After a two year pause, Gambero Rosso returned to Los Angeles for its prestigious Tre Bicchieri World Tour of Italian wines.  A day of seminars and tastings was a welcome antidote to the Covid-19 shutdown that restricted wine tasting events.  The attendees were enthusiastic about these top Italian wines and the opportunity to meet the winemakers and producers that bottled them.  Only those in the wine trade could attend, and taste the “best of the best”.  The newest edition of their celebrated wine guide, Vini d’Italia, was for sale, a road map to the current best and top value wines.  Los Angeles was only one of four US cities on this year’s tour, what a treat!

Gambero Rosso, Italy’s leading food and wine authority, is integral to discovering which Italian wines are best for you.  Italy has 20 wine regions, over 2,000 varietals and thousands of producers in play, and finding those special wines isn’t easy.  Relying on wine ratings can be tricky, depending on who you align your palate with.  Gambero Rosso’s annual Italian wine guide, Vini d’Italia or “Italian Wines”, is considered the Italian wine bible, based on a simple Three Glass ratings system, or Tre Bicchieri.  More than 70 expert tasters blind-taste over 45,000 wines every year, and only include those that they feel are above average, with less than 1% granted the top prize.

Celebrating 36 years of excellence, Gambero Rosso’s 25th edition wine guide, Italian Wines 2022, contains more than 22,000 wine reviews and profiles of the passionate winemakers behind them.  Only 467 wines this year were crowned Tre Bicchieri, or “extraordinary wines”, approximately 1 in 100 are deemed excellent.  The ratings system is as follows;
- Three Glasses “extraordinary wines”
- Two Glasses “outstanding wines” 
​- One Glass, “good wines”

Giuseppe Carrus and Marco Sabellico spoke of their impressions of the Tre Bicchieri wines tasted

Giuseppe Carrus and Marco Sabellico, International Editors-In-Chief, conducted the “Italy In A Nutshell” seminar, a sampling of this year’s Tre Bicchieri winners.  Carrus noted that the quality of Italian wine is higher every year, and that Two Glasses are also important wines of high quality.  Seven wines were sampled, three of which were sparkling.  Sabellico pointed to the global phenomenom of Prosecco, which has made Veneto the most prolific wine production region in the world.  Fantastic value for the money, Prosecco can be a complex, serious wine, with its fruity and floral profile.  Cantine Produttori di Valdobbiadene Val d'Oca Rive di Santo Stefano Extra Brut 2019 comes from one of the top sites, it's dry with a creamy mousse, fresh character of fruit and floral notes, and a long finish.  The Villa Sandi Cartizze Brut La Rivetta is amazing, riper, richer and fragrant, considered a grand cru from the single hill vineyard Cartizze.  This wine was crowned “Sparkling Wine of the Year”.  Another sparkler, the Castello di Cigognola Moratti Cuvée More Pas Dosé, 100% Pinot Noir made in the traditional method from Lombardy, is very good, with classic notes of bread and nuts from second fermentation.  Aromatic and classic Sauvignon Blanc is found in the Borgo Conventi Collio Sauvignon 2019 from Friuli Venezia Giulia, fresh with stone fruit, lime and tomato leaf notes, and a long finish.  The elegant Coppi Gioia del Colle Primitivo Senatore 2017 from Puglia swirled a purity of expression with its high-toned fruit, spice, earth and violet notes.  Cantine San Marzano Primitivo di Manduria Sessantanni 2017 from Puglia is amazing, smooth and rich with good acidity and structure.  And the finale, a fantastic surprise with the aromatic Ferraris Agricola Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato Clásic 2020 from Piedmont.  It’s an intriguing wine, with an intoxicating nose, intensely floral with rose petals, and a vibrant palate of cherry jam, berries, and pepper notes.  Definitely seek this one out!

Giuseppe Carrus, Carlo Veronese, and Marco Sabellico introduce Oltrepò Pavese wines

In the next seminar, “Oltrepò Pavese”, Carrus and Sabellico were joined by Carlo Veronese, the Director of the Consorzio Tutela Vini Oltrepò Pavese.  Veronese noted that this region is one of the most fascinating, yet under-rated areas, with the potential for highest quality.  Oltrepò Pavese is a big, diverse wine region, and the ten wines tasted demonstrated its potential.  Three sparkling vintage wines, all Pinot Noir and made Metodo Classico, are fabulous.  Giorgi 1870 Gran Cuvée Storica 2017, a full-bodied sparkler of red fruit, spice, and mineral notes; Ballabio Farfalle Cave Privée 2011, a refined, complex, and fragrant sparkling still going strong after a decade; DeFilippi Fabbio Maria Cristina Pas Dosè Rosé 2013, a powerful and refined wine.  The Travaglino Campo della Fojada Riesling 2019 is a brilliant wine, with a floral nose, elegant in its dried fruit notes and late harvest character.  Two Pinot Nero (Noir) wines represented the heart of Oltrepò Pavese wine production, the Torti L'Eleganza del Vino Route 66 2018, with its mouth-filling fruit and floral essence, and the Conte Vistarino Pernice 2017, with its elegance, fruit and aromas.  The rustic Castello di Luzzano Sommossa Bonarda brought attention to the other world-class product of Oltrepò Pavese, Salame from the Varzi region, considered the best in Italy.  A fascinating wine was discovered in the Fiamberti Buttafuoco Storica Solenga 2016, a full-bodied, textured wine with red fruit, spice and balsamic notes, made from four indigenous grape varietals.

Marianna and Angela Velenosi of Marche's Velenosi Ascoli Piceno

Roberto Gariup of Sardinia's La Contralta

Eighty-seven producers poured their best wines in the trade tasting.  Lots of buzz centered around the Gioia del Colle Primitivo wines from Puglia, along with the Primitivo di Manduria.  There was not enough time to taste everything or even a fraction of these quality Italian wines.  Of note, I found the Tenuta Mara MaraMia Sangiovese, the Rocca della Macie Chianti Classico Riserva Famiglia Zingarelli, the Terre Carsiche 1939 Regula Magistri 2015 (one of those vaunted Gioia del Colle Primitivo beauties), and the Velenosi Rosso Piceno Superiore Roggio del Filare, delicious.  And notably, a few of the producers I really enjoyed are looking for importers; La Contralta of Sardinia with their Cannonau di Sardegna L’Ora Grande and Vermentino di Gallura Superiore Fiore del Sasso, and Diego Pressenda - La Torricella of Piedmont with their Barolo Le Coste di Monforte.

L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele

LA Puglia

Angelini Osteria

Drago Centro

For local flavor, Gambero Rosso awarded several Los Angeles area restaurants "Top Italian Restaurants 2022", well deserved!

For more information on the fascinating cornucopia of Italian wine, I recommend you purchase the Gambero Rosso guide, Italian Wines 2022.  There are so many discoveries waiting to be found within its pages, it's a great resource.