Before Vinitaly: What Makes Italian Wine Italian

In these times, as in many times, there is the pull between appropriation and inspiration. On the wine trail in Italy, there is also this phenomenon. Winemaking styles fluctuate between the two views, as does so much in the wine world. From the manner in which we trellis our vines to the way we decide to graphically label the final product, there is this constant pull between that which emanates from within and that which influences from without.

Think about Nebbiolo-based wines from Piedmont, for example. The Barolo Boys of the 1980s looked to Burgundy and decided barriques were the future. The natural wine movement borrowed from Georgian qvevri traditions and Northern California iconoclasm in equal measure. Italians have been affected by outside influences from the early days of Rome, when the Greek aesthetic swayed the sculptors and artists to follow in the footsteps of their neighbors. But also, along the way, new expressions and modalities came about. And so, Italian wine has been changed — and changed itself — repeatedly.

I asked my AI assistant Claudio to analyze my wine cellar.

With the onrush of everything AI in these moments, there was an article recently by Eric Asimov in the New York Times entitled “A.I. Is Coming for the Sommeliers.” It dovetailed neatly with a project I have been doing at home with my AI assistant, Claudio, who I tasked with analyzing my wine collection. The exercise was straightforward enough: I uploaded my inventory — some 250 bottles accumulated over 45 years — and asked Claudio for a deep dive. Which wines to drink now, which were at or near peak, which merited more time in the cellar, and which had probably given up the ghost. Claudio went to work and produced a spreadsheet laying out the potential and possibilities in store for me. After going over the results, I realize I have my work cut out for me, especially in the next two years or so. It seems I have a preponderance of “drink now” wines, and by my reckoning I will have to open a bottle a week for the next two years, come hell or high water. It presents a bit of a dilemma, albeit a first-world one, in that most of the wines in question are red, and here we are in March in Texas already registering 90+℉ outside. Not exactly the stuff of steaks and stews, hearty meals, that kind of thing. So I have asked Claudio to lay out a schedule for the next two years, plotting a course in which to open these bottles before the wines or the humans involved get much older.

The Miracle of Montalcino ~ A Master Class from a Young Master – Pt.II

In the last week or so, I've been mulling over why Brunello latched onto the American wine imagination as easily and rapidly as it did. The fine wine world here was so French-driven until the 1970s, when Napa Valley took honors at that famous blind tasting in Paris and swept the imagination — and the trust funds — over to the west coast. I grew up on California wines, produce of my native state, and witnessed that excitement firsthand. To have it happen in one's lifetime was a blessing. To then see a similar trajectory ignite in Tuscany not long after — that's like winning the lottery twice, for a wine person. And so it was. The miracle of Montalcino.

Brunello di Montalcino ~ An Honest-to-Goodness Master Class from a Young Master – Pt.I

The Environmental Mosaic

Anyone who has read this blog over the years knows that I have a cynical and sometimes impatient attitude regarding the proliferation of master classes in the wine world. I have been to master classes where revered restaurateurs, momentarily anointed, have stumbled and bumbled their way through a PowerPoint presentation, their ambitions having overshot their capabilities.

And then there comes a class that sets things right again. Such was the occasion last week in Dallas when Gabriele Goretti presented before a receptive crowd his vision of the 2021 vintage for Brunello di Montalcino.

An offshoot of Benvenuto Brunello that the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino has initiated, this is an elaboration of the Brunello Forma Series, where designated experts in the field dive deeper into what makes quality Brunello. I found it fascinating, as this subject has been rolling around in my head for years — questions of location, altitude, soil, geological formation, and of course the size of the winery and its production capabilities. Thankfully, younger souls have taken on the task and made great leaps forward in communicating just why and how Brunello aspires to greatness in the world of wine.

Italy: Without a Doubt

...from the archives

When it all gets to be a little too much, when the heat of the day goes from tepid to searing, when all this running around and shuffling and commotion becomes just so much noise and distraction, I pull in. I want my own little vision of Italy to wield its power over me. I don't want to worry about whether or not I speak or understand the language well enough. I never will. I'll never be an insider in the language of words department. That's for other people with those talents. No, the little universe of Italy that's wrapped around my heart and mind is a place somewhere in the middle, with rolling hills and a nearby beach with salty water and the setting for the happiness that Italy represents to me. My Italy isn't perfect, but it's damn well near, and it works just fine for me.