Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Italy's most iconic sparkler, this is made entirely from Chardonnay and aged on its lees for at least 10 years. Layers of flavors include yeasty sensations of baked bread, pastry cream, honey, vanilla, juicy pear and candied lemon peel. It has depth and complexity, with an ultrafine mousse that enhances the creamy texture. Drink through 2020.
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Wine Spectator
Vibrant and harmonious, with a filigreed laciness to the texture and an underpinning of briny minerality, layered with flavors of pear tart, roasted almond, candied ginger and kumquat. Well-cut and mouthwatering through to the long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2024.
Mastering the art of Italian living is not difficult. Simply pop open a bottle of Ferrari, Italy’s most iconic sparkling wine, and you will find luxury, glamour, and undeniable quality in every sip.
Giulio Ferrari, a Trentino native, started his venerable sparkling wine house in 1902, after studying winemaking in France. Convinced that his native region’s terroir was ideal for growing Chardonnay, he produced three of his now best-known cuvées – Ferrari Brut, Perlé and Giulio Ferrari – as blanc de blancs. This innovative approach quickly paid off. Ferrari wines consistently receive some of Italy’s top accolades, including being awarded Tre Bicchieri 22 years in a row.
With its mountain viticulture (the Dolomites), Trentino is an area well-suited to the production of sparkling wines of great elegance and complexity. Large diurnal temperature range and high altitudes ensures high acidity and freshness in the grapes. With 300 acres of vineyards, Ferrari represents the largest estate in the Trentino region.
In 1952, Giulio Ferrari, having no children of his own, chose friend and local merchant Bruno Lunelli as successor for his beloved business. Today, the third generation of the Lunelli family is at the helm. Bruno Lunelli’s passion and entrepreneurial talent passed on to his sons, Franco, Gino and Mauro, who established Ferrari as the market leader in Italy and the nation’s celebratory wine par excellence. Production is in the hands of a capable team of eight winemakers and four agronomists, led by chief winemaker Marcello Lunelli. The pursuit of excellence in all areas of Ferrari production and management is an enduring family legacy with several cousins involved from the new generation: Marcello’s cousin, Matteo Lunelli, is the Chairman of Ferrari F.lli Lunelli SpA, Camilla Lunelli heads up global communications, and Alessandro Lunelli, an engineer by training, is responsible for planning and technical oversight. This generation leads the company with the aim of combining innovation and tradition, promoting Ferrari around the world as ambassadors of the Italian Art of Living.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
A mountainous northern Italian region heavily influenced by German culture, Trentino-Alto Adige is actually made up of two separate but similar regions: Alto Adige and Trentino.
Trentino, the southern half, is primarily Italian-speaking and largely responsible for the production of non-native, international grapes. There is a significant quantity of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Merlot produced. But Trentino's native and most unique red variety, Teroldego, while still rare, is gaining popularity. It produces a deeply colored red wine rich in wild blackberry, herb, coffee and cocoa.
The rugged terrain of German-speaking Alto Adige (also referred to as Südtirol) focuses on small-scale viticulture, with great value placed on local varieties—though international varieties have been widely planted since the 1800s. Sheltered by the Alps from harsh northerly winds, many of the best vineyards are at extreme altitude but on steep slopes to increase sunlight exposure.
Dominant red varieties include the bold, herbaceous Lagrein and delicate, strawberry-kissed, Schiava, in addition to some Pinot Nero.
The primary white grapes are Pinot grigio, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot blanc, as well as smaller plantings of Sauvignon blanc, Müller Thurgau. These tend to be bright and refreshing with crisp acidity and just the right amount of texture. Some of the highest quality Pinot grigio in Italy is made here.