Pfalz. Home of the official German Wine Road, which is key in connecting many of the wine-villages from north to south. The best known city in this area is Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, where the German Wine Queen is elected each year. Pfalz is one of the warmest regions in Germany and as such houses grapes ranging from Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to warm climate grapes such as Syrah/Shiraz.

The first winery of day two was the winery of Benzinger in their historic estate in Kirchheim where Volker Benzinger showed us some of the upcoming 2015 wines, which had been recently bottled. Volker’s focus was clearly on Rieslings and Pinots (Noir, Gris, Blanc) and he’s even doing an “Orange de Pinot” wine, his first orange wine and the first orange pinot we got to try this trip. We stayed there for a tasty lunch at their very appealing restaurant “Leininger Hof”, which we’d highly recommend should you ever be in the area.


Only one village ahead we found the small winery of the Brand family. Young winemakers Daniel and Jonas (25 & 22 yrs old) welcomed us in their typical vinoteca and showed us some of their latest projects such as a natural sparkling and an experimental natural Silvaner. Typically, a lot of their wines are about Riesling, but they also produce Pinot Noir and Dornfelder among others. It was clear to see that they respected tradition, but at the same time were very open to experimentation, which is something we love seeing as long as it’s within the rules of natural wine making. 


The very last stop of this two-day-trip was at the Demeter certified Schmitt winery. Wine makers Daniel and Bianka offered us quite a range of natural and orange wines. Among them were a Riesling, a Riesling Sekt (sparkling), an orange blend and a pretty rare wine produced in an original Georgian qvevri. Impressive!

What all the producers have in common is the fact that they’re family businesses, which have been operating for generations with the absolute conviction that wine has to be produced in a sustainable way with respect for nature. Some of them are already certified and some are about to get certified. Then there are those who just work according to the right ethical standards without the desire of getting certified at all. What’s important is that they all share the same idea. 

Over 100 wines were tasted over the course of two days from various vineyards with totally different soils. We mainly tasted Rieslings, but also tried a lot of Pinot Noirs and international white grapes – white wines, red wines and even orange wines. Some of the wines were as hoped or expected, but there were also a few real surprises. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to discover more of these vast regions. This does however give us a reason to come back for more and we certainly liked what we’ve seen, tried and tasted so far.

Aglianico is an ancient Greek black grape brought to the southern regions of Italy by Greek settlers. These days the grape is mostly found in Basilicata and Campania, while it has almost completely disappeared in the country it originated from.

In Basilicata the Aglianico grape is primarily used in the province of Potenza to produce the region’s only DOCG wine; Aglianico del Vulture. The most important production area of Aglianico del Vulture is, as the name suggests, around the extinct Vulture volcano. Wine obtained from the vineyards situated on the slopes of the volcano are regarded as more elegant and of higher quality.

Despite mostly producing high quality wines, many small producers in Basilicata have been forced to sell their vineyards due to the economical crisis. As a result, there are only a few very good natural wine producers left to continue the production of this traditional wine.

In the neighbouring region of Campania the situation is different. Things are moving forward and the number of producers who are continuing the ancient art of winemaking is increasing.

The area surrounding the village of Taurasi is home to DOCG wines of the same name. It’s in this area that historical vineyards can still be found and thrive. All the historical vines have been analysed recently and the samples tested proved that many of the vines were over 200 years old while some of them have even surpassed the 300 years mark.

The ageing potential of the wines made with Aglianico grapes is impressive. Considered to be the cousin of Nebbiolo, the wines produced from Aglianico grapes are full-bodied with firm tannins and high acidity.

Like a true southerner, the Aglianico vine thrives in dry climates which receive generous amounts of sunshine. The grape has a tendency to ripen late with harvests taking place as late as mid November. If the grape is picked too early, or with excessive yields, it can be aggressively tannic.

When Aglianico wines are still young they are very tannic and concentrated, and they require a few years of ageing before becoming approachable. As it ages, the fruit becomes more pronounced and the tannins more balanced with the rest of the wine.

Interested in trying wines produced from Aglianico? We currently have several Aglianico-based wines in our collection. Fill up your cart with the Aglianico Tasting Pack.

Etna is an Italian wine DOC which covers the slopes of Mount Etna; the 3330m high active volcano that dominates the north-eastern corner of Sicily. The highest of Etna’s vineyards now rank among the highest in Italy.

Growing grapes on the slopes of an active volcano is not without obvious risks. The soil is a combination of volcanic soil and sand which is difficult to work with as well, but for those who manage the result can be very rewarding as the volcanic soil is very rich in minerals, formed by the disintegration of lava.

