awards

Below are the results obtained by the wines selected to become part of the prestigious Emilia-Romagna guide for Drinking and Eating 2020, tasted by the sommeliers of the AIS - Italian Sommelier Association. You can find the complete data sheet dedicated to our company in the Cantine Imolesi section of the printed guide, or you can request a copy from our sales office by contacting us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ROMAGNA D.O.C.G. ALBANA SECCO 2017 “SINTRIA” - TENUTA DEL PRINCIPE

Description: Brilliant antique gold. Broad and varied nose, ranging from baked apples with dried flowers to chestnut honey. On the palate the alcohol content dominates and creates an enveloping warmth. Concludes on a nutty return. 

Recommended pairing: cod with raisins and pine nuts

Evaluation: 6/6 Grapes 

BARBERA SANGIOVESE RUBICONE I.G.P. 2017 “IL SAPIENTE - LIMITED EDITION” - CONTE ZARDI

Recommended pairing: wild boar in chocolate sauce

Evaluation: 5/6 Grapes

ROSSO RUBICONE I.G.P. 2016 “LARONE” - TENUTA DEL PRINCIPE

Recommended pairing: grilled kidneys

Evaluation: 5/6 Grapes

If someone were to ask you to explain the difference between Passito and Apassimento, how would you answer?

The argument is somewhat complex, but we’ll try to explain as clearly and simply as possible. Meanwhile, we’ll simply explain the difference between these two oenological terms, then we’ll go into further detail.

By  “Passito” or better still “Vino Passito”, is meant any wine produced from grapes that undergo a procedure of ‘appassimento’ or ‘dehydration’.

So, from an etymological point of view , Passito is a typology of wine whereas “appassimento” is the processing technique used to obtain the Passito wine.

How does one get the ‘appassimento’ of the grapes? Generally in two ways:

• “Appassimento” on the plant.Referring to a late harvesting, waiting until the grapes mature on the plants longer than normal, allowing for a natural dehydration of the berries and an increase in the sugar content (as, for example, in the case of “Ice Wine” where the grapes are left until winter, so that alternating between freezing and defrosting the grape dehydrate and increase the concentration of sugar).
• “Appassimento” post harvest. This may involve “appassimento naturale” or a natural dehydration of the grapes on special racks or, in windy areas, in a special ventilated room called a fruttaio. Or it may involve “appassimento artificiale”, or artificial dehydration, carried out in areas kept at controlled temperatures and humidity.

The “appassimento” of the grapes allows the wines obtained in this way to be wines of high alcoholic content (between 14° and 18°) and with an significant concentration of sugar.

So, are all appassatti wines sweet? No.

It is true that when we hear the word “Passito” or “Vin Santo” we think of a sweet wine. But in reality there are a number of Passito dry wines, for which the process of “appassimento” is used to reduce the amount of the water inside the grape and as a result to increase proportionately other substances present in the grape.

We must remember that obtaining a sweet wine doesn’t depend on the use of grapes with a high level of sugar, but it is necessary to interrupt the fermentation of the wine, that converts the sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol.

Up to this point we have explained the significance of the two words and how we achieve the appassimento of the grapes.

So now, another question arises: Other than the etymology, on the label, are  the words “Passito” and “Appassimento” synonymous?

Generally Yes. Over time, the word “Appassimento” has been introduced by the controlling body as a substitute or alternative to the term Passito.

For example, one of our wines , l’IMPAVIDO, comes under the name (denomination) “Romagna DOC Sangiovese Appassimento”

The same body would allow us to use the denomination “Romagna DOC Sangiovese Passito”.

What sort of Vino Passito is the IMPAVIDO?

A wine aged in tonneaux and barrique for 1 year, with an alcoholic content of 17 percent, that has a sweet softness to the taste, in which hints of brandied plum and black cherry jam stand out. This is enhanced by a surprising balsamic note in closing that reinforces the aromatic persistence on the palate.

Of note is the contribution of tannin: well-defined and well-developed. Achieving the 2022 Wine of the Year Award  in the ‘Luca Maroni’ contest with 97 points.

In the next article I will speak to you in more depth about the two types of our IMPAVIDO ROSSO, a 100%Sangiovese and IMPAVIDO BLANC a blend composed of 80% Albana and 20% Trebbiano.

The prestigious competition, the AWC Vienna - International Wine Challenge 2020, saw the participation of a large selection of wines from the Tenute d’Italia catalogue. In fact, eight labels were entered, each of which achieved an excellent evaluation by the jury.

The Tenute d’Italia trophy shelf is therefore enriched with new, important medals, testifying to the valuable continuity shown by our team of oenologists in the search for high quality standards. Below is the table of the results obtained by our wines at the AWC Vienna - International Wine Challenge 2020.

The labels are divided by brand; by clicking on each wine one can access the technical sheet on the official website www.tenuteditalia.com

TENUTA DEL PRINCIPE

Romagna D.O.C. Sangiovese Superiore Riserva 2015 “Sereso”:Gold

Rosso Rubicone I.G.P. 2016 "Larone": Gold

CONTE ZARDI

Sangiovese Rubicone I.G.P. 2018 “Il Sapiente”: Gold

Sangiovese Rubicone I.G.P. 2018 “Caveja”: Silver

Chardonnay Trebbiano Rubicone I.G.P. 2019 “Il Fascinoso”: Silver

Excellent results for the wines of Tenute d’Italia at the Berliner Wein Trophy 2021. The commission of the prestigious international competition - now in its 25th edition - has in fact awarded the gold medal to both of our registered wines:

Larone, Rosso Rubicone I.G.P. 2017 (Tenuta del Principe)

Il Sapiente - Limited Edition, Barbera Sangiovese I.G.P. 2018 (Conte Zardi)

The technical data sheets of the wines are available on our website www.tenuteditalia.com, complete with a prospectus of the awards obtained.

For more information, please contact our sales department at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tenute d’Italia renews its participation again this year in the Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines (edited by Luca Maroni), a leading publication on the Italian wine scene that has already given significant reviews about our company in past editions.

All the results and the concluding comments published in the 2019 and 2020 editions are available in Italian on the official website of the yearbook: for the versions translated into English or Chinese, please contact our sales office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Below is a summary of the results assigned to the wines selected to represent our company in the 2021 edition of the Yearbook of the Best Italian Wines. The products are distinguished by the brand they belong to: by clicking on the name of the wine you can access its full product details on our site www.tenuteditalia.com

TENUTA DEL PRINCIPE

Romagna Albana D.O.C.G. Secco 2017 “Sintria”: 86 points

CANALE DEI MOLINI

Romagna D.O.C. Sangiovese Superior Organic 2018 “Ilione”: 88 points

CONTE ZARDI

Sangiovese Rubicone I.G.P. 2018 “Sapiente”: 94 points

Sangiovese Rubicone I.G.P. “Caveja”: 93 points

Chardonnay Trebbiano Rubicone I.G.P. 2019 “Il Fascinoso”: 92 points

Sangiovese Rubicone I.G.P. 2018 “Egregio”: 91 points

CONTI MORINI

Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Rubicone I.G.P. 2018 “Possente”: 91 points

Pinot Grigio Rubicone I.G.P. 2019 "Mirabile": 92 points