North East Italy Wine Notes — 24/06/2008

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This corner of Italy is home to some famous name wine areas including; Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Friuli, Trentino and Alto Adige. They fan out in an arc from the Adriatic coastline, inland to Lake Garda and into the Dolomites foothills. History and geography have colluded to create a hotch-potch of cultures, languages and styles.

History

The Veneto mostly fell under the Venetian Empire and seems to have been a major conduit for Greek winemaking ideas. Through the middle ages Venice monopolised the trade in sweet Greek wines, the most expensive in the world. The key to these wines was the idea of drying grapes before fermentation. This idea in the form of Recioto or Passito resonates through Italian wine today. The name Valpolicella, where Recioto is practised, in a curious mixture of Italian and Greek, means ‘valley of many cellars’.

In Trentino – Alto Adige, a huge proportion of the wine made is of reliable, high quality. For instance some 60% in this region is DOC. A key factor in this was the early adoption of the co-op system, which, unlike many other viticulture areas, here became a by word for quality. This degree of organisation, rarely seen in Italy, is sometimes said to be due to the Austrian influence in the Alto Adige.

The Region

The climate involves hot, humid summers. Micro-climates can result in temperatures to rival Sicily. Vintages are important, particularly for the reds. Winemaking here has in recent times been driven by nearby Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and their need for red wines. This has resulted in an explosion in plantings of Cabernet and Merlot on the eastern Veneto’s gravel plains where fertile soils give high yields. Traditional vines and wines still dominate the slopes and famous appellations.

Corvina: Key to Valpolicella and Bardolino, giving the bitter cherry and almond notes.

Rondinella: Middling quality that adds weight to Valpolicellas, particularly Amarone.

Molinara: Light, fruity, with low concentration, it is being phased out of the finer Valpolicellas.

Garganega: The grape of Soave, if yields are kept down it can produce fine, herby wines.

Trebbiano: A work horse grape planted all over the world. creating light, neutral quaffers.

Nosiola: Indigenous grape variety in Trentino, best when made into Vino Santo.

Marzemino: Rare, gives very attractive wines.

Teroldego: Idiosyncratic vine from Rotaliano in the Trento valley, can make wonderfully complex wine

The Wines

Valpolicella: Quality varies from the sublime to the dreary. The best wines are undoubtedly those made with dried grapes, Amarone, the dry style which can be a powerful, fruity wine of great character and Recioto, the bitter-sweet style. There is also Ripasso, which is made by passing wine through Amarone grape skins, giving Valpolicella extra body and alcohol. The generic wines from large producers are mostly light and uninteresting, however, look out for straight Valpolicella, Valpolicella Classico, and especially Valpolicella Classico Superiore from good domains. These can be fine elegant wines with a pleasingly complex, fruit/savoury character.

Bardolino: A light, cherry and bitter strawberry wine that is OK drunk young and chilled.

Soave: If from the Classico region in the hills and by a good producer, this wine is a sheer delight; full of herb and peach fruit, with some weight and nice acidity. There are some single vineyard wines and special cuvées to look out for. However, Soave can be thin and acidic, which may (or may not) be easy drinking. Recioto di Soave is a sweet white made from dried grapes that can be sublime young and ages well. Most of of the good wines come from the classico region up on the slope near the pretty town of Soave, however there are good wines made even on the plain below. Ideally the wine is made from the Garganega grape, but the DOC rules allow Chardonnay, Pinot bianco and Trebbiano too.

Lugana: Trebbiano’s only fine wine hails from the southern edge of Lake Garda, crisp and fresh.

Trentino: The wines produced are from indigenous grape varieties such as Teroldego and the usual imported suspects. merlot

Alto Adige: A German speaking, almost schizophrenic region populated with producers who make huge quantities of dull, container wines for the Austrian market, and by great winemakers who craft world class Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer (the village of Tramin in here) and Moscato. Also home to the unusual reds of Lagrein and Schiava. Lagrein in particular is capable of making very fine wines indeed.

Friuli: Northeast of Venice in Friuli you can find some fairly interesting wines, red and white.

Collio and Colli Orientali:In Friuli, when you get to Collio and Colli Orientali on the Slovenian border you find the fireworks! Pinot Grigio is perhaps the best known, but the Chardonnay can be sublime, the local Ribolla Gialla is very interesting, as is the Malvasia Istriana and the reds good too. There is some good Pinot but it is the Bordeaux blends that are stunning. Also, there are some lovely rare sweet specialities such as Picolit and Verduzzo . Prices may seem high to us, but domestic demand is very strong. Note: The Slovenian region of Brda is a continuation of the vineyard and in the past they were considered one and the same. Brda is Slovenian for “hills” ie Colli! Quality here is very high too and prices are similar to the Italian side as well.

Emilia Romagna: Home to Lambrusco, which has a dubious reputation in the UK for insipid white wines. However true Lambrusco is an interesting red, frothy wine. Sadly this is just about the only place you will get to try it.

Prosecco: A grape and a wine. A sparkling or semi-sparkling wine which is traditionally home-made using the ‘rural method’ (ie the champagne method without disgorgement. The best commercial Proseccos can have a delightful, almost champenoise creaminess. Most are dry, fresh, and though a bit neutral, just the thing on a hot Venetian afternoon.

Colli Bolognesi: This is a very interesting area. There are some local semi-sparkling wines made, but this is not where the real interest lies. – A clutch of quality producers, and one in particular, make great wines from Riesling, Cabernet-Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Malvasia. Whether they are right to turn their backs on the local tradition so completely is a matter of debate. In this case, given how corrupted much of the local production is, and their extreme attachment to quality, we should just sit back and enjoy the results.

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