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Viva Italia!
by Arnie
Millan
How can you not love Italy, its people and its
bounty? Italians are wonderful, warm, hospitable people. The
Italian persona is intertwined with a multi-millennial tradition
of wine and the staples of the Mediterranean diet: bread,
cheese, tomatoes and olive oil. Outside Etruria (modern day
Tuscany), the ancient Greeks brought the vine to Italy and
they planted it everywhere. So prolific did the vine grow
on the peninsula that the ancient Greek name for Italy was
"Enotria" or "land of the trained vine."
To this day in Italy, unique among Western European countries,
the vine is planted everywhere.
And there are so many great indigenous and ancient grapes!
Finding intriguing, delicious Italian wine does not require
a large bank account. So, with so much of sunny Italy to explore,
let's start by first taking a tour of wines of Southern Italian
wine regions.
In ancient times, Southern Italy was called Magna Gręcia,
since it was a Greek colony. Our first stop is likely the
first landing point for those ancient Greek sailors, Puglia,
in the "heel" of the Italian "boot." Look
for red wines here from Salento, Salice Salentino, the Gulf
of Taranto, and Manduria. The red wine grapes are mostly Negroamaro
with some Malvasia Nera for the Salice and Salento reds, sometimes
winemakers include a bit of Primitivo (same grape as California's
Zinfandel) or Aglianico. These wines are dark with a volatile
aroma of cooked fruits, such as plum or prune. Malvasia (Nera
- dark and Bianco - white) likely came from the Greek Peloponnesian
port of Monemvasia. Aglianico is a corruption of the word
"Ellenico or Hellenico (from Vitis Hellenico or vine
of the Greeks) indicating the grape's Greek origins.
A major wine from Taranto or Manduria is Primitivo (meaning
"early ripening"). Uva di Troia is another popular
grape from Northern Puglia. Good producers are Cosimo Taurino,
Luccarelli, Rosa del Golfo, Calatrassi (Allora), A Mano, Strippoli
and La Corte. Wines from this region are priced from $6.99/bottle
on up.
Moving Southwest from Puglia, we find ourselves in the hardscrabble
rural countryside of Calabria, along the sole of the boot.
In the region of Ciró, a lovely red wine is made from the
local Gaglioppo grape. White grapes are Greco (Greek) di Bianco,
Malvasia, Melissa and Lamentino. Librandi is a widely distributed
producer whose start at $6.99/bottle.
Next, we head North to Campania, home of many famed ancient
grapes and the ancient Greco-Roman spa towns of Pęstum, Herculaneum,
and Pompeii along the stunning, rocky Amalfi coast. Red grapes
are the Aglianico and Piedirosso. White grapes include the
delicious Greco, Fiano, Falerno and Falanghina. In fact, the
latter two grapes may have been related to Falernian, the
legendary wine of Ancient Rome. Lachryma Christi (or "tears
of Christ") is both a light red and white wine from Mount
Vesuvius . Many great producers are here including Mastroberardino,
Feudi di San Gregorio, Montesole and Fattoria Galardi. Reds
and Whites generally can be found starting at $9/bottle on
up to $90.
Then we head East to the junction of three wine regions on
an extinct volcano called Mount Vulture (Vool-toor-ay). It
lies mostly in Basilicata near Eastern Campania and Northern
Puglia. The grape here is Aglianico and the wine, called Aglianico
del Vulture, is produced from vines on high slopes by many
people including d'Angelo. It can be a rich, tannic wine great
with steaks.
The great thing with the Southern Italian (Il Mezzogiorno
or midday) wines is that when you imbibe a draft of wine,
you are drinking history. Your mind can harken back to images
of Doric temples and Roman ruins, of myth and legend. Exploring
these wines is truly a journey of the palate and the imagination.
In future columns, I will explore the wines of other Italian
regions including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.
About Arnie Millan
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Arnie has been a wine
aficionado for nearly thirty years. During his first visit
to France in 1973, Arnie toured several French vineyards
and began to learn about wine from wine merchants and
collectors. Arnie has been consulting to restaurants about
wine since 1987. In 1997, he opened his own award-winning
restaurant, Avenue One, in Seattle. Arnie is a Sommelier
certified by the International Guild of Sommeliers. He
recently appeared in the video, "Wineworks: The Complete
Video Guide to Wine," available in selected wine
shops and book stores.
Arnie speaks fluent French and German.
Arnie frequently teaches wine classes and conducts wine
dinners and tasting parties, both public and private.
He also consults for restaurants and private collectors/clients
on the West Coast. Arnie is also conducting tastings
for a division of Robert Mondavi wines.
You may contact Arnie at: finedining7@hotmail.com
or by phone at 206-612-6547.
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