Do You Know Your Italian Grapes?

By Dominic Donaldson

Italy is famous for its superb food as well as its wine; the two go hand in hand and are thoroughly ingrained in Italy’’s culture and traditions.

If you mention Italian grapes to any fan of Italian wine, they will instantly put forward Barolo as one of the finest.

Barolo

Barolos are big, powerfully-flavoured wines and for this reason require heavy-weight foods that stand up to them. Rich Italian dishes such as Risotto, Spaghetti Bolognaise and red meat dishes serve as great accompaniments to this wine.

Tannins in Barolo react to proteins in food, and taste softer in the mouth when drunk with high protein and fat foods which complement them perfectly. In the absence of proteins, such as with vegetarian dishes, the tannins will react with proteins found in the inner mouth, accentuating their bitterness, and so it is best to consume Barolo with the former.

It’’s also a wine that ages very well. Young wines will not have developed their full, complex, rich flavours, and so a good cellaring does a bottle of Barolo the world of good; as much as ten or fifteen years.

Montepulciano d”Abruzzo

This wine is a real crowd-pleaser, produced mainly from the Italian grapes Montepulciano in the region of Abruzzo. This is a very reliable wine that is easy to drink and makes a good general accompaniment to a wide range of Italian dishes.

You”ll find that many Italian restaurants will have Montepulciano d”Abruzzo as their house wine, and it will be reasonably priced. It’’s a good wine to order in a restaurant if there are a few guests sharing the same wine, that are also eating varied dishes, as it is a good all-rounder.

Sangiovese

Sangiovese is one of the well-known Italian grapes, and is sometimes blended into Montepulciano d”Abruzzo. The grape makes high acid, medium-bodied wines with sour cherry flavours. It goes brilliantly with the signature tomato-based dishes of Italy.

Chianti is produced with Sangiovese as its main ingredient and is renowned worldwide. Basic Chianti should be drunk young, whereas Chianti Reserva is oak aged and is at least two years old. Expect to pay premium rates for Chiantis with Classico on the lable; this means it is from the very heart of the Chianti region.

Sangiovese di Romagna is a popular wine that’’s made from the grape, which is full of fruit flavours.

Italian grapes enjoy some of the best climates in the world for growing, and there are so many great wines produced from Italian grapes that you really can”t go wrong. Enjoy with traditional Italian fare and remember to drink responsibly!

About The Author

Dominic Donaldson is a wine expert. Find out more about Italian grapes and the delightful wines waiting to be discovered.

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