Top 100 pink wines of Ticino

Discover the top 100 best pink wines of Ticino as well as the best winemakers in the region. Explore the varietals of the pink wines that are popular of Ticino and the best vintages to taste in this region.

Discovering the wine region of Ticino

Ticino is a relatively small wine region in the alpine South of Switzerland, prized for its Merlot, and located along its border with Italy. The wine region's borders follow those of the canton of Ticino, a primarily Italian-speaking enclave in the landlocked multilingual country (the canton is called "Tessin" by the French and German speakers). Vineyard">Vineyards in region cover just over 1,100 hectares (2,700 acres) and are centred around the rivers and large, alpine lakes of the canton. The latter are a major tourist attraction - much like the lake of Como, just 5km (3 miles) from Ticino's southernmost tip - and they all share water with Italy.

Merlot is the flagship variety here. This Bordeaux variety, which may seem an unusual variety of preference for a Swiss wine region, was introduced to Ticino in the early 20th century. It makes up just over 80 percent of the entire vineyard area and has been so successful, it has been given its own appellation: Merlot del Ticino. This can be relatively light or – when from the warmer, sunnier vineyards and carefully vinified with oak – as fine and well Structured as good red Bordeaux.

Other varieties include Chardonnay (4 percent) and Sauvignon Blanc (1. 7 percent). In total, white wines only represent nine percent of the regional output. Other than Merlot, reds include (in order of planting area) Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and one of Switzerland's "indigenous" crossings: Gamaret.

News from the vineyard of Ticino

Platinum: The 97 point wines of DWWA 2022

The largest-ever year for entries, an incredible 18,244 wines were judged at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards – with just 163 wines awarded a Platinum medal. ‘Winning a Platinum medal is something really exceptional’ said Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘Platinum is like the stratospheric level’ she commented, ‘so it’s really saying to the winemaker: this is a great wine.’ Making up just 0.87% of the total wines tasted at the 2022 c ...

Platinum: The 97 point wines of DWWA 2022

The largest-ever year for entries, an incredible 18,244 wines were judged at the 2022 Decanter World Wine Awards – with just 163 wines awarded a Platinum medal. ‘Winning a Platinum medal is something really exceptional’ said Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair Sarah Jane Evans MW. ‘Platinum is like the stratospheric level’ she commented, ‘so it’s really saying to the winemaker: this is a great wine.’ Making up just 0.87% of the total wines tasted at the 2022 c ...

Austria’s Wagram region granted DAC status

With the signing off by the Austrian minister of agriculture, sustainability and tourism, Elisabeth Köstinger, Wagram becomes Austria’s seventeenth DAC (Districtus Austriae Controllatus), following Wachau and Ruster Ausbruch in 2020, and Carnutum in October 2019. ‘This was not an easy nut for the winemakers of the Wagram region to crack,’ said Chris Yorke, CEO of the Austrian wine marketing board, Austrian Wine, ‘but after comprehensive discussions and much thought, the Wagram ...

The best wines of Ticino in other styles