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Native Italian Varietals
Guided recommendations, pairings, and tasting notes.
$29.99
The Spacchetti Family named this wine after an illustrious Montefalco actor from the 16th century, Sebastiano Clarignano, known for his excellence in his art. The Clarignano is a wine that was born from their desire to create a smoother version of the traditional Grechetto. The Viogner grape, with its uncommon...
$49.99
Taurasi, the renown big red from Campania is commonly referred to as the 'Barolo of the South'. Winemaker Oreste De Santis crafted this legendary red wine from 20 year old vines 450 meters above sea level. Following fermentation and refinement in stainless steel tanks for 10 months, Oreste...
$49.99
Crafted from 100% Sagrantino fruit from the Spacchetti Family's estate, this Montefalco native was harvested in October, underwent 4 weeks of maceration and fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The wine was aged 12 months in stainless steel and an additional 24 months in 25 hectoliter French Oak botti, and additionally...
$34.99
This single vineyard designate from the family's Balluccio cru delivers everything that you would expect from the best Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Andrea and Matteo hand selected the finest bunches of fruit from Balluccio, tightly controlled the fermentation below 16C for 8 months in stainless steel, then aged the...
Don Chigazola has brought wines from Colle Ciocco winery run by the Spacchetti family in Italy, to taste on California Wine Country with Steve Jaxon and Dan Berger. Chigazola Merchants is Don’s company. a micro-importer of fine wines from small producers in Italy. The Spacchetti family are new suppliers to Don's import business. Don has been on CWC several times before, the last time was this episode in November of 2023, with wines from the Friuli region in northeastern Italy. Don has told his story on the show several times before and again for today’s audience. He started his business about 12 years ago. He and his wife Debbie and his son Tony drive around the provinces in Italy to visit small,...
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius (Monte Vesuvio) in AD 79 blanketed the region in volcanic ash and rock, and it also created one of the most unique viniculture regions in Italy known today as Campania. We journeyed into the province of Avellino in Campania in April in search of the "Barolo of the South"- Taurasi- crafted from the ancient varietal Aglianico. After landing at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and pointing our rented cinquecento south on the E45 for two hours, we were navigating the country roads around Avellino and hill towns of Taurasi and Tufo. Vineyards of the ancient varietals Aglianico, Greco, and Falanghina blanket the hills at remarkable elevations—400-500 meters above sea level. The Irpinia district of Avellino...
Great wine! What am I drinking? I often hear this from clients unfamiliar with Italian wines. They closely inspect the labels but see nothing that they recognize as the name of a grape varietal that has crossed their palate before. Traditional California wine labels prominently place the variety, e.g. Zinfandel, in a grand font where your eyes can instantly lock on. Add the winery name, vintage, perhaps the appellation, and you essentially have a complete brand label. As California winemakers have begun to embrace blending, the varietal name has been replaced with a provocative “fanciful name”, and the labels have become less recognizable. So what makes old world wine labels so intimidating for some? Old World (France, Italy) have tightly...