The Biondivino Wine Club offers a unique opportunity for wine enthusiasts to explore exceptional Italian wines curated by an award-winning sommelier. Members can choose from three subscription levels, each providing a selection of wines monthly, from everyday sippers to rare, collectible vintages. Benefits include discounts on purchases, exclusive access to tasting events, and special members-only offers. Wines are available for pickup or shipping, providing a flexible and enriching way to discover the diversity of Italian wine.

Red 1

Red 2

Pairs with: Moussaka

Red 3

Pairs with: Tomato-braised prawns with creamy cannellini beans

White 1

Siblings Palmira, Oliviero, and Cinzia Visintini are wine geeks of the best kind; the family are intellectual and inquisitive about wine, connected to the larger world outside of the Colli Orientali DOP and at the same time very aware of farms making interesting wine in Friuli, and a respectable portion of the original 13th century cellar is crammed with Palmira personal wine stash. Just six kilometers from the Slovenia border, the location of the Visintini winery has a history that dates back to the Middle Ages, to 1290 to be exact. Grandfather Domenico bought the estate and its ruined medieval tower in 1884, and since 2002, the siblings have run the place. Here in Corno di Rosazzo, you can see Slovenia from their farm – it’s the next line of low hills on the horizon, 6km away. The guiding principle in the cellar is to do as little as possible and in the fields Oliviero is charting a path toward biodynamic agriculture. After years of organic farming they are recently certified, and have begun making their own biodynamic composts and other preparations.

While decidedly old-world in technique and utterly classic for the region – it doesn’t get much more Friuli than Friuliano – there’s nothing staid about Visintini’s ‘Anfora’ offering. It’s a wine that feels surprisingly modern (especially given the estate’s century-plus history) but also somehow ingrained; varietally correct and expressive but with a little added oomph. 100% hand-harvested Friulano macerates for about 38 days in terracotta amphora (Georgian qvevri) – imparting, in the end, a luscious golden hue and texture to the wine, versus anything tannic or astringent (or particularly ‘orange’). It ages for another year in amphora, and one in bottle before release. Slightly veiled at first pass, the nose unfolds slowly, first fresh white flowers, then pulpy melon, tangerine, hay, and sage. An earthy, old-school-made-new-again cuvée, marked on the palette by notes of almonds, sun-baked stones, golden apple, and mint, with just the right amount of acidity to balance out the full bodied nature of the wine.

White 2

“This year, we were like monks in Burgundy,” Alexis Paraschos acknowledges with his typically warm smile, “no travel, no party, just working and observing our vines doing well.” There’s no trace of longing for the busy life on the go of the more “normal” years in his voice; maybe it’s because the “fairs & flights” part of the job is usually done by his more outspoken brother Jannis anyways, or maybe because — and this is our bet — the Collio area is a pretty nice spot to get stuck in. The family’s agriturismo, located just above the cellar, overlooks lush vine-covered slopes and valleys and makes you sympathize with the rich merchants of the Habsburg empire who made Gorizia their favorite holiday spot. Although the Paraschos winery started in the 1990s when Alexis’ father Evangelos became inspired by neighboring Gravner wines that he liked to serve in the family restaurant, the family actually has the luck to own some vines that hail almost a century back, on both sides of the border. The estate has been organic since the beginning and went completely natural (indigenous yeast only, no filtration, no SO2 added) in 2003, after moving to a newly built cellar that finally allowed them to work this way. No wonder the vines look so happy and healthy despite their significant age. “We couldn’t do it otherwise,” Alexis shrugs, still smiling.

The Gorizia region — and indeed the Paraschos estate — is probably best known for their whites, AKA oranges, as the winemaking tradition in the area consists of skin contact wines from the locally typical Ribolla Gialla, Malvasia Istriana, and Friulano. Alexis Paraschos uses the maceration rather lightly, aiming at harmony between freshness, tannins, and body – and the sheer seductive drinkability of these wines proves him right. ‘Orange One’ is a blend of all three varieties, honoring this tradition. Grapes are hand-harvested at optimum maturity, then macerated on skins in open vats for a couple of days. After aging at least 24 months in large Slavonian oak barrels, the wine is bottled solely by gravity, with no filtration, fining, or sulfur added. Richly aromatic and pleasantly wild, the ‘Orange One’ has an intense nose and palate of stone-fruit compote, resin woody spices, orange peel, and a touch of roses. The body is finessed and lithe, the finish long, and balance spot-on, punctuated with a distinct cave-like minerality and earthy agave notes. One of those skin-contact wines equally suited for those who are getting tired of or freshly acquainted with serious orange wines.

