Wine is a funny thing. It can be delicate, bold, fruity, smokey...and comes in all different colors from all over the world. My love and knowledge of wine has grown immensely since coming to Italy and my interest and appreciation is enhanced every day.
Another difference between pre-Italy me and Italy me is that before I would have told you that I only like red wines and prefer Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon to the others. Italy me now knows that that statement is almost impossible to make. Within each wine "type" we'll call it, there can be hundreds, even thousands of varieties and qualities. You can easily find a stellar chianti sitting on the shelf next to a chianti that you wouldn't even give to your dog.
Before coming to Italy, I drank a lot of not very good wine. Now I drink wine much less often but now really taste and appreciate it. I drink it to enhance the food I'm eating and compliment the pasta, pizza, steak - whatever it may be. It's amazing how much the right wine can change your food experience. In Italy, wine is basically a food group in and unto itself.
Another difference between pre-Italy me and Italy me is that before I would have told you that I only like red wines and prefer Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon to the others. Italy me now knows that that statement is almost impossible to make. Within each wine "type" we'll call it, there can be hundreds, even thousands of varieties and qualities. You can easily find a stellar chianti sitting on the shelf next to a chianti that you wouldn't even give to your dog.
To explain this matter a bit further, a chianti must come from the region of Chianti meaning the grapes must be grown in that region, the wine must be produced a specific way, the fields must be registered and the wine must follow a specific recipe, and it must be approved by a government panel. (Following these rules is what gives wine from this region the DOCG label - the highest legal classification of Italian wine). By the recipe, I mean a Chianti must always contain at least 80% sangiovese grape, then makers can experiment with the other 20% using up to 10% canaiolo and the remainder with approved red grapes such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot or syrah. Think about the possibilities - you can one find a producer who is making one Chianti with 100% sangiovese; one with 80% sangiovese, 5% canaiolo and 15% merlot; and finally a wine with 60% sangiovese and 40% merlot that might be a truly amazing wine but will not be considered a Chianti because it doesn't contain the minimum requirement of 78% sangiovese. Are you following me?
*Sidenote - this last example I gave of the wine with 60% sangiovese and 40% merlot, if it is a wine of a good quality and taste, it could be considered a Super Tuscan. Have you heard this expression before? What a great marketing idea these Italians had. They gave a name to a good-quality wine they produced that legally, because of the recipe qualifications, could not be labeled with the regional title, such as Chianti. And within the Super Tuscan family, there are thousands of varieties and qualities as well. But we see that name and think they are the Top, with a capital "T". This is not always the case. But bravo to whoever came up with that term.
Furthermore, this producer's fields and quality of grapes might be completely different from those of his nearest neighbor who is be producing 3 or 4 Chiantis all with varying recipes, all aged differently and for different lengths of time. Within Chianti alone, there are 8 different sub regions with different micro climates that affect the grapes and the taste of the wine they produce.
If you really stop to think about it, it's truly amazing all of the different variety and quality of wines produced solely in this one small area of Tuscany called Chianti. Then think about all of the different regions within Tuscany. Within central Italy. Within southern Italy. Within France, Spain...
This is enough of a lesson for today. I didn't even mean to give a lesson. In fact, I started out with this blog labeled "All hail Greco di Tufo" because I found this white wine (DOCG) that comes from Campagna in southern Italy, of which I have amazingly enjoyed every different bottle from every different producer I have tried. I wanted to tell all of you about Greco di Tufo and suggest you try to find a bottle at your local wine distributor. I started explaining this love of Greco di Tufo by explaining how all wines are different. And how I was never a "fan" of white wines has completely changed now that I know to give all wines a chance. I would now say that I am an equal opportunity wine taster. I may not love it or choose to drink it. But I'll always taste it.
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