The majority of our producers are small-to medium-sized family businesses with whom we have established a close working relationship, and who we know are dedicated to making wines of superb and consistent quality. All our suppliers have found that modern vinification has made their life easier. It has enabled them to compete on a level field with the larger conglomerates, who in the past were the only producers able to afford the new technology. Now all wines can be made cleanly, free from taint and oxidation.
This is kind of where it all began for us. But only sort of kind of. Or kind of sort of. You see this Grifalco is made by Cecilia Naldoni and Fabrizio Piccin who are Bianca’s sister and brother in law and it was tasting their wines, which weren’t being imported into the UK, that got
Juliusz and Bianca thinking about a change of plan: “let’s import wine.” So they did, but from their original wine, a Tuscan beauty, the Piccin have now moved far south to the remote region of Basilicata and the DOC of Monte Vulture. Better value land, more fun and independence and some oddly Byzantine politics (Italy of course), lead them to the change, but their terrific wine making remains with them.
Aglianico is the grape, and it is on the volcanic soils of the extinct volcano Monte Vulture that the vineyards are located. The potential from this region has always been known, but too often the grapes and the ageing have been let to go their own way, thick, over-powering beasts glowering at you over the rim of the glass. They were impressive, even frightening, my poor head, my delicate liver, and if you were honest, sometimes they were just a bit too fearsome. So a little levity with the old juice, a steady restraining hand in the fermentation tank, a “basta così” on the oak, and we have a modern vibrant wine than retains the typicity of the grape and region but is perhaps a little less of a mountain crazy, if not quite an urban schmoozer just yet.
A Family Dedicated to making quality wines. Deeply committed to producing quality wines, the roots of the Alessandro di Camporeale family are steeped in history, with the fourth generation now taking their place in the company. The legacy was begun in the early 20th century by Antonino, grandfather of the current owners, who was then followed in the 1980s by his son Benedetto, a pioneer of modern wine-making in these regions. Today the company is benefiting from the commitment and energy of the brothers Rosolino, Antonino and Natale, who together confirm a production model based on the vineyard and oenological innovation. It continues to develop and improve bodied wines, which are also delicate, refined and well-balanced. ‘Our wines are born on the vine’, explains Antonino Alessando, ‘between the rows of vines and the passion of those who work the land. We occupy a niche and we believe that this size is perfect for expressing our philosophy of excellence’.
Cevico are the biggest company we deal with and they are big indeed. Fourth largest private winery in Italy but we like them and for some bizarre reason, (must be our smiles) they like us. They have a bewildering array of wines, which is actually testament to how good they are. They make wines that are specific to the regions where the vines are grown and they keep that typicity to the forefront as much as they can. We’ve also discovered new wines and regions that we would never have heard of before. Borgo Eliceo DOC anyone? It is pretty cracking actually.
Mimmo and Laura Pasetti run this family estate at Francavilla al Mare south of the port of Pescara. The potential for full-flavoured and character wines from the Abruzzi has been acknowledged for many years, but it is only recently that smaller estates have marketed their own wines in a manner to compete with the large amounts of serviceable but rather anonymous Montepulcianos. Their entry level Montepulciano is top notch, full-flavoured and deep purple, so full of individuality and punch that you wonder why you would want to move on up to Testarossa and Harimann. Well, it’s for more concentration, flesh and spirit, we’d say. Enough, we must also mention their delightfully spicy lime- scented Pecorino and the terrific dark pink Cerasuolo. Not really a Rosè, more a chilled red for our endless summers. We love the wines, the land, the wonderful personality of the whole family, even the stylish labels and presentation of the bottles. Our only grouch being that they have another delightful fresh deep red, that you imagine somehow being pulled from a deep well in the mountains that they won’t bottle for us. To get some you have to join the queue with all the locals in Francavilla and have your empty plastic bottle filled with everyone else. Worth the trip, we’d say.
Bergère Champagne. A small family estate that has been owned by the Bergères for a number of generations now. Since André and his wife Brigitte took over the place in 1986, they’ve invested heavily in winemaking plant but also the plants themselves. Careful selection of vinestock, replanting and a little judicious purchasing of land has brought them to this fine position of being able to release their wines when they feel they are ready and not having to punt them out as soon as.
In France, people don’t tend to drink Grand Marques, you know the Moets and Veuve Cliquots of this world, that’s for the foreigners. The bourgeoisie have their favoured family producer and they stick to that. This is how Bergère have prospered, they sell most of their wines in France to a loyal following. However, in recent years there has been a sort of inverted snobbery push in the United States towards “boutique” Champagne producers. In other words, small family growers whose wines are unknown outside France, and probably unknown outside the small region that they might supply. Close links with regional merchants is how these wines get distributed throughout France, enough with the French wine trade guys, what about Old Blighty.
Till now, though Brigitte is keen to open up the UK and other markets, there has not been a huge push to export, so we are lucky, and I’m fairly sure somewhere along the way these wines will be “discovered”. We have done some wine evenings of late where the Bergeres have been up against some heavyweight brands, which come in at a far greater price. Frankly other non-vintage big brands are very, very poor in comparison. Thin ascetic and tedious fizz that doesn’t entice you to have much more than a sip let alone a second glass. A wine to celebrate with, no thanks. But the reason the Bergere wines show so well is that the Bergeres have the patience to age their wines before they release them. There are things that are worse than drinking poor champagne, and paying through the nose for the experience being one that springs to mind. So don’t drink poor fizz, this is honestly really good wine and there is a story to it and your friends will love you for the story but more importantly the wine. Really.
