Demistifying Italian wines

December, 2009

Last month, a quietly spoken English gentleman slipped in and out of Adelaide on a brief professional visit. Few knew he was here, but many hold his opinions on Italian wines to be the most informed in the world. Nicolas Belfrage has authored numerous books, lives at least part of the year in Italy and still thinks he has more to learn.

Has Australia taken up Italian wines in a similar way to other countries? Italian wines tend to cause confusion because there are so many unknowns – producer and place names, often unpronounceable, DOCs and IGTs, strange  varieties. Aussies on the whole are as bold as any nation in trying to come to grips with a confusing situation, but obviously they feel more comfortable with the familiar Cabernets, Merlots and Shirazes which characterise French and New World wines and which feature so heavily in home production.

What aspects of Italian wine, in your opinion, make it most appealing to non-Italians? The positive side of the above is that Italian wines offer something different. Italian wine is a paradise for the adventurous. Those who are prepared to throw themselves into the unknown will be rewarded more often than horrified by the experiment. Italian wines, of course, are made in a different style to those of Oz – with copious tannicity and acidity (natural), lending themselves, as the cliche goes, to accompaniment with food.

Is there a “greatest wine” of Italy? In my view classic Nebbiolo – Barolo/Barbaresco – makes Italy’s greatest, though others would say Sangiovese, notably from Montalcino or Chianti Classico. Both are unique and their taste takes a bit of acquiring, but once you get there you never look back.

What is the biggest misconception about Italian wines in foreign countries? I would love to answer: “That they’re not difficult to understand”, but unfortunately that’s not true. T.S. Eliot said of Dante’s Divine Comedy that it was one of those works which you can only hope to grow up to towards the end of one’s life, and after thirty five years of study I am inclined to think the same of Italian wines.

What do you think about Australia’s efforts at Italian varieties? I regret that I have not yet been particularly impressed in terms of authenticity, though I have tasted some good if untypical wines from Pizzini and Coriole, for example. I gather the big problem re Italian varietals is that they are based on clones which are either of poor quality or which were planted so recently that they have not had time to mature, or for their makers to adapt their enological approach.

Do you think Australia will ever create an overseas market for “traditional” Italian varieties made here? Based on efforts to date it’s hard to see, but things could change with better clones and climate change.

Many young Australian wine makers travel to Italy to participate in vintages – do you think this is a one-way exchange or can the Italians also learn from Australia? Australia has a great deal to teach other wine-lands, both positive (do do) and negative (don’t do). Italy could probably learn more than most, in both directions.
You say that many of the wines popular in Australia (and Britain and America) have an “alcoholic, fruit juice style”, and suggest switching to Italian wines at the table will broaden the horizons of drinkers.

Do you think Australian wines will start to move away from this style soon?

There is no need for Australians to move towards the Italian style, since your styles have a huge following at home and abroad. “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”  The greatest single aspect of wine is infinite variation. Both Australian and Italian styles – which more or less represent the extremes of the spectrum – have a very definite place in this world. Vive la difference!