Cru 1

Giuseppe Russo is one of Etna’s greatest modern day producers. Period. In a corner of the wine world that has so quickly become overrun with larger, cashed up wine firms looking for a sliver of some oh-so-hot-right-now terroir, Giuseppe stands tall as one of the few born-and-raised locals, and a man seemingly determined to elevate the quality of the region’s wines on his own shoulders. A classically trained pianist and music teacher/theorist, Giuseppe was thrust out of academia into the pomice-laden vineyards with the unexpected passing of his father in late 2003; under the tutelage and guidance of local icons such as Frank Cornelissen, Andrea Franchetti and Marco de Grazia, Giuseppe was quick to find and develop his own path to greatness. Most of the Russo family’s plots are planted in and around the ‘Grand Cru’ village of Randazzo on Etna’s northern slopes, with the prime focus being single-vineyard, Nerello Mascalese driven, Burgundian-style reds.

All of Giuseppe’s 2019s are radiant, concentrated, finely structured, and just super classic. They are also showing exceptionally well right now! Giuseppe described 2019 as a fresh vintage with balanced precipitation and steady warmth, explaining that he could harvest without pressure. 'Feudo’ is the leanest and most lithe of his offerings, delicate almost. Both haunting and impressive in its elegance and finesse, it offers a technicolor, alluring blend of dried roses, crushed rocks, and red plums, coupled with a moody bass line of dusky, volcanic minerality. This is round and juicy, without a hard edge in sight, showing gorgeous ripe raspberry and cherry excited by a twang of sour citrus. It finishes lightly structured yet full of tension, leaving a cheek-puckering sensation in the glass and the mouth watering for more. Give this zesty Etna Rosso some time to open aromatically in the glass. Drink now - 2029.

Cru 2

Tradition dictates that Nebbiolo isn’t harvested until it has been kissed by the first fogs of autumn, a sign that the long growing season it needs to ripen fully is finally coming to an end. As a fourth-generation Barolista, Guido Porro is well versed in tradition, and it guides his hand in the vineyard and the cellar. Reviews and notes on Guido regularly refer to him as “under the radar”: the wines he makes are worthy of a stellar reputation, but he is too easygoing and unassuming to worry about whether the general wine-drinking public recognizes his name. Guido is the fourth generation at an estate that has always been passed from father to son, and now fifth-generation Fabio is starting to lend a hand in the family business. The Porros continue to work just as their predecessors did — the only major change over the last few decades has been the decision to bottle at the estate instead of selling the wine in demijohns or barrels — and they like to keep things simple and down to earth. The Porros are gracious hosts, and Guido’s wife Giovanna is known for her stellar renditions of classic Piemontese dishes, which shine when paired with the family’s wines.

The limestone-heavy soils of Serralunga d’Alba are known for providing the most long-lived and full-bodied Barolos. The Porro cantina overlooks vineyards in the Lazzarito cru, a gorgeous amphitheater that faces south-southwest and offers the grapes full sun exposure and protection from the wind. The Lazzairasco vineyard is the source of some of Guido Porro’s most complex, regal, and structured wines. Guido sticks to traditional methods in the vineyards and cellar, and he never gets in the way of the grapes’ natural expression. In this fantastic vintage, aromas of rose, wood smoke, orange zest, mint, and star anise take center stage. Full-bodied and well balanced, the linear, youthfully austere palate offers juicy, ripe red cherry, licorice, ginger, and cinnamon accompanied by firm, refined tannins and fresh acidity. An age-worthy Barolo that is already capable of serious seduction on the table. Drink 2024 - 2035.