Mapping MONTALCINO

Brunello di Montalcino is not an everyday wine, and especially Brunello Riservas - produced only in outstanding vintages - are wines for big occasions, birthdays, anniversaries and, of course, the holidays.  But when visiting Montalcino and the Val d'Orcia during Christmas season, many wine lovers struggle to find a vineyard open for tastings. Understandably, after a year of hard work, most Brunello producers celebrate at home to finally enjoy their wine with their families.   Palazzone vineyard near Montalcino: open for tastings during the holidays Il Palazzone's holiday winery visits are an exception to the rule and the themed tastings are just the thing you need if you're still contemplating ideal wine pairings for Christmas lunch or New Year's Eve.  Sensory Tasting – Family Friendly  Deciphering the aromas in a wineglass is fun! Come and explore the world of aromas and scents. Includes: private winery tour, guided tasting of 4 wines & a leaf...

Sunset at the Palazzone winery Tasting Brunello can be a daunting task, at least during the two hottest months of the year. When temperatures start to reach suffocating highs in July and August, only hard-core professionals will look forward to starting the day with a wine that often has an alcohol content of 14 % (let alone the even mightier Brunello Riserva). Most travelers would just ask for one more iced coffee, thank you, if it wasn't for, yes, Montalcino.  At Il Palazzone  - one of my  top ten wineries  to visit in Montalcino - Esther from Vino Vistas created a cool alternative to sticky Tuscan summer mornings spent spitting too warm wine: sunset tastings (I still can't believe that nobody has thought about it before!) . Swirl your wine at sundown and enjoy not just the gorgeous view but also a bit of a breeze. Montalcino isn't just known for Brunello, but also for its windy evenings, and you'll come to love them after a sizzling hot...

I am no friend of August in Italy. Too hot, too crowded. The last few summers may have been cooler and wetter than the norm, but whilst the weather has changed the tourists haven't. Half of the bel paese is on holiday in August, and those Italians who are not at the beach seem to love ticking off Brunello town from their must see list on sweltering hot summer days (Montalcino gets most of its day trip visitors during this time of the year).  If you insist in visiting Montalcino in August make sure your hotel or agriturismo owns a pool. You'll need it. Otherwise the last resort will be to cool down in one of the area's 250 wine cellars.     GOOD TO KNOW There are better months than August to visit Montalcino. Especially if you come for the wine. With its high alcohol content Brunello tastes better when its a little cooler (or properly cold ) outside, so summer may be the time to drink your way through ...

It's one thing to bring back a bottle of wine as a souvenir from Montalcino, and it's another to buy a case of Brunello to store away for the next five, ten or twenty years. In a vintage with the hot weather conditions of 2009 differences between Sangiovese grapes harvested and Brunello produced in Montalcino's wineries has been very marked. Many of the wines - notably the ones from the lower lying vineyards in the south west - are unlikely to last in time (but are all the more ready to be enjoyed right away).  Tim Atkin's Brunello Report is a good place to start for some advice on which wines to buy for early drinking and which ones for piling up in your cellar.  I've reviewed his Brunello Special Report 2008 last year and extremely liked Tim's in-depth approach to the judging of Montalcino's wine. His Brunello reports give you the wine writer's ratings (if you are into numbers), but also a lot of background information to understand the reasons be...

WINE TASTING AT THE BRUNELLO MUSEUM On seven Saturdays all through April and May, the Brunello museum hosts wine tastings of selected Montalcino wineries. Visit the museum's exhibition which concentrates on the wine town's history and the tools of the artisans, which used to make Montalcino's fame through the centuries before Brunello came along.  Saturday afternoons from 2.30 pm to 6 pm. Tickets for museum admission and Brunello wine tasting 10 € per person.  (Note to the budget traveler: this is a great deal, considering that you'll get to taste each time wines from 4 different Brunello wineries).   

The square medieval tower of Castello di Argiano, one of Montalcino's main landmarks. Wine technically speaking too! Do you know the type of people who just seem to have it all? Good looks, intelligence, charm, exquisite taste, and any other good or attractive human trait you can possibly think of? The same is true for Tuscan vineyards: some just have it all. Montalcino's Sesti vineyard at Castello di Argiano is one of them. Most people who visit the winery decide on buying a case of Tuscan red before they even made it to the tasting room. The Tuscan hamlet with its medieval church and ancient tower is an amazing sight in its own right. The views over the hills of Val d'Orcia, mount Amiata and Maremma are just breathtaking. And the people living here fascinatingly eclectic and knowledgeable, but totally down-to-earth when it comes to wine making... put two and two together and you know - the wine can't but taste great. And you won't be on your own ...

