Keywords: resilience and quality.

Founded in 1984 by a family who saw Valdobbiadene as a territory not only to cultivate, but to safeguard and enhance, the Andreola agricultural company is today a symbol of excellence in the production of Valdobbiadene DOCG . In the territory of the well-known hilly denomination, between the sea and the Prealps, the Andreola company extends over rock and clayey sand soils, each of which gives a distinctive character to its wines. With an altitude ranging from 100 to 500 meters, the company practices heroic viticulture , where each bottle tells a story of hard manual labor and love for the terroir. Mirco Balliana , Andreola’s winemaker , offers an overview of the challenges and hopes that will characterize the upcoming 2024 harvest: “The start of this year was complicated with rainfall well above the annual average until the end of June, a huge challenge for maintain grape health under almost unprecedented vine disease pressure,” he explains. The techniques adopted were crucial: “We carried out timely trimming and leaf removal at critical points, essential to combat downy mildew, powdery mildew and gray mold following the Conegliano – Valdobbiadene protocols.” The situation is now showing signs of improvement. “With the weather becoming favorable again and the approach of decidedly hot weeks, we hope that the conditions will continue to favor optimal ripening of the bunches. If the work of spring and early summer was effective, the period that now separates us from the harvest will be decisive,” explains Balliana, highlighting the importance of slow maturation, favored by significant temperature variations between day and night. The Andreola company is renowned for the production of exceptional sparkling wines, which contain six “Rives” or special sub-areas, some with the company’s historic vineyards, in which vineyards are worked exclusively by hand or with the aid of very particular pulleys for transporting the grapes. The resilience of this vintage reflects Andreola’s deep connection with its territory: “There is no doubt that the intrinsic characteristics of our terroir emerge with particular clarity during challenging years like this one. In such circumstances, in fact, it becomes essential to recognize the importance of factors such as the altitude, solar exposure and the draining capacity of our hilly soils, which are decisive in guaranteeing complete maturation of the grapes without compromising their phytosanitary integrity. It is in these vintages that the harmony between the vine and its environment, enriched by human experience, manifests itself fully, distinguishing our wines in a sector where too often there is a tendency towards product standardization.” With a long-term commitment to sustainability and innovation, Andreola continues to carry forward the philosophy of a family business that winks at innovation and the use of modern technologies. Each Valdobbiadene DOCG from the Andreola winery is therefore not only synonymous with superior quality but the demonstration of how every challenge can be transformed into an opportunity for constant growth and improvement

From the evening with music dedicated to the Arcadia Millesimato 2020 to lunches to discover the wines and foods of Franciacorta.

The Franciacorta Festival in the Cellar is back again this year, an unmissable end-of-summer weekend for wine lovers and wine tourists in the places where the prized Franciacorta is born. A seductive opportunity to fully immerse yourself in the magical atmosphere of these enchanting hills that embrace Lake Iseo to the south, where a unique wine is born among monasteries, castles, historic homes and ancient villages surrounded by vineyards. The appointment is from 13 to 15 September and for the occasion Corte Lantieri di Capriolo – refined Wine Resort in the historic family estate of the same name nestled among the rows, ideal for stays dedicated to relaxation, haute cuisine and excellent wines – has created a series of special initiatives to welcome visitors with the most authentic and sophisticated hospitality.

