and more:
• Sergio's Cellar Wines
• Old Wines for the Present
• Passport: Monthly Wine Club

A Note from Sergio

In Italy, we eat and drink our way through the holidays. Every day is filled with a new dish, a new bottle of wine—we’re serious about celebrating. On New Year’s, for example, nearly everyone in Italy gathers his family for an extravagant feast of fresh fish from across the seas and gorgeous wines from across the country.

In Napoli, where I grew up, we ate sweet cuttlefish sautéed in olive oil and sprinkled with salt; octopus braised with tomatoes, olives, and red wine; mussels cooked in salsa bianco; spaghetti with clams; a thick, wide pasta called paccheri mixed with frutti di mare; whole roasted Branzino; and fried eel with arugula. When the clock struck twelve, we would toast with our glasses of Prosecco and then drink a big, rich Pallagrello Nero or Taurasi as we finished off a bowl of lentils and zampone sausage—a dish that represents prosperity in the year to come. We could hear the sounds of fireworks echoing off balconies across the city.

Now my family is in America. We can’t always go back to Italy to ring in the New Year, but we can bring Italy to us. Wherever we gather—from New York City to Scottsdale—we prepare abundant meals and spend hours at the table. And we drink wines from Campania, Sardegna, Lombardia and the Veneto. With every sip, I feel like I’m going home.

This season, I want to help you enhance your own traditions, whatever they may be. I’ve selected this week’s diverse range of bottles as carefully as I would for my own family, making certain that each wine is distinctly regional and unique. By drinking these wines, you can take a holiday trip through Italy from your dining room.

My best,
Sergio Esposito

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Exploration Wines

Attilio Contini 2001 Cannonau Riserva ‘Inu
(Sardegna - Cannonau) Contini is among the oldest and most prestigious wineries in Sardegna, and Cannonau is the island’s most important varietal. Loads of ripe dark fruit. Intense and voluptuous.
Price: $32.67 btl / $360.68* case

Ada Nada 1998 Barbaresco Valeirano
(Piemonte - Nebbiolo) This bottling is a great introduction to the more feminine side of Nebbiolo. Elegant but stern, with flavors of tart cherries and earth.
Price: $33.00 btl / $364.32* case

Il Macchione 2000 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
(Toscana - Prugnolo Gentile) One of Montepulciano’s most reliable high-quality producers. Firm, full-bodied and with ripe tannins.
Price: $34.00 btl / $408.00* case

Castello Ducale 2001 Aglianico Contessa Ferrara
(Campania - Aglianico) Aglianico is the Nebbiolo of the South. The ideal climate, volcanic soils, and high elevation provide for late ripening grapes with flavors that lean toward black fruit, spice, and minerals.
Price: $36.35 btl / $401.30* case

Quintarelli 2002 Primofiore
(Veneto - Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara) Here is young wine from the master of the Veneto intended to be a fresher version of his spectacular Valpolicella. Flavors of cherry, olives, spices.
Price: $39.67 btl / $437.96* case

Triacca 2001 Sforzato di Valtellina San Domenico
(Lombardia - Chiavennasca) This specialty of the Valtellina zone, which is made from partially dried grapes. It resembles Amarone in flavors and how it’s crafted. Made with a Nebbiolo clone called Chiavennasca, it is much leaner than its Piedmontese cousins, until the appassimento method is applied to richen the flavors.
Price: $46.41 btl / $512.37* case

Assorted Exploration Six-Pack (1 of each): $222.10*
Assorted Exploration Case (2 of each): $414.09*
*Free delivery in Manhattan

Continue the enrichment each month with the Exploration Passport!

Big Wines of Italy

Rocche dei Manzoni di Valentino 1995 Barolo Big 'd Big
(Piemonte - Nebbiolo) Experience a cru Barolo with some age from the sleeper vintage of 1995. Valentino produces big, approachable wines with the ability to age. This powerful, fruit-driven Barolo is the perfect winter red!
Price: $54.95 btl / $606.65* case

Paolo Bea 2001 Montefalco Rosso Riserva
(Umbria - Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Montepulciano) This artisan of Umbria is now creating IWM’s favorite Sagrantino hands down. Employing tradition and purely natural treatments of the grapes, Paolo delivers again with this new arrival at IWM. The ideal entertainment wine that will easily impress.
Price: $61.63 btl / $680.40* case

De Conciliis 2003 Naima
(Campania - Aglianico) Named after the eponymous John Coltrane song, this signature and sought-after red, delivers a performance with the same elegance, power, and intensity of the musician.
Price: $66.00 btl / $728.64* case

Vestini Campagnano 2001 Casavecchia
(Campania - Casavecchia) Made from 100% Casavecchia (an ancient grape only recently rediscovered), this wine is a meaty, vibrant red with a distinctive flavor and mouthfeel. Experience this explosive varietal that is restoring Campania’s glorious past.
Price: $66.90 btl / $738.58* case

Perticaia 2001 Sagrantino di Montefalco
(Umbria - Sagrantino) This small estate’s hand-crafted bottling is an excellent example of Sagrantino’s potential. A balanced, medium bodied wine displaying layers of black fruit flavors.
Price: $50.60 btl / $558.62* case

Nicolis 2000 Amarone Ambrosan
(Veneto - Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara) This sweetly spiced Amarone is showing beautifully right now! The classic dried grape characteristics come together with a robustness that provides for a completely unique wine experience.
Price: $71.50 btl / $789.36* case

Assorted Big Wines Six-Pack (1 of each): $371.58*
Assorted Big Wines Case (2 of each): $683.71*
*Free delivery in Manhattan

Experience rich, impressive reds with the Big Wines Passport!

