Nebbiolo, Italy’s most difficult (and greatest) grape
Pale colour, fierce tannin, late ripening: why Nebbiolo tests both those who grow it and those who drink it, from Barolo to Valtellina.
To drink and to know
A selection from the Vinofilo archive
Orange wines
What orange wines are, why they are not the same as natural wine, from Georgian amphorae to Oslavia, and how to pair them with food without fear.
The right wine glass
Bowl, rim, stem, crystal: what science says about wine glass shape, why the tongue map is a myth, and whether a single universal glass is enough.
Amarone, the wine born of waiting
How drying grapes in Valpolicella’s fruttai creates Amarone, what links it to Recioto and Ripasso, and why its style is up for debate today.
How to read an Italian wine label without being seduced by it
DOCG, DOC, IGT, Riserva, Classico, vintage and QR code: what an Italian wine label really tells you, and what it keeps quiet about quality.
To decant or not
Removing sediment or adding oxygen? When to decant a young wine, when to protect a fragile old red, and what to do with whites and sparkling wines.
A wine cellar at home
Stable temperature, humidity, darkness and calm: what matters when storing wine at home, in a wine fridge or a cupboard, and which bottles are worth the wait.
“Reds too warm, whites ice-cold: why “room temperature” is a misunderstanding, and the right serving temperatures for every style of wine.”
Wine serving temperature: why we get reds and whites wrong →
Wine glossary: twenty Italian wine words explained without the posturing
How to become a sommelier: the routes, the levels and the real timelines
How to give a bottle of wine as a gift without embarrassing yourself
Collio, where Italian white wine learned to be taken seriously
Ponca, Friulano (formerly Tocai), Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia and a border running through the vineyards: why Collio in Friuli is home to Italy’s great white wines.
The numbers
Four figures from our articles, different every time
The year of the first documented mention of a wine called “nibiol”, near Turin
Read ›142The Etna contrade that can be named on the label, after the new 2022 map
Read ›60The minimum months on the lees for a Franciacorta Riserva
Read ›2013The year UNESCO recognised Georgian winemaking in qvevri
Read ›Latest articles
Fresh from the cellar
Sangiovese, one grape with a hundred faces (and no identity papers)
Aglianico, the “Barolo of the South” that doesn’t need Piedmont
Verdicchio, the white wine that ages better than many reds
Timorasso, the white wine Piedmont had forgotten it had
Explore by theme
The Vinofilo archive in five chapters
Grapes
Varieties and their character
- Nebbiolo
- Sangiovese
- Aglianico
Regions
Where wine is born
- Etna
- Chianti
- Montalcino
Craft
How it is really made
- Sparkling wine
- Orange wines
- Amarone
Serving
Glasses, temperatures, decanters
- Temperature
- The glass
- Decanting
Guides
To find your way
- The label
- The cellar
- At the restaurant