Whilst the wine world is waiting to get a first taste of Brunello di Montalcino 2008 and the Brunello Riserva 2007 at Benvenuto Brunello 2013 , wine pro Monica Larner has already gotten a head start at Montalcino's vintner association last week.  A big fan of Brunello 2007, Monica Larner doesn't seem quite as excited about the 2008 vintage after tasting her way through a good 250 Brunello di Montalcino 2008 (poor thing!); whereas, not surprisingly, the Brunello Riserva 2007 gets one big thumbs up from the Italian editor of Wine Enthusiast (click through for the interview with her in Italian on   Montalcinonews ).   We'll be keeping you up-to-date on what the rest of the wine world is going to say at the end of February after Benvenuto Brunello 2013.  In the meantime you better keep stocking up on Brunello 2007 - a vintage meant to last. Check out Monica Larner's  Brunello di Montalcino 2007  tasting notes on Wine Enthusiast  or listen to what she ...

10 am is a bit early. But then, if you're looking for free wine tastings in Tuscany, you'll have to take what you get. The inauguration of the exhibition about the history of vines and wine in Tuscany, will be accompanied - I'd say rightly so - by a wine tasting organized by the Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino . So start your day in town with a hearty breakfast, and before getting down to business listen to some scientific research and queer facts about the history of wine in Italy.  Once you're done with tasting also take in the permanent exhibit of Montalcino's small but lovely museum. Which is a good reason not to exaggerate during the morning's wine tasting. It would be a pity to only remember a blurred vision of Domenico di Agostino's marvelous wood sculpture of the Madonna.  

The  Gambero Rosso   is Italy's bible when it comes to anything food or wine. The 2013 edition of its wine guide isn't out yet,  but sneak peaks are already available. Let's see which wineries will be awarded the guide's  Tre Bicchieri -  the  three glasses  standing for the guide's  highest rating (the three Michelin stars of Italian wine, so to speak).  In Montalcino the following wineries will receive the 2013 edition's Tre Bicchieri award:   Brunello di Montalcino Bramante 2007 – San Lorenzo Brunello di Montalcino 2007 – Baricci Brunello di Montalcino 2007 – Canalicchio di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino 2007 – Le Chiuse Brunello di Montalcino 2007 – Poggio di Sotto Brunello di Montalcino Vigna Poggio Ronconi 2007 – Citille di Sopra Brunello di Montalcino Vecchie Vigne 2007 – Le Ragnaie Brunello di Montalcino Altero 2007 – Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino 2007 – Fanti Brunello di Montalcino 2007 – Val di Suga Tenimen...

Castello Banfi at sunset It's summer and Montalcino knows it. July is an incredible month when it comes to live events and concerts in small  Brunello town .  This week the Melodia del Vino  festival will be guest at the Castello Banfi winery with famous  Russian violoncellist Alexander Kniazev. Tickets cost 23€ and include a wine tasting which will quite probably circle around Banfi Vintner's Brunello, S upertuscans and Banfi Brut (the winery's dry sparkling wine from Nothern Italy).   Wine tasting starts at 7pm, concert around 8.30pm.  Castello Banfi, Thursday July 5 - Melodia del Vino .  Earlier in the week you can dance off at Bar Le Logge (on Montalcino's main square opposite of Bar La Fiaschetteria ). DJ set with music from the 90s and a rich buffet make for a promising evening.  Bar Le Logge di Piazza - Wednesday July 4. On Thursday the party goes on at Kaffeina, which has been taken on by a new owner, who's starting...

The flyer of the 2012 edition of Jazz & Wine is out and the attentive observer will spot a few changes to the  festival's program mentioned at the beginning of June .  As announced earlier this month the festival will be opened by American saxophonist Scott Hamilton at Castello Banfi on Tuesday 17th of July. However on Wednesday 18th of July the Israeli Avishai Cohen quartet is being replaced by an evening with Italian jazz and folk musician Nicola Stilo and his band. Flutist and pianist Stilo played with Chet Baker in the 80s, and also toured with singer/songwriter Fabrizio de André, one of the most talented and beloved musicians in Italy in the 20th century. Reggie Washington is still coming but his gig has been postponed to the 20th of July (instead of the 19th). Sadly we'll have to do without Flavio Boltro this year, but let's hope he and Avishai Cohen are on the list for the 2013 edition.  However on the 19th of July fab American trumpeter Tom Harr...

Still life with magnums of  Fonterenza  and  Cupano .    With some things it's either yes or no.  If you're feeling incredibly passionate about Italian wine, then the Benvenuto Brunello wine fair in Montalcino is a must .  If you rather taste that glass of Tuscan red in quiet contemplation, then Benvenuto Brunello is a no-go.  Not the type to shy away from a wine crazy crowd? Come dressed well (it's cold and windy this February in Tuscany) and beware of the wine aficionados all over the place. Journalists, wine buyers and restaurant owners battle their way through the crowd to taste as many as possible of the newly released Brunello 2007 ( a five star vintage! ) in the midst of locals and non-locals.  The Consorzio Brunello writes on their homepage:  'Benvenuto Brunello is reserved to wine business operators and press.  Admittance by invitation only.'   Yeah, right.  So didn't I just pass my...