bottle.

Hurry up: only 600 bottles were produced in total!

ATNEUS – ALTROVE Walter de Battè – Liguria

Altrove means ‘somewhere else’ straight from the stunning Cinque Terre in Liguria, a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline, where vineyards are cultivated in steep terraces overlooking the sea and where viticulture is often called heroic.

The holy juice is made of Vermentino, Rossese bianco, Marsanne and Rossane grapes.

Maceration on the skin for 4-5 days. No filtration.

An exhilarating explosion of all the aromatic plants of the Mediterranean region, such a marjoram, thyme, oregano and the sea on all its form, algae and iodine. Along with ripe fruits and mango medlars. Rich, mouth feeling, persistent …

One of Passione vino most precious gems, available by the glass all week long.

GATTAIA PINOT NERO 2014 by Terre di Giotto – Tuscany

PINOT NERO by @michele lorenzetti. Take a biologist and oenologist who since 2004 carries a consultant in Biodynamic Viticulture all over Italy, who one day in the far 2006 decides to start his own project in the high 500-600 m asl hills of #vicchiodelmugello, Provence a Florence, one of the only areas of Tuscany that lacks of DOC and has no strong tradition in cultivation of the vine.

Take this #vignaiolo who decides not to plant the classic local grapes, but goes all the way to France and comes back to start a dream : breaking down the ancient barriers between Italy and France, the never ending wine production competition … simply planting a French clone of Pinot Noir in Italian terroir.

Take years of hard work, love, expertise, attempts … to produce a nectar with #nocompromise : biodynamics treatments, no chemicals, no filtration, manual harvest and so on.

Take all of these and you’ll have a truly unique Pinot Nero available by the glass!

BRAMATERRA 2013 by LA Palazzina – Piedmont

The Bramaterra DOC of Piedmont is one of several in the region to base is wine on Nebbiolo grape, 60 miles north of those which makes the famous Barolo and Barbaresco. between 300-400 m asl this 3.5 hectares of vineyard lie over a dormant volcano “supervulcano della Valsesia” discoverer not long time ago – giving a volcanic soil.

It’s not that Barolo can’t be pretty (it very much can) but it’s not often gentle. By contrast, today’s Bramaterra abstain from Nebbiolo’s typical high tannins and alcohol in favour of Pinot Noir-ish silkiness, yes it has a benefit of 9 years of ageing, but clearly this wine was never massive.

What we see in the Alto Piemonte are wines which, while not as structured as Barolo/Barbaresco counterparts, are capable of both greatness and longevity. Explosively mineral, impeccably balanced, juicy wild strawberries rose petal, blood orange peel, fresh, incredibly lively with ripe and very fine tannins.

Not to be missed.

 

LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2017 by CASCINA DISA Elio Sandri

Nebbiolo grapes in the Langhe area in the 2017 vintage saw endless sunshine and very little rain.

The fruit expresses in the wine all the balmy season it had faced, resulting in a powerful Nebbiolo, exceptionally concentrated, deeply perfumed.
On the nose, a fruity aroma of Cherry Jam gradually opens with spicy scents.
A full and long-lasting taste denoting a considerable extract, with a good presence of tasty and plentiful of pleasant and intense tannins and of course the signature uplifting minerality of Sandri wines.

If you are looking for a powerful but still vertical Nebbiolo, this is your boy.

 

 

VALTELLINA SUPERIORE DOGC, (2014) by DIRUPI 

THE WINE 🍷
Grape :Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca).
Boutique wine in the Valtellina. Dirupi Superiore is an elegant and full-bodied red wine born from old vines on steep slopes and aged 18 months in oak barrels.
Deep and elegant perfumes and an intense, warm and smooth taste expresses the energy of the Nebbiolo from the Alps. Packed with fruits like cherry and plum, this wine gives immediate pleasure.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
Valtellina is an Alpine Valley of rare beauty in Northern Lombardy, just a few miles from the Swiss border. It’s one of the most dramatic vineyard landscapes globally.
The whole area is covered with picturesque terraces creating a breathtaking view of one of the most charming and no-by-chance called heroic winemaking zones.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
The Dirupi Team is composed of two of the most energetic and talented young winemakers: Davide, aka Faso & Pierpaolo, aka Birba.
2 Friends who used to play basketball together during primary school and then reunited while at University, where they both studied winemaking.
It’s hard to describe this duo with words as only the energy you feel when you meet them gives you an accurate idea. They are among the craziest yet most lovable and passionate teams in the wine scene, and as a result, their wines can’t be anything other than magic and exceptionally made.

