'Winebanter'

Second edition of ‘Selezione Vini da Pesce’, the International Competition of Wines for Fish will be held on May 15—17 in Ancona, the Capital city of the Italian Region Marche, where over 500 white, rosé as well as sparkling wines are expected to vie for the ‘Calice Dorico’ top award and the gold, silver and bronze medals in each category, writes Subhash Arora who has been invited as one of the international judges

I met an Italian lady a couple of days ago, who wanted to know where in Italy I was headed for judging the wine competition next week. When I told her it was ‘Selezione Vini da Pesce’ her eyes beamed as she said, ‘Oh, then I am sure you are going to Marche. What beautiful beaches on the Adriatic Coast! The fish is delicious. And what a heavenly combination they make with Verdicchio wines!’

She was partially right. What she was thinking of was “Selezione Di Pesce” wine competition, the only one approved in Italy by the Italian Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies that makes the important link between wine and fish. This was and still is held in Ancona for domestic wines that go well with fish. It was designed to promote the fishing industry of Marche whereas I have been invited to ‘Selezione Vini da Pesce, the international wine competition that was started last year to expand the horizon of the original competition.

 

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Via Mariano Pallottini

Despite the name, the grape called Montepulciano has nothing to do with the town of the same name in Toscana, nor does it have any relationship with the wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which comes from Toscana. Rather, Montepulciano, the grape, is cultivated throughout Central Italy, from Le Marche to Apulia and most specifically in Abruzzo. Montepulciano is a varietal that makes a tremendously pleasing wine characterized by low acidity, manageable tannins, and a combination of the roundness of Merlot with the pepper and black fruit of Syrah. Known best for its DOC appellation Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, this varietal is said to have originated in Abruzzo, but it also appears in several other DOC wines throughout central Italy.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC, created in 1968, covers more or less the entire eastern half of its titular province. Despite the similarity in name, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ought not be confused with Toscana’s Vino Nobile de Montepulciano, named for its nearest town, Montepulciano. Indigenous to Abruzzo, Montepulciano grows happily throughout the rugged terrain of central Italy, and the varietal forms the central component of this DOC and that of Le Marche’s Rosso Cònero, as well as serving as a recommended varietal for many others.
This grape possesses an extremely easy-going nature, thriving particularly well around the foothills of the Apennines near the town of Teramo, the site of its DOCG appellation, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane. Although it suffers the reputation of being a little brother to some of the region’s better known wines, the medium-bodied, ruby-red, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo provides a very pleasant wine for a very good value. Lightly tannic but bouncy with acidity, this wine with a palate of berries and violets also has an intriguing spiciness that complements the region’s predilection for foods laced with hot peppers. The slightly sweet tannins of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo keep it lively in the bottle, but unchanged as it ages. Recent interest in playing with techniques in cultivation and vinification, however, may help make the genial Montepulciano d’Abruzzo become a more complex and burly wine in the future.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo comes in four types. Vinified like a white with a short maceration on the skins, Cerasuolo is its rosé style, named for its bright cherry-red color. An unusually jaunty rosé, Cerasuolo can stand up to spicy foods; its DOC regulations allow for 85% Montepulciano and up to 15% of other local varietals, often Sangiovese. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Rosso has the same grape allowances as the Cerasuolo, though it is vinified as a red with a longer maceration; this DOC also comes in a riserva form that requires 24 months of ageing. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo’s Casauria and Terre dei Vestini DOC types both require 100% Montepulciano, and both have riserva forms that require 24 months of ageing.
The best thing about Montepulciano d’Abbruzzo wines–other than their general deliciousness–is that they tend to be super affordable, offering a fresh, easy way to serve quality Italian wines any night of the week.

Via Mariano Pallottini

It’s appropriate that the country producing both the greatest quantity and greatest variety of wine in the world should also host the globe’s largest wine show.

Over 4,200 wineries and 140,000 wine lovers gathered last week in the literary home of Romeo and Juliet, which seems fitting as the event is frequently billed as “another love story in Verona.”

What follow are some Italian grape varietals that you may not have heard of, but your palate is sure to be rewarded by making the effort to seek out these wines.

Lacrima di Morro d'Alba

The name means teardrop and the grape is found in the central east coast region of Le Marche. Typical aromas of roses with wild strawberries and a beautiful juicy vinous character. Used to produce still red wines, sweet wines and unique and delicious sparkling.

Pecorino

Mostly found in Le Marche and Abruzzo regions resulting in white wines with fresh and delicate aromas, full on the palate with mineral notes, some fresh herbs and citrus.

Via Mariano Pallottini

I remember the first wine I actively DESPISED. This wine made me heartily want to puke. I could not get it away from me; the sticky-spicy scent of a closet littered with potpourri satchels hung in my nostrils, pervading my sinuses, clinging like your great aunt’s perfume after a lingering hug—strong and alarmingly persistent.
The wine was a red Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. [...]
Perhaps in 2005, my virgin palate was shallow, ignorant, and uncouth! Perhaps my uneducated tongue was simply too immature to recognize Lacrima di Morro d’Alba’s charm.
…Fast forward to right now: I open the 2009 Luigi Giusti Lacrima di Morro d’Alba. I swirl. I sniff. That piquant scent absolutely leaps out of the glass. It clings tenaciously to my nostrils and my tongue, just like auntie’s perfume, just like I remembered it. As the dear Sam, who sold me this bottle at Biondivino, said: “It’s a polarizing wine. You either love it or you hate it.”
I give it a chance to open up [...]
In Wine Grapes, Jancis explains, “the name Lacrima (English ‘teardrop’) was probably given to this variety because when the berries are fully ripe, they exude small drops of juice.”
To my taste, the grapes may as well have exuded thousands of tiny potpourri satchels, because the wine smells as if someone steeped these satchels in the fermenting juice: there’s dried roses, lilies, violets, lavender, juniper, what I think myrtle berries must smell like, plus cinnamon sticks and allspice—the whole shebang in there.
A wine this strong could get scary without a kick of acid to lift it up and carry it along, but once you get past the freaky-potent aromatics, the wine lights up with a great streak of acidity. The tannins are mellow but not absent, giving it a soft texture, cruising along in stride with black pepper, Red Hots, and star anise. The whole thing finishes with a slathering of blackberry jam bringing up the rear. As I sip, I have a sudden craving for lamb chops sprinkled with sea salt, rosemary, maybe a little balsamic reduction. Or, moussaka… or, hey… Maybe Linguine Mare Chiaro, bella.

2009 Luigi Giusti Lacrima di Morro d’Alba (Marche, Italy)
The Grape: Lacrima di Morro d’Alba
The Region: Marche, Italy
Retail price: $22
The Importer: Vinity Wine Company
Via Mariano Pallottini