The Joy of Sparkling Wine

Miolo Franciacorta DOCG

Sparkling wine is a controversial topic. From the artificially inflated prices of Champagne (nobody forces you to buy it), to the merits of home-grown products (yes, home-grown as in the UK. Try the superb Nyetimber) to of course our own Italian Wine Boutique blind tastings with “the experts” where the “Miolo” Franciacorta DOCG without fail is voted “best Champagne of the evening!” Irresistibly amusing, just keep an eye on our Tastings page if you’d like to experience it live.

But the heat of the discussion becomes red and even white in their motherland, when the merits of sparkling wines from Italy are discussed. Loads of disinformation, critics and so called expert blowing hot hair, not to mention UK’ supermarkets are responsible for the confusion. But don’t you worry for a second! We are here to help with our charming Italian accents (pity there isn’t an app for it yet!) and our 35 years of experience as head sommeliers and wine consultant, we will reveal all the secrets, or industry facts as we call them, about Italian Sparkling wines.

Now, grab a glass of your favourite bubbles and relax while you read this introduction to Italian Sparkling wines. This is the first article of a series in which, we will explain loads of facts and share tons of tips about Italian Sparkling wines.

Italy produces traditional sparkling wines such as Asti Spumante (correct name, Moscato D’Asti DOCG), Franciacorta DOCG and of course the “new UK’s craze” Prosecco which has had since 1876 to perfect. But surely you have heard about these. What most people outside their Italian valleys of production have been missing, are those less known, sometimes unpronounceable, varieties that we know the UK taste buds would absolutely love. Yes, there is an awful lot more to Italian Sparkling wines than Asti and Prosecco.
This is possible, yet again, to the truly infinite variety and richness of  grape and terroirs - a French word to indicate the combination of geography, geology and climate of a certain place that uniquely influence the quality of the crop - varieties in Italy. Since bubbles - as our next blogs will illustrate - are naturally, yet manually induced in sparkling wine, it is possible to attempt the creation of a sparkling wine virtually anywhere in the world and with any grapes. And this is exactly what happens with notoriously mixed results.

But thankfully in Italy, with its hundreds of indigenous grapes and terroirs, results are much more consistent. Having also had literally hundreds of years/vintages to experiment with, fine tune and perfect those combinations of grapes, terroirs and production methods, what Italy has to offer in terms of Sparkling wine would spoil for choice any bubble-lover.  


Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos


So prepare yourself to hear all about the incredible Lessini Durello DOC made less than 30 miles from the Prosecco DOC area and tasting superb, but nothing like Prosecco, learn about what makes the bubbles, discover how the mushroom cork can increase the price you pay for your wine to, most importantly, what brut, dry and extra-dry can mean to your taste buds (not to dinner-party vocabulary!). From the Alps to the beaches of Sicily, here we come to spark (le) your wine experience!





Four tips to organise a perfect Valentine's day

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Christmas is just gone and I am already thinking of the next special day in the year: Valentine’s Day.

Every year I am trying so hard to find that unique special gift for the one that is special to me. Weeks in advance I am thinking about it, but each year I struggle to find:

• That special gift that represents my feelings in the eyes of my Valentine.
• A gift in time. Most of the time I manage to buy something just the day before. 

Probably I am not the only one with this challenge and therefore I would like to share some ideas that can make this day stress free and special for you and your loved one.

A stress free Valentine's day

1. The first step is to find a subject that your loved one likes or a subject that is connected to love. The subject you use to theme your Valentine's evening with. A perfect idea is obviously Italy. What else could you choose than Italy! It inspired masters as Caravaggio and Michelangelo to represent Cupid in their art. Or was it the roman legend Cupid itself that inspired these artist?
2. Think of what you can do on Valentine’s evening around this theme.
• Dinner: You can invite your loved one (again) to a restaurant, but why not make the dinner yourself. The effort you invest will certainly show off that your partner is really special. If you would like to go with Italy than it is easy to create a risotto with his or hers favourite ingredients. Name the risotto after your Valentine! Follow the risotto with a simple Arrosto D’Agnello all’Aglio & Erbe (lamb roast with garlic and herbs – avoid mint!), roast potatoes, and you are done. Finish the meal with a nice dessert from M&S to keep things easy. Risotto and roasts are simple dishes that can be prepared in advance and warmed up just before serving. You do not want to keep leaving the dinner table, and your Valentine, to constantly check/cook your next dish… It certainly would not contribute to the romance…
• Decoration: Decorate the table with your chosen theme and some candlelight. Print menu’s in your theme and find napkins and table cloth in that match the colour of your chosen theme. 
• Drinks: Depending on the flavours of your loved one, choose a drink that goes with the theme.  If you go with our theme, we would recommend that you buy a young, light-bodied and affordable wine. Start of course with a Prosecco as the aperitif and follow with the Pinot Grigio Aquilea DOC, Ca’Tulio if the risotto is vegetarian or doesn’t have any beef or spicy pork in it. If it does have beef or spicy meat in it (yes, risotto can have either), than the affordable 2008 Chianti DOCG, Guicciardini-Strozzi has to be your choice as it offers tremenduos value for money with its drinkability but wide range of essences on nose and palate. But if your Valentine is super sophisticated wine lover, than nothing will impress him/her more than the 2006 Lacrima di Morro D'Alba Superiore DOC "Luigino", Luigi Giusti or the 2007 Savuto Superiore DOC "Britto", Colacino.
• Special start or finish: Start or finish the night with some glamour, diamonds and a love journey of taste. The Champagnes and Wines of Diadema will add that special moment to your evening. The packaging of Swarovski Crystals will certainly amaze your Valentine. 
3. As you have set the evening around your theme, make an invitation to this special evening. If you really would like to top up the romance, a nice poem and a rose will certainly be welcomed by the receiver
4. If you still think your Valentine need a gift, flowers, chocolates and jewels are still UK favourite gifts, according to Metro. However we know that your Valentine’s heart will melt for you when their eyes see the sparkles of lights from the Swarovski™ crystals adorning labels of our “Tête a Tête” or “Dosage Zéro” Diadema Champagne… 

But if your Valentine doesn’t drink or you want to truly impress without spending a fortune, have a look at the Diadema Extra Virgin Tuscan Olive; a great – reusable – gift for those that love food or maybe need just that little extra motivation to start cooking.

