Petraia Merlot di Toscana

Best paired with chargrilled steak, roast beef and roast lamb - preferably served rare; grilled chops - veal, pork or lamb - especially with herbs such as thyme and rosemary; roast chicken, turkey and Guinea fowl, roast duck and Chinese crispy duck pancakes. Anything with mushrooms or truffles will be a good match.

The Azienda Uggiano was originally set up by a group of businessmen from Bergamo, northern Italy, with a passion for Tuscan wines and inspired by a wine expert from the French school, Giuseppe Losapio. In 1976 the vineyard expanded and settled at San Vincenzo a Torri, a beautiful location in the heart of Tuscany, nestled in the countryside in the midst of monasteries, churches and country villas. In 2015 three young partners, Giacomo Fossati, Fabio Martelli and Daniele Prosperi, took up the legacy of the founder and started driving the winery towards new, ambitious goals. Today the company, by fully embracing advanced production technologies and multi-channelling, has not only brilliantly overcome the trading challenges brought about by the Covid pandemic, but has also established an ever growing presence in both the HO.RE.CA. channel and large-scale retail trade through dedicated product lines drawn from a broad range of products with excellent quality/price ratio. Uggiano is also robustly active in the fast expanding e-commerce sector. Lastly, the company has made a large investment in the up-and-coming Tuscan area of Maremma by launching the “Tenuta Aquilaia” winery, an enthusiastically driven and innovative wine producing operation.

Located at altitudes of 250-300 metres, the vineyards of Azienda Uggiano stretch over the hillsides joining Montespertoli with Montelupo Fiorentino and San Casciano Val di Pesa.

The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 16 months. Then maturation continues in large 30/60 Hl oak casks for a further 12 months. The wine is then stored in stainless steel tanks until bottling. After bottling, the wine rests in bottle for at least 12 months before being released.

After crushing the grapes are fermented in stainless steel tanks using selected yeasts. The fermentation temperature is maintained at 26-28°C and the must is pumped over its skins twice a day to draw colouring substances and tannins from the skins. After 20-22 days the wine is separated from the lees to prevent solubilisation of bitter tannins.