Editorial
DoctorWine’s editorial is a Monday regular feature with an in-depth article, analysis and commentary on current topics from both the wine and food worlds of the Italian and international scene.
Are we at the end of an era?
For several years in the wine industry there has been a discussion about the changes in consumption in various markets. Are we really at the end of an era? And what will the next one look like? Let’s hazard a...
Viticultural contaminations
In light of current knowledge and also in view of increasingly pressing climate challenges, are we really sure that we have the best grape varieties in the optimal territories? I take my cue from an editorial by Stefania Vinciguerra, on...
Mas que nada
Mas que nada, that is, better than nothing. We refer to the DOC system, which may be imperfect, but it protects the interest of consumers as well as competition among producers. “The system of wine rules has existed for more...
The enemies of origin
From the exaltation of the terroir of origin to that, in the opposite sense, of the grape variety or method. What matters most? “Enemies of Origin” may seem a provocative title at a time in history when there is so...
Thanks to everyone!
We are definitely very happy. The presentation of The Essential Guide to Italian Wine 2025 was a wonderful celebration both in Milan and Rome. This is evidenced by the comments and thanks that are still coming in, but we are...
Coming soon: The Essential Guide to Italian Wines 2025
Once again this year the miracle is accomplished. At least that is how we experience it. The races in June, July and August to be able to close the guide have been the constant of our summers for 11 years....
Origin or process (bis)
Still in the vein of resuming old editorials that seem very relevant to me and at a time when so many are enjoying their vacations and there is not much striking news in the wine world, I repost this. One...
Nonino, not just grappa
The recent death of Benito Nonino, one of the fathers of Italian grappa, Friulian in particular, cannot but prompt some considerations about the role that the Nonino family has had, and still has, in the world of agribusiness in our...
The inflation of excellence
Every now and then I get to reread old editorials that still seem really relevant to me. This is one of them. One of the frankly boring and rhetorical aspects of Italian politics when it comes to agribusiness is the...
Between orange and gold
Like a white man singing the blues, Ca’ Rugate’s Soave Classico Superiore Bucciato 2022 is a highly original wine, reminiscent of old-fashioned whites, but with great technical expertise. My personal experience with white wines fermented “on the skins” starts from...
Ten years ago
It has been 10 years since the sudden death of Stefano Bonilli. We publish the letter that Daniele Cernilli published in the aftermath of the sad news. Rome, August 4, 2014 Dear Stefano, I don’t know why but I had...
Some general considerations
Reflecting on the data on Italian viticulture, interesting information emerges that makes us understand why Italy is the country of “wine artisans.” I have a habit, when addressing a topic, of having some data at hand, to understand the extent...
Wine scores
Reducing the judgment of a wine to a number (in our case in hundredths) is always a stretch that has the value of an indication, whose subjectivity is limited by the presence of a panel of tasters. To necessarily give...
Wine at the supermarket
Too often we hear that wines at the supermarket are poor quality wines, but while this may perhaps have been true in the past, it is now totally outdated by the increasing focus by large-scale retail chains. Every now and...
The 2020 Trebbiano
We are talking about Valentini’s Trebbiano d’Abruzzo, which is being released these days. As has been the case for decades, the bottle’s arrival is accompanied by a handwritten letter (by Edoardo first, by his son Francesco Paolo now) telling of...
Lambrusco: a world apart
The many types of Lambrusco have in common a profoundly popular soul, made up, certainly, of organoleptic characteristics, but also of affordable prices and great eclecticism in pairings. Speaking with Giacomo Savorini, director of the Lambrusco Consortium (video of the...
Modernity of the Italian Orient
In recent years, many native grape varieties are being rediscovered that, in light of old winemaking knowledge, were difficult to grow or of little satisfaction. By now things have changed, and the results are showing. Italy’s great wealth of grapes...
The purity of the race ten years later
We return to a topic we discussed 10 years ago: the use of a single, 100 percent, pure variety falsely regarded as traditional. Tasting several vintages of Tignanello by Antinori during the celebration of its 50th anniversary since its release,...
Wine and chemistry
To ensure healthiness and food safety requires deep scientific knowledge, which also means (bio)chemical processes related to fermentation. During the course of Dialogues of Pistoia, which is a cultural festival that took place this year a few days ago, while...
Chianti Classico, Chianti and… Lollobrigida
Unfortunately, the difference between Chianti Classico and Chianti is unclear to many, many people. But it would be desirable if at least the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry knew her… In the collective imagination, but also for many...
More pans and fewer stars
Yay for family-run trattorias, with simple but also very solid and territorial cuisine, where patron and cook-often the same person-are always present. In other words: more pans, fewer stars. The accountability of any activity directed toward the public is made...
The Era of the Black Rooster
For the 100th anniversary of the Chianti Classico Consortium, the book comes out. On the Trail of the Black Rooster, a (hopefully compelling) account of a great wine and its history. On May 14, the Chianti Classico Consortium and its...
The Wines for Summer 2024
DoctorWine's small tour dedicated to Wines for Summer kicks off May 11 in Milan. The other stops are Rome on the 18th and Riccione on the 20th. Three tastings dedicated to summer drinking wines, which you will find recounted, along...
Slow Food strikes again
Slow Food Italy, the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo and the Laudato Si' Communities have launched an appeal (with related signature collection) to include nutrition education as a compulsory teaching in schools of all levels. This time, one really...
Welcome back Fiorano Semillon
AlessandroJacopo Boncompagni Ludovisi, owner of Tenuta di Fiorano, has revived the legendary Fiorano Semillon of Veronellian memory. The last versions of Fiorano Semillon that I remember date back to the early 1970s. It was a legendary wine, wanted by the...
Doc
By now the term has entered the public imagination. For many it is synonymous with "authentic," so terms like a Roman Doc, a Milanese Doc, allude to just that. But let's see what Doc or, rather, Docs are in this...
What Vinitaly will tell us
The Verona fair may help us understand whether the crisis facing the wine world, both Italian and international, is a conjunctural crisis or whether it is a structural issue. As you know by now from April 14 to 17 there...
French suicide
We are witnessing in France a penalizing attitude toward wine, both promotionally and culturally. Is there a risk that such a "vision" will take hold in Italy as well? All wine lovers, even Italian ones, if they have not started...
DoctorWine’s selection for Vinitaly
As we do every year, DoctorWine will have its own booth at Vinitaly (April 14-17) where we will hold 12 seminars featuring the best Italian wines and offer a selection of about seventy wines to dispensers. All this for Vinitaly...
The three wine fairs
Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris, Prowein and Vinitaly within two months. Are three wine fairs in Europe too many? It is too early to tell, but it does not seem that Vinitaly, the Italian trade fair, is being challenged. We...