Welcome spring and its longer, sunnier days. It’s time for long walks, fresh air, flowers, spring cleaning and the abundance of light, fresh fare that graces the tables at home and in restaurants.
Find the perfect springtime wines to drink as the weather warms up with this series of suggestions from the Italian regions of Tuscany, Puglia, and Sicily.
Castello del Terriccio – Springtime Wines from Tuscany
Castello del Terriccio has written important pages in the history of Italian wine and contributed to the success of Tuscan and Italian oenology the world over.
Gian Annibale, an exclusive, limited-edition wine recently presented in October 2022, made with Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon, deep ruby red color with bright highlights, spicy nose with predominance of black pepper, currant and blueberry. It has an elegant flavor texture, with fine and silky tannins; the result is a balanced progression with a finish of rare persistence.
Lupicaia, the estate’s most iconic wine, multi-awarded by critics and recently listed by the British magazine Decanter as one of the world’s best red wines of 2022, is a red wine with an important structure, capable of long aging.
Tassinaia, the fruit of a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, a full-bodied and complex red, with hints of berries, spices and balsamic herbs and deep flavor, with great balance and elegant tannins.
Finally, Con Vento, Castello del Terriccio’s only white wine, made from Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc grapes, which owes its name to the estate-convent where retired parish priests once stayed. The wine offers olfactory notes of white-fleshed fruit, citrus, herbs and white flowers, developing a fresh, clear and direct character.
Cantele – Springtime Wines from Puglia
In the Salento region, Cantele is one of the most well-known and active estates producing wines from the territory capable of enhancing the natural qualities of native grape varieties to the fullest.
Chardonnay Teresa Manara, the wine named after the founder of the family, has an intense straw color that is crossed tone on tone by green and golden nuances. Its nose opens with an initially spicy scent, expanding to an olfactory range overflowing with floral and fruity odors. Yellow apple, citrus notes, lime, flank hazelnut and vanilla. Its palate is silky and velvety smooth yet mellifluous, aided by the fresh vein and sweet spice of the woods used. The finish conquers for its extreme duration as well as its ability to convey the unique and important characteristics of its terroir.
Rohesia Rosato, one of the winery’s best-known and most appreciated wines, based on Negroamaro rosé, has an intense cherry pink color. On the nose it is intense and persistent, with hints of red berry fruit, strawberry, peach, cherry and floral hints of rose pink and violet. On the palate it is round, elegant, haughty, a wine of remarkable olfactory persistence, powerful but with great freshness and flavor.
Finally there is Verdeca, a wine with notes of spring and a straw yellow in color with delicate greenish highlights. Its perfume is intense and persistent, fruity with distinct citrus, pear and tangerine scents, and floral with hawthorn and acacia flowers, with a characteristic retro-olfactory freshness of fern and cut grass. It expresses a clear sensation of freshness and a light aromatic notes on the palate. It is a wine that is beguiling and with a very persistent aftertaste and good retro-olfactory complexity.
Cantine Colosi – Springtime Wines from Sicily and Salina Island
Among the most representative producers on the Island of Salina, a land of volcanic origin highly suited to the cultivation of vines, the Colosi family produces extraordinary wines from the territory.
Na’Jm, Malvasia dolce delle Lipari Passito version, Salina line, multi-awarded by critics and guides, is a wine with a warm and velvety flavor with a slight tannicity, excellent structure and great balance. It has a golden color tending to amber with a bouquet of fresh fruit ranging from apricot to fig, honey, almonds followed by floral sensations of jasmine. It goes well with dry and spoon desserts, blue cheeses, but is also perfect as a wine to be sipped and pondered on its own.
Salina Rosato, a blend of Corinto Nero and Nerello Mascalese, from the Salina line, is bright pink, punctuated by a floral bouquet of wild rose with typical Mediterranean scents with citrus notes of pink grapefruit. On the palate it expresses a distinct minerality and freshness, proving excellent with fish appetizers, seafood salads, cod and white meat pasta dishes.
Colosi also creates excellent Sicilian wines with well-established success, known and appreciated all over the world, such as the Grillo, Sicily line, a beautiful wood-aged version of the ancient and now iconic Sicilian wine, with aromas of sunburnt earth and invigorated by the wind: salt, citrus and herbs, dry straw and hawthorn. On the palate, it is an explosion of flavors born from the combination of freshness, minerality, and sweetness. Hints of white-fleshed fruits and tropical fruit predominate. Harmonious, fresh, and elegantly smooth. Ideal with seafood dishes, shellfish, pasta, and delicate cheeses.
Finally, another suggestion from Colosi that makes for a perfect aperitif, is a pleasant end to a meal or a base for cocktails. Sei un Vermut, is a vermouth with an Inzolia base, flavored with an infusion of wormwood flowers, gentian root and vanilla berries creating a magical blend of flavors. On the palate it is round and elegant with typical fresh herbal tones including lemon balm, mint and cardamom. Long, bitter and slightly spicy finish to which Cinchona and cascarilla add to its long, slightly bitter and a touch spice finish.