AVON In this video I try to introduce the basic concepts of understanding Italian Wine. Italian wines can be overwhelming and I have found that most people get intimidated by hearing about too many different types of wines, rather than getting the gist of how Italian wines work.
🍷🍷🍷 Location is key here. In many New World Countries (United States, South America, Australia and New Zealand) wines are referenced by their grape type.
For example, the most popular type of wine in the U.S. is Cabernet Sauvignon. Arguably, the Napa Valley of California produces some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. However, we don't call these wines Napa Valley Reds. The grape (varietal) is how the wine is referenced not the location. Even though the location may be listed on the bottle, the varietal gets center stage.
In Italy and other parts of Europe (the Old World) location is most important.
This can be confusing for many people but in the long run it can lead to a better understanding of "terroir" as well as a higher level of quality control.
This intro to Italian Wine is meant to be a reference point to a larger series of Discovering Italian Wines. I will be exploring all 20 Italian Wine Regions as well as some traditional 🍕🍕🍕food pairings to accompany some of the wines.
Italian Wines offer a huge variety and long history. Strangely enough most people know very little about them. This series could be your chance to be the smartest person in the room when it comes to Italian Wines!
Salute! (❁´◡`❁)
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Video Summary
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This video provides a foundational guide to understanding Italian wines, focusing on the critical distinction between location-based naming and grape varietals. It explains how to navigate Italian wine labels, the geography of production, and the hierarchical classification system used to determine the quality and authenticity of the wine.
In this video I'll be breaking down the basics of understanding Italian wines.
This video is part of a larger series where I'll be diving deep into all 20 Italian wine regions.
Italian wine can be overwhelming to say the least. There's so many different varietals.
It's the largest wine producing region in Europe and they've been producing wines for thousands
of years. So where do you begin? Well, understanding the wine label and a little
bit of geography could make you the smartest person in the room when it comes to figuring
out Italian wines. The biggest obstacle to wrap your head around first when understanding Italian
wines is realizing that Italian wines are named after their location and not the varietal type.
What's that mean? For example, here in the U.S. we have Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot,
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and they are grown and they come from all over the place.
But in Italy, when you're talking about a wine, you're talking about
its location. So before I start getting into confusing Italian words, let's keep in the U.S.
for a second. Napa Valley is one of the best wine growing regions in California and they produce
some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon. But if this was Italy, what we might see is something like a,
rather than going into your wine bar and asking for a Cabernet Sauvignon, you might say,
could I have a Napa Valley Red? Now this Napa Valley Red would be made of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
from Napa Valley, which is in California. So in Italy, this same rule applies. So a perfect
example is Chianti. Chianti is a location, a region that is within the larger Tuscany
wine region. So the grape here is not Chianti. The grape used, one of many grapes used in a Chianti
is Sangiovese. Okay, does that kind of make sense? So location, Chianti zone area within Tuscany,
which is a wine region within the 20 wine regions of Italy. While there certainly are
some exceptions to this, most notably is Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio is the most popular white
wine of Italy and it is grown everywhere. And if it says Pinot Grigio on the label,
that is not a location, that is the grape. While there are 20 very unique Italian wine regions,
there is one thing they all have in common and that is a labeling classification that
helps us understand the quality of wine we are purchasing. The four Italian wine classifications
in order of least quality to highest quality are Vino da Tavola or VDT. This is a wine without a
location. It means table wine. Usually they remain in Italy as they are fairly low quality.
Next up is Indicazione Geografica Tipica or IGT. The grapes in this category should come from the
IGT region stated on the bottle and these wines do not adhere to as strict of the guidelines
as the next two. However, there can be some excellent wines found in this category,
it just may take some investigation. The next level is Denominazione di Origine
Controllata or DOC. This translates to designation of controlled origin. The DOC not only require
very specific location, but also what grapes can be used if adding different grapes,
the maximum harvest yields and aging requirement.
You should see this label around the neck of the bottle as a guarantee.
Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. This is the gold standard of wines in Italy,
the highest level of quality. DOCG wines take it to the next level of guaranteeing the quality
in the bottle. They are not merely grown in accordance with the strict rules,
they actually must pass a wine quality tasting panel. There are currently 74 DOCG wines in Italy
and here's an example of what you would see on a wine label.
Two other items worth mentioning you may see on a wine label that could be confusing are
Riserva and Superiore. Riserva, this means a wine has aged an additional two years or longer than
required and Superiore, this only means that a wine has at least half a percent higher alcohol
content than the regular wine from the region. As I mentioned earlier in the video, this intro
to Italian wines is just the beginning of an Italian wine series where I'll be diving deep
into all 20 Italian wine regions and highlighting some of the best wines of each region, as well
as sharing some authentic food pairings. That's right, I'm going to be cooking some Italian
recipes to go with the wines. So if you found value in this video, I hope you smash the like
button, subscribe and thank you for joining me in my cellar and I will see you next time.
