Do you have a go-to wine – a specific producer, grape variety, or area – that is typically on your table?
Do you like Italian wines, and if so, what is your favorite?
In June, I passed the exam that recognized me as a certified Italian Wine Ambassador, in Verona. This past July, Staci also successfully passed her exam for the same recognition. So Wide Roots now has two certified Italian Wine Ambassadors! This is a prestigious recognition from Vinitaly International Academy (VIA). Out of nearly 900 students, only 274 have passed this exam.
This achievement by both Staci and me caused me to revisit an aspect of our mission that has not gotten much of my focus recently: encouraging general education. Of course, I want people to try our wines, but I want them to try many wines, and the become enthusiasts who may have go-to wines they enjoy, but also like to explore and experience different flavors.
There is no better country to explore than Italy when it comes to wine diversity. A few facts that help this perspective (quoted from Henry Davar, VIA faculty member and one of the world’s leading experts on Italian wine):
- 90% of French wines come from 15 grape varieties
- 90% of American wines come from 9 varieties
- 90% of Italian wines come from 30 varieties
- There are anywhere from 377 to 500+ recognized “commercially significant” grape varieties in Italy, accounting for 28-35% of the world’s grapes
Italy has grape growing and winemaking traditions that go back 3000+ years, thanks to settlement by the Mycenaean civilization from ancient Greece. Many of its grapes are native to the peninsula and Italian islands; some go back to Roman times. Today, 15 of the top 20 grape varieties in Italy are native grapes; Sangiovese (key grape in Chianti but grown all over Italy) is the leading red, Glera (the aromatic grape in Prosecco) is the leading white.
Because of the geography of the peninsula, with the Appenines creating a spine across the length of the peninsula, and the Alps in the north, Italy has 20 regions that, while part of the same country, remain fiercely independent in their traditions. This contributes to the diversity in culinary traditions, as well as wine.
In addition, this geography, along with millions of years of geological events, create many different climates, soil types, and sun exposures, making Italy a great place to explore terroir: as an example, try a flight of Sangiovese from Chianti, Morellino di Scansano, Brunello di Montalcino, and Emilia-Romagna; or even try a flight from within Chianti, which has its own diversity of terroir. Doing so allows you to appreciate the differences that these factors can have on wines made from Sangiovese–there will be similarities but also differences that will help you appreciate it more.
Combine these factors, and you have thousands of years of perfecting grape growing, wine making, matching grapes to terroir, and food pairing techniques. With 20 regions and over 300 grape varieties, there is a lot of exploring to do!
Another helpful exercise is to try Italian wines side by side with wines from other locations. Italian wines can often have very unique aromas and flavors; I’ve heard Master Sommeliers refer to this simply as “Italian character”. Most notably, Italian wines may have bitter or herbal characters that make them distinct. These stand out more when tasted side by side with wines from other locations.
Italian white wines are interesting due to many different and unique aromas and flavors, but also because they often have an element of mouthfeel to them, analogous to tannins in red wine. Why is mouthfeel important? It helps to make them amazingly food friendly (think of scrubbing fat from cheese, which can coat your mouth), and it also contributes to age worthiness similar to the way tannins do this for red wines. During my recent trip to Italy, I was impressed by aged examples of Verdicchio, Vermentino, and Müller-Thurgau; they can develop hazelnut or honeyed characters that provide richness and complexity.
There are so many grapes and wines to explore. Do you need a starting point? Sign up for our email list and receive our quick reference guide to Wines of the Old World. The Italian section is updated with more varieties to explore. The file is a 4 page PDF that is easily readable on a smartphone.