 

 

 

Compagni Di Viaggio Ravenna Rosso IGT 2008 Ca’ de Noci

THE WINE 🍷

This wine is obtained by a field blend of 3 indigenous grape varieties local to the Emilia Romagna region. Sangiovese Centesimino + Longanese. The first one is well known to many, and it’s the grape variety behind Chianti wine. The other 2 are rarely known and have been rediscovered and revived in the Emilia Romagna region over the past 20 years. Each grape gives its personal contribution to this wine.

Sangiovese 🍇
brings plenty of sour red cherries and fragrant flavours, with earthy aromas and tea leaf notes.

Centesimino 🍇
is also known by the name Savignon Rosso in the area. Due to its high acidity, it ages very well and gives a hint of dark ruby red in colours to the wines, along with aromas of rose, orange, anise and liquorice.

Longanese 🍇
It’s another little known grape from Emilia, a rare gem. It brings to the blend an explosion of red fruit flavours like cherry and strawberry, with some vanilla and even liquorice overtones, plus plenty of tannins.

The wine is rich, full of fruit and with the perfect amount of tannins and acidity to balance its richness and intensity. Aged for 4 years in oak barrels, plus other 10 years in bottle.
Expect body and a pleasant rustic aroma, with some salty notes dancing with the big fruit. Open half an hour before drinking and decant it.

 

 

 

TERAN Venezia Giulia IGT, (2015) by SKERK

THE WINE 🍷
Grape : Terrano
Terrano grape descends from the Refosco Famly, and it’s the most attractive red grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia region (in the northeastern part of Italy, right at the border with Slovenia).
This 2015 Teran is undoubtedly special. It has a deep ruby-red colour and a dry and pleasant acidic taste and it’s fresh, fruity, herby and tannic. The most important signature, however, it’s a stony minerality with plenty of depth, due to the high iron content found in the terroir where it belongs and thrives at its best: the karst plateau.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
The karst, also known as the Karstic plateau or Carso, is a rocky limestone land that extends from the northeast of Italy to the extreme northwest of Croatia, all across western Slovenia and the north of Istria.
There is a particular kind of soil called Terra Rossa, or “red earth,” in this little corner of the world and it is said that Terrano reaches its greatest heights only when grown on this terra rossa soil. When dirt turns red, it is usually because of high iron content.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
Sandi Skerk took over from his Father Boris, like many in the Carso, their production is tiny and natural. He uses oak for fermentation and ageing rather than concrete or Amphoras.
Skerk remains organically certified as he has been for ten years but still refuses to mention it on the bottle due to his dissatisfaction with the weak standards allowed by the certifying bodies.

 

 

CONFONDO ROSATO IGT ANCESTRAL METHOD by buccianera

THE GRAPE 🍇
Grape: Ciliegiolo.
The grape thrives in warm hillside vineyards, especially in areas like Maremma and Chianti, and is not traditionally bottled as a varietal wine. Vinified on its own, Ciliegiolo produces a wine with a lush red colour, distinct cherry fruit (Ciliegiolo means “little cherry”), soft tannic structure, and restrained acidity.

THE WINE 🍷
Lobster pink with beautiful opalescence. On the nose, it displays hints of yeast and bread making and then opens up with fruity aromas of cherry, wild strawberries, white currant and rose petals. The taste is dry, full, with very delicate but persistent bubbles, fresh and savoury with good length. Red fruits return at the aftertaste and finish. The mouth remains pleasantly dry and clean.
The presence of bottled yeasts is an additional positive factor in the taste-olfactory part of the tasting.

 

 

 

From one of the most scenic wine areas globally, mount Etna, Passione presents the new vintages of Alnus and Ante by I Custodi winery.

🌋
Mount Etna is a current darling of the Italian wine scene. I Custodi is among the 21st-century Etna Renaissance producers who are now making wines as compelling as the active volcano’s cooled lava flows.

