Italian Wine News

Wine Enthusiast Top 100
Staff Writer – December 5, 2008

The Must-Have Wines of 2008 According to the Wine Enthusiast Magazine Editors.

If the wines on this list are not Best Buys and are not Cellar Selections, then what exactly are they? In short, say the editors of the US wine magazine, they represent the most diverse and dynamic segment of the wine industry. They are wines that offer extraordinary quality at prices that still represent affordable luxury. They are mostly wines that can be consumed in the short term, although some will undoubtedly benefit from cellaring.

In compiling their annual Top 100 lists, the editors go beyond simple evaluation of numeric scores and pricing. They also consider availability, buzz and balance. While availability is straightforward, buzz refers to a wine's newsworthiness, or excitement factor, and whether it represents a notable trend in the (US) wine market.

This year's Number One wine (Failla 2006 Phoenix Ranch Syrah Napa Valley) is a prime example, combining high quality (95 points) with reasonable price and availability ($42, 475 cases), but then adding to its intrigue are a superstar winemaker's own label (Ehren Jordan), a vineyard designation (Napa Valley), and an underappreciated variety from California (Syrah).

Balance means that within the limits of what the editors have tasted over the past year, they've tried to include wines that not only represent many different regions and grape varieties, but also vary in style.

You'll find wines from 11 countries and more than 20 varieties, sparkling and still wines, table, dessert and fortified wines. One of the things the Wine Enthusiast editors values most in the wine world is diversity, and this is one way of showing appreciation.

The Italian Wines Which Made the Top 100 List of 2008

The ten Italian wines which made the Wine Enthusiast list are all from Tuscany. We are very surprised that no Piedmont, Veneto, or Apulia wines, to mention just three major Italian production regions, made the list.

• Check out the complete Top 100 list (PDF file, 1.18Mb)

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Article Index

• Wine Enthusiast Top 100
• Rimini Fiera Presents Four Wine and Food Trade Shows
• Marino, Italy: Quality Wines Pours from the Faucet
• ISMEA / UIV 2008 Italian Wine Production Forecast: Part 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6
• Bottle Shock: Here Come the Next Sideways
• Eighty Four Excellente Wines from Emilia Romagna 2008 – 2009
• Cena con l'Importatore at Fratello's Restaurant
• Brunello di Montalcino: Established the 'Guarantee Board' and Other Unprecedented Control Measures
• Open Contest to Lease Vineyards in the Todi area of Italy
• Piedmontese Quality Wine, Food and Design at the Conquest of New York
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• Vino Italiano @ San Francisco's Apartment 24
• Barbera d'Asti and del Monferrato Superiore Upgraded to DOCG
• First Monte-Carlo Wine Festival
• Korea's Taste for Expensive Wines On the Rise
  


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