Italy is never a wine country of just one style – and that is exactly what makes it so appealing. In Italy Around in 6 Bottles, we have gathered six wines that together showcase the breadth, energy and charm of the Italian wine landscape. Here, crisp Alpine fruit, mineral-driven whites, elegant Nebbiolo, classic Ripasso and sun-ripened Primitivo come together in a selection that takes you from light and lively to dark, spicy and generous. This is a package for anyone who wants to travel through Italy in the glass and discover just how different the country’s regions can taste – while also seeing how craftsmanship, origin and grape character tie everything together.
Why we selected these
This selection was chosen to offer as complete and enjoyable an Italian wine experience as possible. It brings together a clear north-to-south perspective, several of the country’s most classic grape varieties and six different expressions of Italian wine tradition: Sauvignon Blanc from Alto Adige, Nebbiolo from Piedmont, Ripasso from Valpolicella, a characterful white from Montalcino, mineral Greco di Tufo from Campania and fruit-rich Primitivo from Salento. What all six wines share is that they come from producers deeply rooted in their own territory, with a clear ambition to let terroir, grape and tradition speak clearly in the glass.
Girlan – Sauvignon Blanc “Indra”
Indra is the most Alpine, fresh and precise wine in the package – a Sauvignon Blanc with both aromatic intensity and fine minerality. In the glass, it offers a lively and elegant style with distinct notes of elderflower and nettle, bright acidity and a palate that feels cool, flavourful and persistent. It opens the selection with energy and definition, and works beautifully as an aperitif or alongside fish, shellfish, asparagus and other green spring dishes.
The wine comes from sloping, well-ventilated vineyards in Girlan in Alto Adige at 400–500 metres above sea level, where mineral-rich moraine soils with volcanic porphyry give the grapes extra tension and precision. The grapes are harvested by hand, gently pressed as whole bunches, and the must is naturally clarified before fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine is then aged for six months on the lees in steel, without malolactic fermentation, preserving its freshness and enhancing its pure mineral style. Cantina Girlan is also a historic cooperative, founded in 1923, now bringing together around 200 wine-growing families in South Tyrol.
Torricino Raone Greco Di Tufo Riserva DOCG
Raone is a white wine with power, personality and a strong sense of place. Its expression is more serious and mineral-driven than overtly fruity, with notes of citrus, stone fruit and a marked saline edge that gives the wine length and tension. Both nose and palate carry the typical mineral and lightly sulphurous signature that Greco di Tufo can develop from its distinctive soils, and in the mouth the wine feels juicy, taut and intense. It is especially well suited to grilled fish, hearty soups, aged cheeses and dishes that call for a white wine with both backbone and complexity.
The wine is produced by the Di Marzo family at Torricino in Tufo in Irpinia, where the soils are rich in clay, limestone and sulphur veins – a key element of the wine’s identity. The grapes are 100 percent Greco di Tufo, hand-harvested from vineyards around Vignale above the old sulphur mines. Only the best free-run juice is used, fermentation takes place in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and without temperature control, and the wine then rests for six months on the lees followed by at least six more months in bottle before release. The result is a wine with structure, depth and clear ageing potential.
FANTI Sant’Antimo Soralisa
Soralisa is an unusual and charming white wine from Montalcino – an area more commonly associated with powerful reds. Here, instead, you get a fresh, aromatic and elegant style in which white peach, pear, white flowers and herbs meet clear minerality and fine salinity. The wine feels both inviting and structured, with a flavour profile that combines fruit and freshness in a very attractive way. It pairs beautifully with antipasti, grilled or pan-fried fish, shellfish, salads and vegetarian dishes where a white wine with both aroma and lift is desired.
Soralisa is produced by Tenuta Fanti in Castelnuovo dell’Abate, where the Fanti family has owned land since the 1800s, and where Filippo Fanti together with his daughter Elisa now oversees production. The wine is built around Vermentino and Viognier, alongside traditional local grapes such as Trebbiano and Malvasia depending on the vintage. The grapes are harvested by hand, gently pressed and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, after which the wine rests further in tank to preserve its pure fruit and fresh minerality. The name is also a tribute to the family’s beloved aunt Lisina, giving the wine an added personal touch.
Fontanabianca Langhe Nebbiolo
Fontanabianca Langhe Nebbiolo is the most classically Piedmontese wine in the package – a wine where elegance takes precedence over power and the grape’s aromatic finesse is at the centre. The nose is delicate and clearly floral, with violet as its hallmark, while the palate is youthful, fresh and refined, with slender red fruit and the light firmness that makes Nebbiolo such a food-friendly grape. It is a wine that pairs very well with charcuterie, milder cheeses, mushroom dishes and lighter meat dishes, and adds a more nuanced, traditional and gastronomic expression to the selection.
The wine comes from Neive in Piedmont and is produced by the Pola family at Fontanabianca, where work in the area dates back to 1969 with a clear focus on reflecting the terroir of Neive. The grapes come from limestone and clay soils at around 300 metres above sea level, are trained according to the Guyot system and vinified traditionally in temperature-controlled tanks. The wine is then aged briefly in large oak casks, rounding out Nebbiolo’s tannins without taking away its freshness or floral precision. It is a wine that shows just how elegant and direct Nebbiolo can be when handled with a light touch.
Pegrandi Ripasso Valpolicella Classico Superiore Vaona
Pegrandi Ripasso is a wine with classic Valpolicella character, but with added depth, roundness and spicy warmth. It offers clear notes of cherry, redcurrant and spice, together with firmer tannins and a softer, fuller feel than a standard Valpolicella. It is a wine that feels both generous and well-balanced, with a flavour profile that works extremely well with grilled red meat, slow-cooked dishes, rich pasta dishes and aged cheeses.
The wine is produced by the Vaona family in Marano, in the heart of the classic Valpolicella area, where the family has long worked with traditional wines in a cellar connected to an estate dating back to the mid-1600s. The blend is Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Molinara from calcareous alluvial soils in hillside vineyards at 200–250 metres above sea level. The base wine is first fermented like a standard Valpolicella, and after the Amarone vinification it undergoes a second fermentation in spring on partially rinsed Amarone skins from Amarone Pegrandi – the classic ripasso method that adds more body and complexity. The wine is then aged for twelve months in medium-sized oak casks and a further four months in bottle before release.
Schola Sarmenti – Critèra Primitivo
Critèra Primitivo represents the southernmost and most sun-ripened expression in the package. It is a generous, full-flavoured wine with a clear sense of ripe fruit, a soft texture and lively tannins that hold the rich palate together. Here you get the warm and inviting Primitivo style, but also a freshness that prevents the wine from ever feeling heavy. It pairs very well with flavourful pasta dishes, pizza, grilled meat, lamb, slow-cooked dishes, spicy sausages and aged cheeses – in short, dishes that benefit from a wine with fruit, power and softness.
The wine is made by Schola Sarmenti in Nardò in the heart of Salento, where the estate works with local grape varieties such as Primitivo, Negroamaro and Susumaniello. Critèra is made from 100 percent Primitivo from relatively young vines, around 15 years old. The grapes are picked by hand and placed in airy crates before vinification in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, a method that preserves the wine’s pure fruit and varietal character. The result is a warm, fruity and approachable wine that captures the generous side of southern Italy in a very convincing way.