The etna wine-producing region stretches from almost 500 feet above sea level to an elevation of around 4,000 feet and includes some of the highest vineyards in Italy.
At the highest elevations, vineyards are terraced, cut into the steep slopes of the mountain. Much of the harvest and vineyard maintenance must be done by hand as the terraces are too narrow for mechanical equipment.
Viticulture in the area is called heroic.

“ANTE” ETNA BIANCO DOC 2018
Grapes: Carricante, Minnella, Grecanico.
The pure flavour of the mountains, expressing in its wonderful minerality. You can find all the fire and flames of the active volcano, with a pleasant salty aftertaste. Well structured.

“ALNUS” ETNA ROSATO DOC 2019
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese & Nerello Cappuccio
This rosé is fresh and sharp-edged like a great white, and at the same time complete and comforting as only an excellent red Etna can be.

 

 

 

Vermentino “Il BIanco” IGT, Il Torchio (2020) – Liguria

Vermentino from Liguria has an indelible imprint that is exalted perfectly by Edoardo & Gilda – brother and sister – running il Torchio winery.

Hints of Mediterranean scrub, citrus peel and dried fruit, with an intrusive minerality. It encloses all the salt carried from the wind that blows from the sea.

Dynamic and refreshing white wine in this vintage is vinified in steel tanks with a short maceration of half of the grapes.

 

 

 

 

VINO BIANCO “ZINO” = Gift of Zeus.

Massimo and Paola are the founders of I Mandorli winery in Tuscany.
In the summer of 2018, they returned from a holiday in Pantelleria (Sicily) and – bewitched by the island’s scents, colours, and flavours – they decide to recover one hectare of a vineyard in the island that hosts more than 60-year-old Moscato di Alessandria vines.

The “PANTELLERIA AGRICULTURAL PROJECT” was born.

The Wine 🍾
Grape variety: 100 % Moscato di Alessandria (locally called Zibibbo)

Soil: volcanic origin soil, rich in pumice stone and sand.

Vinification: the fermentation is spontaneous, and it starts in open tanks with five days of skin contact. Ageing in amphora for six months and then rest in the bottle.

Hurry up: only 600 bottles were produced in total!

ATNEUS – ALTROVE Walter de Battè – Liguria

Altrove means ‘somewhere else’ straight from the stunning Cinque Terre in Liguria, a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline, where vineyards are cultivated in steep terraces overlooking the sea and where viticulture is often called heroic.

The holy juice is made of Vermentino, Rossese bianco, Marsanne and Rossane grapes.

Maceration on the skin for 4-5 days. No filtration.

An exhilarating explosion of all the aromatic plants of the Mediterranean region, such a marjoram, thyme, oregano and the sea on all its form, algae and iodine. Along with ripe fruits and mango medlars. Rich, mouth feeling, persistent …

One of Passione vino most precious gems, available by the glass all week long.

GATTAIA PINOT NERO 2014 by Terre di Giotto – Tuscany

PINOT NERO by @michele lorenzetti. Take a biologist and oenologist who since 2004 carries a consultant in Biodynamic Viticulture all over Italy, who one day in the far 2006 decides to start his own project in the high 500-600 m asl hills of #vicchiodelmugello, Provence a Florence, one of the only areas of Tuscany that lacks of DOC and has no strong tradition in cultivation of the vine.

Take this #vignaiolo who decides not to plant the classic local grapes, but goes all the way to France and comes back to start a dream : breaking down the ancient barriers between Italy and France, the never ending wine production competition … simply planting a French clone of Pinot Noir in Italian terroir.

Take years of hard work, love, expertise, attempts … to produce a nectar with #nocompromise : biodynamics treatments, no chemicals, no filtration, manual harvest and so on.

Take all of these and you’ll have a truly unique Pinot Nero available by the glass!

BRAMATERRA 2013 by LA Palazzina – Piedmont

The Bramaterra DOC of Piedmont is one of several in the region to base is wine on Nebbiolo grape, 60 miles north of those which makes the famous Barolo and Barbaresco. between 300-400 m asl this 3.5 hectares of vineyard lie over a dormant volcano “supervulcano della Valsesia” discoverer not long time ago – giving a volcanic soil.

