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750ml
Bottle:
$12.05
12 bottles:
$11.81
COLOR: Clear pale yellow in colour, with greenish reflections.
NOSE: Fresh and slightly fruity bouquet with delicate...
750ml
Bottle:
$12.94
12 bottles:
$12.68
Made from 100% Garganega, the main grape variety in the Soave DOC. A bright, fresh wine with delicate almond blossom...
750ml
Bottle:
$26.94
12 bottles:
$26.40
• 100% Fiano from 20-year-old vines.
• Fiano vineyards are in the zone of Lapio at 500 meters above sea level....
750ml - Case of 6
Bottle:
$18.00
Strong Soave tradition here, drawing on the older nomenclature of the zone that once referenced Chablis-type and...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$21.85
$23.00
6 bottles:
$13.87
Pale yellow with greenish hues. Light-bodied and refreshing, offering a bouquet of melons, ripe apples, and pear....
500ml
Bottle:
$28.99
12 bottles:
$28.42
A nutty and intense marsala with salty undertones to the dried fruit, such as figs and sultanas. Some nuttiness, too....
750ml
Bottle:
$22.94
12 bottles:
$22.48
Picariello’s Fiano Di Avellino is a wonderful, textured, phenolic white wine that is bursting with an underlying...
750ml
Bottle:
$28.94
12 bottles:
$28.36
The Ciro 906 bottling is only produced in the best, cooler vintages. 906 is the number of this parcel on the official...
750ml
Bottle:
$19.85
$22.00
Chamomile traces complement sweet flowers and crushed yellow apples as the 2022 Fiano di Avellino opens in the glass....
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$25.02
$27.80
6 bottles:
$19.59
With hints of raisins and vanilla it is dry, full, and harmonic on the palate. Colombo Marsala Fine Dry is perfect...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.26
$14.73
12 bottles:
$11.88
With hints of raisins and vanilla it is dry, full, and harmonic on the palate. Colombo Marsala Fine Dry is perfect...
1.5Ltr
Bottle:
$25.02
$27.80
6 bottles:
$18.61
Dark amber, with hints of dates and apricots it is sweet, full, warm and harmonic on the palate with an elegant,...
750ml
Bottle:
$13.26
$14.73
12 bottles:
$11.88
Dark amber, with hints of dates and apricots it is sweet, full, warm and harmonic on the palate with an elegant,...
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle:
$21.50
Straw yellow in color with fresh notes of spice mixed with lime blossoms and honey. Palate shows mineral notes that...
750ml
Bottle:
$25.99
$28.88
12 bottles:
$23.56
A lithe, light-bodied white, with a subtle skein of ground cardamom and ginger winding through ripe pear and apple...
750ml
Bottle:
$18.08
12 bottles:
$13.59
The Florio Vecchioflorio Marsala Superiore Dry appears amber-colored with gold highlights in the glass. The nose...
375ml
Bottle:
$11.45
$12.05
24 bottles:
$8.43
Warm and round with an elegant background of dried fruit and raisins.
Fiano Garganega Marsala Mavrodaphne
Italy is a fine country for white grape varietals, and white wines have been produced in this ancient country for thousands of years. One of the more popular varietals in the modern age is Garganega, which is currently the 5th most planted white grape across Italy. This grape is most closely associated with the Veneto region of Italy, although it is also grown in Sicily, where it is known as Grecanico Dorato. Garganega is a rigorous, hardy grape, which can grow in huge yields - explaining its popularity in the past. Today, winemakers must be careful to keep yields as low as possible, as this a varietal which can easily lose its distinctive characteristics and fine qualities when grown in bulk.
We know Garganega most commonly from the Soave wines which have been consistently popular over the past few decades. Indeed, the Soave Classico wines which still sell in large quantities across the globe are made from 70%-100% Garganega varietal grapes, and these wines showcase the varietal’s fresh and delicate qualities. The most common flavors present in Garganega wines are delicate, citrus notes, balanced by a hint of almond, and the best examples have remarkable balance and length, with wonderful aromatic notes.
Marsala is a well known fortified wine from Italy’s largest island, Sicily. A largely misunderstood and undervalued fortified wine, it is most commonly associated with its sweet variety - usually used as a cooking wine - although the finest dry Masalas are able to stand up to more revered, similar wines such as Sherry and Madeira. Marsala has been made in Sicily since the mid 18th century, and it grew wildly popular around Europe as sailors introduced it to port towns across the continent. Marsala wine has a beautiful set of flavors, most typically including apricot, tamarind, vanilla and tobacco, making it a delightfully intense treat when served as a sipping wine.
Marsala wine comes in several different varieties, and most of them are a world away from the sweet wines used in sauces and chicken dishes. Amber, golden and ruby versions of Masala are produced, from a range of different native grape varietals, and many of the finest are aged for over ten years to achieve a fascinating set of complex flavors and a remarkably smooth finish. It is usually made from the Grillo, Inzolia, Damaschino and Catarratto white grapes, although the ruby Masala wines uses typical Sicilian red varietals such as Nero d’Avola and Calabrese, among others.
In the Archaea region, high in the Northern Peloponnese mountains, the predominant grape varietal grown is the prized Mavrodaphne. Meaning 'Black Laurel', the Mavrodaphne grapes have extremely dark skins, and ripen slowly under the Greek sunshine, helped by the mineral rich soils the vines thrive in. This grape varietal is mostly used to produce the opaque, inky fortified wine of the same name, which is popular all over Greece and elsewhere in the world. This fortified wine allows the grapes to really show off their complex and fascinating flavors, which range from a rich marzipan to flavors of bitter chocolate, sweet coffee, dried figs and prunes, as well as plenty of jammy fruit notes.
Mavrodaphne is produced in a traditional method which involves leaving the grape juice exposed to the sun in large vats, before having its fermentation halted by the addition of various distillates taken from previous successful vintages. This mixture contains plenty of residual sugar, which gives the end result its characteristic sticky sweetness, and also helps with the next fermentation process, which typically takes place in large underground cellars. The final product is a heady drink, absolutely bursting with unusual, rich and sweet flavors and carried in a dark and slightly viscous Port-like liquid.
Mavrodaphne grapes are also used for the production of still red wines, but are generally blended with varietals such as Agiorgitiko or imported grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. Mavrodaphne grapes are excellent for mellowing more acidic varieties, and producing deliciously rounded wines, which have taken the international market by storm in recent decades.
Additional Information on Greek Wines
Greek Wines
Ancient Greek Wines – A Brief History of Wine in Greece
The Myth of Dionysus, Greek God of Wine
What is Retsina?