In my wine travels and experiences, I've found some very interesting takes on Italian wines from a number of people. Many folks think of Italian wines as
food wines. That is, that they can't be had by themselves and need something to complete them and make them balanced. Others have said that Italian wines
are less exotic, as in not big enough, tannic enough or lack boldness.
If you're one of those people, I want to recommend some wines that in my experience meets every criteria that most folks are looking for in an Italian wine, especially of a certain region or type. Some of these may be more difficult to find and some are produced in pretty decent quantity. Mind you, none of these wines are produced on the scale of American wineries such as Mondavi (owned by the massive drinks brand Constellation) or Ste. Michelle (who is a conglomerate of its own).
I'll post a reply for the others, broken down by type. This post will be dedicated to Barolo!
Barolo is a DOCG in the northwestern part of Italy in the Piemonte province. DOCG is the recognized controlling authority for the strict requirements that wines like Barolo, Brunello and Chianti Classico must meet. Barolo is really known as the king of Italian wines.
The first Barolo I would recommend based on quality and price would be the Eugenio Bocchino Barolo. He makes two versions of this great wine. Both extracted from 35-45+ year old vines producing the grand grape Nebbiolo. DOCG rules then require them to be barrel aged for two years in chestnut or oak barrels and bottle aged for another year before release. This is due to the Nebbiolo grape's tannic nature.
Eugenio produces less than 1,000 cases of wine throughout ALL of his offerings. His yields sometimes getting to below 3/4 of a bottle per plant! To put that in context, the average new world vineyard produces 5-10 bottles per plant. All of his grapes are hand selected grape by grape. So the quality management is first rate.
Pricing for his wines is competitive as well. Barolo can run the gamut of pricing per bottle. I've seen them from as low as the $40 range to as much as $350 for a Barolo Riserva (which has a minimum age requirement of 5 years prior to release). These two Barolos will run about $70 for his lower end and about $95-100 for his higher end offering.
If that pricing is a bit too steep for a special occasion wine, look up his other Nebbiolo offering called La Perucca. These grapes are literally grown across the road from where his Nebbiolo for his Barolo grows. But, they grow outside the Barolo area listed by the DoCG so they can not be put into a Barolo wine. This bottle is about $45 and is a great value as the grapes would normally end up in a Barolo offering if they were included in that zone.
If you're one of those people, I want to recommend some wines that in my experience meets every criteria that most folks are looking for in an Italian wine, especially of a certain region or type. Some of these may be more difficult to find and some are produced in pretty decent quantity. Mind you, none of these wines are produced on the scale of American wineries such as Mondavi (owned by the massive drinks brand Constellation) or Ste. Michelle (who is a conglomerate of its own).
I'll post a reply for the others, broken down by type. This post will be dedicated to Barolo!
Barolo is a DOCG in the northwestern part of Italy in the Piemonte province. DOCG is the recognized controlling authority for the strict requirements that wines like Barolo, Brunello and Chianti Classico must meet. Barolo is really known as the king of Italian wines.
The first Barolo I would recommend based on quality and price would be the Eugenio Bocchino Barolo. He makes two versions of this great wine. Both extracted from 35-45+ year old vines producing the grand grape Nebbiolo. DOCG rules then require them to be barrel aged for two years in chestnut or oak barrels and bottle aged for another year before release. This is due to the Nebbiolo grape's tannic nature.
Eugenio produces less than 1,000 cases of wine throughout ALL of his offerings. His yields sometimes getting to below 3/4 of a bottle per plant! To put that in context, the average new world vineyard produces 5-10 bottles per plant. All of his grapes are hand selected grape by grape. So the quality management is first rate.
Pricing for his wines is competitive as well. Barolo can run the gamut of pricing per bottle. I've seen them from as low as the $40 range to as much as $350 for a Barolo Riserva (which has a minimum age requirement of 5 years prior to release). These two Barolos will run about $70 for his lower end and about $95-100 for his higher end offering.
If that pricing is a bit too steep for a special occasion wine, look up his other Nebbiolo offering called La Perucca. These grapes are literally grown across the road from where his Nebbiolo for his Barolo grows. But, they grow outside the Barolo area listed by the DoCG so they can not be put into a Barolo wine. This bottle is about $45 and is a great value as the grapes would normally end up in a Barolo offering if they were included in that zone.
