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Your favorite Italian wines- mine's Brunello

Please reply with your top 3 favorite Italian wine producers. Here are mine Brunello- Costanti Chianti- Castello La Leccia

That one posted without my even hitting post! Brunello- Costanti

That's still only two, Dean.

I'll add a third and a fourth: Amarone Brunello Castello Banfi US

Yes, I want to add Amarone di Valpocella. Please, Dean... you're the expert, tell me about Amarone. I had it in Luasanne and whether it was just the place and time or the wine I don't know, but it was fabulous! Also, what do you know about Monica, from Sardinia?

Lamole di Lamoli - Chianti Donatella - Cinelli colombini - Brunello Mastrobardino - LaCryma Christi

jill i assume that you know that the lamole e lamole comes in 2 ways. the regular aged and one aged in oak for 9 months. if you have not tryed that please do its super smooth. also agree the lacrymachristi rosso is excellent and they make a decent bianco too.

Chianti Colli Senesi: Gattavecchi Vino Nobile: I forget the exact name, but it's something like "Fossaia" Orvieto Classico amabile

Having real trouble with being able to post and reply. So here goes.... Chianti Castello La Leccia

'97 Brunello - Castello Banfi '95 Ornellaia - Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Various - San Giorgio - Cantine Lungarotti Various - Barbaresco - Gaja '95 & '97 Tinscvil - Monsanto & on & on & on (OK that's more than 5 but I can't make up my mind - I like so many . . .)

4th times the charm I hope. Brunello is my favorite growing area in all of Italy. My favorite producer is Brunello Costanti- Very famous winery in Brunello with a silky smooth style (for Brunello). Family owned. Castello La Leccia in Chianti. Tiny producer who makes incredible chianti classico, riserva and a "Super Tuscan" called Brucagnia Dal Forno Romano Valpolicella- the greatest red from the Veneto I have ever had, better than any amarone. I have never had the guts to buy a bottle of their Amarone ($220.00 a bottle over there and $300 here!!!). Big rich wine, nothing like any other Valpolicella. If I had to add a 4th wine it would be Barolo and Dolcetto from Marcarini. Small family winery with a rich adn forward style. Grasshopper... Amarone is a superb DOC from the Valpolicella. Its full name is Recioto della Valpolicella Amarone and that tells the story. Recioto is a name that is derived from the Italian word for ears (orrechietti pasta is same derivation). It refers to wines made from grapes that are left out to dry on straw mats to concentrate the sugars. The result is a wine that can be made sweet or dry, one with great richness and higher alcohol. amarone is from Amaro or bitter. So its a big bitter one made from recioto, or dried grapes. TValpolicells is the area it comes from using the same grape blend as is usen in Valpolicella "normale". This explains its unique character and high price. Given the difficulty making it, it is a product of mainly the best wineries in the Veneto. Stay away from Bolla and you will get a pretty good chance of a very nice wine. Allegrini, Speri, Zenato Riserva Sergio Zenato, Masi are my favorite producers.

Brunello - Croce Di Mezzo

I've often found dinner companions did not like Amarone. It does tend to be a tad "bitter". An acquired taste perhaps? I've tried the Masi $ Alegrini & Dean is right, they're very good with the right food.

Peter - I first had the lamole at dinner at Castello di Spaltenna (a'97 riserva, of course it was excellent). My husband and I loved it so much we decided to go to the vineyard the next day and sample as much as we could. Well, after getting lost on a white road somewhere in the parco S. Michele - hilarious story - we abanded all hope that day. We never quite made it there on our trip. However, we were thrilled to be able to find many offerings of it here in the US when we got back. All we've tried have been excellent, my new favorite.

My favorite is from Castello di Luzzano. The Barbera is the best I have had. They are located about 45 minutes outside of Milano. It is a wonderful working vineyard and winery. They rent out apartments and rooms. It is rural and you will thank me if you go there and check it out. The owners are super nice and friendly. They have a webpage.

Dean, You know wines--all I know is what I like. What do you know about the whites made in Trentino? I have had some good ones--one has a very Germanic name and is grown on the Vino Strade south of Bolzano. Do you know it ?

We'll be going to Tuscany in August and had a great Italian wine in a restaurant in Los Angeles. Anyone heard of" Sauvignon Blanc Due Uve Bertoni Veneto"? And does anyone know if we can buy it in Italy or is it just an export wine? Thanks in advance for any input.

Bob The wines of the Trentino and Alto Adige are often taken together (as are the regions). I am never able to keep in mind which are which specifically. However I would venture a guess that you may be thinking of Alois Lageder or Frans Haas. Both are excellent producers making a wide variety of wines in many price ranges. The area specializes in whites in general although there are some pinot nero (pinot noir) and a native red Teroldigo made there. I particularly like Teroldigo, especially with rich foods. It is a low tanin red with high acidity. it will go with anything from a stracotto of game to pan fried or smokes trout. Great with pastas with simple toppings like sauteed mushrooms. My favorite wines fromthe regions are Traminers and Gewurztraminers. These are not the typically sweet whites you may see from California or Germany, but bone dry wines of amazing power and character. They differ from their Alsatian relations in that they are more delicate and lighter in body (but not lighter in character). Many wines in these regions are made by cooperatives and they often have several levels of wines. For example San Michele is a cooperative that will have 3 or 4 gewurztraminer, some single vineyard wines and others reserves and others just "normal" Another favorite producer is Ca Terlano. They made regular, riserva and "named" bottlings. Their top of the line gewurztraminer is "Lunate" and their best Sauvignon Blanc is "Quartz". These bottlings are very hard to find but are amongst the best wine experiences I have ever had. A third wine, but one I have only found at Fiaschetteria Toscana in Venezia, is Maso Furli Traminer. Light, aromatic, spicy, rich on the palate, it is a perfect foil to seafood preparations with tomatoes in them. We had it with eel grilled in cast iron and finished with a few tomatoes.

My favorites: Masi amarone classico; Masi Campo Fiorin, Brolo di Campo Fiorin; Braida's single-vineyard barberas Ai Suma, Bricco dell'Uccellone and Bricco della Bigotta; Sassicaia; Dal Forno Valpolicella; Caprai's Sangrantino di Montelfalco; Taurino's Patriglione and Librandi's Gravello.

Wow--you sure know your wines. You remind me of my friend Dick, who spent 40 years in the cheese business--traveling the world buying cheeses. You hit the nail---the bone dry whites--those are my favorites. We spent an entire day on that wine road south of Bolzano and did some serious sampling. It was a fun day--but Susan drove back to Ortisei.