The steep terrain combined with the sandy volcanic soil makes tending the vines quite difficult. The vineyards are planted on 45-degree slopes and the loose soil is very difficult to farm while the wildly unpredictable weather and eruptions of the volcano makes the viticulture heroic.  

At the end of the 19th century Phylloxera, insects that feed on the roots and leaves of grapevines, destroyed much of Europe’s vineyards. However, the old vineyards of Mt. Etna were not touched by these pests because of the loose soil. Phylloxera cannot exist in such soil which prevented the lice from spreading. As a result, The area now hosts some the oldest vines still on their original rootstock.

The wines of Mt. Etna have been some of the hottest and most sought after wines in recent years and Etna has become one of Italy’s most exciting wine regions. Its volcanic soil and distinctive climate create wines with intense minerality that are rich in flavors.

After half a lifetime abroad, Davide Bentivegna decided to return to his roots and founded Etnella. Originally from the hills outside of Catania, he began his agricultural expedition in 2008. 2010 marks his first vintage on Etna, and he has since expanded his enterprise by acquiring more vineyards, orchards and land fertile for agriculture in his never-ending quest to interpret and transform the bounty of the volcano in a natural way.

The vineyards are trained in alberello style, or bush trained, an ancient method traditionally used on Etna. The vines are planted on land that is terraced with drystone walls constructed with the local volcanic stones so omnipresent on Etna’s slopes.

The close proximity of the vines (6,000 – 9,000 plants per hectare) creates fierce competition and forces the roots to point downward in the volcanic soil in search of water and nutrients.

Etnella’s contrade, or sub zones, are all based on the northeastern side of the volcano. Each contrada is treated separately since each parcel has a distinct lava stratification, mesoclimate, and exposition.The resulting wines are an impressive collection of the various expressions of Etna’s terroir.  

Vino Nostrum is an Etnella representative and currently stocks their Kaos Rosso and Anatema wines. For more information about Etnella and the wines, please visit https://vinonostrum.com/wineries/etnella

Here we are, back in Montpellier to attend the 23rd edition of Millesime Bio which is probably still holding the title for best organised event in Europe concerning natural wines. First hosted in 1993, the fair has since grown to over 800 exhibitors from 14 countries. A must visit for any self-respecting sommelier. 

Made by professionals for professionals, everything is precise and clear. There are no queues and the well-lit halls are perfect for tastings. I’ve noticed the attendance of a more than decent amount of serious-minded quality producers from all over the world, despite my attention being almost exclusively focused on French wines.

There are few representatives of Burgundy and Champagne, where allocating the production is of bigger concern than selling it. Most of the field to dig into consisted of Rhone, Provence and of course Languedoc and Roussillon. Some top notch Loire was present too, but not in big numbers given how the Salon des Vins de Loire is kicking off in four days and 700 kilometers away.

The amount of faulty wines tasted was negligible; we are now all aware, at least in France, that organic farming is about respect and consciousness at all stages. Yes, it’s more complicated than conventional farming, but there are so many good, or at least non-faulty, organic wines that those growers who cannot achieve good results within a few years will vanish from the radar.

“Each exhibitor has exactly the same equipment to present their wines: a table, two chairs, a white tablecloth, a spittoon, tasting glasses, ice and a display. This is a competition to judge and compare wines, not a competition on the exhibition techniques of wines! Here, all exhibitors are on an equal footing to present their products. So there is a strong philosophical emphasis on democracy and sharing.” – Millesime Bio

I am adamant about how the best organic (and, better yet, biodynamic) wines are better than the best conventional wines; often having more depth and complexity whilst being healthier for both the environment and the consumer.

I have mostly found reassuring quality from the producers I already knew, with quite a few doing better and better, hopefully raising their ceiling up enough to require new power rankings for their appellations. Elsewhere it is hit and miss, with lots of good will while the style models were not always clear. 

Another critical point was that quite a few producers offered very, very young wines, often tank or barrel samples, which in many other cases had only been bottled for a few weeks if not days. In my opinion this is one of the worst things you can do if you want someone to get a clear view of what your wine will taste like.

Several regions still suffer from widespread abuse of technique and of course everybody who can is going organic these days. However, the gems are there to be found and extensive tasting is the only sensible way to find them. Speaking of which, I am now heading to visit a few new and old discoveries from the Languedoc region to strengthen my vision and expand my knowledge of the area.

