Italian vineyards to visit at least once in a lifetime. Here are the “15 Wonders” in Italy

The New York journalist, Shana Clarke, has selected 150 of the most beautiful vineyards in the world in South Africa, Argentina, Chile, the USA,New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, Georgia, Armenia, Germany, Greece, Spain, Portugal, France and Italy that she has published in an art catalogue, titled “150 Vineyards you need to visit before you die” (Lannoo Publishers, December 2022, English, pgs. 256, $39.91). The photographic catalogue boasts “15 Italian Wonders”, the “great beauties” to visit at least once in a lifetime, rich in history, culture and natural beauty, guarded by wineries in Italian wine territories as if they were monuments, and where some of the most famous wines in the world are produced. These vineyards are: Alois Lageder, symbol of the top of the line in the territory enclosed in the great wines of Alto Adige; Colonia di Fèlsina vineyard, a “unicum” in the heart of Chianti Classico from which only a Grand Selection can be produced; the vineyards between Bolgheri and the sea of Ornellaia Estate, where a legendary wine like Ornellaia is produced; the vineyards surrounding Novacella Abbey in South Tyrol, one of the oldest and still productive “wine monasteries” in the world; the vineyards of the Donnafugata brand on Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, and a territory that is riding the crest of a wave; the vineyards of Pojer and Sandri in Trentino, which are the “most beautiful vineyard garden in Europe”; the vineyards on the island of Mozia of Tasca d’Almerita, a natural and archaeological reserve, guarded by the Whitaker Foundation; the vineyards of the prison island of Gorgona, where thanks to Marchesi Frescobaldi, the prisoners produce Gorgona, the “wine of redemption”; the vineyards of the Greppo-Biondi Santi Estate in Montalcino, where Brunello was created at the end of the 19th century; the vineyards of Pio Cesare’s Barolo Ornato, a Cru that wrote and is continuing to write the history of the Langhe; the Martinenga vineyard, the most important one on the Cisa Asinari Estates of Marchesi Di Grésy, a natural amphitheater in the heart of the Barbaresco hills; the vineyards on Ruffoli Hill that stand over Chianti Classico, of Querciabella, one of the historic companies of the Black Rooster; the vineyards where one of the most desired wines in the world is produced, Barbaresco Sori Tildìn di Gaja in Langhe; Venissa, the Dorona walled vineyard on the Island of Mazorbo in Venice, where, together with Bisol, the “wine of the Doges” was reborn, and the historic, terraced and picturesque Castelaz vineyard in Alto Adige where Elena Walch produces her world famous Gewürztraminer.