Taking the road due north from Tuscany we find the region of Emilia Romagna. Affectionately known as Il grasso, the fat, Emilia Romagna is home to the magnificent culinary delights of Parma prosciutto and mortadella, Parmigiano reggiano and the best balsamic vinegar. The wines of Fattoria Zerbina are considered by many to be the finest in the region, exhibiting good varietal definition as well as tipicita. The Torre di Ceparano is a very special wine, crafted from fruit grown to a unique vineyard, based around the choicest clones of native Tuscan Sangiovese.

The Fattoria Zerbina wineworks are located at Faenza in south eastern Emilia Romagna, near the base of the Apennine Mountains which separate Emilia Romagna from Tuscany. Their vineyards are the most splendid in all Romagna, and their wines are widely acknowledged as the region's finest.

Nebbiolo makes the most magnificent wines, complex and engaging, bold of tannin, effusive and eloquent, full of charm. De Bortoli have established a closely husbanded parcel of vine on a section of Dixons Creek vineyard, which emulates the fortuitous confluence of microclimes of Nebbiolo's spiritual home in Piedmont. Grapes are all hand picked and sorted into small open fermenters for three weeks of maceration, followed by fourteen months in 500 litres French oak butts. Brightly lit with graphite, mineral and spice, textural tannins in support of its plump, savoury fruits palate.

Some would say that if you've not yet acquired a taste for Sangiovese, that you need a holiday in the Italian countryside, preferably Tuscany or Umbria! The Sangiovese grape was pioneered in Australia by Coriole Vineyards. It was first planted in 1985 with the aim of creating a wine which would be the stylistic contrast to Shiraz. With several different clones from which to select, off fully mature vines up to thirty years of age, the Coriole team can produce a profound varietal expression of this audacious and engaging Italian grape.

Here's an exciting King Valley red that offers a spectrum of fragrances and flavour over lively tannins, a mouthfilling assembly of Merlot and Sangiovese grown to cool climate, high country vines. An engaging red with a seamless palate and distinctive Italianate stylishness to savour with all good food, exhibiting many of the meaty spice and plum characters of the lofty Tuscans. A nose and palate of dark fruits and pepper, wrapped in subtle toasty oak, the tannins are brisk, the flavours are long, fully integrated yet complex, the acids invigorating and dry.

Such a substantial wine is Sangiovese, so named for it's kinship to the blood of ancient Gods, mythically speaking of course. La Zona engages you with its deep, vibrant red colour, redolence of black cherries and spice on the bouquet, followed by a brazen savouryness which makes it perfect with robust cuisine. The acidity balances well with the generous round, fleshy front palate and velvety tannin structure which carries through to a dry, firm finish. A perfect food match for La Zona would be a slowly cooked Tuscan recipe such as Stufato alla Fiorentina.

A luscious candy hued wine, unlike any other, by virtue of a unique cépage Tempranillo and Sangiovese. La Zona may be pink but she's no frivolous lightweight. Grapes are all picked by hand off fully mature vines, fifteen years of age, grown to labour intensive trellising at an altitude of 260 metres. The juicy strawberryness of Tempranillo and savoury cherry charm of Sangiovese, make a comely coloured wine with captivating ripe fruit flavours and exciting berry perfumes, bring La Zona along for a soiree with good friends and a feast of tantalizing nibbles.

The Chrismont property once supported one of Australia's largest tobacco growing operations. Chrismont have since become synonymous with the production of high quality Alpine and King Valley wines, the Barbera grape being a standout performer. With mesoclimes and aspects that are so similar to the premiere growing Asti hillsides of Piedmont, the long summer days of high Victorian country enable grapes to achieve full ripeness, the finished wine exhibits richness of varietal character, the cool local nights contribute elegance and poise.

Il Vescovo is the Bishop, a medium bodied Sangiovese wine, vinified from grapes grown to the cooler climes of Kangarilla in McLaren Vale. Sangiovese is endowed with a distinctive and unique personality that exudes savouriness and rustic earthiness. The quintessential Italian red, it possesses vivacious natural acid levels which work closely with silky tannins to make it an exemplary accompaniement to food. Styled to the new wave of super Tuscans, Il Vescovo exhibits lifted berry fruit flavours, solid structure and a multi dimensional palate.

Cecchi own the most bountiful and picturesque vineyards within the prestigious precincts of Montalcino. The denominazione di origine of Rosso permits the growers of Montalcino to craft and release a more youthful style while they await for the exalted Brunello to come of age. An exclusively Sangiovese wine treated to six months in a selection of new and seasoned oak, Rosso di Montalcino is defined by its expression of the flattering climes and superior terroirs of its provenance, while offering impressive integrity and immediate drinkability.

An assemblage of Cabernet and Sangiovese from Castellina in Chianti, Merlot and Petit Verdot from the communes at Maremma. Individual grapes are treated to the added scrutiny of a double hand sorting, individual parcels endure a warm vinification and separate course of age in a combination of 225L barrique and larger format tonneaux for eighteen months before the final assemblage. The freshness of Sangiovese is enriched by the body and palate volume of Cabernet, its dark fruits and liquorice opulence are rounded out by Merlot and pretty spice of Verdot.

Just a half hour south of Florence in the Siena region of Tuscany, the people of Castellina have been growing grapes and making one of the world's great wines for millenia. This is the heart of Chianti Classico, mostly Sangiovese, harvested off graceful old vineyards planted to weathered sandstone and chalky marlstone soils, around the first week of October. It endures as one of the most recognizable international marques, structured, seamless and defined, its immense affinity to food makes it essential alongside all robust recipes, antipasto or good ripe cheese.

Exclusively Sangiovese off vines planted to abundant clay soils at 350 to 450 metres above see level at Montalcino, an hour's drive south of Florence. Eighteen days of ferment are followed by two years in a selection of seasoned and new oak barriques. Established 1893, the noble House of Cecchi respect the integrity of terroir and practice traditionally sustainable viticulture to preserve the sanctity and enduring excellence of their renowned vintages. An evocative, animated bouquet presages a voluminous, expansive palate, seamless, illuminating and profound.

There are few wines in the pantheon of distinguished regional styles, as generously flavoured, exquisitely balanced and well fleshed, as the full bodied Nebbiolo from the commune of Barolo. The DOCG regulations are very strict, Barolo must be grown on sloped vineyards of a particular terroir and clime, aged a minimum of three years before release. Velvet textured, exquisitely rounded and full of delicious, savoury fruit, Barolo is worthy of the finest gourmandise, call on Canti for a delicate braise of oxtail and marrow, field mushrooms, white truffles and fragrant mountain herb.

The wines of Asti can boast a long history which dates back millenia, to ancient cultures who planted grapes and worshipped the deities of the vine. Canti assemble parcels of Barbera grown to soils which have been yielding harvests of the finest fruit for centuries. Barbera is the Asti of choice for rich foods, braised tomato recipes and traditional Mediterranean fare. Full bodied and intense, defined by deep indigo hues, layered with ripe bramble characters, dark cherries and punnets of savoury fruit, supported by seamless, earthy tannins.