It’s not that Barolo can’t be pretty (it very much can) but it’s not often gentle. By contrast, today’s Bramaterra abstain from Nebbiolo’s typical high tannins and alcohol in favour of Pinot Noir-ish silkiness, yes it has a benefit of 9 years of ageing, but clearly this wine was never massive.

What we see in the Alto Piemonte are wines which, while not as structured as Barolo/Barbaresco counterparts, are capable of both greatness and longevity. Explosively mineral, impeccably balanced, juicy wild strawberries rose petal, blood orange peel, fresh, incredibly lively with ripe and very fine tannins.

Not to be missed.

 

LANGHE NEBBIOLO 2017 by CASCINA DISA Elio Sandri

Nebbiolo grapes in the Langhe area in the 2017 vintage saw endless sunshine and very little rain.

The fruit expresses in the wine all the balmy season it had faced, resulting in a powerful Nebbiolo, exceptionally concentrated, deeply perfumed.
On the nose, a fruity aroma of Cherry Jam gradually opens with spicy scents.
A full and long-lasting taste denoting a considerable extract, with a good presence of tasty and plentiful of pleasant and intense tannins and of course the signature uplifting minerality of Sandri wines.

If you are looking for a powerful but still vertical Nebbiolo, this is your boy.

 

 

VALTELLINA SUPERIORE DOGC, (2014) by DIRUPI 

THE WINE 🍷
Grape :Nebbiolo (Chiavennasca).
Boutique wine in the Valtellina. Dirupi Superiore is an elegant and full-bodied red wine born from old vines on steep slopes and aged 18 months in oak barrels.
Deep and elegant perfumes and an intense, warm and smooth taste expresses the energy of the Nebbiolo from the Alps. Packed with fruits like cherry and plum, this wine gives immediate pleasure.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
Valtellina is an Alpine Valley of rare beauty in Northern Lombardy, just a few miles from the Swiss border. It’s one of the most dramatic vineyard landscapes globally.
The whole area is covered with picturesque terraces creating a breathtaking view of one of the most charming and no-by-chance called heroic winemaking zones.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
The Dirupi Team is composed of two of the most energetic and talented young winemakers: Davide, aka Faso & Pierpaolo, aka Birba.
2 Friends who used to play basketball together during primary school and then reunited while at University, where they both studied winemaking.
It’s hard to describe this duo with words as only the energy you feel when you meet them gives you an accurate idea. They are among the craziest yet most lovable and passionate teams in the wine scene, and as a result, their wines can’t be anything other than magic and exceptionally made.

 

 

 

Compagni Di Viaggio Ravenna Rosso IGT 2008 Ca’ de Noci

THE WINE 🍷

This wine is obtained by a field blend of 3 indigenous grape varieties local to the Emilia Romagna region. Sangiovese Centesimino + Longanese. The first one is well known to many, and it’s the grape variety behind Chianti wine. The other 2 are rarely known and have been rediscovered and revived in the Emilia Romagna region over the past 20 years. Each grape gives its personal contribution to this wine.

Sangiovese 🍇
brings plenty of sour red cherries and fragrant flavours, with earthy aromas and tea leaf notes.

Centesimino 🍇
is also known by the name Savignon Rosso in the area. Due to its high acidity, it ages very well and gives a hint of dark ruby red in colours to the wines, along with aromas of rose, orange, anise and liquorice.

Longanese 🍇
It’s another little known grape from Emilia, a rare gem. It brings to the blend an explosion of red fruit flavours like cherry and strawberry, with some vanilla and even liquorice overtones, plus plenty of tannins.

The wine is rich, full of fruit and with the perfect amount of tannins and acidity to balance its richness and intensity. Aged for 4 years in oak barrels, plus other 10 years in bottle.
Expect body and a pleasant rustic aroma, with some salty notes dancing with the big fruit. Open half an hour before drinking and decant it.

