On the 9th of April, Bwine held the first of a series of three events which offered people the opportunity to explore wines from different regions of the world. The first leg of this World Wine Tour had of course to be about Italy itself, known in the wine world as the land of diversity. With more than 600 varieties of indigenous grapes that extend in 1300 km of land, Italy mixes a great variety of grapes to a vast choice of terroirs. Moreover, thanks to the micro-climates that Italy offers and its 3000 years of history in wine production, the result is unique.

Guests were able to get a small taste of the vast variety of the wines produced on the peninsula, by drinking a wine each from the north, the center and the south.

The event started in the center, with an award-winning white wine from the Marche region. Villa Bucci’s Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi DOCG is a 100% Verdicchio wine aged in oak barrels and it is only available in the best vintages. Its full-bodied character has led some critics do describe it as a red wine dressed as white wine. It furthermore has aromas of spices, honey, almond and a hint of volcanic rocks.

Next, we headed to the north and tasted Baron Longo’s Solaris Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2016. The Solaris grapes for this wine are grown in South Tyrol at 1040 meters of altitude, therefore making the Solaris a wine that comes from one of the highest altitudes in all of Europe. It’s a crystal-clear straw-yellow wine with golden tones, the scent is owery with complex fruity notes. Despite the high residual sugar content it produces a tartness in the mouth.

Finally, we concluded our journey in the south, where we tasted a wine with a proud history. The Nero di Troia I.G.P. by Grifo from Puglia connects to history not only through its name, which means ‘Black of Troy’, but also through the fact that the Nero di Troia was the preferred wine of Frederick II. It is aged in oak and as its name suggests, this wine has a strong ruby color which makes it almost black and goes well with the full-bodied flavor.

These three wines gave Bwiners a brief insight into the incredible diversity and quality of wines that can be found all over Italy. We hope this event inspired some of them to continue exploring the Italian wine world further.

Jonas Vallone