Signed DoctorWine
“Signed DoctorWine” includes editorials by editor Daniele Cernilli or his closest collaborators (so the signature is the DoctorWine journal), as well as stories of memories with key players in the world of wine.
Classic or Charmat?
These two methods of sparkling wine making are not to be considered one better than the other in an absolute sense, but to be considered in relation to the type of sparkling wine to be tasted. During a splendid seminar...
Évin: who was he? The Trojan Horse
Comments on the sidelines of the conference "Italian Wine Leading the World's Agribusiness, Sept. 27, 2023, organized by Nomisma, Agronetwork and Confagricoltura at Castello di Nipozzano and hosted by the Frescobaldi Marquises. Comforting news about the health of the Italian...
Those who … amatriciana.
A pasta dish that is considered typical of Roman cuisine but actually has Abruzzese-Latium origins, in the town of Amatrice, from which it brings two key ingredients: guanciale and pecorino cheese. Amatrice is, but perhaps unfortunately after a terrible earthquake...
The Trojan Horse
Apparently, dealcoholic "wine" travels a parallel road to traditional wine. But are we sure that tomorrow the beverage giants-the only ones who can afford the expensive process of dealcolare wine-won't try to supplant our beloved wine? A Dec. 2, 2021,...
Ten years and not feeling it
The Essential Guide to the Wines of Italy with the 2024 edition turns 10 years old and we are all very proud of it. In ten years we have seen a lot and grown. It’s not the age of majority...
On the trail of the Black Rooster
The Chianti Classico Wine Consortium was founded in 1924, making it a century old next year. For the centennial celebrations, among other things, a book on its history is planned to be published, which I devoted myself to as soon...
Remembering Mario Schioppetto
An important figure, a leading figure in Friulian viticulture, a pioneer of modern white wine in the region, who in one of the first meetings with Daniele Cernilli showed all his character. Today only those in their 50s and up...
Silvano Formigli, a great profesional
From the beginning, great preparation, passion and enthusiasm were the basis of Silvano Formigli’s work and when he decided to retire it, perhaps, marked the end of an era of great passion related to the world of wine. It has...
Let’s talk about Pinot Grigio
The geographic origin of this grape is not very clear, however, its ampelographic origin is that of a genetic mutation of Pinot Noir. It is now considered to be an Italian variety thanks to the global success of Pinot Grigio...
Angelo, le roi Gaja
That’s him, Angelo Gaja, the now over-80 producer known worldwide as the father of Barbaresco and an icon of quality Italian wine. A charismatic and highly intelligent man, he is considered an ambassador of made-in-Italy wine in the world. In...
Remembering Giacomo Tachis
If Tachis is considered to be the father of modern Italian winemaking it is because his ideas contributed to triggering an authentic productive revolution which led to a winemaking renaissance in Italy. Talking about Giacomo Tachis is very difficult from...
Food and wine
No one has a magic wand to determine the proper “tastes” for food and wine pairing. There are many factors to take into consideration: cooking methods, winemaking styles, experience and tradition, which are all elements involved but are not written...
Seven kilos in seven days
This is custom heading element The alternative was between quickly losing about ten pounds or growing ten centimeters in height. For a moment I thought my doctor was serious, then I caught the “veiled” irony. After all, for some time...
Unintentional fusion
Cuisines today, Italian as well as the others, are commixtures that are the result of centuries of travels and trade. And even those recipes that are apparently more traditional are the product of a combination of international ingredients, and this...
Neglected wines
Wine does not make itself and those who say it does (and believe it) do not take into account that wine is not made by nature alone but involves human intervention. Pressing grapes and letting the juice ferment by itself...
Wines and ratings
Assigning ratings to wines is the most concise way to state their quality but in our Essential Guide to Italian Wine we go beyond this: we describe the wines we evaluate, we say what grapes and aging method were used...
Marco Oreggia, one of us
Marco Oreggia is probably the most skilled and famous extra-virgin olive oil critic in the world and with his Flos Olei project he has created an unmatched informational initiative for quality EVOO. I have known Marco Oreggia since the latter half of the 1980s...
Romagna nostra
We have all seen the images of the flooding that recently devastated the region of Romagna and which words cannot describe. We hope our friends in Romagna will pull through this as soon as possible with the strength, courage and...
The varietal name on the label
According to European Union law, to place the name of a varietal on a wine label it is sufficient that the wine be at least 85% made with that grape. The rest can be composed of varieties permitted by the...
Wine guides 36 years later
Some are of the opinion that wine guides are, by now, useless, while others buy them year after year and don’t know what they would do without them. Like all things in the fragmented world, these guides are a niche...
Is blending the future
Every so often we hear people speak about this and it’s always authoritative producers who do so. A return to the practices of blending wines would appear to be a reasonable response, even if partial, to a problem as great...
From your agent at Vinality
Some memorable tastings done around the fair with Sicilian enologist Tonino Guzzo. Maybe it’s because some people may be beginning to think that I’m getting “too old and tired”, but the fact is that this year at the DoctorWine stand...
The year of the three fairs
The three fairs in question are Vinexpo, Prowein and Vinitaly, the three European trade fairs dedicated to wine that, following month after month, have been highlighting 2023. The question does arise, however, of how useful they can be being so...
The legendary Vigna
Luciano Lombardi, AKA Vignadelmar, Vigna for short, is an historic “host” with an enormous passion for restaurants and wine, which are his bread and butter. The title is a reference to how Lucio Dalla once defined Renato Villa, the Bologna...
Brunello, Nobile, Chianti… are not just Sangiovese
Everyone now talks, rightly, about territories. But many critics forget, when evaluating a wine, that the same grape variety changes a lot depending on the territory where it is produced. Therefore, evaluation parameters need to be changed. There is a...
In praise of Ribolla
Ribolla Gialla is an extraordinary varietal, very eclectic, which makes many excellent wines. Unfortunately, we have seen the appearance of many other wines that seem to trivialize this great grape. The latest news on the fate of Ribolla Gialla is...
How bright is the Sassicaia star?
Sassicaia is not only a formidable wine but it is also a trailblazer for all quality Italian wines the world over. This should be clear to everyone, especially those who insist on arguing that it is an overrated wine. My...
Piedmont producer and wine giudes
Do Italian critics not like Piedmont wine? Not exactly, it’s only that, for various reasons, many of the region’s wines are not properly reviewed. There has recently been a little brouhaha over a ranking of the 100 best Italian red wines...
Consumerist society and defectives wines
What is the attraction of defective wines, which are considered to be authentic, compared to technically well-made wines that are seen as the antithesis of rural culture? During a recent press tour, I noticed how some of my younger colleagues paid exaggerated...
The importance of learning
Wine appreciation courses not only teach you how to taste wine but also, and above all, to understand such a multifaceted world and how to learn to be an informed consumer. I took my first wine appreciation course at the...