Making Sense of Today’s Italian Wine Lists

"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope." - Martin Luther

I’ve been checking out some of the new Italian spots in my region, as this area, North Texas, has become one of the most dynamic economic sections of the country. And with commercial development and growth comes the hope of diversity in the new restaurants that have been opening up lately. Further down the rabbit hole, though, is the discussion of what an all-Italian wine list should look like. And because my recent forays in town have offered up a plethora of new choices in Italian wine lists, my quest for the optimally curated wine list is what this post is all about. So, let’s dig in.

20 or more years ago, to find an all-Italian wine list in this region was liking finding the Holy Grail – they were that rare. Fortunately, the rise of small distributors who have broken the spell of the behemoths who control the majority of the wines sold and presented, have opened the floodgates to micro producers from all persuasions. And while some of this might seem a little Babel-like to traditionalists, let’s face it: every generation will seek to re-invent everything, from sex and love to food and wine. Mainly because, to them, everything is new and untested. So, why not?

One of the compelling things I am witnessing is the emergence of small producers from traditional areas like the Langhe and Tuscany, but making wine not like their father (or mother) did. I’ve listened to fathers and sons hotly debate style in Montalcino, and daughters and their aunts in Barolo get worked up over supplied yeasts vs. naturally occurring ones in their winemaking regimes. It’s been wonderful to witness, as the scrum of family working through their personal evolution of winemaking philosophy has been an active and lively one – just like the Italians are known to be. So, in short, it’s working like it should be, in the vineyards and in the wineries.

At the end-user stage, and in this case we’re talking restaurants, the presented wine list also embodies the philosophy of the owner or the beverage director, or both if they be separate entities. However the assignments have been defined, the end results of late are showing the effects of the work back in Italy. Now we are seeing Nebbiolo not just as Barolo or Barbaresco, or Sangiovese not just as Chianti or Brunello (or Nobile) but we are seeing an expansion of the category by the winemaker which allows the restaurateur to more intricately steward a collection that can be more personal, more intimate and more in keeping with the food presented. Now, not all efforts produce stunning results. But the attempt to provide novel expressions of Italianità in the hinterlands of America is something I never thought I’d see, regardless of the final outcome. So, I’d say at the very least, we’ve been able to witness evolution in real time. To me, that is a minor miracle.

Years ago, at the local health food store in Southern California where I shopped, I once saw these sandals for sale. They had the unusual name of Birkenstock, and they looked comfy and cool in a crunchy kinda way. So, I shelled out $30 for a pair and started wearing them.

After six months or so, I noticed the rubber soles were wearing out, so I went back to the store. Next to the shoes were replacement soles, for little money, maybe $3. I bought a pair and repaired my shoes with the new replacement soles. It was easy. I mean, after all, my family were in the shoe repair business, although the Birkenstocks were probably not the shoes my dad and grandfather envisioned their son and grandson wearing. Nonetheless, that was the evolution of our family micro-Italianità. I say this because so many of us, as we age into late adulthood, think things are static and non-changeable. But everything is in flux, in motion, and change is all about us all the time. Just something to think of when the wine steward pitches you a petillant murky, sour wine from Emilia-Romagna with unbounded enthusiasm. Just give it a taste, you only live once. Right?

Back when the crust of the earth was cooling and $20 was my sweet spot on a wine list, as I was just getting into the wine trade, I noticed there would always be a wine on the list I could find that seemed like it was put there for folks like me. Maybe it was a Quincy, on a list with untouchable Montrachet’s. Or it was a Vino Nobile amongst the Sassicaia’s and Tignanello’s, which were obviously there for the well-heeled clientele. In any event, we always found something there, in whatever price range, that would feed our need for something delicious that would make us feel posh.

Deconstructed vitello tonnato, anyone?

Nowadays, Italian wine is rife with choice and style. You can go swank and bougie, or crunchy and fuggy. Or meet in the middle, fringe class style. Like ‘em slick? Italian wine has ‘em. Want it rough-cut? It’s there too, all for the asking. And wine lists today are showcasing the different styles better than they’ve ever been. It’s like being a kid in a candy store.

You want something from the hills outside Rome, from Lazio? You’re not going to have to settle for a supermarket Frascati anymore. Looking for a Corvina based wine from the Veneto that isn’t your typical Dallas thirty thousandaire Amarone? Now’s your time, because there are all sorts of wonderful reds from Valpolicella out there.

Hate Prosecco because it is too sweet and insipid, too overtly commercial and ubiquitous? Well, there’s an unfiltered col fondo just waiting to make friends with you and show you that your journey isn’t all for nought. I’m serious, it’s all here more than it has ever been. The Italian wine trade has freaked it in the 21^st century, and there’s more coming.

So, get out there, see from a different perspective and test drive some of the free-range Italian wine lists that are currently cropping up. Stay up - learn things!

 

© written and photographed by Alfonso Cevola limited rights reserved On the Wine Trail in Italy

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