$30-$40 Italian wines?

WINE TALK
21

Barbera v. Sangiovese

22

Italy 101 thus is a perfect theme!

So I’d be looking for good, but actually more importantly diverse but ‘typical’ wines from DOC/DOCGs they are likely to encounter, but not being afraid to throw a curve-ball wine - perhaps a Lambrusco or Frappato where they wouldn’t expect to encounter it (or at least a genuine one in the case of Lambrusco). I’d also be looking for wines where value can be easily found in the region / where there is a good volume of ‘typical’ wines, such that your guests may expect to see it on a wine list.

Soave (plenty of good wines under your limit - so a single vineyard wine an option)
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (plenty of value to be had here - look to wow them with value rather than trading up too high)
Chianti (I like the idea of the standard bottling of Selvapiana or Fontodi, but plenty of other options), Barbaresco (if something of value is available. Showing them tannins would be useful),
Franciacorta/Trento DOC (not just France for Fizz, and my suggestion would be to have a little fun with them by bringing a Ferrari from Trento),
Valpolicella - a wine they are likely to see around and they may take to the richness if fruit, but there is usually still a little bite to it.
Moscato d’Asti - A lesson to those that “don’t drink sweet wines”, that sweetness plus balancing acidity (and some gentle fizz) can make for a joyous wine that is a generous bargain. If you can find La Spinetta (Biancospina or the other one) then they’re often good examples of the textural creaminess that seems counter-intuitive
Primitivo from Puglia One that might be fun - see if anyone makes the connection with Zinfandel, and bravo to any of them that do offer that comparison unprompted
Fiano or Greco di Tufo from Campania another very way to flag up wines that are very useful to spot on wine lists, especially those with high markups. These can be very useful food wines and even cheap ones can do a fine job

23

Scott, in that case I’d definitely do something additional. Why have a tasting where all the wines cost the same? Now you’re getting some focus!

I’d look for Vino Nobile de Montepulciano - maybe something like Avignonesi (also producing a nice vin santo), or Poliziano (if you want to show the effect of wood), both under $20, and Ruffino makes one too if you want to compare it to their Chianti, which is available everywhere.

Or find some Rosso de Montalcino - Lisini and Mastrojianni are both under $20 many places.

Then compare to a more expensive Brunello and or Chianti Classico or both. You’ll have shown them what are probably the wines most non-wine people think of when they think of “Italian” wine. (Except for Pinot Grigio of course.)

People are thrilled when they like the $15 wine more than the others. And you set a theme for your next tasting. You can look at a different region, say Piedmont. And then do a comparison - Barbera vs Sangiovese for example. Then head south. Go to Campagna and to Sardinia and Sicily.

We’re already doing six different tastings and we haven’t begun to scratch the surface! And then Veneto - compare a few Merlot/Cab wines from there with some from France and CA.

Your neighbors are going to love you.

24

I would throw an Amarone in there. Americans seem to love these, especially if people are used to bigger American-styled wines.

25

I would concentrate on one region: Apulia, Piedmont, Sicily, Sardinia, Veneto, Tuscany? What does one take away from that?

26

These people know NOTHING (they might bring Louis Martini Cabernet…).
I’m thinking of assigning each couple a variety, maybe even a specific bottle.
Nebbiolo
Sangiovese
Barbera

How would you rank the others, in order of importance for Italy 101?
There will probably only be one or two additional varieties.

27

Fixed it. Also, Vajra Barolo Albe.

28

I am not a real Italian expert, but I think of the great grapes of Italy as Nebbiolo (which I love) and Sangiovese (mixed feelings about). Another interesting grape is Aglianico (think Taurasi), which makes a pretty rich wine that people will love. Then, you might try a wine from Mt. Etna (a winery I have had a couple of very good wines from is Calabretta) and an Amarone. Another interesting wine that will blow people’s minds is Lambrusco. So many people just think of Reuinte that they are shocked to have a good one.

You might

Start with Prosecco
Go to a coupe of Italian whites _Go next to lighter reds like Lambrusco and Dolcetto.
Then, go to Sangiovese, Aglianico and/or wines from Mt. Etna.
Hit a high point with Barolo and Barbaresco.
Finish with Vin Santo or Amarone - probably one or the other, not both.

Here is a wine list from Dino’s Grotto, which is an Italian restaurant in DC. Remember, prices are restaurant prices (although really good prices for a restaurant) but I think some of the descriptions by Dean Gold (a real Italian wine expert and a lover of Ridge wines) may inspire you. http://dinoinshaw.com/menus/wines-bottle/ Also, I went to an Italian tasting within the last year of wines imported by Kobrand (which owns Jadot) and thought there were a bunch of good wines. I thought of them because I would think they widely distribute, but not sure. http://www.kobrandwineandspirits.com/portfolio/brands_

29

Thank you for fixing my middling puncuation. champagne.gif

30

Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico used to be a solid Tuscan red. I always thought that the Morellino di Scansano area produced clean, friendly reds.

