Wine It is the fastest Italian wine delivery website in the UK, the best to buy from independent Italian wineries with the best value for money and delivering in one day Italian wines directly from vineyard to table.
But let’s see why and how all this began and, above all, where my journey through Italy began (and how it continues) to discover the Italian wineries capable of satisfying the British palate.
Wine it shop UK: a project born from an eternal love
Hi! My name is Riccardo Gavelli and I am a sommelier who graduated in AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier) in Florence, Italy, with full marks.
Wine has flowed in my blood and in my family for generations, having been born in Florence in the middle of Chianti. As a matter of fact, my first loves were the wines of my sweet home: Tuscany. Chianti, Brunello, Bolgheri, Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino, but also Vermentino and Vernaccia.
But, you will never believe it, none of these were the first wine I exported to the UK.
Barbera, Moscato and Dolcetto: my first travel companions in London
Like any great adventure, Wine It was born for fun during a dinner in Piedmont with a dear English friend of mine.
For the occasion, I brought three wines with me to be tasted by the other guests of that table: a Barbera, a Moscato and a Dolcetto. The diners, all British, were impressed by those three wines and warmly invited me to sell those three wines in London.
They were sure those wines were going to sell like hot cakes. With the bottles under our arms, we left the following week for London, initially going to a restaurateur friend and letting him taste those three wines.
The tasting went very well, and they immediately wanted to buy it. After a year and all processes for importation licence, we started selling Barbera, Moscato and Dolcetto to London restaurants.
But how could I not also trade the beloved wines of my land? Love and passion for my land have always been the fuel of my work as a sommelier. So how could they not continue to be my fuel as a trader?
Chianti, Montalcino and Bolgheri: the bulwarks of Wine It Shop UK
As for Bolgheri and Montalcino, I knew exactly which wineries would allow me to guarantee the best quality to British palates for the best value for money. For Bolgheri I chose Casa Di Terra, while for Montalcino I chose Elia Palazzesi.
However, the most difficult challenge was for the selection of Chianti, the land where I was born. It was difficult because first of all Chianti is sold all over the world (often and willingly, even, at derisory prices), consequently the first goal for me was to identify a great Chianti without going too far from the prices that, commonly, are found around the world.
After a long inspection I chose Castello di Uzzano. Together with Le Regge, I couldn’t help but bring also Sorelli with me. Not only because it is a wine that borders on perfection, but also because it is an institutional wine that would have allowed me to always fall on my feet.
But that wasn’t enough for me. I felt that it was not enough, I had to get the rabbit out of the hat that would guarantee me credibility in the British market.
During this trip between Florence and Siena (the lands of Chianti), I tasted a 100% Sangiovese IGT, the Tenuta di Canneto Sangiovese. I was a bit hesitant to bring an IGT along with the other DOC and DOCG wines. I added it to the other 4 sacred monsters, and it was a perfect choice.
After a while, my market grew and I felt I had to draw on my sommelier knowledge to propose other Italian wines that would increase my variety while always guaranteeing the same quality.
Sicily, Apulia, Marche, Veneto and Friuli: the other 5 Italian wine regions that we had to add to the Wine It UK list
Italy is the world’s largest producer of wine, with an area of 702,000 hectares (1,730,000 acres) under vineyard cultivation, accounting for 19 per cent of global production. Italy has also the widest selection of wines than anywhere else in the world, using 605 unique grapes to produce them.
How could I not tap into all of this?
I started a third trip, this time crossing all of Italy, stopping in the 5 other regions (after Piedmont and Tuscany) that had to be part of the “Wine It UK” market in every way.
I left from the south by car with my colleagues Claudio and Raphael.
The five stops of Wine it Trip
First stop: Sicily
For obvious reasons the first stop was Sicily. As for Tuscany, here too the great variety of wineries made the choice anything but simple. In the end we chose Alagna, certain that British palates would appreciate.
Second stop: Apulia.
Here we already knew that Primitivo di Manduria would be the wine we wanted to export. But from which winery? We chose Al Bano’s wine.
We set off again towards the north, with a third obligatory stop.
Third stop: Marche
a land as varied as that of the Marche prevented us from choosing a single wine to export.
There was no doubt: Verdicchio DOC and Verdicchio Riserva DOCG were the first two wines we chose.
After that, Passerina, Pecorino and Lacrima di Morro d'Alba joined the first two. We left after a week of tasting the wonderful white Marghigiani wines.
The next stop was waiting for us.
Fourth stop: Veneto
Veneto is the land of Prosecco, Amarone and the best Grappas in the world.
But where to start?
After a first stop in Bassano del Grappa, (the center of grappas in Veneto) where we chose Grappa Bertagnolli, Grappa Astoria Barrique e Oak Aged "Croder" Astoria, we went to Vicenza, the home of Prosecco, where the problem of Chianti reappeared: Prosecco is the most exported Italian wine abroad, surpassing Champagne in 2014 for the number of bottles sold in the world. Here too it was not easy to guarantee the quality of a wine that, too often, is found at really low prices.
In the end we chose the Prosecco DOC Extra Dry of Astoria.
Finally, before leaving for our last region, we stopped in the Veronese countryside, the famous Valpolicella, to choose among the 13 “historical families of Amarone” (historical families of Amarone). We chose Buglioni, after a very long and careful selection.
Final stop: Friuli
Our last (but not least) stop was motivated by the firm will to have the Colliio among the Italian wines to be exported to London. This is because Collio is the Italian white wine with a delicate smell which, despite not being among the best known abroad, is unquestionably one of the best and we absolutely wanted it in the Wine it list.
Among the cellars of Collio we chose Cormòns.
Wine It shop UK: that’s why our customers are always satisfied
This short story explains how Wine It was born and what the values and passions that distinguish us as wine selectors are.
As you can see by clicking here our customers are absolutely satisfied with our selection and our service, so much so that when a customer relies on us, he will hardly stop doing it in the following orders.
Since we made our first wine selection journey, many have followed and we have expanded our proposal of Italian wines to almost all regions of Italy.
I greet you for the moment, hoping not to have bored you.
If you liked this article, take a tour on our blog to discover many curiosities about Italian wine. If, on the other hand, I have really intrigued you to the point of wanting to taste one of our wines, know that we also accept single orders and if you order in the morning you will receive your wine the next day!
