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Wine tasting is the same all over the
world. If you believe that statement, then you also must believe
that the world has one language and one culture. Italian wineries conduct
wine tours and tastings in a manner different than a winery in Napa or
Sonoma. Unfortunately, however, we are starting to see the
Californification of some Italian wineries. To a certain extent this
is being encouraged by the American market and the Wine Spectator.
Those that import heavily into the US market tend to build their wines to
the American taste. This is not limited to Italy. Many of the
champagne producers in Epernay add sugar to the champagne to sell to the
US mass market. Another discussion for another time.
For those of used to wine tasting and touring
in Napa, Sonoma or the Central Coast, you simply drive up to the winery
during their posted tasting hours. You taste what you want, pay the
applicable fee, if any, and go. Italy, surprise, surprise, has rules.
There are three basic rules for visits to Italian wineries:
1. you need an appointment
2. you drink wine with food only
3. winery visits are for people in the wine business only.
Like most Italian rules, they only apply
sometimes. The only consistent rule appears to be number 1, i.e. you need
an appointment. However, for many of the smaller wineries, rules 2 and 3
apply. The additional rule for some of the small wineries is that someone
in your group needs to speak Italian.
The concept of wineries providing tastings to
the general public is relatively new so the rules are erratic. A good
resource, other than calling the winery you want to visit, is the Wine
Spectator. Though I frequently disagree with their reviews of Italian
wineries, they are a very good starting resource for a visit to the
Italian wine country. A visit to the website, www.winespectator.com, will allow
you to search old articles. In 2000, the Wine Spectator had an entire
issue on Italian wines. In that issue, there is an article about visiting
Italian wineries. It lists several wineries that permit visits and the
preferred method of contacting the wineries, including e-mail addresses.
Some of the wineries that encourage visits, with appointments are Castello Banfi, Avignonesi, Castello Verrazzano, and Badia a Coltibuono.
One point about the wine reviews in the Wine
Spectator and reviews generally. Wine preferences tend to be a personal
opinion. At the end of the day, the wine review you read is just one
person’s opinion. Many people, including the Wine Spectator, love the
big, oaky buttery style of California chardonnay. I don’t care for that
style of wine. I think if you want heavy oak taste with your wine, I would
suggest wood chips as a nice appetizer. The Italians have tended to age
their chardonnay in stainless steel which produces a crisper , cleaner
style of wine. The Italian wineries that have moved towards the California
style of chardonnay, Avignonesi being a good example, get rave reviews
from the Wine Spectator.
Another excellent source for information on
winery visits would be your local distributor of high end Italian wines.
Go to the specialty wine store, not the corner liquor store that sells
mostly Jack Daniel and Bud. They can put you in touch with the
wholesalers. The wholesalers tend to have a much better relationship than
the retailers with the wineries. Winebow is a large national distributor.
Enotria is an excellent regional distributor in the Western U.S.
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