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Vintage Chianti Classico beside a wooden gift box with red silk lining

Italian Wine Gifts: How to Choose a Bottle They Will Remember

A bottle from their year says more than any card. How to choose an Italian wine gift by story, budget and occasion, from a first birth-year Barolo to the fizz for the toast, and how it should arrive.

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Illustrated Hugo Spritz in a stemmed glass with mint and lime against Alto Adige alpine vineyards

cocktails

Hugo Spritz: the Alpine Prosecco Cocktail

The Hugo Spritz is the white spritz of the Alps: Prosecco, elderflower, soda and fresh mint, first mixed in Alto Adige in 2005. This guide gives the exact ml build, explains when to reach for elderflower syrup rather than St-Germain, and names the Prosecco styles that keep the glass crisp rather than cloying.

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Sassicaia, Tignanello and Ornellaia bottles on a stone table above the Bolgheri coast

deep dives

Super Tuscan Wines Explained: Bolgheri, Sassicaia and Tuscany's Rebel Reds

Super Tuscans began as outlaw wines: Tuscan reds that broke the DOC rulebook with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or pure Sangiovese and were sold as humble vino da tavola while outscoring Bordeaux. This deep dive tells the story from Sassicaia's 1968 debut to Bolgheri DOC today, explains the three styles that share the name, and shows how to drink the idea at every price, from collector icons to weeknight Toscana IGT reds.

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Farinelli, Il Papavero, Collezione di Paolo and Senti bottles on a farmhouse kitchen table

deep dives

Who Really Makes Britain's Own-Label Italian Wine?

Farinelli, Senti, Il Papavero, Collezione di Paolo: names you meet in British wine cases but struggle to trace. Behind each stands a working Italian cellar, from a Treviso growers' co-op founded in 1948 to Tuscan winemaker Paolo Masi. Who makes what according to the merchants' own pages, and how two lines of small print on the back label let you decode any bottle yourself.

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Cherry-deep Cerasuolo and pale Chiaretto rosato glasses side by side on a stone table by lake light

deep dives

Cerasuolo and Chiaretto: Italy's Serious Rosé Traditions

Italy's rosé is not one wine but several traditions with their own rules. Cherry-deep Cerasuolo d'Abruzzo and pale Lake Garda Chiaretto sit at opposite ends of the colour spectrum, with Puglia's coral Bombino Nero DOCG in between. Where each comes from, why the colours differ, and which to pour in Britain.

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Collezione di Paolo Chianti and Il Papavero Prosecco beside an open wine list

wine tips

How to Read an Italian Wine List in a UK Restaurant

An Italian restaurant list becomes much easier once you stop trying to recognise every bottle. This guide shows how to read its layout, translate a typical line, choose from the dish and budget outwards, and ask a sommelier for a genuinely useful comparison, with practical choices from Soave to Barbera.

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Two glasses of red wine, one before Abruzzo vineyard hills, one before a Tuscan hilltop town

deep dives

Why Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Vino Nobile Are Completely Different Wines

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano share a name and nothing else. One is Italy's second most planted red grape at home in Abruzzo; the other is a Sangiovese DOCG from a Tuscan hill town. This guide shows how to tell them apart on the label in five seconds, what each costs in the UK, how they taste side by side, and which one belongs on your table tonight.

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Red and white wine glasses with green and black grapes on a sunlit stone table

deep dives

Italian Grape Varieties: How to Choose by Grape Family

Italian grape names become easier to navigate when you group them by the way they taste and feel. This guide connects bright reds, structured reds, aromatic whites and savoury whites to familiar Italian examples, helping you move confidently from a favourite bottle to a rewarding new grape.

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Two glasses of pale gold Friulian white wine on a wooden table before the terraced Collio vineyard hills at sunset.

deep dives

Friuli Venezia Giulia White Wines: Italy's Quiet Benchmark

Friuli Venezia Giulia, wedged between the Alps and the Adriatic in Italy's north-east, is the country's benchmark region for dry white wine. This guide walks through its native grapes like Friulano and Ribolla Gialla, its international varieties done the Friuli way, the hillside zones of Collio and Colli Orientali, the birth of orange wine, and how to choose, pair and cellar a bottle.

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Collezione di Paolo Chianti, San Sisto Verdicchio Riserva and Levia rosato on a stone windowsill

news

What's Changing on Italian Wine Labels in 2026

Three of Italy's best-known wine names are being relabelled in 2026: Chianti DOCG launches an official Sangiovese rose, the Oltrepo Pavese rallies its sparkling wine behind the name Classese, and Castelli di Jesi makes Verdicchio optional to sell the place first. Here is what is changing, why, and what it means for your next bottle.

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A flute of pale Prosecco beside a deeper-gold Champagne on a stone table, Italian vineyard hills behind.

deep dives

Prosecco vs Champagne: The Italian Sparkling Guide

Prosecco and Champagne are both sparkling wines, but they part ways on grape, method, price and mood. Prosecco is Glera from Veneto and Friuli, made bright and frothy in steel tanks; Champagne is Chardonnay and Pinot from France, made rich and biscuity in bottle. This guide compares them on taste, price and occasion, then maps the Italian sparklings worth knowing, from traditional-method Franciacorta and Trento DOC to sweet Asti and red Lambrusco.

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Etna Bianco bottle and glass on lava stone above Sicilian vineyards

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Carricante and Etna Bianco: Sicily's Volcanic White Wine

Carricante is the grape behind Etna Bianco's bright, saline, volcanic character. This guide explains how it tastes, how to read the label and which Italian whites make useful comparisons.

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Latest Articles

Italian Wine Gifts: How to Choose a Bottle They Will Remember

Hugo Spritz: the Alpine Prosecco Cocktail

Super Tuscan Wines Explained: Bolgheri, Sassicaia and Tuscany's Rebel Reds

Who Really Makes Britain's Own-Label Italian Wine?

Cerasuolo and Chiaretto: Italy's Serious Rosé Traditions

How to Read an Italian Wine List in a UK Restaurant

Why Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Vino Nobile Are Completely Different Wines

Italian Grape Varieties: How to Choose by Grape Family

Friuli Venezia Giulia White Wines: Italy's Quiet Benchmark

What's Changing on Italian Wine Labels in 2026

Prosecco vs Champagne: The Italian Sparkling Guide

Carricante and Etna Bianco: Sicily's Volcanic White Wine