San Osvaldo Lifra 2005

Rating: 92/100 - As reviewed by The Wine Messenger This delightful white blend is the newest release from San Osvaldo, producers of our best selling Pinot Grigio.
Lifra is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from northeast Italy’s Venezie region. The Sauvignon is fermented in stainless steel and lends crisp, exotic fruit aromas and flavors while the Chardonnay is barrel-fermented and
A straw colored wine with an exotic fruit nose with peach, pear, pineapple and vanilla aromas. On the palate, white fruit is melded with soft, well-integrated oak notes. Refreshing and full-bodied with a smooth finish. Enjoy as an aperitif read more...or with shellfish, salmon, vegetables, soups, white meat, and salads. Drink now to 2009.
Aperitif, Chicken, Pork Chops/Loin, Roasted Vegetables, Salads, Salmon, Shellfish, Soup
San Osvaldo is one of the best Pinot Grigio producers of Lison Pramaggiore and is a perennial favorite of ours. The quality and style is consistent year after year. Their vineyards are located in an area perfect for making delicious, fragrant wines. The climate is fairly cool and the calcareous soils are well drained. This perfect terroir combined with San Osvaldo’s modern winery result in wines with beautiful fruit expression.

Situated in Northeastern Italy, the Veneto region encompasses the famous cities Verona and Venice. The Adige River cuts vertically through the region, moderating the cold climate as it flows from the Alps in the north down into the Adriatic Sea. Due to this favorable climate, Veneto is one of the most important regions in Italy in regards to quality and quantity. Beginning with white, Soave is an incredibly easy to drink wine due to its neutral character. The wine is produced from the Garganega grape and exhibits delicate fruit with hints of almond and some acidity. Moving over to the reds, the Valpolicella region produces a range of wines made from the Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara grapes. Basic Valpolicella is very light and fruity with sour cherry and/or herb characteristics. Recioto della Valpolicella is a semi-sweet red wine, made from semi-dried grapes. Finally, the cooler Bardolino region produces very light red wine, similar to Valpolicella.

Veneto’s hills and plains may not enjoy the cachet of other Italian wine-producing regions, such as Piedmont and Tuscany, but they produce a quarter of Italy’s quality (DOC and DOCG ) wines. The best wines in Veneto come from the hills surrounding the beautiful city of Verona. One such area, to the west of the city, is the Garda region that benefits from the cooling influence of the nearby Lago di Garda, which produces an unusually mild climate, perfect for grape-growing.

Overview Greek settlers first planted vineyards in Italy sometime around 800BC. Since then, wine has been entrenched in the Italian culture, ‘as common as water on the dinner table’. Most of the topography in Italy, about four fifths, is perfect for growing grapes, because of the hilly and mountainous features. These features helped Italy produce 20% of the worlds wine in the nineties (580 million hectoliters).

Italy greatly varies in topography, climate and culture from North to South and the styles of wine reflect these differences:

In the North, the Appennines Mountains and the lakes of Como, Garda and Maggiore work together to moderate the cool winters and hot summers and prolong the grapes’ growing season.

The Northeast is best known for the Nebbiolo grape, considered to produce the finest of Italian wines. The concentration of fruit, high tannin and acidity combine to produce a long-ageing wine with incredible depth and character.

The cool Northwest is better known for its white wines. Pinot Grigio is by far the most famous white wine in Italy, known for its crisp acidity and subtle fruit character.

Central Italy is renowned area for Chianti, a medium bodied, fruity and acidic red wine from the Sangiovese grape. The Southern area is much hotter and Mediterranean in character. Here, the wines are less tannic and lighter bodied in style, to better accompany the lighter cuisines of the area.

Recently Italy has experienced a rebirth in quality wines. Years ago the wine flowed like water and was equally flimsy and thin, but that is no longer the case. Throughout the twenty regions of Italy, more and more quality whites and reds can be found from places like Piedmont, Tuscany and Friuli. The category given out prestigious of wines in Italy is known as the DOC and DOCG. DOC stands for denominazione di origine controllata and DOCG stands for denominazione di orginie controllata e grarantita. These are guarantees of authenticity and quality that can be found on the label of the highest quality Italian wines from selected vineyards or regions.

This delightful white blend is the newest release from San Osvaldo, producers of our best selling Pinot Grigio.

February 2009

This delightful white blend is the newest release from San Osvaldo, producers of our best selling Pinot Grigio. Lifra is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc from northeast Italy's Venezie region. The Sauvignon is fermented in stainless steel and lends crisp, exotic fruit aromas and flavors while the Chardonnay is barrel-fermented and provides body, structure, and length to the blend. A straw colored wine with an exotic fruit nose with peach, pear, pineapple and vanilla aromas. On the palate, white fruit is melded with soft, well-integrated oak notes. Refreshing and full-bodied read more...with a smooth finish. Enjoy as an aperitif or with shellfish, salmon, vegetables, soups, white meat, and salads. Drink now to 2009.Pair With: Aperitif, Chicken, Pork Chops/Loin, Roasted Vegetables, Salads, Salmon, Shellfish, Soup    (hide)

November 2008