By September, the light starts to change. The days grow shorter, the air turns gentler, and there’s a quiet shift in how we spend our evenings, lingering a little longer at the table, savouring the last golden hours before autumn settles in. It’s a season of its own: less about chasing the sun and more about holding onto its warmth. Wine follows the same shift. While high summer calls for freshness and immediacy above all, the season’s final stretch makes room for wines with a bit more structure, bottles built to accompany a more layered table without losing their easy drinkability. That’s the idea behind the selection that follows: six labels from different corners of Italy, united by their ability to capture one of the most pleasurable moments of the year, that last stretch of summer, when the pace slows down but the pleasure of gathering at the table never does.
COSTARIPA MATTIA VEZZOLA(LOMBARDY)
MATTIA VEZZOLA BRUT ROSÉ S.A.
This rosé is one of the wines through which Mattia Vezzola has built his own vision of Metodo Classico on the shores of Lake Garda. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes are harvested in the early morning hours to preserve their integrity and freshness; part of the must ferments in small oak barrels before ageing on the lees. The colour is pale, almost powdery pink, while the aromatic profile moves between redcurrant, raspberry and citrus zest. A persistent minerality carries the wine from start to finish, giving it the balance to stand up to dishes that would normally call for a still white. PHOTOTECHNICAL SHEETWEBSITE:www.costaripa.com
PIGHIN(FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA)
FRIULANO DOC FRIULI GRAVE
At Pighin, in the heart of the Friuli Grave, the Friulano grapes are trained on Guyot vines and picked at the peak of ripeness. Fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel over several weeks, followed by ageing on fine lees to build texture without losing freshness. The colour is a bright straw yellow with greenish reflections, the nose fruity and floral in the variety’s classic register. On the palate it is full-bodied and well balanced, closing on a distinctive almond note. A wine built for the late-summer table: as at ease with a vegetable soup as with cured meats and aged cheeses. PHOTOTECHNICAL SHEETWEBSITE:www.pighin.com
ANDREOLA(VENETO)
DIRUPO BRUT VALDOBBIADENE DOCG
Dirupo takes its name from the steep, “heroic” hillsides where Andreola grows Glera, Bianchetta and Perera between 200 and 500 metres above sea level in the UNESCO-listed Valdobbiadene hills, terrain too demanding for anything but manual work. The Martinotti method gives a soft yellow colour with greenish highlights, a fine and lingering perlage, and a creamy mousse. The bouquet recalls hawthorn and acacia blossom, delicate citrus and hints of green apple and peach, while the palate is generous and flavourful, at once energetic and rounded. Serve well chilled as an aperitif, or alongside fish and white meats. PHOTOTECHNICAL SHEETWEBSITE:www.andreola.eu
VENTIVENTI(EMILIA ROMAGNA)
LAMBRUSCO DI MODENA DOC
From organically certified Sorbara vines rooted in clay, Ventiventi crafts this rosé using the Champenoise method, with grapes harvested mechanically in the cool hours of the day. The colour is a soft pink; the nose opens shyly on wild rose petals, mint and eucalyptus, before drifting toward candy floss, lychee and yellow melon, with a final mineral edge of seashells and salt. On the palate it is fresh and lively, carried by citrus acidity and a fine, persistent effervescence that closes on a graceful, faintly ferrous finish — a rosé built to carry summer’s brightness a little further into the season. PHOTOTECHNICAL SHEETWEBSITE: www.ventiventi.com
LIBRANDI(CALABRIA)
SEGNO LIBRANDI CIRÒ BIANCO DOC
Grown on the calcareous clay soils around Cirò, Cirò Marina and Crucoli, on vines trained to spurred cordon, this Greco Bianco is harvested in the last days of September and vinified entirely in steel, with soft pressing preserving the grape’s natural freshness. A brief rest in bottle before release rounds out the wine without adding weight. The colour is brilliant, almost sunlit, and the character follows suit: bright, direct and unpretentious, built for easy, sun-warmed drinking. It carries the last of summer’s light straight through to the table, pairing naturally with grilled fish, shellfish or a simple plate of cured hams. PHOTOTECHNICAL SHEETWEBSITE:www.librandi.com
VECCHIE TERRE DI MONTEFILI(TUSCANY)
CHIANTI CLASSICO
From the Lago and Canalone vineyards at 480 metres, on soils of Pietraforte and Galestro, this 2021 Chianti Classico is 100% Sangiovese, farmed with a low-intervention approach and vinified through spontaneous fermentation before fifteen months in large oak barrels. The vintage’s heat left its mark less as concentration than as vibrancy: redcurrant and plum meet pomegranate and orange zest, framed by a gentle, non-intrusive spiciness. The palate is lively and energetic, its fine tannins offering elegance rather than weight — a red with the structure for autumn’s table but the drinkability of the season just ending.
