2016 Torrevento Castel del Monte Riserva Vigna Pedale, Italy, Puglia, Wine Review

This is a red from Apulia (Puglia) which is the heel of the boot of Italy. The grape is Uva di Troia called Nero di Troia locally. 13.5% abv. Ruby in color, mostly clear and bright. A really interesting nose with raisins and baking spices but also raspberries and a bit of wild herbs. Medium bodied. Medium tannins. A good backbone of acidity. On the palate, rhubarb, cranberries and toasted herbs. This is a wine made for food. It will work well with roasted meats (and even veggies). Drink over the next few years.

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A-

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Vintage:

2016

Salice Salentino: A Drinkable, Affordable Red Wine from Italy's Apulia Region

Apulia (also called Puglia) is the region that makes up the southeast corner of Italy including the heel of the boot of Italy. Historically, Apulia has been a very large producer of wine often leading Italy in terms of quantity of wine produced. The wines produced there were rugged, rough and deeply colored, and not of high quality. Much of the production went into cheaper jug wines or was blended into generic wines. Often, the wines were scandalously blended into wines from the more premier wines of the north giving those wines deeper color and a bit of texture. Nevertheless, the locals liked their local wines. These wines, however, were rarely tasted outside their homeland as a serious individual bottle of wine.

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2015 Torrevento Castel del Monte Riserva Ottagono Nero di Troia Riserva DOCG, Italy, Puglia, Wine Review

Vintage:

2015

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Grade:

A-

Italian Wine Regions: An Introduction

Italian wine regions and areas can be classified multiple times over, depending on the area, the climate, the history, the grapes, and through an infinite number of other ways. The following description of 7 Italian regions is meant to provide a basic guide, which will be supplemented in articles to come. The 7 regions consist of Veneto and Piedmont (to the North), Tuscany, Campania, Apulia, and the islands of Sardinia and Sicily (to the South).

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Aglianico del Vulture: The Basilicata Region Produces One of the Great Undiscovered Wines of Italy

All the way down at the southern end of Italy, in the arch of the boot, is the region of Basilicata. It is sparsely populated with sturdy peoples of very old traditions. The people who reside there often call their region by the ancient Roman name of Lucanta. The wine making and drinking traditions there predate Rome. One of the oldest and best wines made there is from the Aglianico grape. It is called Aglianico del Vulture. In fact, it is one of the great-undiscovered wines of Italy. This is most likely due to the isolated position of Basilicata and lack of tourism.

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Top Ten Italian Red Wines - 2016

I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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2016 Torrevento Castel del Monte Riserva Vigna Pedale, Italy, Puglia, Wine Review

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Salice Salentino: A Drinkable, Affordable Red Wine from Italy's Apulia Region

2015 Torrevento Castel del Monte Riserva Ottagono Nero di Troia Riserva DOCG, Italy, Puglia, Wine Review

Italian Wine Regions: An Introduction

Aglianico del Vulture: The Basilicata Region Produces One of the Great Undiscovered Wines of Italy

Top Ten Italian Red Wines - 2016