Many consumers are shy about delving into European wine because of the difficulty of understanding the grape contents and styles of the many different wines. Language is main stumbling block. Wine labels feature words that refer to ingredients, places, proper names and wine making styles and if you don't know the language it's tougher to distinguish which words refer to what.
Italian wine's charm seems able to overcome most wine drinker's shyness. One in five bottles of wine produced each year is Italian. Italian wines, red, white, sparkling and even dessert styles seem to have a scintillating, earthy tang that enlivens the taste buds and inspires appetite. The Italians intend wine and food to go together and it's easy to let the good times roll with a bottle of, even very fine Italian wine.
Wine Charms In Bulk
If you've looked at the labels of Italian wines you may still be confused about what grapes are used and what differentiates one wine from another. There are a couple of good reasons for this;
1. Unlike the more familiar grapes that come from the French tradition: Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc etc. there are many hundreds of native Italian grape types that are unfamiliar to Americans.
2. Italian wine is literally produced from one end of the peninsula to the other so that there are literally hundreds of DOCs, and individual regions seem to run together
3. some wines are called by their grape type, some are identified by region or place name and some wines have proprietary made-up names
4. there is variation even within the established rules. The Italians, being Italian, have a fascinating ability to blithely ignore their own system.
The best way to tackle Italian wine is to divide it into regional chunks, using the provincial names as a guide.
So, in the north you have;
Piedmont (sometimes spelled Piemonte), meaning "the foot of the mountains"
Veneto, around the city of Verona and lake Garda,
Trentino-Alto-Adige, following the Adige river north, and
Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, north and east of Venice.
In future articles I'll go over the other big chunks of Italy;
Central Italy
Tuscany, around the cities of Florence and Siena,
Umbria, south of Tuscany, and
Marche and Abruzzo, along the Adriatic coast.
And southern Italy
Puglia, the "heel" of the boot,
Campania, around Naples,
Lazio, around Rome and
Sicily, the island "football" that is being kicked by the boot.
That's eleven regions all together. Not an entirely complete list but inclusive of the most important and available wines. Now we'll run through the northern Italian regions and, as you'll see, if it's hard to make generalizations you'll at least be introduced to the words that are keys to understanding the wines.
Piedmont.
The prominent black grapes here are Barbera, Dolcetto and Nebbiolo. Red wine certainly dominates this region but, because it is relatively cool, ripening is sometimes difficult and the wines all retain a pleasant balance of fruity body and structure. Often the name of the grape appears on the label as in "Barbera d'Alba" or "Dolcetto d'Dogliani", telling you that the grape is grown in the environs of a particular village. Nebbiolo wines may also be identified by that grape's name (Langhe Nebbiolo is made in the Langhe hills) but the two greatest wines of the Peidmont, made from Nebbiolo without a mention of the grape, are Barolo and Barbaresco. These are big, expensive age-worthy wines sometimes said to be Italy's grandest.
In addition there are a handful of whites and sparkling wines from Piedmont. Gavi is made from the Cortese grape although Cortese is sometimes on the label itself. Moscato d'Asti is a slightly sweet slightly effervescent white and Asti Spumant is very bubbly and quite sweet white. Both come from the village of Asti. Brachetto is a red grape most often made into a sweet yet bracing fizzy wine around the village of Aqui, called Brachetto d'Aqui. Arneis is another white with charming body that is generally called by its grape name or identified as Langhe Arneis when it comes from those hills.
Veneto
In the environs of the charming city of Verona, where Romeo and Juliet fell in love, the most famous wine is Valpolicella made from a blend of grapes that are only used to make this wine. The grapes can be picked later and dried before pressing to make Amarone di Valpolicella, an intensely concentrated, headily aromatic and still elegant dry red wine. Amarone, which is a recioto wine (made from dried grapes) joins Barolo and Barbaresco as a "great" Italian wine. There is a third version of Valpolicella called Ripasso which is made by aging the wine in barrels formerly used to ferment Amarone thus producing a red table wine with a hint of Amarone's concentrated richness.
The white wine of the area is called Soave, Italian for "smooth." The best Soave is made from Garganaga grape, sometimes blended with Trebbiano but better if its pure. Soave is kind of like Pinot Grigio in that a lot of both is sub-par. Pinot Grigio is a grape name, and the wine is hugely available and popular, but it has to be well made, in somewhat controlled quantities to be anything more than very basic and fruity.
Prosecco is a gently sparkling wine, sometimes softy ripe and sometimes nicely dry that is made from a grape of the same name. The best versions are from the villages of Valdobbiadene and Conigliano, names that will often accompany the grape name on labels. Prosecco is a very attractive alternative to Champagne (price wise) and has a much finer frame than Asti Spumante.
Trentino Alto-Adige
This region is named for a river that runs south from the Alps into and through the Veneto region. Pinot Grigio is made here in large quantity but, from a good wine maker it shows its best quality. Be aware of how often you see particular versions of Pinot Grigio. If it's in every wine shop it's very likely mass produced and fairly average.
There are several very intriguing if less available wines from this area. Schiava and Lagrein are both red wines identified by the grape type, both somewhat soft and pale with an herbal twist but capable of more depth and darkness, especially the Lagrein. Both wines, better with food than on their own. Lambrusco, another red wine, also comes from this region and can run from sweet to dry and savory, but always with a bit of bubble. The sweeter versions are complex enough to have a wide following although the big brands that are widely available are dismissed by "serious" wine people. There is also good Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay from the Alto-Adige and it's always labeled with the grape type identified.
Friuli-Venezia-Giulia
This is like several regions smashed, and nearly always considered, together around the northern shore of the Adriatic Sea, north of Venice and running up into the Alpine hills. It's mostly about white wine and because the historical ethnicity mixes Italian, German and Austrian the character is different. The whites are generally free of oak, fresh and zesty. Where Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Blanc (Pinot Bianco) are encountered its of good quality, lively and refreshing. Gewurztraminer, locally more often called Traminer, is also expressive, dry and aromatic.
Refosco is one notable red wine although it's a bit tough to find in our local shops. It produces a medium bodied, silky wine with bracing dark cherry character that can verge toward white pepper. There is also Merlot and Cabernet produced in this area that is quite dark and more clean and acidic than domestic or French versions.
Of the whites, Tocai-Friuliano (or simply Friuliano) leads the way with refreshing acidity and spicy, spare fruit character. Ribolla Gialla is another good grape that makes a bit more full bodied and impressive wine although the trend is to imbue all the whites from this area with more richness, either through patient ripening or judicious application of oak aging.
In northern Italy quite a few wines are labeled by grape type - Barbera, Dolcetto, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio, Lagrien or Refosco. Some are named for a village or a geographical feature like Barolo, Barbaresco or the Langhe hills. Some have names that are simply traditional like Valpolicella or Soave, and some wines present little puzzles that require a bit more insight; like, "is that Soave 100% Garganaga"? "is that Valpolicella a Ripasso"? or, "is that Barolo really worth 0 a bottle"?
I hope this run down encourages you to explore.
Stay tuned for another installment on Central Italy. The fun is just beginning.