Tre bicchieri chicago

SF Tre Bicchieri is an annual must attend event for me. As you mentioned there is predictable representation from the Alpha cantine. The fact that there are always a good number of high quality wines present from many lesser known regions makes this event a true Italian viticulture lesson. Yes it's a red red world Felsina,Petrolo and Nino Negri, but in my opinion one of the top wines at the event was a gewurztraminer from Alto Adige.

Cantina Tramins Nussbaumer 08'has mind blowing aromatics, mouth filling flavors and a clean satifying finish of excellent depth and length.

Bravo Gambero Rosso. The only reason I didn't list the Nussbaumer Gewurztraminer in this post was that is wasn't poured at the Chicago tasting. Your thoughts on this wine are similar to mine- this is a great, great Gewurztraminer and is truly one of the best wines of Italy - white or red.

I normally don't publish anonymous comments, but yours is very thoughtful. But next time, maybe you'll provide your name. Why so shy? I'm sorry you didn't get an opportunity to experience the 08' Nussbaumer Gewurztraminer in Chicago.

Your city's cooler weather may have squelched the desire many purveyors had to showcase their white wines. I'm a happy lurker but since you called me out This includes 25 Barolos, 14 Barbarescos, 3 from Roero and 4 from northern Piedmont appellations.

The 25 awards is 5 greater than the previous year and this increase is most likely attributable to the number of wines from the excellent vintage compared with the challenging vintage that adversely impacted Barolo wines the previous year. Barbaresco wines are well represented with 14 Tre Bicchieri awards, the same number as in the year previous of which the majority are from the excellent and vintages.

Four Nebbiolo-based wines from the high-elevation, northern reaches of the Piedmont region received awards — 2 Gattinara and 1 each Ghemme and Boca wines received awards. Barbera, which traditionally plays second fiddle to Piedmont's more famous Nebbiolo wines, also did well with 6 Barbera wines garnering awards, including 3 from the Nizza DOCG. Three Dolcetto wines also received awards.

While Piedmont is primarily a red wine region, white wines have received increased attention in recent years. The Veneto collected 43 Tre Bicchieri awards, 2 more than the previous year.

As usual, Amarone della Valpolicella wines are prominently featured in the list of award winners. Thirteen Amarone wines received awards, 2 less than the previous year. A number of vintages are represented in the award-winning Amarone wines such as the highly-touted , , and vintages but none are from the challenging vintage.

While big red wines generally get the most attention, dry white wines are also well represented in the Veneto's lineup of Tre Bicchieri award winners.

Other white wines from the Veneto include 2 each from the Custoza and Lugana appellations. Prosecco of course is the most popular white wine of the Veneto region and this lightly-sparkling wine is well represented in the list of Tre Bicchieri recipients.

This includes 7 Valdobbiadene Prosecco wines, an increase of 2 from the previous year, in addition to 1 each from the Conegliano Valdobbiadene and Cartizze Prosecco zones. Many quality-oriented Prosecco producers have been moving towards production of less sugary and dryer versions of Prosecco in recent years and this move appears to be paying off in terms of both critical acclaim and popularity.

As in last year, Ticino is included in the list of regions qualifying for Tre Bicchieri status which is interesting in that Ticino is not in Italy but a canton in neighboring Switzerland.

But there is a very strong Italian connection in that this peninsula-shaped, southern-most Swiss canton is bordered by Italy on three sides so the culture here is decidedly Italian. Two Gattinara and 1 Boca wine - Nebbiolo-based wines from the high-elevation, northern reaches of the Piedmont — also received awards.

Barbera, which traditionally plays second fiddle to Piedmont's more famous Nebbiolo variety, also did well with 7 Barbera wines garnering awards. The diverse and dynamic nature of the Piedmont wine scene is demonstrated by the 4 Piedmont sparkling wines that received awards, 3 of which are from the up-and-coming Alta Langa appellation. The Veneto region collected 44 Tre Bicchieri awards, the third-highest regional total, 1 more than the year previous.

The award-winning Amarone wines are spread out over a variety of vintages ranging from through Three Valpolicella Superiore wines received awards, the same number as the year previous, as did 5 Soave wines of which 3 are from the historic Classico appellation. Seven sparkling wines from Conegliano-Valdobbiadene appellation plus one from the Cartizze sub-zone received awards.

Both are produced by the Classic Method for sparkling wines. Ten regions had no change in award totals from the previous year, only one Alto Adige had a decline in number of awards while 11 experienced modest increases in number of awards. Emilia Romagna and Puglia had the largest increases with a gain of 2 each.

As in previous years, Ticino is included in the list of regions qualifying for Tre Bicchieri status which is interesting in that Ticino is not in Italy but a canton in neighboring Switzerland. This peninsula-shaped, southern-most Swiss canton is bordered by Italy on three sides so there is a very strong Italian connection and the culture here is decidedly Italian. Italian is the official language and you'll hear it spoken almost everywhere in Ticino. The climate is also noticeably milder and enjoys a higher number of days of sunshine than the rest of Switzerland, both important considerations for viticulture.

Merlot is a popular variety here and 2 Merlot-based wines from Ticino received Tre Bicchieri awards, the same number as the year previous. So, there you have it.