The problem with a good trade tasting is that most of the wines we tasted are not available to the public. Yet. At least, we hope that eventually most, if not all, of the wines we tasted at Simply Great Italian Wines will be available here in Los Angeles and in other parts of the U.S. very soon. That’s one of the reasons that earlier this week, we packed ourselves into the room at a Beverly Hills hotel with about 200 other importers, buyers and press.
It was an event put on by IEEM (International Event & Exhibition Management), a public relations firm that, among other things, represents wine makers from Italy and puts on event connecting the wineries with the people who buy the wine. According to the U.S. Director of Operations, Mariana Nedic, this event included 35 wineries representing about 10 different regions of Italy. In this case, they were mostly from the North, with the greatest representation from The Veneto (which is not Venice).
These days, if you’re thinking Italian wine, you’re probably thinking of Chiantis, Super Tuscans and Barolos from Piemonte, maybe an Amarone or two. And Prosecco. You’ve barely scratched the surface. For one thing, more varieties of grapes are grown in Italy than pretty much anywhere else in the world (except maybe the U.S., but there’s a heck of a lot more land space here than in Italy). So, if you see a white wine called Grecchetto, that is a grape variety grown in Umbria and it is darned tasty.
We’ll try to write more about the specific varieties in the weeks to come, but for now, there are two important things to remember. One is that there is a lot of very good wine being made in Italy and even if you don’t recognize the name of the grape, it’s well worth giving it a try, anyway. In fact, it can even be fun to try wines from places in Italy that you’ve never heard of. A lot of those great little wines don’t often come to the States.
“You have to produce a lot to come here,” Nedic said, pointing out that we’re a pretty big market and growing. Many wineries in Italy don’t produce that much, so when you do find one here it’s a treat.
Secondly, try it with food. We can’t emphasize that point enough. We had tried several wines that we had liked a lot, but it wasn’t until we went back with a bit of cured meat that the wines really began to sing. Italian wines are made with more acids because they’re meant to be drunk with dinner or lunch. So if it’s an Italian wine and it tastes a little tannic (that dry sensation) or flat, try it again with a bit of food. If it’s still tannic and/or flat, that’s one thing. But we’re willing to bet it will be a lot better than by itself.
I just came across your blog site trying to decide which wine to serve to a guest tonight. I’m in the buy it and try it camp but wanted more info before I subjected a guest to something they might not care for. Think I have something that will go over well, then I read about you testing pairing wine glasses. Then…well a few more. Fun reads and helpful.