Italy Off the Beaten Path

The Italian Trade Commission, Vinitaly International Academy, and the NLC recently combined to offer a class called Italy Off the Beaten Path: Discovering Italy Beyond Pinot Grigio and Chianti.

Our presenter was Michaela Morris from Vancouver, who is currently a student in the Master of Wine program. She specializes in Italian wine (and presumably knows BC wines very well too). Ms. Morris was identified in the program as a certified Italian Wine Expert. That seems a rather brash title, but is actually the official title granted by the Vinitaly International Academy for those who have successfully completed their examination process with distinction. Supported by photos and maps, Ms. Morris provided excellent background for each region, varietal, and wine.

The purpose of the recent class was to expose some less familiar wines and regions of Italy to our local market. It was mentioned that 32% of local Italian wine sales are Pinot Grigio, so perhaps there is a need for an expansion of awareness and appreciation! While we did not sample any Pinot Grigio, and despite the title of the class, we did have two examples of Chianti to taste – but this served to underline the need to have a deeper understanding of Italian appellations and labels.

The tasting started with a Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico DOC 2017 by Umani Ronchi which confirmed the agenda for the event – quality and value from lesser known areas. The wine showed character (in contrast to many Pinot Grigios) with abundant aroma of baked yellow apple, a touch of lemon, and salt. It was crisp and lively in the mouth with lemony and slightly nutty flavours. A bargain at $15.99.

The remainder of the tasting ranged from the far north of the country, Piedmont, to as far south as the heel of the boot, in Puglia. We sampled varieties including Montepulciano, Nebbiolo, and Primitivo. For me the best values were the Umani Ronchi Jorio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC 2015 at $19.98 and the Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC 2016 at $20.26.  The Jorio expressed deep black fruit aroma with tones of balsamic vinegar and liquorice; followed up by juicy acidity and a full flavoured mouth of dark fruit, smooth tannins, and a long finish. Tha Valpolicella was sweet cherry and plum aromas, echoed in the flavours.

For larger budgets or special treats, the Pelissero Tulin Barbaresco DOCG 2012 and Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOCG 2013 by Tommasi were tasting highlights.

Tasting Dinner

By pure coincidence, the day after the Italian seminar, I hosted a wine tasting dinner for a number of friends, planned long in advance, for which the theme was to show less common varietals and unexpected regions. And Italian wines just happened to be well represented in my selections!

We enjoy getting together for a fine dinner, paired with a wide range of wines, tasted blind. The game is for each participant to guess the country, appellation, grape, producer, and vintage of each of the wines – which generally turns out to be a humbling experience for all. When the grapes and regions are not familiar, it is more of a challenge than usual.

One flight of three wines featured Italian reds that were certainly “off the beaten track”. Sagrantino is loaded with tannins and heavy black fruit. DNA evidence shows Terlodego is a parent of Lagrein, and there are similarities in the fruit flavours and tannins. All three wines were simply wonderful.

• 2003 Terre de Trinci DOCG Sagrantino di Montefalco Ugolino (Umbria)
• 2013 Dorigati DOC Teroldego Rotaliano 1858 (Trentino-Alto Adige)
• 2009 Elena Walch DOC Lagrein Riserva Castel Ringberg (rentino-Alto Adige)

Two sweet reds and a sweet white wine rounded out the Italian contribution to the evening, and the trend of less common areas/varietals was exemplified by two of them. Aleatico is related to Muscat and combined sweet berry flavours with flowery elements – it really threw everyone for a loop. Passerina is an old variety from Marche which is produced in many styles. This passito style (drying of grapes) was unctuous and my favourite of the white sweets. Even though the Recioto della Valpolicella is a little more familiar, sweet red wines other than port are pretty rare in these parts. The depth of flavours in this aged example made it my obvious favourite of the sweet reds (although the Foreign Affair was more than worthy).

• 1993 Giuseppe Quintarelli DOCG Recioto della Valpolicella Classico (Veneto)
• 2007 Agricole Rizello DOC Aleatico di Puglia Amigdala (Puglia)
• 2005 Colli Ripani DOC Offida Passerina Passito (Marche)

Considering this range of Italians, and that the tasting included two fantastic BC, Okanagan wines – Fairview Cellars Two Hoots Cabernet/Merlot 2007 and Tantalus Vineyards Old Vines Riesling 2012 – I suspect Ms. Morris would have enjoyed our event!