By Malcolm Jolley

It’s a heady time in France’s “third wine region”: The wines of the Loire Valley tend to be fresh, often with a racy acidity. They are generally food wines made to be drunk at the table.

While consumers are no longer hoarding cases of wine, and consumer sales of alcohol are returning to pre-pandemic levels, COVID accelerated the “premiumization” of the wine market whereby wine enthusiasts are drinking less, but better.

The volcanic soils of Mount Vesuvius give vigour to the produce grown on its slopes, whether that be the Piennolo tomatoes or all manner of grapes cultivated for delicious and rewarding local wines.

It was not that long ago that a “local” wine on a Roman list was from Umbria or even Tuscany. But like everywhere else, the Romans seem to have embraced the ethos of the locavore and are all the better for it.

Like many of the post-war Italian wine revolutionaries, who came to prominence in the 1960s and 70s, Giorgio Lungarotti began by organizing local growers into one brand, with a focus on consistency and quality.

Fashion is cyclical, and tastes are once again returning to Italian white wines. Here are five more worth checking out.

White wines from some small provincial town or city in the Italian countryside are always crisp and refreshing. Here are five favourites worth seeking out.

Sperling is not just one of Canada’s leading winemakers, she is also one of the country’s preeminent women in wine and a tireless advocate of biodynamic winemaking.