• September 7, 2010

Showtime Networks Inc., in partnership with CBS Consumer Products, has signed a licensing agreement with Hamden, Conn.-based Votto Vines to import a line of Italian wines based on a new Showtime series, "The Borgias."

The red and white varietals, priced at under $15 per bottle, will be produced by a family vineyard in the Bianco di Custoza zone in the northern Italian region of Veneto. The partners plan to release the wines prior to the debut of the series in Spring 2011.

A one-hour drama series based on the infamous Italian Renaissance family, "The Borgias" will star Jeremy Irons. Academy Award-winning director Neil Jordan ("The Crying Game") is the series' creator and executive producer, and will also direct the first two episodes.