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18
TRAVELLER
A real taste of Italy, by the glass
DISCOVERIES
LONDON
Pinot Grigio, Prosecco,
Chianti: three Italian wines that most
of us will be familiar with,
yet howmany more have you
tried? Often on holiday, it’s a case
of “better the devil you know”, with
drinkers sticking to names they
recognise. But, by playing safe,
are we missing out?
Matteo Berlucchi, owner of
Vini Italiani, London’s first shop
dedicated solely to Italian wines,
thinks so. “Italy has more varied
wines than any other wine-
producing country,” he says. These
differ in taste depending on the
cultivation area “from the cold
heights of the Alps to the scorching
heat of the coast of Sicily.”
Many of the country’s
extraordinary range of grape
varieties – more than 400,
according to Berlucchi – date back
to ancient Greek and Roman times,
and the rarest of these were, for
generations, unknown outside a
single village or town. Over the last
two decades though, “thanks to the
latest developments in wine-making
processes, modern producers have
nowmanaged to create unique and
very interesting wines from them”.
The resulting choice can be
baffling for the visitor to Italy, so
how to find a good one? According
to Berlucchi, the most important
thing to remember – because of
the “invisible connection” between
wines and their areas of production
– is to “always find a local wine”.
Track down a wine’s origins, by
“[looking] for the name of the
grape on the front of the label”, and
for the initials DOC, “which means
Denomination of Controlled Origin
– the wine is made with local grapes
in the recommended percentages”.
Berlucchi also has some tips for
dining out: “You don’t need to be
an expert in food pairing... simply
choose wines local to the kind of
food you’re eating.” So, for dishes
from Tuscany, choose a wine
made from the local Sangiovese
grape, or for Puglia food, pair with
a Primitivo. “Do that, and you can’t
go wrong.”
Vini Italiani, 72 Old Brompton Road,
South Kensington, London SW7;
vini-italiani.co.uk
5 TO TRY
ITALIAN WINES
VERONA
Romeo and Juliet’s
city is also home to the
Corvina grape.
Try: Punta di Villa
Amarone Cru, Mazzi,
2005
NAPLES
Neapolitans drink
white wines based on
the Greco, planted by
the ancient Greeks.
Try: Greco Campania
Due Chicchi, Benito
PALERMO
Sicily is the raising star
of Italianwine-making.
Look out for wines
madewithNerod’Avola.
Try: Rosso del Conte,
Tasca d’Almerita, 2006
TURIN
The Piedmont region –
known as the Burgundy
of Italy – is home to the
noble Nebbiolo grape.
Try: Barbaresco, Albino
Rocca, 2008
PISA
Tuscany is synonymous
with Chianti, based
on the versatile
Sangiovese grape.
Try: Chianti Classico, Le
Cinciole, 2008