We will start on Friday 13th with the Evening in flame , a 3-course dinner paired with wines from Cantina Lantieri entertained by Daniele Fiamma, a well-known comedian and host who will entertain guests with his unique verve. On Saturday 14 September the Arcadia Evening will be dedicated to the company’s most representative label, the Millesimato which has been given the name of that mythical land of dreams and idylls, made up of sylvan landscapes and harmony. The event, elegant and glam, will lead participants along the common thread of a refined dinner on the panoramic terrace overlooking the vineyards with the background of live music, during which they will be able to savor the harmony of Arcadia Millesimato 2020, an Extra Bold, deep and mineral Brut. Both Saturday and Sunday, for lunch , here is an intriguing food and wine journey to discover Franciacorta , that is, a refined 4-course menu developed ad hoc by the chefs of Corte Lantieri, combining authenticity, tradition and creativity, in a heartfelt homage to the territory served in the bright halls of the estate’s restaurant. To seduce the palate will be crunchy vegetable strudel, Culatello with fried gnocco and house giardiniera, beetroot risotto creamed with two milk robiola, pork fillet in bacon on pea cream, small spoon-fed and crunchy Corte pastries. To enhance everything, the bouquet of three different Franciacorta DOCG Lantieri: Satèn, Extra Brut, Cuvèe Brut in harmonious combination with the dishes. A real palate experience. Also on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th (at 10.30 am) guided visits to the cellars will be organized with a story of the territory and the wine production method, followed by tasting of two Franciacorta Lantieri DOCG (Blanc de Blanc Gemmae Bio and Extra Brut) accompanied by appetizers . In the oldest part of the complex, which dates back to the eighteenth century, the bottles rest on high stacks in the dim light, while in the modern part the various phases of winemaking take place according to the most advanced technologies. During the visit you will discover how the fine Franciacorta wines are made , produced from grapes harvested manually in the 22 hectares of organically cultivated vineyards , which mostly extend around the cellar. For reservations and information Corte Lantieri Via Videtti 3, Capriolo (BS) Tel. 030 7364071 info@cortelantieri.it

Sunday 29 September, at the Loggia dei Mercanti of Palazzo Andreani (MN), a Festival celebrating the Wines and Flavors of Lombardy.

The Wine and Flavor Festival is a unique opportunity to encounter the food and wine and cultural riches of Lombardy, a region where a myriad of different views, products and territorial “know-how” meet. The event will be held on Sunday 29 September 2024 at the Loggia dei Mercanti of Palazzo Andreani (Via Spagnoli, 46100, Mantua). Organized by the Federation of Wine and Flavor Routes of Lombardy , the Festival celebrates the eleven Routes of the Federation through tastings and tastings, offering an in-depth look at the world of Lombard excellence. In addition to promoting products and local “know-how”, the event will also have a strong social connotation: the entire proceeds will be donated to charity .

During this day, visitors will be able to learn about, taste and purchase the identifying products of the Lombardy region in a location of art and elegance. After the first edition in Broni, at the Enoteca Regionale della Lombardia, this year the Festival moves to the evocative Renaissance center of Mantua, the city “worthy of anyone moving a thousand miles to see it”, as Torquato Tasso described it, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site and capital of Italian culture. Another novelty of the second edition is the presence at the Festival of the Strada del Riso and Risotti Mantovani , in the Mincio countryside on the border with Verona, where rice cultivation dates back to the period of Francesco Gonzaga (1500-1540), and the Strada del Rice of the three rivers , the latest born in chronological order among the Wine and Flavor Routes of the Lombardy Region , based in the Pavia area, in Mortara.

«With this Festival, the Federation aims to enhance the various Lombard expressions , first of all making them known to the final consumer». Says Gianni Boselli, President of the Federation . «It will be a day of celebration, in which the protagonists will be the identifying Lombard products, those authentically linked to the territories that are immediately associated with an area, in a city like Mantua , a true Renaissance jewel famous throughout the world for its its history, food and wine, art treasures and natural beauty, and awarded, not surprisingly, the title of Italian Capital of Culture for the year 2016″.

