Italy's native wines: Vitigno Italia celebrates indigenous grape varieties

The Vitigno Italia event starts on Sunday in Naples, in a wine exhibition that showcases what we can describe as Italy’s “native wines”. Vitigno Italia is specifically dedicated to grape varieties from Italy, and should prove to be a fascinating event, to taste everything from Arneis to Aglianico, Zibibbo and back again.

Alternatively speaking, I am a particular fan of Italy’s southern grape varietals (otherwise I stick to nebbiolo which is an all-time favourite of mine). Impressive indigenous wines, particularly from Campania, include Greco di Tufo, falanghina, and aglianico, and moving further north Tuscany offers some great vermentino, though I also love Vermentino di Gallura from Sardinia.

In its 2009 Italy supplement, Decanter takes a look at Italy’s indigenous whites, saying that insipid Italian white wines have damaged the country’s reputation. Mark O’Halleron takes a look at some of the indigenous whites, saying that it is a reputation that, “on the basis of this tasting, Italy has been rather harshly lumbered with”.

I couldn’t agree more, and if the UK hasn’t got its hands on good Italian whites, and has only “unimaginative” Pinot Grigio or Soave on offer, more fool them. It doesn’t take much exploring in Italy to find some excellent whites, and some even more excellent native whites.

So here’s hoping that Vitigno Italia will be a real celebration; after all, Italy has the most incredible patrimony in terms of grape varieties, that makes it an exciting country to explore, via its wines.

P.S For a look at some interesting wine from Campania, take a look at Terredora: amazing Greco di Tufo, coda di volpe (I love this name for a grape: “the fox’s tail”) and Taurasi (aglianico).

Restaurants in Verona: Antica Bottega dei Vini and the "Valpolicella Ripassso episode"

We recently had a meal at the Antica Bottega dei Vini in Verona, set up as a restaurant, and wine and food shop in Verona’s centre. You can also find a Bottega del Vino in New York, remarkably similar in its style, though I’ve never eaten there, so that’s extent of my comments on the New York arm of the business.

I had previously eaten at the Bottega dei Vini in Verona a few years ago and as the experience was positive, I was keen to go back. I also wanted a slightly up-market restaurant as we had guests with us and it seemed the place we could impress a little while enjoying a good meal.

To say the visit was disappointing would be an exaggeration. We had a good meal, managed to navigate our way around the enormous wine list (more and less) and paid what we had expected for four people.

There were a couple of downfalls, though: our guests didn’t know much about Italian wine so ordering something “from the region” and then attempting to explain they were all native grapes, and not cabernet sauvignon, merlot or chardonnay was not easy.

We had a Valpolicella Ripasso as I was caught between choosing a classic wine (say a Bardolino Superiore) and something more geared toward new world, international tastes. The explanation got very long winded though, when I had to start at grape varieties, moving through what Amarone is, and then to Ripasso. Our guests, rightly so perhaps, had already lost interest.

I also made the error of not requesting advice from the wine waiter or sommelier, so we could have had something perhaps more adequate and exciting. In addition, I’ve decided any attempts to budget in a place like the Bottega Dei Vini is best left at the door. We spent 30 euros on the wine as it was, and it was one of the cheapest on the menu.

The major disappointment was that despite my intrepid navigating through the enormous wine list, the restaurant then didn’t even have the one I ordered. And so the head waiter or wine waiter said, “I don’t have that one, will this do?” and promptly plonked a different bottle on the table. He was not overly friendly towards my request of the vintage (two years younger than the previous bottle requested), and not knowing what to do, I accepted it.

The wine was okay, and I have no way of knowing whether the first bottle I had ordered was any better, but it’s a lesson in stock for the restaurant. There’s no point in having hundreds of labels on the list if then they’re not subsequently available. And a more elegant way of suggesting a second bottle would certainly have been appreciated.

The big problem came down to comparing the meal we had there at 236 euros, compared to the 100 euros for four people we spent at “Il cielo di Biancaneve” the night before: great food, friendly service, and a wine we liked better (still a Ripasso) at only 20 euros. Thoroughly recommended.

For more information (in Italian) on Valpolicella Ripasso, also known as "Baby Amarone" or "Super Valpolicella" see "Berevino" and "Tigulliovino".

Wine making in the Valtellina: traditional nebbiolo from Bruno Leusciatti

The Valtellina wine making region of Italy seems to be slowly splitting down two wine making styles: one is the traditional capturing of the nebbiolo character, and the other is making fatter, higher alcoholic wines that may appeal to new markets but that aren’t necessarily a reflection of the wine making tradition of the Valtellina.

I had the pleasure recently of meeting the wine maker of one of the traditional Valtellina nebbiolo styles, and his wine is truly worth the taste. Bruno Leusciatti is a humble man of the vineyards who has no pretension about making grand wines. His aim is to do the best he can with what he’s got, making modest wines to the best of his ability that he hopes will please his customers.

Bruno inherited his vineyards from his father, in the heart of the Valtellina wine making region at Sassella. His cellar is under his house, he uses chestnut wood for ageing and he is the only pair of hands that works the vineyard, completes the harvest and does the winemaking. Bruno even bottles and labels the wine himself.

The vineyards are in the truly heroic part of the Valtellina region, and all grapes are picked, by necessity, by hand. The Leusciatti vineyards sit directly above Bruno’s house and the little funicular machines used to transport the grapes down the mountainside descend right into Bruno’s front yard and driveway.

Amongst the hype of the recent Nebbiolo Grapes event in Sondrio, Bruno’s “Sassella ‘Del Negus’” from 2005 quietly conquered a couple of the more discerning palates around. Having tasted it myself, the wine is incredibly elegant and delicate. It woos the drinker with its charm that has nothing to with thick alcohol and heavy body.

From the Lavinium blog we read: “This wine left me speechless. It’s a kind of wine that I would use a term that I never use: beautiful. Beautiful because it’s extraordinarily pure, with perfumes of flowers and stones, intense and very refined, elegant, drinkable, perfect wine with food, but not to be taken for granted; intrinsic with a fascinating melodic expression, that conquers without hesitation.”

That might sound overly poetic, but believe me, you should really try the wine. I haven’t tasted that kind of purity before, either. I’m lucky, because Bruno Leusciatti lives down the road from me and being a salt-of-the-earth, accommodating man, he sells his wine from his house cellar for a mere six to eight euros... Needless to say, he can’t make enough for the demand and it actually upsets him to turn customers away.

Photo | Flickr