2025 Dal Zotto Sangiovese, King Valley

This wine is a sun kissed regional expression of the variety that for many is synonymous with an Italian Red Wine, and was made from grapes grown in Dal Zotto’s Cheshunt vineyard.

The Dal Zotto version is relatively soft, but with a pleasing grip to its dark red cherry like flavours and a nice dusting of warm, dry grown Mediterranean herbs. Light touches of dark chocolate and licorice hint at its King Valley origins, and the tannins, while present, are very much ripe and don’t get in the way of the fruit.

Easy to match with food, whether you lean into vegetables or meats. Stick to a sort of Central and Southern Italian theme, and it’s hard to go wrong.

Put it on the table, not in the cellar – like many of its Chianti cousins, it offers refreshing medium-bodied drinking at its peak within a year or two from release. A light chill to 16-17 degrees would not hurt during the warmer months.

About this producer

Dal Zotto is a King Valley based family business established in 1987 by Italian migrants from Valdobbiadene near Verona and Venice, in the foothills of the Dolomites in northern Italy.

Like many Italian migrants in 1960s Victoria, their first crop in Victoria was tobacco, before turning to grape growing at the end of the 1990s. Befitting their heritage, their name has long been synonymous with the Veneto-inspired sparkling wines made from Prosecco (aka Glera). With vineyards in Whitfield, Cheshunt and in the cool heights of the Whitlands, the family has access to estate sites in a range of climatic conditions and soil types which is reflected in their broad range of wines that focuses on Italian varieties