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DIC. GEN. 2017
XVI
many comments and trends (as
always) between agreements and
disagreements, between made in
Italy and foreign bottles, not only
from France and Spain but from the
far away America and New Zealand.
We start on an easy note, lost
in the many bubbles of Italian
spumante. The sparkling wines of
Franciacorta and Trentino are always
old favourites, but the evergreen
Prosecco is at the very top, its
demand growing consistently all over
the world. The name and the wine
are so famous to be often wrongly
identified with anything one can
pour in a flûte. This is certainly due
to a limit that many places have (or
to poor professionalism), when they
quickly call ‘Prosecco’ a spumante
wine that has nothing to do in taste
and flavour with the original.
Beside the peculiarity of these
bubbles, we must look for freshness,
for fruity flavours, for a balanced
acidity, for sapidity and for a
pleasant grassy flavour: so we have
the increased demand for Sauvignons
produced in the old continent,
for example the well-known ones
from the Loire region, but also the
‘modern’ ones from New Zealand.
We mustn’t forget that in the last
10-15 years the quality of wines
has considerably increased and that
people have also increased their
desire to try something new. This
trend has been confirmed by the
market and by the fact that many
producers have rediscovered local
grapes otherwise forgotten. This
has happened because the average
consumer, more aware and more
curious, wants to sip wines that
have a story to tell. This happens
whatever the final judgement on
the wine will be: people can like
or dislike a wine, they can disagree
on the food pairing, but if a wine
can tell its origin and has its own
peculiarities, then it certainly creates
interest... maybe to taste it again a
second time.
Consumers who love big red wines
are always there: Pinot Noir is
always growing and always trendy,
even when it is from New Zealand,
Chile, Oregon and California, with a
special consideration for the classic
Bourgogne. People look for elegant
products, maybe characterized by an
extra touch of freshness, with less
tannins and a more discreet vanilla
aroma (thanks to the fermentation in
wood barrels).
Up until a few years ago wine was
only for the élite, the symbol of
a social class that could afford to
buy and collect important Italian
or foreign labels, but the 2017
trends go also through ‘bought and
drunk’ wines. This is due to their
excellent quality/price ratio and to
the immediate pleasure they give
when drunk. Simplicity wins over
everything else, just as knowing
that what you drink is healthy and
natural. Organic and vegan wines are
on the grow, a type of consumption
that has become a habit for people
who follow this particular lifestyle
but that has big numbers - especially
in the restoration sector – also
among people who have always
drunk traditional wine. It is a fact
that everything that belongs to the
‘organic world’ deserves a special
attention on its own, whether it is
trendy or not.
The real news for 2017 is Orange
Wine, i.e. all wine obtained by the
prolonged maceration of white
grapes. The name will be totally new
for some, but it certainly promises
to spark great attention. Nothing is
strange about the process, other than
the fermenting wort is in contact with
the grape skins for a longer time,
receiving the tannins and a tinge
which varies from orange to amber.
This technique is used especially in
Georgia, where people also have a
tradition of preserving the wine in big
terra cotta jars buried in the ground.
What about orange wine in the glass?
Apart from the amber colour with its
variety of nuances, the wine’s flavours
remind of spices and dried fruit with a
note of bitter honey and hay, often far
from traditional standards. At the same
time, to the palate, Orange Wines offer
a taste of rhubarb, humami and ginger.
They’re something different, maybe to
try with a nice dish, possibly from the
Asian cuisine.
MAGAZINE