Unless you live completely off the grid, in the wilderness, the obvious story on everyone’s mind is that of COVID 19. The world looks much different from how it did only two weeks ago, and completely different from two months ago.
I have many observations of COVID 19, from my interactions with people in Baltimore, across the US, and in Italy. Emotions, hopes, fears, questions.
But we are currently living in a world where going outside our house is different from what it once was. There are fears about sickness, and death. There are fears about economic uncertainty, and livelihood.
I wonder if it is better to write about something else, to provide a distraction, from the fears and from the uncertainty.
Today, I will write about a distraction. But my expectation is that others are curious about a perspective on COVID 19. So I’ll post my thoughts on COVID 19 in a few days.
For now…
Imagine.
The sound: a fast paced tempo, kept by tambourines; complemented by stringed instruments that are most likely guitar and mandolin.
The sight: a woman dances, intensely, as if trying to exorcise the effects of a spider’s poison.
The place: Puglia, Italy.
Geographically, Italy is well known for its shape, resembling a woman’s boot. The section of Italy comprising the heel, and the section that runs up the back of the boot just above the heel, is the region of Puglia.
The music and dance is the taranta, an art form that may have its origins as far back as ancient Greece. The legend holds that the bite of a local spider, similar to a tarantula, could induce a form of hysteria that could only be cured by frenzied dancing.
Here is a good example of the dance form. Do yourself a favor, and at least give it a brief viewing:
This scene, from La Notte della Taranto (The Night of the Taranta) festival in Puglia, captures the intensity of the music and the dance. One of my favorite moments from this video is the cut to attendees also doing the dance, clearly knowing what they’re doing.
Musically, I see many shades of other musical forms from Europe. Similarities to flamenco, in Spain; or Celtic folk music from Ireland. I often wonder if centuries of interaction among cultures led to some sort of cross pollination of ideas, and influences. On the scale of a much shorter period of time, similar to how the blues is ever present in the music of Led Zeppelin.
Now, for a moment, transport yourself away from that festival in Puglia with the taranta dancing and the folk music steeped with centuries and maybe millennia of influences. In a wine store, in front of a shelf full of the wines of Italy.
Maybe we’ve listened to the music and watched the dancing and musicians, and we want to bring that feeling of the taranta and Italian folk music into our evening, to provide something exotic. Maybe even with an Italian dish of bread, and olive oil, and pasta with vegetables and a little bit of spice. Perhaps a wine from Puglia could tie all of this together.
The shelf will most likely be dominated by wines from Chianti, and of the Pinot Grigio grape. Most often, these shelves will be organized by regions. As previously noted, the wines of Italy and other Old World producers are organized by location, instead of grape. So as we seek our wines, we are thinking location first, before the grape.
In a US wine store, it is highly unlikely we would see a white wine, or a rosato (or rose). The vino rosso is most likely to be available…the red wine. And from Puglia, they are usually quite affordable, with good wines to be found in the $10-15 range.
The two dominant grapes of Puglia are Primitivo and Negroamaro. Primitivo is genetically the same as Zinfandel, but of the many examples I’ve consumed, I only found one that was made like a US Zinfandel. They are typically easy to drink, full of character, and less expensive.
Negroamaro literally means “dark bitter”. The grape is thick-skinned and imparts a dark hue in the wine. The tannins can be present and a characteristic of “tar” can sometimes be found, similar to other wines elsewhere in Italy. If you see a bottle labeled “Salice Salentino”, it is a Negroamaro. These are sometimes softened with the addition of other red grapes.
Both Primitivo and Negroamaro are worth trying. They have attractive price points, and may offer something interesting and contrasting relative to other red wines. They will definitely be interesting to company, as they are simply different from the mainstream red wines that are typically consumed.
And certainly, sipping either of these while thinking of, or listening, or watching a taranta, could just pull it all together.
Bevi Italiano.