tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2888796585639115632.post121006007765710649..comments2022-05-03T03:33:17.771-07:00Comments on The Intrepid Wino: Are you serious? (Marche, Italy – Day Two)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00975773499537853927noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2888796585639115632.post-40392805809053959012012-04-29T01:53:04.725-07:002012-04-29T01:53:04.725-07:00Hi Matt,
Firstly, thanks so much for your comments...Hi Matt,<br />Firstly, thanks so much for your comments, it's great to actually get a dialogue going, as the point of my blog is to promote discussion and not suggest that any one person is right.<br />Secondly, you are completely right about the so-called 'international' varieties being brought to Italy hundreds of years ago by various migrants and conquerors. These varieties have adapted and found new homes and new styles in Italy which are unique and of wonderful quality, most notably pinot grigio. Bolgheri is an interesting case because viticulture has a very short history there, so there are no native varieties and thus experimenting with non-Italian varieties is absolutely fine. I guess the thing I was disagreeing with was the recent planting of (mostly red) French varieties in areas that have very strong histories with indigenous varieties, in an effort to produce wines that the market want now, rather than increasing the profile, knowledge and quality of the indigenous varieties for future opportunities. When you consider that most of the New World is doing this in even larger scales (e.g. South America) this makes for a very homogenous market where people around the world are drinking a lot of the same wine that could come from anywhere. I think this is a bad thing, and will always champion the local wines made from local varieties. This doesn't mean that I will ignore the introduced varieties per se, I am a realist after all. I think the difficulty is in educating new markets about these different wines to create demand for them. The point I was trying to make was that great ITALIAN wines are made from these varieties in a unique, traditional and approachable way, whereas wines like those from Bolgheri are just great wines. Possibly a controversial assertion.<br />Thirdly, you are also right that verdicchio is totally underrated and so is lacrima. I was blown away at the quality of the Umani Ronchi wines, and also admire their marketing and communcations; very good labelling. I didn't taste the 2009 vintage of the Vecchie Vigne, I now wish I had because the 2008 was fantastic.<br />I'm in Rome now and head down to Abruzzo for two days (cursed by yet another public holiday), then Puglia for three days. I've been having problems getting responses from wineries in central and southern Italy, haven't heard from Morgante yet. Keep in touch, thanks again for the feedback.<br />James.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00975773499537853927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2888796585639115632.post-57696876693913199242012-04-28T22:14:04.707-07:002012-04-28T22:14:04.707-07:00The Marche is one of my favourite regions, I love ...The Marche is one of my favourite regions, I love it - if only I could get there for a summer holiday!<br />James, I have to comment on a few of your points. Firstly, I agree that Italy's future is in its diverse range of indigenous grape varieties. No other country can make wine like Italy can from these grapes (try as they might). However, to exclude or dismiss those wines made from 'international' or French varieties is a simplification of the history of Italian wine. Trentino's San Leonardo makes a world class red from Cabernet, Franc and Merlot with more sense of place than most wines made from these varieties around the world. Then there is Bolgheri, Chardonnay and Merlot in Friuli, Cabernet in central Tuscany - many have been in the region for longer than Australia has been making wine. <br />It's true that Italy flirted with international varieties too much throughout the 90's but I dont think that Italy is losing its "sense of place and personality". Rather, I would argue that it has well and truly discovered it and we are in a golden age of Italian wine.<br />In regards to the wines at Umani Ronchi, yes there are a few! Despite the size and success, this is very much a family winery and their focus is clearly on Verdicchio and Montepulciano. Verdicchio is one of my favourite white grapes in Italy (underrated in my opinion) and I love Casal di Serra and Vecchie Vigne - the new vintages are exceptional. Did you taste the 2009 Vecchie Vigne, Gambero Rosso's 2012 white wine of the year? <br />Where to next?<br />MattMatt Paulhttp://www.sottolapergola.comnoreply@blogger.com