Meeting Andrew Jefford today could easily lead one to believe that he was born knowing enormous volumes of information about the wines of the world, and has always been able to explain them in the manner of a poet laureate. As the leader of a 2016 Wine Scholar Guild study tour of Southwest France,...

Lonely Planet has released their Best in Travel 2017 guide about THE places to visit in the next year…and Bordeaux tops their list as the No. 1 city destination in the world! Bordeaux contains more preserved historical buildings – such as Place de la Bourse – than any city in France aside from...

ITALIAN WINE SCHOLAR PROGRAM RECEIVES ENDORSEMENT FROM THE ITALIAN TRADE COMMISSION The Wine Scholar Guild’s Italian Wine Scholar Program received official endorsement from the Italian Trade Commission (ITA).The Italian Trade Commission is a governmental body whose role is to promote the...

Top Italian Wine Scholar student at IWEG Drinks Academy in Toronto will WIN a Study Trip Scholarship to Italy! IWEG, our exlusive Program Provider in Toronto, is pleased to announce the Italian Trade Commission in Canada as its first Gold Sponsor with the sponsorship of the new Italian Wine...

Glera is the principal grape of Prosecco sparkling wine. Originally the grape was known as Prosecco (more precisely Prosecco Tondo). The variety has an unclear origin and an even more complicated ampelographic history due to the fact that several distinct varieties have been called...

A BIT OF WINE CHEMISTRY: Lessons from Champagne Day one of the Champagne study trip initiated a discussion which continued throughout the week of factors impacting aromas and flavors in champagne. Broadly, aromas can be categorized into the impacts of grape variety, terroir, vinification, and...

Italian red wines may get all the attention, but insiders know that Italian whites are as varied and interesting as the country’s reds. Italy’s multitude of mountains and hills ensures wines with bright acidity—the hallmark of Italian whites. Acidity is what makes a wine food friendly, and Italian...

The Super-Whites of Friuli In the late 1970s, the producer, Jermann, created Vintage Tunina, a complex blend of native and international white grapes that became iconic among Friuli’s superior white blends. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Jermann inspired several other Friuli producers,...

Collio (or Collio Goriziano) DOC Collio’s vineyards date back to pre-Roman times; they were of renown then and are held in high esteem now. Their impressive whites are considered the finest in Friuli and are among the finest in Italy.

Friuli Grave DOC Friuli Grave was previously called Grave del Friuli but is often simply referred to as Grave. This is the largest DOC, both in terms of area under vine and in production. It accounts for more than one-third of Friuli’s total wine production.

Nebbiolo-Based Appellations of Langhe Hills in Piedmont Barolo DOCG Barolo is one of Italy’s greatest wines and is considered to deliver the highest and most powerful expression of the Nebbiolo grape. Although its origin is shrouded in mystery, its rise to stardom is not. Supposedly, the red wines...

Veneto’s grape varieties are almost equally divided between white and red. More than 60% of the cultivated varieties are native or Italian grapes. Among them, the indigenous Glera, Garganega and Corvina Veronese account for almost half of Veneto’s total plantings. The western Veneto is largely and...

The geologic evolution of the Italian landscape has always been characterized by strong volcanic activity. Italy is one of the few winemaking countries with a considerable number of vineyards growing on the slopes of ancient and extinct volcanos. Vineyards are also cultivated around active...

Emilia-Romagna is one of the wealthiest regions in Italy and in all of Europe. It is a cultural nexus, thanks to the beautiful Romanesque and Renaissance architecture found in the cities of Bologna, Ferrara and Modena. The Rimini and Riccione beach resorts of the Adriatic are famous among the...

Alto Adige/Südtirol is one of the oldest winegrowing areas in German-speaking Europe. Vines were cultivated by the local Rhaeti tribe, an ancient Alpine people of Etruscan origin, before their territory was conquered by the Roman Empire in 15 BC. According to the Roman author, Pliny the Elder,...

Today, Veneto represents Italy’s most productive wine region and accounts for 25% of Italy’s total DOC/G wine production.

Advances in the cellars coupled with better vineyard management and Friuli’s natural gift of a temperate climate, resulted in concentrated wines with an extra layer of richness. From the 1970s onward, Friuli gained commercial success and popularity for its white wines.

The Wine Scholar Guild announces its worldwide launch of a new study and certification program on the wines of Italy. The Italian Wine Scholar Program was created by Maurizio Broggi, native Italian, DWS and Certified Sommelier, who joins the Wine Scholar Guild as Education Director for Italy. This...

Are you looking for the best Italian red grapes? The wonderful thing about Italian red grape varieties is that they are distinctly Italian. Plenty of winegrowers around the world have made attempts at growing Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and Barbera, but few have come even close to matching the results of...

A number of Friuli’s native varieties were rescued from the brink of disappearance. Let us introduce you to Vitovska and Pignolo. Vitovska: The name of this white grape variety is of clear Slavic origin, but it is generally considered to be a native variety of both eastern Friuli and Slovenia, as...