Scratching the Italian Surface

Occasionally, the world of wine as it pertains to Italy seems a daunting and complicated set of facts and regulations with an enormously rich history in tow; only to complicate things further. It is easy to feel under equipped and overwhelmed at the sheer volume of regions and varietals that have been such a big part of Italian culture and commerce for over 3,000 years. Montalcino or Montepulciano? Barolo or Brunello? For this recitation of sorts, we’ll keep it simple and examine the two (perhaps) most notable and familiar regions; Piedmont and Tuscany.

Nebbiolo is the king of the red grapes in the Piedmont region. Dense yet sensitive to climate changes, this grape produces rich, jammy, dark and inky “crushes”. The grape itself can be tweaked to drink fruit-forward, young and approachable—or it can be massaged to produce intense, slowly developing red wines. There are two zones that come to mind in Piedmont when we examine the Nebbiolo grape: Barbaresco and Barolo. For arguments sake, let’s just remember that Barolo is slightly the heavier of the two; with Barbaresco typically showing more refinement and elegance. I have found Barolo to be a bit more stubby, and rotund. The hills in Barbaresco are smaller and less steep, which perhaps contributes to its slight inherent differences.

Sangiovese is the king of the region we adore as Tuscany. The grape, Sangiovese itself, is known as a sturdy grower that without much help, makes some animated and dynamic wines of note. Sangiovese at its best can display prominent notes of black cherry, tea, violet, and ripe currant. The grape itself, by in large, is ready and amicable now, but can also be tended for age and length. Chianti, Chianti Classico, Chianti Ruffina and Brunello di Montalcino are all zones, and wines made predominantly with Sangiovese or a Sangiovese clone. Brunello di Montalcino would be the chief example of Sangiovese meant to age for roughly 10 years before being devoured.

In a nutshell, the two products and their regions mentioned above are a solid springboard to leap from, when investigating Italian wine further. I must admit though that I am normally not one to engage in sweeping generalizations when discussing wine, but for time and space constraints it is necessary (and yet agonizingly hard for me), to limit the discussion to only two regions, and two grapes. I would feel inattentive if I didn’t quickly “plug” the regions in Italy that are not at all related, except geographically, to the two above, but are indeed worth mention in that they also produce wonderfully remarkable wines. Fruili, Alto Adige, Umbria, Lombardy, Veneto, Campania, Abbruzzo—are all worthy of their own blog, and more importantly worthy of our attention, (and that of our wine lists as well)!
Everyone knows that Grigio stuff (it has its place, I suppose). But extend further to other Italian whites. Introduce Verdiccio, Orvieto, Soave, and Gavi to your Grigio drinkers at least, and at once.

It should also be mentioned that an interesting thing happened right after WWII in Italian winemaking. After the war, the Italian growers and wine makers rebuilt their industry and pledged to produce as much wine as possible; simply to protect their well-being, and their economy from any future “challenges”. The more the merrier was the motto and the result was an obvious emphasis placed on quantity rather than quality. This went on for some time, but around the late 60’s or 70’s Italy experienced a wine renaissance of sorts, like so many of our favorite wine regions have. Growers and wine makers started to focus on the excellence of each harvests yield, rather than just gathering and pressing. In Tuscany around this time, winemakers like Antinori secretively thumbed their noses at the governmental regulations, and started to dabble with wine on their own terms. Antinori, with great inspiration, started to blend Bordeaux style grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot) with the native Sangiovese. With this, the birth of what we know today as “Super Tuscans” was realized. Super Tuscans are fine wines; blends really, that simply don’t play by the rules as laid down by the Italian government. I cannot think of an equally amazing product brought on by such revolt as those yielding from what we know as Super Tuscans. Serendipity? Perhaps. But more than likely, true ingenuity from evaluation. This Italian spirit, innovation and commitment to superiority are what intimately brought Italy back to the map of quality and concentrated winemaking. So I urge the exploration of this wonderful landscape, and its culture—with the hopes that as always- knowledge gained is life (and wine) enjoyed. Salute and Cin Cin!