 

 

 

TERAN Venezia Giulia IGT, (2015) by SKERK

THE WINE 🍷
Grape : Terrano
Terrano grape descends from the Refosco Famly, and it’s the most attractive red grape of Friuli Venezia Giulia region (in the northeastern part of Italy, right at the border with Slovenia).
This 2015 Teran is undoubtedly special. It has a deep ruby-red colour and a dry and pleasant acidic taste and it’s fresh, fruity, herby and tannic. The most important signature, however, it’s a stony minerality with plenty of depth, due to the high iron content found in the terroir where it belongs and thrives at its best: the karst plateau.

THE TERROIR: 🏔
The karst, also known as the Karstic plateau or Carso, is a rocky limestone land that extends from the northeast of Italy to the extreme northwest of Croatia, all across western Slovenia and the north of Istria.
There is a particular kind of soil called Terra Rossa, or “red earth,” in this little corner of the world and it is said that Terrano reaches its greatest heights only when grown on this terra rossa soil. When dirt turns red, it is usually because of high iron content.

THE PRODUCERS 🧑🏼‍🌾
Sandi Skerk took over from his Father Boris, like many in the Carso, their production is tiny and natural. He uses oak for fermentation and ageing rather than concrete or Amphoras.
Skerk remains organically certified as he has been for ten years but still refuses to mention it on the bottle due to his dissatisfaction with the weak standards allowed by the certifying bodies.

 

 

CONFONDO ROSATO IGT ANCESTRAL METHOD by buccianera

THE GRAPE 🍇
Grape: Ciliegiolo.
The grape thrives in warm hillside vineyards, especially in areas like Maremma and Chianti, and is not traditionally bottled as a varietal wine. Vinified on its own, Ciliegiolo produces a wine with a lush red colour, distinct cherry fruit (Ciliegiolo means “little cherry”), soft tannic structure, and restrained acidity.

THE WINE 🍷
Lobster pink with beautiful opalescence. On the nose, it displays hints of yeast and bread making and then opens up with fruity aromas of cherry, wild strawberries, white currant and rose petals. The taste is dry, full, with very delicate but persistent bubbles, fresh and savoury with good length. Red fruits return at the aftertaste and finish. The mouth remains pleasantly dry and clean.
The presence of bottled yeasts is an additional positive factor in the taste-olfactory part of the tasting.

 

 

 

From one of the most scenic wine areas globally, mount Etna, Passione presents the new vintages of Alnus and Ante by I Custodi winery.

🌋
Mount Etna is a current darling of the Italian wine scene. I Custodi is among the 21st-century Etna Renaissance producers who are now making wines as compelling as the active volcano’s cooled lava flows.

The etna wine-producing region stretches from almost 500 feet above sea level to an elevation of around 4,000 feet and includes some of the highest vineyards in Italy.
At the highest elevations, vineyards are terraced, cut into the steep slopes of the mountain. Much of the harvest and vineyard maintenance must be done by hand as the terraces are too narrow for mechanical equipment.
Viticulture in the area is called heroic.

“ANTE” ETNA BIANCO DOC 2018
Grapes: Carricante, Minnella, Grecanico.
The pure flavour of the mountains, expressing in its wonderful minerality. You can find all the fire and flames of the active volcano, with a pleasant salty aftertaste. Well structured.

“ALNUS” ETNA ROSATO DOC 2019
Grapes: Nerello Mascalese & Nerello Cappuccio
This rosé is fresh and sharp-edged like a great white, and at the same time complete and comforting as only an excellent red Etna can be.

 

 

 

Vermentino “Il BIanco” IGT, Il Torchio (2020) – Liguria

Vermentino from Liguria has an indelible imprint that is exalted perfectly by Edoardo & Gilda – brother and sister – running il Torchio winery.

Hints of Mediterranean scrub, citrus peel and dried fruit, with an intrusive minerality. It encloses all the salt carried from the wind that blows from the sea.

Dynamic and refreshing white wine in this vintage is vinified in steel tanks with a short maceration of half of the grapes.

 

 

 

 

VINO BIANCO “ZINO” = Gift of Zeus.

Massimo and Paola are the founders of I Mandorli winery in Tuscany.
In the summer of 2018, they returned from a holiday in Pantelleria (Sicily) and – bewitched by the island’s scents, colours, and flavours – they decide to recover one hectare of a vineyard in the island that hosts more than 60-year-old Moscato di Alessandria vines.

