Much
of the Italian wine shipped to the U.S. comes from three northeastern
regions. Taken together the regions are called Tre Venezie because
of their historic association with the ancient shipping center
of Venice. The area is complicated and multi-ethnic and produces
wine of just about every kind. Modern concepts of production and
marketing, often through cooperative wineries, have made the lands
between the Adriatic and the Alps particularly successful in export
markets. Most American wine drinkers have tasted wines of Italy’s
northeast. Many Italian "branded" wines, mild, widely
available, and inexpensive, come from the Tre Venezie.
The
Veneto has the longest track record with American consumers. The
region is large, stretching out from Venice into the foothills
to the north, and westward past Verona to Lake Garda. No other
Italian region bottles as much D.O.C. (regulated place-name) wine.
True, Sicily and Apulia in the south produce more wine, but less
of it goes into bottle under the D.O.C. regulations. Soave is
the most ubiquitous example of wine from the Veneto. Today two
distinct classes of Soave are said to exist. A huge volume of
light, innocuous, cheap Soave is available under mass trademarks.
It is hard to quarrel with the success of this style. The lightest
Soave provides quaffing wine at a very reasonable price. A grander
class of Soave "Classico Superiore" exists. These wines
are not to be found in huge volume but they reward a search. Dry,
rich, complex, and often tinged with a bitter-almond-like finish,
the finest Soave is elegant indeed. A few top producers, Anselmi
for example, have even begun to downplay the regional name, giving
prominence to their own estate.
Two
famous red wines of the Veneto are also widely available. Valpolicella
and Bardolino present something of the same situation as Soave.
Great wines are found under either D.O.C., but cheap, ordinary
stuff abounds. Even when fine quality, these are almost always
wines to drink very young. The better examples, though still light,
exhibit plenty of complex taste and finish long and dry (bitter
almond can show up here too). The most notable red of the region
is certainly Amarone. From the Valpolicella district, Amarone
is made from late harvest grapes dried for months before fermentation.
This approach yields a sugar content in the resulting juice which
affords richness and depth to what otherwise might be light, breezy
wine. Great Amarone is prized (and expensive) and is surely one
of the great red wines of Italy.
East
of the Veneto is Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, bordering Slovenia. Most
folks just call this region Friuli. Friuli is famous for modern,
crisp, dry whites. Much of the wine of this region goes to market
with the name of the grape prominent on the bottle (this is not
the norm for Italy where most wines are named for their place
of origin). The most famous "varietal" from Friuli is
the enormously successful Pinot Grigio. This wine can be light,
frivolous, and even a bit sweet, but at its best Pinot Grigio
is rich, mineral-filled and dry. Great Pinot Grigio can rival
the great whites of Burgundy. Other success stories from this
region are made with Pinot Bianco, Malvasia, Verduzzo, and even
Cabernet or Merlot. A local specialty is red wine from the Refosco
grape, a distinctive crisp red unique to the area.
Trentino-Alto
Adige is Italy’s northernmost region. Vineyards here climb the
foothills into the Alps themselves. Alto Adige, the northern half
of the region, is called "Sudtirol" (South Tyrol) by
its many German-speaking residents. Here again, many wines go
to market with the name of the grape on the label. Pinot Grigio
is once again king. Excellent white wines are also made from Sauvignon
and Chardonnay. Most of the red wine of the region is light and
simple.
Lately
a wide variety of intriguing "Tre Venezie" wines have
arrived in our market. Experimentation is in order. Drink something
different soon!
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Originally
published in "The Greenville Journal", January 18 - 24, 2002 in
"From The Vine" column, author, Richard deBondt.