In fact, another story is how we got to start importing the wines. We are, were, an Italian importer primarily; so what’s all this then with French stuff? It was only because Juliusz speaks fluent French, (as well as Italian and Polish, we’ll avoid English) and when one of his daughters’ friends got into a pickle whilst on a French exchange, they needed someone to talk to the French Party involved. After a few words and things being ironed out, Juliusz discovered they were a Champagne house. We were wine importers and hey, they didn’t have any representation in the UK. Let’s drink to that.
Family-run winery, of course, in the hills around Asolo in the province of Treviso. Fantastic fruit, elegant wine, wedded to locality and grape type (Prosecco), yes of course, of course, of course. This is why we import wines, because we like the growers, and we think they have the right stuff; character, vines, wines and smiles. These are provided by Antonio and Mario Bello, the sons of the original founder of the company, Victor.
In fact, the vineyards are about to get a big promotion from DOC Trevisoto DOCG, or so we are told. Sort of Serie B to Serie A if you’ll allow a football analogy. We have their Spumante and their Rosé.
Obviously we don’t need to tell you knowledgeable types, that Spumante is more expensive than Frizzante because of the pressure of the bubbles. Or that Rosé has to come from a wine not called Prosecco. Prosecco is a white grape and no other grape is allowed in the mix, so it can’t be Rosé. But we do have their Rosé bubbles, and delicious and delicate it is too. Nor do we need to tell you that, as with so many things, you get what you pay for with Prosecco. Cheap stuff is ok. Just fizzy and that’s it. Better stuff has depth of apricot scents, a crunchy vibrant edge that makes it so quaffable, and this comes from well-tended vineyards.
The Uggiano winery is tucked away in the Florentine hills among the monasteries, churches, rustic villas and olive orchards. The Pesa River valley is home to Uggiano after it relocated from its birthplace in the Sonnino Castle of Montespertoli. The vineyards spread over rolling hillsides at an altitude of 250 to 300 meters between the Tuscan villages of Montepertoli, San Casciano, and San Vincenzo a Torri. The vineyards are planted with 90 percent Sangiovese and the other 10 percent Canaiolo. The average yield of the vineyards is 5000 liters per hectare.
The wines of Uggiano are controlled by a staff of oenologists directed by the winery’s owner, Mr. Giuseppe Losapio. Mr. Losapio has a long history of winemaking, beginning with his oenology degree from a prestigious French university, and continuing with more than 35 years making Italian wines. Mr. Losapio focuses on producing wines which possess a lower alcohol content in order to obtain a more fragrant and fruity bouquet. By creating a wine with an alcohol level of 12° rather than 13-14°, the consumer is also able to benefit by enjoying a product which is more agreeable and less intoxicating.
The strengths of thought, labour and energy are embodied in Vivallis, formarly S.A.V. (Società Agricoltori Vallagarina). The winery’s roots date back to 1908, when the visionary founder of the company, Don Giovanni Battista Panizza, immediately understood that cooperating was “the powerful means by which the small contributions of many creates a greater good for everybody”. Each farmer member has thus been given the opportunity to become a businessman in their own right, encouraged in being part of an efficient and dynamic entity, able to understand and interpret the signs of the times. Many processes and historic evolutions have resulted in the diversification of this important cooperation project into many activities. Vivallis is currently heir to, and representative of the wine sector and embodies the strength of its origins. The VIVALLIS trademark embodies S.A.V.’s heritage: the first two letters, “VI”, are the first letters of the Italian words viticoltori, vite, vino and vita, i.e. vine-growers, vine, wine and life; “VALLIS”, i.e. valley in Latin, refers to its bonds to Latinity and oenological culture of the valley. Therefore, the trademark is symbolic of the strong ties to the territory, the valley and the years of hard work carried out by S.A.V.
In 1986 the Zorzettig family renovated vineyards in the Colli Orientali Region of Friuli. A property of 
20 hectares exclusively given over to vines with a good broad range on single varietal wines. They have a splendid agriturismo if you fancy a little stop over, and they are fantastic hosts but it the wines that are the real deal here. They have a developed a style of their own, deciding to go out on a little bit of limb compared to their neighbours. You’ll never going to miss out on the crisp racy flavours of the grapes up here near Slovenia, but they harvest late to play up the rounder riper flavours in both the reds and whites. Every decision, both in the vineyard and in the cellar is carried out with love, great care and attention,because a great wine is for them something to be really proud of. If you look through the tasting notes on each wine you’ll notice the technical care given to try and get the most precise expression of each and every wine. Cracking, crackling wines.
Lovely family winery where they have the wonderful habit of bashfully keeping things to themselves, they are just outside the Classico region and therefore have had to be a little more circumspect in their pricing. So as Anselmi and Pieropan have produced wines that have revitalised the reputation of Soave so they have also been able to raise their prices as well as their game. Vicentini have gone about creating wines that have all the flavour and poise of their supposed superiors but have kept their prices to a reasonable scale.
As for bashfulness, when we first met them in Verona, we were just passing and noticed a tiny sign mentioning their 3 glass award. So we had a sip of their delicious oak aged Soave and loved it. We sat down, tried their unoaked and spritely entry level Soave and were fully taken. It was three months later and back at base that they let slip that they actually made a lovely fruity Valpolicella too. But we were looking for one of those too!