On a final note: around the Millesime Bio fair an extremely lively scene of “off” events take place hosted mostly by small, dissident or famous producers. I have attended no less than three with pleasure, finding an average quality higher than the main event even if most of the producers in the off events were already known if not well known to me.

The next report will be from La Dive, born itself as an “off” event to the aforementioned Salon des Vins du Loire, but it probably gets more attention than the main event these days. See you in Saumur!

Fabio Cagnetti

Orange wines are white wines which are unconventionally made by including the grapes’ skins in the maceration process. Normally in the production of a white wine the skins are immediately separated from the juice to obtain a floral and fruity wine. 

In the case of orange wines they do not remove the skin and let the must macerate for longer. The skins contain colour pigments, phenols and tannins which give colour and texture to wine. Maceration extracts these elements from the skin and as a result the taste of an orange wine is dry and a bit sour from the indigenous yeast fermentation along with some nuttiness from oxidation. A really exciting surprise in taste.

The wine can be left to macerate for just a few days all the way up to a year, depending on the winery’s intentions. The intensity of the typical orange colour is affected by the duration of the maceration. The longer a wine macerates, the more intense the colour will be. Because of their textures, complexity and tannins, orange wines can be easily paired with white meat, pork and even game.

“Free your mind from conventions, simply live the unbelievable emotion of a harvest…”
-Radikon

The practice of letting white wines macerate together with the skin dates back over 6000 years and is a method which has been in use in Eurasia, Armenia and Georgia ever since.

Georgia is still the main orange wine producing country even though the popularity of this wine is growing rapidly abroad as well. As a result the practice of making orange wines has also been adopted by Italian winemakers from the North Eastern Friuli region, situated on the border with Slovenia, another producer of orange wines.

Nowadays a few orange wine producers are also present in other important Italian wine regions, but they’re still very rare and therefore difficult to find. Due to the increasing popularity of orange wines production is also increasing in countries like Croatia, France, Germany, New Zealand and the US.

We travelled to Georgia, to the origins of this very special wine and visited a few very good and small wineries which are still using the ancient method of producing wine in red clay vessels called qvevri.

A qvevri is a Georgian vessel which is totally buried in the ground and is used for the fermentation and storage of wine. By being immersed in the earth the vessels ensures that the wine’s temperature remains stable and it also protects the wine from oxidation. Grapes, including their skin, are left inside for up to a year to rest and macerate without any intervention. This means that qvevri wines are made in the most natural way possible and in the same way that has been successful for thousands of years.

We’ve now added some very special Italian orange wines as well as Slovenian ones from the Radikon winery and Cotar to our growing selection. In the near future we’re also hoping to add some of the traditional wines from Georgian artisan wineries to our collection.

The Radikon winery is located in Oslavia, Slovenia, right on the border with Italy and has been a family run winery since 1948 that mainly focuses on producing Tocai Friulano, Pinot Grigio and Merlot wines. In the year 1995 the production methods changed drastically when Stanko Radikon started using truncated cone shaped vats in which he fermented white grapes without removing the skins. That was the beginning of their skin-macerated white wine production. 

Cotar is a family farm and winery located in the western portion of the Karst in Slovenia producing Refosco, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malvasia, Sauvignon and Vitovska wines. The wines are still produced using the same methods their ancestors used. White grapes are turned into wine in the same way as reds are; with skin maceration.

Biodynamic viticulture is a method of farming that treats the vineyard as a living system which generates wellness and fertility as much as possible from within the farm itself.

The practise of biodynamic agriculture is considered to be the first intentional form of organic farming. It was developed in the early 1920s based on the philosophy of Dr. Rudolf Steiner called Anthroposophy. Steiner gave a series of lectures on the subject which were later published as Agriculture. Now he’s considered to be one of the founders of the modern organic farming movement. 

Biodynamics is an ecological and ethical approach to farming which focuses on the creation and maintenance of sustainable soil fertility and the recognition of the link between plant growth and the rhythms of the cosmos.

Working the land on both an etheric and physical level improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the organic processes. What distinguishes biodynamic farming from other forms of organic farming is the use of a complex system of herbal sprays and composting techniques known as preparations.

Biodynamic preparations include naturally occurring matter like camomile, oak bark, dandelion flowers, a mixture of extracts from minerals, or animal manure. These substances are then sprayed onto the land or inserted into compost to enhance root growth and soil life as well as to fortify the plants. The timing of the operations on the land is strictly regulated by the movements of the spheres.

