Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Bare with us: Italian DOCG wines are now "71" and climbing

Got the wings of heaven on my shoes, I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose

It was too good to be true, that we might have a brief hiatus in the race to guarantee every appellation in Italy before the curtain shuts. But alas, the latest folly is the Castel del Monte DOCG – a trio of guaranteed appellations. Because three is three times greater than one! Oy, what a kebash in old Italy.

Here are the three, not one, but three new appellations:

• Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva
• Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva
• Castel del Monte Bombino Nero

Making a grand total of Italian wine DOCG’s not 69 but an asymmetrical 71

The complete list, and new map, after the jump…I hope the Italians take a break soon, so I can get back to blogging the things I really want to blog about.

A huge thank you and shout out again to Franco Ziliani and also to Hande Leimer for alerting me to this development. I will be forever grateful to all y’all.


Complete (Provisional) Listing of Italian DOCG Wines (as of June 29 2011) : 71
Abruzzo (1)
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo "Colline Teramane"

Basilicata (1)
Aglianico del Vulture Superiore

Apulia (4)
Castel del Monte Nero di Troia Riserva (newest)
Castel del Monte Rosso Riserva (newest)
Castel del Monte Bombino Nero (newest)
Primitivo di Manduria Dolce Naturale

Campania (4)
Fiano di Avellino
Greco di Tufo
Taurasi
Aglianico del Taburno

Emilia Romagna (2)
Albana di Romagna
Colli Bolognesi Classico Pignoletto

Friuli-Venezia Giulia (3)
Colli Orientali del Friuli Picolit (including Picolit Cialla)
Ramandolo
Rosazzo

Lazio (3)
Cesanese del Piglio
Frascati Superiore
Canellino di Frascati

Lombardia (5)
Franciacorta
Oltrepo Pavese
Sforzato della Valtellina
Valtellina Superiore
Moscato di Scanzo

Marche (5)
Conero
Vernaccia di Serrapetrona
Verdicchio di Matelica Riserva
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Riserva
Offida (Rosso & Bianco)

Piemonte (16)
Asti - Moscato d'Asti
Barbaresco
Barbera d'Asti
Barbera del Monferrato Superiore
Barolo (including Chinato)
Brachetto D'Acqui (or Acqui)
Dolcetto di Dogliani Superiore (or Dogliani)
Dolcetto di Ovada Superiore
Gattinara
Gavi (or Cortese di Gavi)
Ghemme
Roero (Rosso & Bianco)
Erbaluce di Caluso
Ruché di Castagnole Monferrato
Alta Langa
Dolcetto Diano d'Alba

Sardegna (1)
Vermentino di Gallura

Sicilia (1)
Cerasuolo di Vittoria

Toscana (9)
Brunello di Montalcino
Carmignano
Chianti
Chianti Classico
Elba Aleatico Passito
Montecucco Sangiovese
Morellino di Scansano
Vernaccia di S.Gimignano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano

Umbria (2)
Montefalco Sagrantino
Torgiano Rosso Riserva

Veneto (14)
Colli di Conegliano
Montello Rosso or Rosso del Montello
Friularo di Bagnoli
Bardolino Superiore
Recioto di Gambellara
Recioto di Soave
Soave Superiore
Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore
Asolo Prosecco Superior
Amarone della Valpolicella
Recioto della Valpolicella
Piave Malanotte (or Malanotte del Piave)
Lison
Colli Euganei Fiori d’Arancio

Revised Map

Click here and hit the magnify button when you get there to enlarge map.Or click on the map and enlarge...Enjoy!

Note to American sommeliers studying to pass various levels in the Guild of Sommeliers:
I gather if you all are looking for a list that Guild of Sommelier governing board deems to be the official one for their purposes in order to set a standard for their testing, then by all means stay at 59 (and counting). However in the Italian wine (and sommelier) community, most of us know the Italian government is painfully slow in publishing the new DOCGs, rendering them "official". In those circles, the number is now 71, whether the “official” paperwork has been filed or not. And with a summer vacation upon them, those of you studying for your MS, etc in late July in Vegas will be even more stressed to differentiate between the Guild of Sommeliers official number and what we know in the Italian wine community to be the current ( and climbing) number of DOCG’s. Sorry for the confusion. I didn’t set it up, just reporting it.

All pretty silly when one takes into consideration this whole Italian appellation system will cease to be relevant about the time the Mayan calendar ends, in late 2012.

Good luck, in any event…


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