Another busy Vinitaly concluded in Verona yesterday (9 April), with a total attendance of 97,000, 32,000 of whom were international visitors, a 7% increase on last year’s fair.
To condense a trade show with 4,000 exhibitors showcasing as rich a wine culture as Italy’s into one article would be impossible, but what follows below is a selection of some of the points of interest, aside from the Donald Trump-shaped elephant in the room.
Grammar lessons
A masterclass given by Italy’s first Master of Wine, Gabriele Gorelli MW, called “The Grammar of Tannin: Stories in texture, bringing grip to life” offered an alternative approach to tasting red wine, one based on its shape, not its flavour.
The 12 wines, which ranged from “delicate” Barbera to the “textural drama” that is Sagrantino di Montefalco, were all strong representations of their regions, but Gorelli encouraged the audience to taste them in a way which went against instinct.
“I know that the title sounds a bit nerdy, but we need to think about the role texture plays in tasting – we are so keen on tasting based on chemistry: colour, and what we sniff on the nose, imagining what we have on the palate, but we want to reverse this process,” opened Gorelli.
Participants were asked not to swirl the glass, but rather to sip first and think about aroma later. Gorelli conceded: “It’s difficult, because it’s in our muscle memory!”
Descriptors for tannins, such as prickly, grippy, adhesive, hard, soft and acidity, do not necessarily come naturally to those in the aroma-obsessed wine profession, but this “tactile aspect” of a red wine should not be overlooked, according to Gorelli: “It’s above having a more universal language – it can be a more long form description, but people can understand it better. You [producers] should be able to deliver the message, that would be the way to reach new consumers, be more inclusive, and be understood by the market.”
Riserva releases
Aged expressions are nothing new in Italian wine, but there were especially intriguing examples on show this Vinitaly.
One which particularly stood out was from Piemontese sparkling wine powerhouse Cuvage, part of the Argea wine group.
The Cuvage 2020 Alta Langa Riserva Pas Dosé is due to arrive on the market this September, having spent 48 months on the lees and only recently been disgorged. The blend is 75% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay.
“We wanted to take a further step with its ageing,” said director Stefano Ricagno. “It is much more complex, there is a structure from the lack of dosage.”
The production regulations for Alta Langa Riserva are due to change next year – at present, 36 months of lees-ageing is required, but soon that will be raised to a staggering 60 months.
Tenuta Stella in Collio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, produces around 5,000 bottles of its riserva range in total, and it includes single-varietal expressions of the local white grapes Ribolla Gialla (which spends two years in French oak – one in tonneau and one in larger casks) and Friulano, as well as a Merlot.
The white wines certainly looked, due to their deep colour, like passiti, and the comparison isn’t just a visual one, as oenologist Erika Barbieri explained: “You have a nose very similar to a sweet wine, but it’s very clean and dry on the palate.”
“For us,” she continued, “the riserva range is the way to characterise Tenuta Stella’s philosophy better – translating the work in the vineyard to the bottle. All of the wines are wild yeast fermented and unfiltered.”
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