The first hamster is the idea of a wine, a DOCG, which decided to forgo the qualification to honor a tradition. Yes, there are many who have done such (Antinori, Gaja, etc.) to make a new wine or to assert their preferences, but to turn back to the past, what can this be?
I am talking about Barolo Chinato. Piedmont is in the headlines lately, not for something it has done, but for what it has been. Heritage, it seems, is important. Along with that, tradition walks hand in hand.
The idea of taking a wine like Barolo and putting herbs and flavorings in it, would the Burgundians ever do that in these heady days? Would you see a Napa Valley cult winery sacrifice their mailing list only $800 a bottle of Cabernet? Or Bordeaux? Piedmont is unique in this behavior. And for what, for a small selection of a hard to sell wine that is either dessert or digestive? Yes, a mystery, and what a lovely one at that. And the producers walk away from the DOCG certification because it makes sense to them to uphold a tradition.
While in Piedmont, let’s stop in Monferrato. This business about Nizza, the proposed 74th DOCG is 180 degrees from the Barolo Chinato affair. Here we have an already existing DOCG, Barbera del Monferrato Superiore. For some reason that isn’t good enough. We have Barbera d’Asti DOCG as well. Isn’t this confusing to people on the outside looking in? Perhaps. But let’s take a quick hop to Tuscany.
In Tuscany there are all manner of Sangiovese based wines with their own DOCG: Brunello, Carmignano, Chianti, Chianti Classico, Montecucco Sangiovese, Morellino di Scansano, Suvereto Sangiovese, Val di Cornia Rosso and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. So what’s the big deal about having a third Barbera with its very own DOCG?
In reality, this is very small stuff. But, like the producers of Barolo who sacrifice the DOCG to make their beloved Chinato, the producers who make wine in Nizza want to elaborate and refine their product. And yes, it is confusing. The oblique seductress never sleeps either, it seems.
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| - Saturno Buttò |
Perusing Patricia Guy’s Diary, she has this piece about giving a speech to the Veneto Wine Roads presidents on “how to improve the promotion of the Veneto Wine Roads.”
"I go to a little place near Padua to give a speech about how to improve the promotion of Veneto Wine Roads based on my study of wine roads in the USA, South Africa, Australia and Canada. I give those present a look at how two South African wineries increased their overall on-site sales by 30 and 45%, respectively, by simply modifying their website home page and by thinking about ways to make life easier for their visitors – such as parallel tea and juice tastings for designated drivers and children who may have accompanied the wine taster.
At the end of the day, one President raised his hand and asked: “But what’s the point of hearing about what they do in South Africa, we’re in the Veneto.”
It was one of those times that I thank my stars that I cannot speak impulsively in Italian. Had this all been in English, I might not have kept my patience. Let’s see….yes, why should Veneto producers try to treat their visitors better? Hummm, let’s see? 45% increase in on-site sales, perhaps?"
Yes, we still have many miles to go before we sleep, in this carefully measured labyrinth we call Italy.
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| -Renato Guttuso |
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