Vino Nostrum represents many wineries which are producing wine according to the biodynamic farming principles. One of them is San Fereolo, owned and operated by Nicoletta Bocca. She adopted biodynamic farming in 2004.

“There is a huge confusion about biodynamic agriculture. I can see that people still today think that it is about some irrational magical rites. I simply believe that there are different levels of reality and that to work only by following the physical forces – which are the most visible ones – is not sufficient. We can do much more, we can work on another level, on the level of the etheric forces. In the case of living materials there are the etheric forces to bear in mind and even if we don’t see them or cannot measure them with mathematics, it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. 

We need to remember that biodynamics and organic matter are just tools in winemaking. What should emerge at the end is not a biodynamic wine or an organic wine or a wine without sulphites. What should emerge in a wine is the terroir.”
– Nicoletta Bocca

The biodynamic movement is effectively run by an independent organisation called Demeter. To find out more about San Fereolo, please visit vinonostrum.com/wineries/san-fereolo.

Say you like wine, but you’re a total beginner and don’t know what to look for when you’re browsing a wine shop’s shelves. You’ve heard of a few of the names, opened a few bottles, but are still learning the ropes. Maybe you think about joining a sommelier class but are not sure if you have the time or commitment required. 

Tastings are a solid casual option to learn a few things and have a sip, in an hour of two, of as many different wines as you would usually drink in a few weeks, knowing for sure that there are no really bad choices among them. Plus, you can always pick up some of the jargon to impress your friends.

Maybe you have taken classes, or are somewhat of an enthusiast and know at least a few names of the appellations and wineries featured in a tasting and you find it’s an excellent way to expand your knowledge; adding a few labels to the ones you have already tasted.

Even for professionals tastings are extremely useful and help to stay up to date with new wineries and new vintages, or to explore the older and not readily available ones.

Whatever your level of knowledge is, there are always good reasons to sit at a table with ten (or even a hundred) total strangers and attend a tasting. When many bottles are opened and the costs are shared, you gain knowledge at a bargain price. 

Here at Vino Nostrum we have an extreme knowledge advantage: we personally know and have visited all the producers, so we always have something more to say about them. I personally think the tenor of a tasting should be tailored to the audience so I’ll be quite informal for tastings of regularly available wines open to the general public at affordable prices. I would be speaking differently while presenting a 20-year vertical tasting of a very fine wine to an audience of fellow professionals.

Don’t forget that you can always ask your wine-related questions, either by mail or in person during one of the tastings. We’d love to tell you more about our (shared) passion.

Fabio Cagnetti

My name is Fabio and I want to talk to you about wines, both as Vino Nostrum’s sommelier and as a wine lover, though these could be considered the same thing. When it comes to wines my ideas are clear and my vision is sharper than my sight. For me it begins and ends with taste and in between lie nature, tradition, history, varietal, appellation and soul.

I’m still not exactly sure how the folks at Vino Nostrum actually stumbled upon me, but I joined them with the enthusiasm of a teen footballer who signs for a top club. It was a huge opportunity to show and tell, with words and wines, what contemporary wine is or should be. Vino Nostrum gave me the opportunity to gather a portfolio of growers who end up sharing values.

The wineries I want to work with are good for those who like to drink, but they should also have a story and have something real, representing the identity of a place and its people. Their wines tell of soil and soul, of grapes and men.

Some appellations are the aristocracy of Italian wine, some were once popular but hit hard by scandals, or even harder by the industrial boom. Sometimes you scratch everything about the appellation and go straight to where the vineyards are. And when the deluge is global warming and industrial production, it makes sense you often end up seeking the elevated, as well as well exposed, places.

“The earth, the earth, the earth, endless times the earth”. – Gino Veronelli

Some of these people work the land of their fathers, or of their ancestors in a tradition dating back centuries while others came from abroad to restore endangered traditions on the slope of dormant volcanoes or in search of uncontaminated land for a fresh start.

Quite a few escaped from the city to find shelter in the countryside to become one with nature. Some have been betrayed by their own family, but luckily their wines were picked up by the right people to help them survive and begin from scratch in a brilliant display of will and soulpower. In most of these vineyards, on a silent and windy day, you can almost hear the echo of the lesson of the late Gino Veronelli, “The earth, the earth, the earth, endless times the earth”.

The path to greener pastures is often long and winding and, conversely, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Watch out for the many Trojan horses being built by trend-exploiting companies, research, go to the source and taste, taste, taste. Wine is not only about pleasure, but the pleasure in telling their stories, is all mine.

Fabio Cagnetti