An Italian owner comes aboard in Portofino and asks you to build the cellar around home. Italy has hundreds of indigenous grapes and a classification system that rewards close reading. Three regions carry most of what you will pour.
The classification ladder
| Tier | Meaning |
|---|---|
| DOCG | Highest tier; tighter rules, tasting panel, guaranteed origin |
| DOC | Controlled origin; defined grapes, yields, ageing |
| IGT | Wider geographic indication, more freedom for the winemaker |
| Vino | Basic table wine |
IGT is not a lesser wine by definition - some of Italy's most expensive bottles sit there by choice.
Piedmont
Cool, foggy, in the shadow of the Alps. The great grape is Nebbiolo: pale garnet, but with searing acidity and formidable tannin, scented with rose, tar and cherry.
- Barolo and Barbaresco (both DOCG) - Nebbiolo, with long minimum ageing. Barolo is generally the more powerful, Barbaresco marginally earlier-drinking.
- Barbera - high acid, low tannin, juicy; superb with food.
- Dolcetto - soft, dark, easy.
- Whites: Gavi (Cortese), and lightly sweet, low-alcohol Moscato d'Asti.
Tuscany
The grape is Sangiovese: red cherry, herbs, savoury, high acid, medium-to-high tannin.
- Chianti and Chianti Classico - the Classico zone is the historic heart; look for the Gallo Nero (black rooster). Riserva and Gran Selezione denote longer ageing.
- Brunello di Montalcino - 100% Sangiovese, powerful, long-aged, long-lived.
- Vino Nobile di Montepulciano - Sangiovese from the town of Montepulciano. Do not confuse it with the grape Montepulciano, grown in Abruzzo.
- Super Tuscans - Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet, Merlot) grown in Tuscany, historically bottled as IGT; Bolgheri is their spiritual home.
The Veneto
- Soave - Garganega; light, almond, citrus.
- Valpolicella - Corvina-based; light and cherryish in its basic form.
- Amarone della Valpolicella - grapes dried on mats (appassimento) before fermentation: rich, raisined, high in alcohol, dry. Recioto is the sweet version.
- Prosecco - Glera, tank method, fresh and floral. Covered in detail later in this course.
Onboard Notes
- Young Barolo and Brunello need air. Decant an hour or more ahead, or steer the guest to something ready.
- Amarone is often 15-16% abv. It is a fireside wine, not a lunchtime one in the Aeolian Islands.
- Italian guests will notice if you serve Chianti in a straw fiasco. Buy properly and let the wine speak.