Italian Sparkling Wines by DoctorWine will soon be available

In a few days’ time, our online shop and select bookshops and news kiosks will offer the first edition of Bollicine Italiane by DoctorWine (Italian Sparkling Wines by DoctorWine), the third theme booklet created for DoctorWine followers.

After Mangiare e Dormire tra I Vigneti (Eating and Sleeping Among the Vineyards) and Vini per Tutte le Tache (Wines for all Budgets) we are now publishing our third “by DoctorWine” booklet: Bollicine Italiane (Italian Bubblies). In this pocket-sized paperback you’ll find a host of suggestions for a joyful, rewarding drop, many of which you may not have heard of. Given that we are presenting wines that are usually categorized as spumanti, the question arises as to why have we decided to refer to them as “bollicine” as opposed to “spumanti”? While this term may seem a little too generic, there are different reasons why we selected it. First of all, in this booklet you’ll not only find sparkling wines that were made using the Classic Method or Charmat Method but also those made using the Ancestral Method, which have sediment or lees at the bottom of the bottle, and carbonated or frizzy wines. This being the case and given the rather broad spectrum, we decided to opt for the most evident trait common to all these wines: their bubbles. And we also believe that the bubbles are what create the joyous connotation we all experience when drinking this type of wine. One last consideration, we have respected the request from Franciacorta producers many of whom asked us to refer to their wines not as sparkling wines but simply to define them as Franciacorta, the same way the name Champagne is used (no one would ever dare to call those wines vin mousseux, even if, technically speaking, that is what they are).

Nomenclature aside, we believe we have compiled an interesting selection, the product of a collective effort carried out by many of our collaborators as well as DoctorWine staff, one focused on identifying all the best Italian bubblies. There are in total 305 wines from 169 producers, selected during the preparation for our Essential Guide to Italian Wine 2021, along with some additions and logical updates.

We are well aware that this may not seem like the right moment for toasting, given that there is nothing to celebrate seeing what is happening in the world today and the undeniable respect we have for those who we have lost. Nevertheless, we all hope that life will slowly return to normal and for now we can toast to this looking at a glass of sparkling wine and watching as its bubbles seem to magically free themselves from the liquid prison where they were created. Being able to do this is already a good sign and we hope reading this booklet will help you select which wines you want to drink.

Available online on our e-shop: https://shop.doctorwine.it/prodotti/libri