Italy Diaries Part 2: South African in Piedmont

Tasting wine in Italy, especially at a large show, is not only overwhelming on the senses but on the vocabulary too. Allesverloren and Vergelegen need not worry about Brits or Americans mispronouncing their names when you have producers like the following in Italy:

• Vigneto La Volpe El’uva
• Azianda Agricold Santa Clelia
• Montabera terra del Ruche

Is it a coincidence of name that two of the most successful producers in Italy are Gaja and Frescobaldi?

In terms of the senses, one is overwhelmed by Campagne white wines full of fruit on the nose but mineral and lean on the palate (volcanic soils at work), an eiswein from 15000m in Chiomante, dark and broody Barolos and Nebbiolo d’ Albas, sparkling and delicious spumantes (sparkling wines) and out of left field some sneaky grappas! All before 10am…

Italy’s great strength is its diversity but it is also its great branding weakness. Move 20km in Italy and you are faced with different grapes, different foods and unique traditions. Local is definitely lekker in Italy!

The problem is, for most wine drinkers armed with 10 varietals in their palate memory, maybe five regions they know and prefer, a blend of Avona, Becuet and Nerette Cuneese from Chiomante is downright scary. Nevermind the detail that it is a wine made at altitudes of over 10 000m, is completely unique to the region and its 15% alcohol is due to warm slopes and large boulders in the vineyard that continue to warm the microclimate after dark. Phew!

Well, luckily the Italians aren’t resting on their proverbial laurels and trying to simplify and “right bank”, “left bank” their wines, rather they are embracing their diversity. Piedmont is the home of the slow food movement, which aims to promote these traditions and move away from fast foods and fast wines.

Humbly, Undertheinfluence.co.za has some tips to offer the Italians, all from the perspective of “how could we better understand and talk about this region” (Piedmont in particular):

• We saw 100s of local books extolling Italian wine and by the looks of things, describing them in great detail. Uno problemo. They were all in Italian!
• It seems as if the Italians LOVE their flash websites, we love pictures but some more info, in English would be most helpful.
• Get Italians to talk about Italian wines. So many countries rely on a few American and UK wine critics to make or break them. Italy mustn’t let itself become Parkerised, rather use the web to get Italians talking about their incredible wines. Instead of a Gary Vay-ner-chuk, how about a Fab-ric-cio!?

Italy might have some lessons to learn but we can learn a lot from them. Local is lekker! The French talk about terroir but the Italians take it to a new level, matching individual grapes to village slopes to food prepared in a local way. So, taking a sip of Italian wine, means taking a sip of their place and their culture. So, slow down, open up an Italian wine, prepare a home made dish and let this incredible culture and approach to life wash over you. Then wash it down with a grappa and espresso!