which wines in Italy?
Jul 29th, 2002, 09:43 AM
#1
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which wines in Italy?
My husband and I love red wine. We will be in Italy in Aug. We also love and try very hard to find small restaurants that locals eat in and no one speak english (we don't speak italian either). We always find so many different wines that overwhelms us. Could you please give us some general info on the wines that can be found in non touristy restaurants? THank you
Jul 29th, 2002, 10:33 AM
#3
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The house red served in many Roman trattorias was very good indeed, a hearty, fruity, not too tannic red. About $4-5 Euros a litre. I wish I knew the name of it! We were never disapointed with the house wines we ordered in the local trattorias throughout Tuscany either. The Montpulcianos in souhern Tuscany were particularly enjoyable.
Jul 29th, 2002, 10:45 AM
#4
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Adeleh,<BR><BR>Italian red is my favorite kind of wine so I know *a little* about it and was in Italy last Sept...<BR><BR>First, buy as much as you can and bring it back. Some wines are not even available in the U.S. (if that is where you are from) and all of the wines are about half the price.<BR><BR>Do you like light reds or heavy reds?<BR><BR>On the lighter side you will find a huge selection of chiantis. In the middle, my favorite is valpolicella. And as Uncle Sam recommended, which is also one of my favorites, a heavier red wine, Brunello. <BR><BR>If you make your way to Montalcino (outside of Sienna) you will find many great small restaurants all serving Brunellos from the local region. It was somewhat touristy, we ran into maybe 10-20 other Americans while we were there, but it is a fantastic quaint little town. You are going in the high season though, so you will probably be inundated with tourists everywhere you go.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!!!
Jul 29th, 2002, 11:57 AM
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Hello Adeleh,<BR>Money no real object? Then try something from the Antinori stable such as "Sasicaia" or "Tignanello", you will not be disappointed.<BR>However, since your posting suggests to me that you are not a little adventurous, then try something other than these well known wines.<BR>Perhaps a Baberra d'Asti or Baberra d'Alba from the north. '97 '98 v.good vintages.<BR>Or something made from the Negro Amaro grape (succulent fruit) from the south like "Salice Salentino".<BR>I know you wrote "red wine" but don't ignore a white that Joan and I came accross by luck. Both sparkling and table. Franciacorta.<BR>http://www.franciacorta.net/inglese/first.htm<BR>I can vouch for both "CA' DEL BOSCO" and<BR>"BELLAVISTA" producers.<BR>I hope this helps you enjoy your visit.<BR>Tony
Jul 29th, 2002, 01:25 PM
#6
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Even though you are leaving soon, your local wine merchant can probably help you purchase an assortment of Italian reds, to start to familiarize yourself with some of the choices you will face: the Chiantis, the "super Tuscans", the Piedmonts (this includes the Barolos), the stronger, sweeter Amarone (already mentioned above) from the Verona area, the light summer-suitable Bardolino from the Valpolicella region, and the "Tyroleans" from Trento and the Alto Adige, which includes one of my favorites: Teroldego Rotaliano - - a spicy, dark-dark-red that falls somewhere betwen the Zinfandels of California and the Shiraz of several different continents.<BR><BR>Two internet resources that I strongly recommend:<BR><BR>http://www.kilkelly.com/links.html lists a lot of additional links to info on Italian wines; they also have specific notes on locations at the bottom of this page: http://www.kilkelly.com/ventusc.html<BR><BR>and<BR><BR>www.cal-italia.org - - another good way to learn about Italian wines is to support the eforts of this California cooperative of wine producers who are holding true to Italian heritage varietals and blends. Worth it to ask your local merchant to stock some of the wines from any of these producers.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>
Jul 29th, 2002, 01:30 PM
#7
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Adeleh<BR><BR>See http://milioni.com/vini/wine.htm<BR><BR>As you can see on this list, there are a lot of different wine regions in Italy.<BR><BR>In restaurants, there is always an inexpensive red & white house wine (sometimes this is the whole wine list). These are local & cheap & just OK. 6 - 15 euros a bottle (carafe).<BR><BR>Up the price scale to 15 - 30 euros & you run into Chiantis(r), Valpolicellas(r), Soaves(w), Pinot Grigios(w), Orvietos(w), Barberas(r) etc etc<BR><BR>Up again 30 - 50 euros & you get better Chiantis(r), Amarones(r) & at the top end Barolas(r) & Brunellos(r) and some of the Toscana IGT reds.<BR><BR>Note: my (r) = red (w) = white but even this is not cast in stone - almost all regions make both regardless of their specialty.<BR><BR>Confused yet?<BR><BR>Everybody is. Even winos like me.<BR><BR>Rule of thumb: Order by price. I found the wines were fairly priced in most places, so go with what suits your budget & the event. Just point at a name on the wine list & experiment. If you want, keep a journal of wines & your impressions, so you can refer back.