Sergio's Cellar Wines

Gravner 2000 Ribolla
(Friuli – Ribolla) One of the iconoclastic names in Italian wine; few producers can deliver such individuality. This new arrival is the only white we are featuring today, which indicates the importance of this wine. This white drinks like a red and will age well for the next 15 years.
Price: $89.87 btl / $1,078.44* case

Cerbaiona 2000 Brunello di Montalcino
(Toscana – Sangiovese Grosso) Like the revelation wines of Soldera, the Sangiovese here is aged in the ‘old style’ with Slavonian tonneaux instead of the fashionable French barrique. A traditional Brunello of pure elegance backed with power.
Price: $94.70 btl / $1,136.40* case

Bartolo Mascarello 1996 Barolo
(Piemonte – Nebbiolo) We believe this wine to be the Holy Grail of Nebbiolo. This wine represents the essence of Barolo. Still in its infancy, it will age for decades. An infant that is just starting to develop, it is the ideal gift for the connoisseur.
Price: $96.90 btl / $1,162.80* case

Dal Forno 2000 Valpolicella
(Veneto – Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara) Romano’s hedonistic expression of the ancient grapes is an experience away from the austere, rustic style of sire Giuseppe Quintarelli. This immense wine reveals amazing concentration with sleek, stylish black fruit. Let this one age then breathe for the full trip!
Price: $97.50 btl / $1,170.00* case

Bruno Giacosa 1999 Barbaresco Asili
(Piemonte – Nebbiolo) Among the best Barbarescos produced by this devoted traditionalist. A cellar staple from an underrated vintage – this wine will easily age for the next two decades. It’s all about leather, licorice, sweet tobacco, red fruit and balance. Drink and watch it evolve.
Price: $109.00 btl / $1,308.00* case

Quintarelli 1999 Rosso del Bepi
(Veneto - Corvina, Rondinella, Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo, Croatina, Molinara, Negrara) The latest offering from this artisanal favorite, the Rosso del Bepi is the most recent addition to the fleet of Quinatarelli masterpieces and has the distinction of being “Quintarelli Amarone at half the price.” This will repeat as the fastest selling wine of IWM. Pure Amarone bliss!
Price: $114.99 btl / $1,269.49* case

Assorted Sergio's Cellar Six-Pack (1 of each): $602.96*
Assorted Sergio's Cellar Case (2 of each): $1,187.52*
*Free delivery in Manhattan

Each month taste these unique finds thru Sergio’s Cellar Passport!

Old Wines for the Present

Seghesio 1985 Barolo
(Piemonte – Nebbiolo) One of the earliest bottlings by Seghesio, a family of growers turned winemakers, the excellent 1985 represents a rare opportunity to taste a blended (as opposed to single-vineyard) wine from this estate. This wine is showing beautifully.
Price: $219.00* btl

Argiano 1988 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
(Toscana - Sangiovese) When she took over the estate, Countess Noemi Marone Cinzano made dramatic changes in an appeal to the international style. Elegant and generous.
Price: $195.00* btl

Dante Rivetti 1988 Barbaresco Nevis
(Piemonte – Nebbiolo) This marquee name has been producing wine in Piemonte since the 1700s and currently owns three historic estates in Barbaresco. Although yields were low in 1988, the fruit was exceptional and this vintage is drinking spectacularly well right now.
Price: $145.54 btl

San Giusto a Rentennano 1990 Percarlo
(Toscana - Sangiovese) This pure Sangiovese Super Tuscan avoids the enormous extraction seen in so many of its IGT peers. From grapes grown in the Chianti Classico zone, this is a clean, elegant wine with plenty of fresh fruit and verve. Enjoy this difficult to find wine.
Price: $259.00* btl

Prunotto 1990 Barolo
(Piemonte – Nebbiolo) One of the last great wines made from the legendary Beppe Colla. This Barolo incorporates 40 years of his life’s work at the estate, culminating in the ripe vintage of 1990.
Price: $219.00* btl

Marchesi di Gresy 1990 Barbaresco Martinenga
(Piemonte - Nebbiolo) Another bottling from the historic 1990 vintage, this one, from a producer who is renowned for making elegant and aromatic Barbarescos. Here the overwhelming bouquet seduces you with a broad spectrum of flavors that hovers over rich, herbal notes.
Price: $198.00* btl

Assorted Old Wines Six-Pack (1 of each): $1,235.54*
Assorted Old Wines Case (2 of each): $2,471.08*
*Free delivery in Manhattan

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Passport: Monthly Wine Club

We often feature IWM's monthly wine club, but no time is better than the holiday season. Many of our members were introduced to the club through holiday gifts and continued on through renewals! Whether you think the "Big Wines" Passport (see below) is just right or choose "Exploration" for the novice or "Sergio's Cellar" for the collector, this is a gift that is sure to delight your friends, family, and coworkers.

IWM’s most popular passport, "Big Wines" introduces many of Italy’s powerhouse wines and cult favorites. These impressive wines, which are drinkable now but may also improve with age, are first-class choices to share with friends. Recent selections include Barolos, the Veneto’s Amarone, classic Brunello di Montalcino, unique bottlings from outstanding producers in less known wine zones, and more. Many of these are favorites from IWM’s private tastings.

Includes:
- Three Wines per Month
- Prices Well Below Market Value
- Monthly Producer & Tasting Notes
- Vino Italiano (528 pages)
- Six Brunello Wine Glasses
- Free Delivery in Manhattan

Recent Selections:
- Gaja Sito Moresco
- Molettieri Taurasi Riserva
- Palari Faro Rosso
- Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco
- Aldo Conterno Barolo

Wine Club Fees:
3 Months: $534.00
6 Months: $984.00
12 Months: $1,884.00

Click to register a wine club gift!