From Barbera d’Asti to Etna: 16 Italian wines in the “Top 100 Values” 2020 by Wine Spectator

The key factors in the resistance of Italian wine in the USA, which is far from being a foregone conclusion in 2020, are “the great variety of Italian wine, the quality/price ratio and the leadership in bubbles, that of Italy, which, between Prosecco, Trentodoc and Franciacorta, for example, is capable of producing wines for all budgets and all tastes. But, above all, we have seen that consumers, in this difficult period, have turned to brands they know and that inspire confidence, and Italy, which has had a strong presence in the US for years, has many of these”. Words of Thomas Matthews, editor in chief of Wine Spectator, which are reflected in the large presence of Italian labels in the “Top 100 Values” 2020, not a ranking, but a list that the most popular and influential American wine magazine compiles every year, looking at labels under 25 dollars on the shelf, judged with at least 88 points out of 100, and produced in important quantities that make them easily available on the markets. For the Belpaese, which, overall, sees 16 labels on the list (announced, after the 19 Italian wineries in the “Top 100 Wines of 2020”, with Brunello di Montalcino and Barolo at the top, ed.), the most crowded category is what Wine Spectator calls “Elegant Reds”, where they include Tasca d’Almerita’s 2016 Etna Tenuta Tascante Ghia Nera, among the most important names from Sicily, and again Icardi’s 2018 Barbera d'Asti Tabaren, from Piedmont, yet another award for the most “pop” wine of the region, and then, from Tuscany, two Chianti Classico, the 2016 from Castello di Albola (of the Zonin1821 group) and the 2017 from Casa Emma, and again the 2018 Maremma Toscana Mongrana from Querciabella, and the 2015 Pergolaia from Caiarossa.
Still among the “Light Whites” there are Suavia’s Soave Classico 2018, J. Hofstätter’s Pinot Grigio Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2018, Marotti Campi’s Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Luzano 2018 and Terenzuola’s Vermentino Colli di Luni Fosso di Corsano 2018, in a mini-tour in the glass between Veneto, Alto Adige, Marche, and on the border between Tuscany and Liguria.
Four labels also in the “Sparkling” category, expressions of better known territories and appellations, such as Trentodoc, with the Rotari Brut Rosé Trento 2014 from the Rotari winery of the Mezzacorona group, Franciacorta, with the Contadi Castaldi Brut Franciacorta Nv from the Terra Moretti galaxy, and Lambrusco, with the Lambrusco Emilia Rosso Labrusca 910 2019 by Lini Oreste & Figli, passing by the less famous expression of the very famous Prosecco world, that is Asolo, with the Extra Dry Asolo Prosecco Superiore 57 Nv by Cantina Montelliana.
But for Italy there is also a touch of rosé, again from Sicily, with Graci’s Etna Rosato 2018, and among the “Rich Withes”, from Veneto, there is also Roberto Anselmi’s San Vincezo 2018.
Many different names and territories, among the many that, in the US and not only, compose the great mosaic of “pop” Italy but of quality in the glass, which Americans like.

Focus - Italian Wines in the “Top 100 Values” of Wine Spectator

Elegant Reds
Caiarossa Toscana Pergolaia 2015
Casa Emma Chianti Classico 2017
Querciabella Maremma Toscana Mongrana 2018
Castello di Albola Chianti Classico 2016
Icardi Barbera d’Asti Tabaren 2018
Tasca d’Almerita Etna Tenuta Tascante Ghiaia Nera 2016

Light Whites
Terenzuola Vermentino Colli di Luni-Tuscany Fosso di Corsano 2018
Marotti Campi Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Luzano 2018
J. Hofstätter Pinot Grigio Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2018
Suavia Garganega Soave Classico 2018

Sparkling
Cantina Montelliana Extra Dry Asolo Prosecco Superiore 57 Nv
Rotari Brut Rosé Trento 2014
Contadi Castaldi Brut Franciacorta Nv
Lini Oreste & Figli Lambrusco Emilia Rosso Labrusca 910 2019

Rich Whites
Roberto Anselmi Veneto White San Vincenzo 2018

Rosè
Graci Etna Rosato 2018