Italy


				The Producers Use the menu below to find out which producers from which countries were on the tour.

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	Italy

	Producer		Description		Tour Star

	MACULAN		For most people outside the region, Maculan is Breganze. Stretching between the Alpine foothills and the Roman town of Vicenza, the Breganze vineyards can easily yield anonymous wines, but such is Fausto Maculan's determination to transcend the norm that he manages to wring every last drop of character from his carefully grown grapes. While the dessert wines are Maculan's most famous export, the rest of the range should not be overlooked: the dry whites and Brentino are fresh, vibrant varietal expressions, and Fratta is a definitive Italian Bordeaux blend, year-in year-out.

	MASI AGRICOLA		Though run by the Boscaini family for six generations, it is really in the last fifty years that Masi has established itself as one of the Veneto's most innovative wine producers. In the late 1950s, they identified certain historic vineyard plots which are vinified as Amarone and bottled separately to this day. In 1964, they launched the now-legendary Campofiorin, which revived the technique of a second fermentation with semi-dried grapes, adding depth and complexity to Valpolicella. The Serègo Alighieri estate was bought in 1353 by the son of Dante "Divine Comedy" Alighieri, and is still owned by his descendants; Masi lend their winemaking expertise.

	MARCHESI ANTINORI		The Antinori family have been producing wine in Tuscany for six centuries and exporting it for four. Through judicious acquisition of vineyards and uncanny knack for developing iconic wines, Antinori has become Tuscany's - arguably Italy's - pre-eminent wine producer, with an important presence in Piedmont, Lombardy, Umbria and Puglia.

	MEZZACORONA		Mezzacorona is a driving force behind the quality of Trentino wines, with a state-of-the-art winery handling fruit both from the company's own extensive vineyard holdings and from some 1,300 growers. The fifteenth-century castle of Castel Firmian overlooks the Rotaliano plain in Trentino, and the wines named after it also give an overview of the region, with both international and local varieties on offer, all crisp and expressive.

	FALESCO		Riccardo Cotarella is one of Italy's most renowned winemaking consultants; his brother Renzo is general manager of Antinori. Together, they own Falesco, an estate that straddles Umbria and Latium, and presents rich, complex wines from both international varieties and more obscure local grapes such as Roscetto.

	FATTORIA MANCINI		Italy may not often be associated with Pinot Noir, yet the stretch of coastline around Pesaro in the northern Marches has proved its suitability for two centuries, and the Mancini family have been lovingly tending Pinot here for five generations. With clay-limestone soil and temperatures moderated by the Adriatic, the terroir produces as good a Pinot as you will find outside the top crus of Burgundy, as well as fascinating white Pinot Noir and some superb wines from Italian grape varieties.

	MASTROBERARDINO		To call Mastroberardino a leading Campanian producer is to do it an injustice, for the Campanian wine industry as we know it would not exist without Mastroberardino. For over two hundred years, it has championed local specialities, and has thus been instrumental in preserving Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino and their ilk into the 21st century.

	PALA		Sardinia's mixture of wine matches its location: as well as sharing the Vermentino with Corsica, Provence and western Italy, it has also received considerable input from Spain, in the form of Cannonau (Grenache), Bovale (Mourvèdre) and Carignano. Pala capture this diversity, offering wines of modern purity with genuine Sardinian style.

	TERUZZI & PUTHOD		Enrico Teruzzi is a true Tuscan pioneer, being not only one of the first people in the region to install temperature control in his cellar, but also doing much to save Vernaccia from extinction. Admittedly, the legislation was already in place to do so: Vernaccia di San Gimignano was the first DOC to be created, in 1966, eight years before Enrico's arrival. Nonetheless, his determination has ensured that this most characterful of Tuscany's indigenous white varieties is more than a legal curiosity. San Gimignano, close to the Chianti zone, also has a growing reputation for Sangiovese.

	TASCA D'ALMERITA		Located high up in the central Sicilian hills, the aristocratic Tasca family keeps one eye firmly on quality and the other on innovation. Championing both local and international grape varieties, they offer a singularly accomplished range of Sicilian wines.