Dear Member,
It was the spring of 2019. The Bonner Private Wine Partnership had just launched its first-ever collection—high-altitude Argentine wines never before available in America.
“What about going to Italy next?” suggested our importer, Barry. There was a large wine market in Verona coming up, and he had contacts there.
As I wrote to Partnership members back then, Italian wines didn’t initially interest me. They seemed too expensive, too refined—velvet loafers compared to our boot-leather Malbecs.
Barry quickly set me straight.
“That’s not the real Italy,” he said. “The real tradition of Italian wine is about family and small-town community. Unlike France and California, which tend toward highly technical winemaking—essentially beating the terroir into submission—Italians believe the winemaker’s job is to get out of the way.”
Sure enough, our 2019 Italian Collection became a huge hit with Partnership members.
The Real Italy, Revisited
This year, we return to the misty slopes of Piedmont, the breezy Tuscan hills, and the sunbaked volcanic vineyards of Sicily.
To real Italians, wine is not a commodity to be made, but a bounty to be discovered—the soul of the land itself… l’anima, as they say. Something that existed long before their arrival and will endure long after they are gone.
Eight hundred years ago, Benedictine monks pruned these vines.
Before them, Romans.
Before them, Greek settlers.
Today, veteran winemakers—hand-rolled cigarettes dangling from their lips—still walk through rows of dark purple grapes and grey-green olive trees. They still pick by hand. Still favor traditional methods. Still refuse to adulterate their wines with harmful chemicals.
They are still listening for the soul of this ancient land.
In This Box
You will find six bottles:
La Bollina Papios Rosso Siciliane 2018
Sorelle de Nicola Feyles Langhe Nebbiolo 2013
Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico Riserva 2017
Schiavenza Barolo Serralunga 2016
Maghero Toscana Rosso 2018
Borgofiero Chianti DOCG 2019
We believe these six wines fully represent the real tradition of Italian wine.
Our advice is simple: let each bottle speak to you on its own terms. Each has a story to tell.
To your health,
Will Bonner
Founder, Bonner Private Wine Partnership