Sicilian reds are having a great day in the sun right now. Perhaps you could toss in an off-the-wall red from there?

If you can track down a bottle of Rossese di Dolceacqua from Liguria, the wines are typically inexpensive and highly food-friendly.

I have enjoyed a couple of Puglian reds (Tormaresca’s NePriCa is ~$10/BTL and I thought it was a good value).

Shoot, I remember being impressed with a Trentino Pinot Noir/Nero from Bottega Vinaia which, I later discovered, is owned by Cavit! :astonished:

Happy hunting!!

31





I feel like you’re jumping the gun here already, and before you even dream about what the wines might be, you ought to spend a few days thinking about the psychology & the logistics of this.

Most people are complete screw-ups [and I mean utter walking train-wrecks], and they can’t correctly complete a simple assignment to save their lives. This includes almost all college graduates, and especially the legions of Passive Aggressive types, who will intentionally bring the wrong wine [or maybe even the wrong beverage entirely] just to tweak you; the Skinflints, who will bring the [likely re-gifted] $12 wine and try to pass it off as a $35 wine; the goofy dipsy Scatter-Brains, who thought they were reaching for an Italian wine, but somehow their hand instead grabbed a Greek wine from the next rack; the Slackers, whose dog ate their homework, and who never got around to actually procuring a wine in the first place; etc etc etc.

And as for the logistics, the most important question of all is: Will each pour get its own stem, or are you going to make multiple pours into the same stem?

Because if each person gets only one stem [with multiple pours into that one stem], then you aren’t really having a wine tasting, you’re having a fraternity keg party.

And getting back to the psychology of it - there’s nothing wrong at all with having a fraternity keg party - but be at ease with the choice of “fraternity keg party” as your psychological model, and don’t be upset that you’re not having an actual wine tasting.

On the other hand, each pour getting its own unique stem is a massive logistical undertaking [six unique bottles times 12 participants means 72 stems, twelve unique bottles times 12 participants means 144 stems, and you’ll also need spare stems because you’re guaranteed to have broken stems, etc etc etc], and that’s a completely different psychological model, with a titanic amount of sweat equity necessary for pulling it off even semi-successfully.

32

[drinkers.gif]

33

The hostess wants to do the bottles one at a time.
Taste, discuss, and identify (then move on).
So some of us will rinse; others will create a proprietary blend. [snort.gif]

I took a reasonably frustrating trip to the LWS this afternoon. I buy very little locally.
Here are some in the low 30s (Barbera at 27)
2011 Travaglini Gattinara
2008 Nervi Gattinara
2011 Aldo Conterno Langhe Nebbiolo
2013 Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva
2012 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva
2014 Barbera d’Alba Tres Vigne
2012 Poliziano Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
2013 Avignonesi Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

I’ll revisit and check out Recioto next time, but no Nerello Mascalese and only a few Nero.

34

would it be useless to have one or two mass produced bottles that are not as good to serve as comparison? I’m talking straw covered bottles.

35

Personally I’m dead against this idea of a new stem for every wine approach - even for offlines. I find the huge array of half-filled glasses confusing, and requires a much bigger table than you’d normally need. Food becomes difficult and it takes experience of handling such situations for restaurants to cope with it. For me, maximum of two glasses please.

Now just think of how some people new to winetasting would see such an array of glasses. It is a massive turn-off, and I remember encountering this when invited to join a local winetasting group. “Just bring 9 identical wine glasses” - “each”! That was enough for us to know that tasting group wasn’t for us.

The problem of residue from the previous wine is easily explained, and it’s very easy to suggest they rinse the glass out with water between wines, at the same time as it’s explained they don’t have to spit (unless they want to), but feel free to dump any wine you’ve had enough of into the spittoon. At the ‘give it a go and see what you think’ level, it’s rarely a problem worth fretting about. If the aim is to encourage and provide a solid introduction to the hobby, then a lot of our geeky hangups should be left outside the room.

regards
Ian

36

I don’t think it’s overly hard to just go a tiny pour of the new wine to rinse out the glass before doing a real pour.

37

Some nice wines there, but some perhaps better for a later tasting, as too many wines with decent structure might put a few people off. I’d definitely take the Gattinara though, as Travaglini are not overly tannic, but in addition the bottle shape will be memorable and a good talking point (IIRC it was a relatively recent design (decades not centuries), albeit harking back to much older times of hand blown bottles with locally distinctive shapes). The VNdM could I suppose be taken as a pair to show how different producers can make very different wines from the same place, and allows a brief mention of oak ageing. For the chianti, I wonder whether trading down to non-Riservas might be better for such a group?

regards
Ian

38

Indeed, this is a common approach at winery tastings

39

The Travaglini was our go-to Italian wine as newlyweds in the mid 80s.
It wasn’t >$30 then [cheers.gif]

40

You’re dealing with NORMIES here, not geeks.

You need to be thinking Psychology & Logistics.

The actual wines themselves should be the furthest thing from your mind.