Italy
is not exactly awash in wine, the locals drink it fast enough
to keep it from pooling up. Still, anyone looking at Italian
wine for the first time is bound to be astounded at the sea
of different types, regions, and qualities. No country produces
more wine (well actually in some vintages France does). No country
has more registered production sites (nearing one million these
days). No country is more casual about the array of local wines.
No country has taken more pains to improve the regulation of
place names and quality grades. Italy is confusing to most wine
consumers, but the rewards for experimenting with Italian wine
are great.
First
off, let us acknowledge that there is an abundance of generic
regional wine throughout Italy. These are wines consumed locally,
in casual restaurants, and as the every day table beverage in
many households (something like iced tea here in the South).
These wines can be just fine to accompany a rustic pasta meal,
or pizza served street-side, but they are of little interest
for export since they are light, low in alcohol, and suffer
from aging beyond the year of production. Moreover, the cheapest
wine makes for poor value when bottled, labeled, shipped, taxed
and marked-up by the trade. These wines can occasionally be
cheaper than bottled water, but lose their charm when they leave
home.
Far more
important are the DOC and DOCG wines, invariably sold in bottle
and carefully regulated. In short, DOC (Denominazione di Origine
Controllata) denotes a controlled place name. This countrywide
system attempts to identify wines of special merit and defined
traditional style. Grapes must come from registered vineyards
and conform to localized laws concerning grape type, production
methods, and yields per acre. There is no doubt that a huge
portion of Italy’s best wine is labeled under the DOC regulations.
The DOC stamp of approval does much to guarantee the purchaser
the style, and quality of the wine. DOCG (Denominazione di Origine
Controllata e Garantita) is a designation for the most tightly
regulated DOC wines. There is a bit of politics to the awarding
of this top status, nevertheless the DOCG’s are reliably among
the finest.
IGT (Indicazione
Geografica Tipica) is yet another standard of regulation for
top Italian wines. This designation is most valuable in that
it often identifies high quality, regional wines which are rather
recent in their development. Some of the finest wines of Italy
are sold as IGT because they use grapes not recognized by the
local DOC. For example a Merlot wine could not be called Chianti
(DOC) since the Merlot grape is not traditional for the region.
The wine could be very fine indeed (and might sell for the highest
prices of the area), but it would have to be labeled IGT.
Some
American consumers are annoyed with Italian naming conventions
and regulations. We are used to seeing a brand name on everything.
We tend to feel secure buying wines that name a winery (or in
some cases a mere trademark) and the majority grape. This same
sort of label generally appears on only the very lowest level
of European product. Place is all importance to the naming of
Italian wines.
The best
approach to the wines of Italy is not to seek out familiar names
like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay, but rather to try a traditional
wine from one of the premium regions. Good first efforts would
be Chianti or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano from Tuscany, or
Barbera d’Asti, Barbaresco, or Barolo from the Piedmont. Try
a number of renowned regional wines (they need not all be pricey)
and then focus on a preferred region. Sample other wines from
the same producer, the same town, or the same region. Dare to
experiment, then learn about the regional traditions. Enjoy!
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Originally published
in "The Greenville Journal", January 4 - 10, 2002 in "From The
Vine" column, author, Richard deBondt.
01/05