The “PANTELLERIA AGRICULTURAL PROJECT” was born.

The Wine 🍾
Grape variety: 100 % Moscato di Alessandria (locally called Zibibbo)

Soil: volcanic origin soil, rich in pumice stone and sand.

Vinification: the fermentation is spontaneous, and it starts in open tanks with five days of skin contact. Ageing in amphora for six months and then rest in the bottle.

Hurry up: only 600 bottles were produced in total!

They say, Lambrusco is a student’s drink…

They say, it’s sweet and heavily adulterated… They say it tastes like Ribena juice… They say it makes a terrible food match other than salami… They say it is a good drink yet a terrible wine… They say it was a trend in the 80’s and for all the wrong reasons… They say, it’s basically impossible to percept different clones peculiarities

But ultimately ….what do they know????!!!!

“I’m something of a wine socialist; I believe everybody should have access to a good, well made, bottle of wine.”  – 48.1 talks to Luca Dusi, founder of Passione Vino, this week on The Article

Stop asking for a SULPHITE FREE wine, it doesn’t exist.

What it really matters is the amount. There is always a tiny quantity of naturally occurring sulphites in all wine. As in winemaking, sulphur dioxide (or SO2) is released during fermentation but the levels are very low and they are harmless.

What’s important to know is how much has been added during the winemaking process.

No one is declaring sulphite levels on the bottle and that’s where the problem is.

They say, Lambrusco is a student’s drink…

They say, it’s sweet and heavily adulterated… They say it tastes like Ribena juice… They say it makes a terrible food match other than salami… They say it is a good drink yet a terrible wine… They say it was a trend in the 80’s and for all the wrong reasons… They say, it’s basically impossible to percept different clones peculiarities

But ultimately ….what do they know????!!!!

“I’m something of a wine socialist; I believe everybody should have access to a good, well made, bottle of wine.”  – 48.1 talks to Luca Dusi, founder of Passione Vino, this week on The Article

Stop asking for a SULPHITE FREE wine, it doesn’t exist.

What it really matters is the amount. There is always a tiny quantity of naturally occurring sulphites in all wine. As in winemaking, sulphur dioxide (or SO2) is released during fermentation but the levels are very low and they are harmless.

What’s important to know is how much has been added during the winemaking process.

No one is declaring sulphite levels on the bottle and that’s where the problem is.

They say, Lambrusco is a student’s drink…

They say, it’s sweet and heavily adulterated… They say it tastes like Ribena juice… They say it makes a terrible food match other than salami… They say it is a good drink yet a terrible wine… They say it was a trend in the 80’s and for all the wrong reasons… They say, it’s basically impossible to percept different clones peculiarities

But ultimately ….what do they know????!!!!

“I’m something of a wine socialist; I believe everybody should have access to a good, well made, bottle of wine.”  – 48.1 talks to Luca Dusi, founder of Passione Vino, this week on The Article

Stop asking for a SULPHITE FREE wine, it doesn’t exist.

What it really matters is the amount. There is always a tiny quantity of naturally occurring sulphites in all wine. As in winemaking, sulphur dioxide (or SO2) is released during fermentation but the levels are very low and they are harmless.

What’s important to know is how much has been added during the winemaking process.

No one is declaring sulphite levels on the bottle and that’s where the problem is.

They say, Lambrusco is a student’s drink…

They say, it’s sweet and heavily adulterated… They say it tastes like Ribena juice… They say it makes a terrible food match other than salami… They say it is a good drink yet a terrible wine… They say it was a trend in the 80’s and for all the wrong reasons… They say, it’s basically impossible to percept different clones peculiarities

But ultimately ….what do they know????!!!!

“I’m something of a wine socialist; I believe everybody should have access to a good, well made, bottle of wine.”  – 48.1 talks to Luca Dusi, founder of Passione Vino, this week on The Article

Stop asking for a SULPHITE FREE wine, it doesn’t exist.

What it really matters is the amount. There is always a tiny quantity of naturally occurring sulphites in all wine. As in winemaking, sulphur dioxide (or SO2) is released during fermentation but the levels are very low and they are harmless.

What’s important to know is how much has been added during the winemaking process.

No one is declaring sulphite levels on the bottle and that’s where the problem is.