Debunking Italian Wine Myths - Part II
By Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy
January 31, 2011
Sometimes ideas or stories take on lives of their own, and innocent Italian-wine lovers become unwitting believers in what are the wine equivalent of urban legends. Here are some examples of those myths — and the real story, to set you straight.
Italy's best wines are all red
An understandable misunderstanding. After all, Italy makes about twice as much red wine as white wine, and most of Italy's most famous wines — Chianti, Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino, and so forth — are red. (In fact, the statement might even have been true 30 years ago.) But certain parts of Italy definitely have what it takes to make fine white wines, and producers in those areas are doing just that. The region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia makes many excellent white wines, as does Alto Adige. Campania has two terrific whites, Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. Piedmont and Tuscany — the red wine capitals of Italy — even make some fine whites, such as Gavi, Arneis, and Vernaccia di San Gimignano. And some traditional Italian white wines, such as Soave, Verdicchio, and Vermentino, are now better than ever.
Marsala is cooking wine
The producers of Marsala, Italy's famous fortified wine have tightened production regulations for their wine and upgraded quality. The ridiculous, flavored Marsalas no longer exist, and the top wines — the Vergine and Soleras styles — are now regaining their rightful place among the world's classic aperitif wines. The lower tiers of Marsala might still be more appropriate for cooking than sipping — depending on the brand, the cook, and the sipper — but the category as a whole is more genuine than it has been in recent history, and will probably improve further. (After all, Palermo wasn't built in a day.)
White Italian wines all taste alike
Add a few words to that statement, and it is true: (Inexpensive, mass-market) white Italian wines all taste (pretty much) alike. They're light-bodied, un-oaked, dryish, crisp, and not particularly flavorful. But Italy does have some very distinctive white wines: Tocai Friuliano, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Gavi, Fiano di Avellino, Moscato d'Asti, Alto Adige Sauvignon, and Vermentino di Gallura, to name a few. Italy also makes some white wines that are manifestly un-Italian in style — oaky Chardonnays, for example. Once you leave the mass-market segment, you can find variety among Italy's whites.
More next week...
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