Il Giro d’Italia 2026 Case is here. The race starts May 9th so get your case in!
Why?
Our Giro d’Italia Mixed Case, Italian Wine Mixed Case, 6 bottles, these are all natural wines from the route of the incredible GIRO D’ITALIA 2026 The Tour of Italy cycle race. If you come to our little wine shop nestled in the hills of the Yorkshire Dales, you will see pictures of Cyclists and famous professional bike races on the walls. After natural wine, this is our ‘Seconda Passione’. Professional road cycling and natural wine production actually have many similar themes. Both endeavours require incredible dedication, sacrifice and suffering. The two things create images of breathtaking natural beauty. Wine and Cycling pitch human beings against the vagaries of nature and most experience more failure than success. But ultimately, both these pursuits can illicit such feelings of emotion and joy that all the sacrifice, hard work and pain are worth it.
Lifestyle….
Lifestyle also plays an important part in the natural wine movement and at Buon Vino, we firmly believe that enjoying great wine and enjoying sport and activity go hand in hand. Like wine, Cycling is embedded in European culture. It provides a healthy balance to offset the alcohol and well, like natural wine, cycle racing is pretty damn cool. There is nothing more enjoyable than sitting on a shady terrace in Tuscany, enjoying a glass of chilled Sangiovese, having spent a couple of hours cruising the hills and vineyards.
Context….
The Giro d’Italia started in 1909 and is steeped in history. The connection to the country’s wine regions is obvious as you watch the peloton whizz through the vineyards. Some ex-riders have also set up wineries; 1984 Giro winner and World Champion, Francesco Moser probably being the most famous. The winery which Francesco started with his brother Diego lies in the beautiful Cembra Valley, in Trentino. It produces a couple of hundred thousand bottles a year and is now run now by his son and nephew. Other notable ex pros who went into wine include Marzio Bruseghin. He was third in the 2008 Giro and now makes his own Prosecco. Former pro team manager, cycling podcaster and all round cycling dude Brian Nygard is a wine maker in California. When it comes to enjoying great wine and allowing its flavours to transport you to its place of origin, watching a beautiful bike race (and the Giro has to be world’s most beautiful) is a fantastic vehicle for this experience. Of course, it is important to have some great food on the go as well, fresh pasta with pesto Genovese and a glass of high quality Pigato whilst watching the bike race is very pleasant indeed.
The 2026 race, the favourites, its wine regions and our selection…..
This years race starts on Friday 9th May and covers a staggering 3466 km, with 48700 km of altitude gain in three weeks and will cross many of Italy’s most famous wine regions. The big favourite is two time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard He has shown incredible form this year with two stage race wins already and with no Tadej Pogacar (the world’s best rider) at this year’s Giro, it is Jonas’ race to lose. If Vingergaard has a crash, incident or a surprising loss of form, all of which are possible, other contenders include up and coming Italian Giulio Pellizzari, last year’s third place Richard Carapaz from Equador and Joao Almeida from Portugal. Lancashire’s own Adam Yates, the brother of last year’s winner Simon Yates, also has a good chance should others falter. Personally I hope for a strong return to form from the 2019 Tour de France winner Colombian Egan Bernal, a rider of immense class and bravery who has been dogged by serious injuries since his last major victory, the 2021 Giro.
The race starts in Bulgaria, continuing a trend of starts in the emerging Balkan countries, which are relatively unspoilt, rugged and certainly beautiful, (sadly we have no Bulgarian wines but wish we did!). The race spends three days in this fascinating and historic country culminating in a stage finish in the magnificent city of Sofia, which boasts 2,000 years of history, including Greek, Roman, Ottoman and Soviet occupation. It should be a memorable start to the race in this diverse and fascinating country.
Then onto the Oenotrian mainland for the main event. Stage 4 is in the south and the race winds up through some famous Towns and Cities including the now annual finish in Naples on stage 6 from where we get our first wine, ‘Don Chisciotte’. This is a skin maceration wine made from Fiano, Campania’s signature white grape. The race moves north to the infamous Blockhaus in the Abruzzo, an iconic and brutal mountain top finish which takes its name from a fort built in the 19th century by Austrian troops to fight brigandage. It is 13.6 km long with an average 8.4% gradient, very, very tough and highly selective. Down the road, you can find the amazing biodynamic farm of Valle Reale where our second wine, Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Valle Reale, a robust deep hued Rose comes from. On stage 9, they race into Tuscany and up to the ski station of Corno alle Scale in the Appennines. Just south of there in the Colli Lucchesi, you find the beautiful 600 year villa at Tenuta di Valgiano, where our next wine, a super duper fresh and easy Sangiovese called Mazzapink comes from. Onto stage 12 which finishes in Fausto Coppi’s home town Novi Ligure in the Gavi production zone. Our wine comes from a small cooperative winery called Le Valli Unite. Ottavio Rube Bianco is a slightly cloudy, light juicy white wine perfect for warm days. Stage 19 is what is often called the Queen stage, the hardest profile, the highest mountain passes and often the decisive moment in the race. It starts in Feltre, very near to the Prosecco region and so we have included the best Col Fondo (old fashioned naturally sparkling Prosecco) we have ever come across, Sottoriva Col Fondo made by Maurizio Favrel at Vini Malibran. Finally, and ridiculously, the entire entourage is bundled onto many planes to fly down to Rome for the finale. Although Rome is a fantastic place to finish, there is no traditional final stage in the Giro, like the Champs Elysee in the Tour de France, so burning millions of tonnes of fossil fuels to go down to Rome seems to us to be totally unnecessary. But that what’s they are doing and so we have picked a lovely red from the Lazio region to finish off with. Alea Viva Aleatico made by Andrea Occhipinti is a crunchy fresh Aleatico wine, perfect for finishing off the race in style with some good pasta and Pecorino cheese. Viva L’Italia!
At Buon Vino, we are passionate about Europe, European culture, lifestyle, food and of course wine and we try to communicate this love to our customers and enthuse them. We think the medium of professional bike racing is a window through which we can discover new places in Europe. We hope these six wines will add to the pleasure of this unique journey through the landscape and cultural tapestry of Italy, surely one of the world’s most beautiful countries.
Even if you are not into watching Cycling, but love your Italian wine, this is a fantastic selection, showcasing some superb producers and the diversity of natural wine.
Enjoy the race and Cin Cin!
THE CASE IN FULL
STAGE 6 – Paestum – Napoli (Campania) – Don Chisciotte Fiano Zampaglione 2022
STAGE 7 – Formia – Blockhaus (Abruzzo) Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Valle Reale 2021
STAGE 9 – Cervia – Corno alle Scale (Toscana) Mazzapink Sangiovese Valgiano 2024
STAGE 12 – Imperia – Novi Ligure (Piemonte) Ottavio Rube Bianco 2023
STAGE 19 – Feltre – Alleghe (Piani di Pezzè) (Veneto) Sottoriva Col Fondo 2022
STAGE 21 – Roma – Roma (Lazio) Alea Viva Rosso Aleatico Occhipinti 2023
