French or Italian wines? From the cellars of The Gentlemen to the vineyards of Bordeaux and Tuscany, the great wine duel has only just begun.
In the highly anticipated second season of the Emmy-winning The Gentlemen, Guy Ritchie returns to his familiar world of British aristocracy, the criminal underworld, money and power. Amid illicit deals, immaculate tailoring, stately homes and the series’ new Italian backdrop, there is room for a different kind of duel. This time, it unfolds in a wine cellar.
The setting is every bit as enviable. Behind Halstead Manor stands Badminton House in Gloucestershire, the historic seat of the Dukes of Beaufort since the 17th century. Aristocratic architecture, manicured gardens and the English countryside transport us straight into the world of Old Money.
Two very different worlds attempt to coexist. The lifestyle of the old aristocracy meets that of the underworld and New Money. Their codes, manners, pleasures and ideas of the good life become a field of ideological and cultural conflict.
Wine gets a role of its own in this clash.
In one of the series’ memorable scenes, Duke Eddie Horniman and his Italian guest find themselves in the cellar of the Horniman family estate. A seemingly simple choice of wine turns into a matter of national pride.
The looks are intense. An argument is already brewing from the first words. Every line drips with venom. Every mention of wine becomes a personal jab. Barolo Riserva provides the spark. Masseto enters the conversation. France and Italy step into the ring.
The rivalry, of course, was not born in the cellar of The Gentlemen. For decades, the two countries have competed for supremacy in almost everything that defines the European art de vivre: wine, gastronomy, fashion, design and luxury. Even pop culture loves placing them on opposing sides, as though applause must always go to one side of the Alps.
With wine, the duel becomes particularly intriguing. Who has history on their side? Who has the prestige? Who has the legendary labels? And who ultimately pours the better glass?
There is no Italian wine.
I can ask for a bottle of Barolo Riserva, if you like. Unless you think it’s a little… rich.
You don’t like Italian wine.
On the contrary! The Masseto was excellent.
You pulled a face when you said ‘rich’. As if it’s not as good as French wine.
French wine is superior to Italian wine. The Italians ape what the French have been doing brilliantly for 800 years.
Ape? Like a monkey? So Barolo Riserva is a monkey wine?
I didn’t say that.
I’m sorry, my friend, but that’s what you said.
You think Italian wine is inferior and only fit for monkeys.
You may have a point.
All I’m saying is that the Italians invented wine. The French were licking their donkeys when the Romans taught them how to make wine. The French would be drinking their own piss if it weren’t for us.
Pleasant. (grimaces)
French or Italian wines: What are the key differences?
Two great wine powers, two distinct philosophies. In France, place takes centre stage: terroir, appellation, château and vineyard. In Italy, geography meets an extraordinary wealth of indigenous grape varieties and local traditions.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have become synonymous with the French wine tradition. Nebbiolo and Sangiovese produce some of Italy’s greatest expressions. France has built a culture around terroir and rigorous classifications, while Italy draws much of its character from remarkable regional diversity.
Who made wine first: the French or the Italians?
The Italian in The Gentlemen does not quite win this one. The earliest known evidence of grape wine takes us to present-day Georgia, around 6000 BC.
History does, however, give him one delicious detail. Analysis of amphorae at Lattara, near Montpellier, revealed that in the early 5th century BC, the Etruscans were shipping wine from what is now Italy to southern France. Evidence of local winemaking appears there later.
So the Romans in that memorable line lose the battle for dramatic effect. The Etruscans got there first.
What defines French wine?
At the heart of the French wine philosophy lies one word: terroir. Soil, climate, vineyard and human expertise connect a wine to the place where it was born.
In France, wine also became intertwined with power. In 1395, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, banished the prolific Gamay from Burgundy. In 1855, Napoleon III requested the famous classification of Bordeaux wines for the Paris Universal Exhibition. From a duke deciding which grape deserved to be grown to an emperor placing châteaux in hierarchical order, French prestige was shaped by place, rules and classification.
Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne: the geography of French wine
Bordeaux is the great homeland of blends, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot taking leading roles. Burgundy expresses itself primarily through Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, while Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier dominate in Champagne.
Three places, three expressions of the French approach to wine. From the châteaux of Bordeaux to Burgundy’s historic vineyards and the cellars of Champagne, the journey follows the geography of wine and reveals the landscapes that shaped its identity.
What defines Italian wine?
The word here is diversity. From Piedmont and Tuscany to Veneto and Sicily, Italy is a mosaic of vineyards and local grape varieties.
Nebbiolo and Sangiovese are behind some of the country’s most celebrated wines. According to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV), Italy ranked as the world’s largest wine producer in 2025, with 44.4 million hectolitres.
Barolo, Brunello and Chianti: Three great names in Italian wine
In the hills of Piedmont, Nebbiolo gives us Barolo, with high acidity, powerful tannins and remarkable ageing potential. In Tuscany, Sangiovese lies at the heart of Brunello di Montalcino and Chianti Classico.
The modern history of Brunello is closely tied to the Biondi Santi family. In 1869, a wine made by Clemente Santi from the 1865 vintage, bearing the name Brunello, won a gold medal and wrote one of the earliest important chapters in the wine’s identity. Chianti Classico has its own legend. The Gallo Nero, or Black Rooster, recalls the medieval rivalry between Florence and Siena. Even the emblem of an Italian wine carries the memory of an old feud.
The landscape itself becomes part of the experience. The hills of Barolo in Piedmont and the Tuscan vineyards around Montalcino and Chianti turn wine into a reason to travel, with wineries, medieval villages and roads winding through the vines.
Barolo or Bordeaux? Two different schools of wine
Barolo expresses Nebbiolo and a specific corner of Piedmont. Bordeaux has built much of its identity around the art of blending and the different expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
The two wine philosophies meet in the same pursuit of a wine that captures the character of its place. In Barolo, that character flows through Nebbiolo. In Bordeaux, it emerges through the composition of grape varieties and the balance they create together.
Masseto: The Italian wine that entered The Gentlemen argument
“On the contrary! The Masseto was excellent,” Eddie admits.
The choice of label carries a wonderful irony. Masseto is born in Tuscany from Merlot, the French grape that has made history in Bordeaux. Its first experimental bottling came in 1986 and was aged in new French barriques.
Italian soil, French grape, French oak. France and Italy meet inside the same bottle.
Luxury or value for money? Familiar aromas at a different price
The cellar of The Gentlemen opens the door to the world of fine wine. In Bordeaux, Château Mouton Rothschild 2020 sits around the €1,000 mark per bottle, with blackcurrant, cherry, chocolate and tobacco shaping its complex aromatic profile. The far more accessible Mouton Cadet remains firmly within the Bordeaux family, with ripe red and dark fruit, raspberry, blueberry, spices and aromatic herbs.
In Tuscany, Tignanello 2023, led by Sangiovese, unfolds with ripe cherry, pomegranate, violet, cocoa and white pepper. Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2023, made from grapes grown at Tenuta Tignanello, inhabits a familiar aromatic world of black cherry, red fruit, violet and cocoa.
We settle into a deep leather armchair and leave the duel aside for a moment. Two glasses stand before us. Tignanello 2023 in one, Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2023 in the other. We hold them up to the light, swirl them slowly and bring them to the nose. Cherry, violet, cocoa. Familiar aromas emerge with different levels of intensity, depth and length.
The cellar is quiet. Around us are old labels, wood and leather. Low light falls across the bottles and a good glass of wine takes on its own small ritual. Terroir, ageing, complexity, rarity and prestige explain part of the difference in price. The rest is decided here, the moment the wine reaches the glass.
We taste one first. Then the other. The great wine duel can wait. After all, the best way to choose between two wines is to have both of them in front of you.
Salute!
From France and Italy, our road leads to the Greek vineyard. Discover it at Sommelier’s Corner. The next wine journey starts here.