The Federation of Wine and Flavor Routes of Lombardy will bring together in a single mosaic all the food and wine excellences that co-exist in Lombardy. An ambitious undertaking if you think of the variety of landscapes, places and culture present in this vast region: from the Valtellina Wine Route , with its Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG and Bresaola, to the Valcalepio Wine Route and flavors of Bergamo , with its homonymous DOC wine and its cheeses and the Strada del Franciacorta , a wine which in 1995 became the first Italian territory and wine produced with the method of refermentation in the bottle; from the Botticino DOC wine of the Lombard Hills Road of wine and flavors to the Road of Rice and Risotti Mantovani , with its famous Risotto alla Pilota, cooked by absorbing the water with the subsequent addition of pork pesto; again, from the Strada del Vino del San Colombano e dei Sapori Lodigiani , with the famous raspadüra and its San Colombano DOC Rosso, to the Varzi salami of the Strada dell’Oltrepò Pavese . Also present is the Lomellina rice, with the Strada del Riso dei Tre Fiumi and the Cremonese mustard with the Strada del gusto cremonese in the land of Stradivari . Visitors will also have the opportunity to taste the refined Garda oil, an excellent product of the Garda Wines and Flavors Route . Finally, there will be the Mantuan Wines and Flavors Route , which will offer the public the opportunity to taste Mantuan Lambrusco, Mantuan Hills wines and Parmigiano Reggiano. This is just a taste of what can be discovered in the rich Lombard region.

Information: Sunday 29 September 2024, from 11:00 to 18:00, at Loggia dei Mercanti, Via Spagnoli, 46100 Mantua (MN).

Entrance fee: €5 which will be entirely donated to charity.

From 1 to 10 August the wineries that join the protection Consortium, led by Raffaele Librandi, will animate the territory of the historic Calabrian DOC, before the great final party in Madonna di Mare.

Tastings in the cellars, tours of the vineyards, the Masterclass with Matteo Gallello on the identity characteristics of Cirò and the talk with the food and wine press and the wine influencers of Calabria. Cirò is the land of wine by vocation. For centuries, on the hills overlooking the sea, enlightened producers and families who have always been dedicated to agriculture have planted vineyards that transform into the best-known Calabrian wine in the world . A tradition that today unites historic wineries with young vignerons who with the same spirit intend to enhance and promote that thousand-year history which today finds its common home in the ” Consortium for the protection and valorization of Cirò Doc and Melissa Doc wines “, chaired by Raffaele Librandi , who in August for several years, it has organized the Cirò Wine Festival, an event promoting the oldest DOC (awaiting to become DOC) in Calabria.

An event that from 1 to 10 August animates the area with a rich program of vineyards and cellars , tours of the wine-growing realities of the most significant denomination of Calabria, which ends in celebration, as is now tradition, on the night of the shooting stars in Madonna di Mare , with the tasting tables of the wineries belonging to the consortium, local food and music.

Born to focus attention on the most famous Calabrian wine production area in the world, enhance the territory, the work of the producers and winemakers which today brings together historic companies that are over a hundred years old and the new generations of vignerons in a perfect mix between tradition and modernity, the Cirò Wine Festival has now become the eagerly awaited summer event for wine lovers and the many tourists who flock to the Calabrian Ionian coast. Gaglioppo and other native grapes become the pretext to focus attention on an extraordinary territory, rich in biodiversity, culture and gastronomy in a perfect mix that acts as a catalyst for a great week dedicated to wine and its protagonists. This year the program which in the first part is made up of Off events in the cellars and venues of the area, will see Matteo Gallello , co-founder of the magazine Verticale, a six-monthly magazine dedicated to vertical tastings of the most iconic Italian wines, and editorial director as guest of the Cirò Wine Festival. of the in-depth magazine Bromio, dedicated to the symbols and anthropology of wine, which will curate the masterclass scheduled for August 9th at 4.30 pm in the Cirò council room. A technical moment for enthusiasts that will delve deeper into the characters and identity of the DOC wine.

Then, at 6.30 pm, Cirò with its ancient roots and new stories will be at the center of a talk involving the most authoritative names in Calabrian food and wine communication. On August 10th the great final event in Madonna di Mare, in the Saraceni Markets space, with the tasting open to the public in which numerous companies belonging to the Cirò and Melissa Wine Protection Consortium will take part and the music party with the Ricci concert of sea .