Ofcourse there are many other ideas and we are looking forward to receive yours!

Good luck with preparing this romantic Valentine's day!

(PS Do let us know if your Valentine liked it.)

Italian Sparkling wines to celebrate 2011

Browse around the web this time of year and you will find an awful lot of articles about Champagne. And to be honest there is a lot to say about Champagne. For example, did you know that it were the Britons that favoured the bubbles in the Champagne while initially the French disapproved the wine because of the bubbles? But enough about Champagne as we think there are enough delicious Italian sparkling wines or may I say Spumanti's to celebrate a new year. We have made a small selection to introduce.

Prosecco
Every occasion is a Prosecco moment in Italy, but as I wrote in my first post  Prosecco is also becoming hugely popular in the UK. Easier to drink than champagne, it is the sparkling wine we cannot miss out on this time of year. Produced in different areas of the Veneto region, its super fine, silky bubbles are created with the “Metodo Italiano”. This means that unlike with the Classic Method (champagne), the second fermentation of the grape juices takes place in the production tank instead of the bottle itself. This less labour intensive process is also one the reasons why Prosecco is more affordable. In generally Prosecco is an easy wine to drink due to its delicate apples and pears aromas and a low alcohol percentage of 11% or 12%. So, keep an eye on this blog because we will explain all the secrets of Prosecco in a series of future posts. Meanwhile, you can start with this special effervescent pink Prosecco Raboso IGT from Riondo. Yes, it is pink in colour, but it cannot be called “rosé” as M&S learnt the hard way… but this is a story for our future posts… Enjoy!


Franciacorta DOCG
This sparkling wine is one of my favourites for special occasions as it shows great elegance and complexity. Franciacorta has DOCG status and it is produced from grapes grown within the boundaries of the territory of Franciacorta. This wine production area is located on the hills of a series of townships to the south of Lake Iseo in the Province of Brescia, in the North region of Lombardy. It is produced using the “Metodo Classico” (Traditional Method, same as Champagne) and with a soil and micro-climate similar to those of the Champagne region in France, this wine is capable to deliver the same level of richness and taste-complexity at a fraction of the price.

By now you are probably wondering what “Metodo Classico”, micro-climate and taste-complexity mean. But do not despair, we are here to help as this is just the first of a series of blogs on Sparkling Italian wines. So just keep reading us and you’ll become an expert in no time! In the meantime, try something really different with this award winning “Brolese” Franciacorta DOCG Rosè of the Muratori' brothers. This excellent Blanc de Blancs from the Villa Crespia Vineyard has a long harmonious finish that is elegant and very well balanced. Read more


Felice Anno Nuove
As you can see there is a sparkling wine for every taste and all of them with their own unique personality just like a true Italian! We wish you all a Happy New year.

Welcome to the Italian Wine Boutique Blog

In this blog we would like to share our knowledge, passion and ideas for and about Italian Wine. With over 35 years of experience as award winning Head Sommeliers at Michelin/5 Star level establishments in the UK, we have gained quite some knowledge about Italian wines and British taste. Thanks to this knowledge, with this blog we hope to introduce you to those less known varieties as much as some true classic gems that surely will not disappoint you.

With New Year’s Eve just a few days away, our first seasonal tip is about sparkling wine… what else!

UK and Italian Wine: Prosecco and so much more
What is actually the status of Italian wine in the UK?  Research of Wine Intelligence tells us that at least 28 million Britons drink on average 9.5 glasses of wine a month. Wine Intelligence also states that at least 15% (2010) of them like to drink a glass of Prosecco compared to 8% in 2007. Although 4.2 million people already love the fabulous bubbles and the delicate apple and pear overtones of this dry sparkling Italian wine, it is becoming known to a much wider audience as an alternative to pricey party Champagne such as Crystal and as the key ingredient in Bellini and countless other fruit cocktails.
At the Italian Wine Boutique we are happy that this Italian sparkling wine is getting more popular by the day and is receiving the fame it deserves after almost 300 years of existence. However, we know there is so much more to Prosecco and other Italian sparkling wines that most people realise.
So do not miss our next blogs on Italian sparkling wines, with the results of our blind tastings of Franciacorta DOCG V Cru Champagnes, tips on how to choose the right sparkling Italian wine for the occasion and even a video tutorial on how to open a bottle of bubbles without blinding one of your guests.  

The Italian Wine Boutique Blog: Vi aspettiamo numerosi!
Through this blog we will guide you through the secrets of Italian wines. Read this blog every week and learn about how to understand labels, names, grapes and a lot more. Read also about news from the world of fine Italian wines, the occasional gossip and always plenty of advice on how to pair your Italian wines with food from the all over the world.

Vi aspettiamo numerosi!