Brunello to Zibibbo: The Wines of Tuscany, Central and Southern Italy [Paperback]

Nicolas Belfrage (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1840007907 | ISBN-13: 978-1840007909 | Publication Date: July 28, 2006

Nicolas Belfrage concludes his two-volume tour of Italian wine with a look at the outstanding varieties from Tuscany to the south.
In Barolo to Valpolicella, Belfrage demystified northern Italian viticulture, discussing dozens of wines ranging from the highest-quality vintages to affordable selections that can be enjoyed every day. Now, with Brunello to Zibibbo, he considers the wines from Tuscany to the south, again concentrating on the regions’ indigenous vines and the unique grapes that make Italy’s wines so exceptional.
There’s extensive coverage of the vines and wines of Tuscany, as well as an assessment of the emerging wines of the south—on which, to date, little has been written. From the Sangiovese, or Brunello, of Tuscany, to the Zibibbo, or Alexandrian Muscat, of the island of Pantelleria off the Tunisian coast south of Sicily, this is an authoritative primer on the wealth of Italy’s vineyards and a discerning guide to the regions’ best bottles.
 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Belfrage's] knowledge of Italy and her wines . . . is unrivalled . . . [He is] the ideal person to write a much needed book on Italian wines."--David Gleave, Decanter

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Nicolas Belfrage was born in Los Angeles, grew up in New York and England and studied in Paris. He became a Master of Wine in 1980 and has been working in, and writing on Italian wines since the early 1970s. He is the author of Barolo to Valpolicella in this same series and the double award-winning Life Beyond Lambrusco and he contributes to publications such as Deconter, Wein Gourmet, and winepros.com. He lives between Florence and London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: MITCH (July 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840007907
• ISBN-13: 978-1840007909
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All You Never Knew There Was To Know About The South, October 3, 2005

By 

David B. Erickson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brunello to Zibibbo: The Wines of Tuscany, Central and Southern Italy (Paperback)

Be warned: This is not for the casual reader; Belfrage goes into levels of detail heretofore unknown regarding Tuscany, Puglia, Sicily, and the rest of the South. He seems to have visited every producer in Italy, and to have traced (where possible) the origins of every grape he comes across--and he comes across quite a few that you won't find in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Wine or in Jancis Robinson's "Vines, Grapes & WInes." I have a special place in my heart for the unfortunate Nuragus, the most widely planted grape in Sardinia, of which Belfrage says "Nuragus probably has little or nothing to do with Trebbiano Toscano, as the ampelographer Cettolini would have us believe, but it does share an inability to rise above a certain fairly basic level of mediocrity winewise..." If you have to look up "ampelographer," you are probably going to find this book heavy going.

On the other hand, it's not like you need to know to enjoy the book. Belfrage is a good writer, a terrific reporter, and has the added benefit of being honest. He's got some commercial connections in Italy, and he's very straightforward about stating them.

His overall take on the slowness of southern Italy to rally to the cause of quality over quantity is astutely observed: He has no love for Italian Bureaucracy, EU bureaucracy, or the Mafia. All three, he says, conspire to prevent progress.

Anyway, if, like me, you find it is actually important to know that the wide variability in quality in Chianti is as much due to clonal selection as anything else, you'll greatly enjoy Mr. Belfrage's company.