Italy

They drive speedily on Italian roads.  It's not that they're in more of a hurry than the rest of the world, it's probably that they're simply "late." 

The same goes for the world of Italian wines.  When wine has been made in an area for a few thousand years, the drive to improve its quality has come only in the past ten or fifteen years.  While many wines were simply not of "international quality," Italy is now hell-bent on making its mark in the world of wine and is doing so with the same speed exhibited on its autostradas. 

Winery after winery is (or has) installing stainless steel, temperature-controlled fermentation tanks.  New oak barrels are everywhere (this is both good and bad).   More importantly, Italian winemakers are traveling around the world and tasting the wines of their competition.  (The best wines in the world are often made by winemakers who are well-versed in the wines from far-away lands.)  

I have been fortunate enough to have traveled in Italy for nearly 20 years and have witnessed the dramatic changes with my own eyes (and palate).  I speak the language (now) and am always curious to see what new discoveries are to be made with each visit.  

Other Thoughts:

Many Italian winemakers now speak about "international-style" for their wines.  This is usually translates to "oak." 

Winemakers often attempt to curry favor with wine writers.  They'll read some reviews, see what scores highly and alter their winemaking in an effort to get close to the 100-point rating.   Hence, you have Tuscan vintners (and many others) adding Montepulciano wine from Abruzzo or some dark red from Puglia to "beef up" their red wines.
It's all about the score and rating.

Winemakers seem to be less sensitive to tannin than wine drinkers.  In the past decade, or so, winemakers seem to have gotten a handle on tannin.  

We used to find many wines of Italy to be extremely tannic.  What's the point in having an astringent, tannic, yet fruity red wine?  For example, we view Dolcetto as something to drink when it's young.  Yet many producers make a wine which has the same fierce tannins as Nebbiolo-based reds.  This seems foolish to us.

One feature of many Italian wines is they really taste better with food.  This may be, partly, a function of the tannins present in so many Italian wines (red ones, anyway). 

PIEMONTESE WINES

TUSCAN WINES

NORTHERN ITALIAN

CENTRAL ITALY

SOUTHERN ITALY

ITALIAN DESSERT WINES

Photo Taken by Gerald Weisl
No reproduction or use of this photo is permitted.


  Winery Brooms  
Photo taken at the Vietti winery in Castiglione Falletto in 1984.

   Can you tell this  winery makes red wine?

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