Italian wine can be tough for most of us to understand. Italy has officially recognized and regulated production classifications like the French Appellation system, so some knowledge of Italian geography is required. There is also a lot more variety in how Italian wine is labeled, even sometimes leading with the grape varietal like New World wines.
For example, a Barbera d’ Asti is a wine made from the Barbera grape in the town of Asti. Pretty simple for that one. But for most Italian wine, some existing knowledge is required. For example, a Brunello needs to be 100 percent Sangiovese grape, a Barolo is made from the Nebbiolo grape and Chianti is a classification not a varietal.
There are four official Italian wine classifications:
· Vino da Tavola- This is table wine and typically means lower quality, but not always.
· Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) – This is used for a wine that doesn’t follow established blending or production standards, for example some Super Tuscans (a term that often describes a blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon).
· Denomizazione di Orgine Controllata (DOC) – This is a quality assurance ranking, indicating the region the wine is from and usually how it was made. For example, a wine can’t be called Chianti unless it is made within the Chianti DOC.
· Denominazione di Orginie Controllata e Garantita (DOGC) – This is the highest and strictest classification, denoted by a government numbered seal on the neck of the bottle.
This weekend I attended a fun event organized by the Grape and Bean in Old Town, Alexandria. Importer Alberto Panella walked our group of about 50 through deciphering the wines of Italy, in this case the Tuscany region. The two wine makers featured were Montenidoli and Casanova di Neri.
Alberto made it clear from the start these would be Old World style wines, meaning they are produced to accompany food. So they are lighter and more acidic than say a California Cabernet or an Australian Shiraz. The cheeses and charcuterie put out by Grape and Bean complemented the wines nicely.
For me Casanova di Neri delivered the two winners of the event. Which one to go for depends on your wine budget. The Casanova di Neri Brunello Tenuta Nuova was a beautiful wine. The Brunello on the label means this is a 100 percent Sangiovese wine that manages to be both light and textured on the palate. It was fragrant and delicious, with an elusive quality to it. You sense a lot going on, a definite substance to this wine. It retails for $88 from Grape and Bean.
The winner with a better quality to cost ratio was the Casanova di Neri 2010 Rosso. Rosso simply means Red in Italian, so that doesn’t say very much. On the back of the bottle is the DOC Sant Antimo, and the city of Montalcino. This wine is 90 percent Sangiovese, with a small amount of the Colorino varietal is added for color – hence the name Colorino.
The Rosso was more in keeping with the American palate. It was delicious and rather smooth, with approachable cherry fruit. It has an easy, clean finish with a touch of pepper. This wine retails for $25, and is a nice introduction to the wines of Tuscany.
So don’t leave Italy off your wine list because it can get confusing. If your favorite retailer organizes events like the Tuscany wine tasting, sign up. They can be a fun and economical way to learn a little bit about wine and, as importantly, your own palate.
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Christopher Parente is managing director and partner of Strategic Communications Group, a social media and public relations consultancy based in Silver Spring, Maryland and Tysons Corner, Virginia. He also publishes Work, Wine and Wheels, a top 100K web site in the United States as measured by Alexa, an online measurement company. You can follow Chris on LinkedIn or Twitter.