Indigenous grapes from Italy

Ian D'Agata's Native Wine Grapes of Italy

Italy probably has more native grape varieties than any other country. Ian D’Agata documented over 500 in his book ‘Native Wine Grapes of Italy’ and Jancis Robinson listed 377 in her latest book ‘Wine Grapes’. In reality, there are probably more. This is a treasure trove for winemakers.

However, beginning around the 1970s, wineries from Tuscany started releasing wines blended with or made 100% from international varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. These fleshier wines, contrasting with the leaner and more subtle local wines made from Sangiovese and Canaiolo, proved to be a hit in the export markets, notably the US, thus leading to many more Tuscan wineries, big and small, planting at least some international varieties over the past 30 years.

My recent visit to Chianti, it seems, revealed a reversal of the trend.

Poggiotondo, with abundant seashells in the soil (foreground) 

Alberto Antonini, owner of Poggiotondo in Cerreto Guidi between Florence and Pisa, and a consultant to wineries in both North and South America, Italy and South Africa, told me that they planted international grapes in the 70s because it was fashionable, and that wineries then needed to have international grapes in order to be treated seriously. However, he realised that these varieties do not really match the terroir, and he is now gradually reducing the plantings. He still makes Marmoreccia Syrah, a 100% Syrah but he is putting his focus back onto the indigenous varieties (albeit not just Tuscan ones). His Poggiotondo Bianco is a blend of Vermentino, Malvasia (both from Tuscany) and Ansonica (aka Inzolia from Sicily), while his reds now feature more Sangiovese and less Merlot and Syrah in the blends.

44th Expo del Chianti Classico

Alberto’s remarks were echoed, somewhat surprisingly, by at least some 20 producers out of 55 at the 44th Expo del Chianti Classico, an annual wine festival held in Greve in Chianti that I visited two days later. Most of these producers are from the new generation of winemakers who practise organic or sustainable farming. They believe that by taking better care of the vines, controlling the yield and sometimes even using different clones they can make better Sangiovese and Canaiolo, expressive of Chianti’s terroir, without the aid of international grapes.

Credit: winepair.com

Elsewhere in Italy we can also see more emphasis on local grapes. Leading winemakers in Etna are making outstanding Nerello Mascalese and Carricante, while Walter Massa leads the way in reviving Timorasso in Piedmont. Indeed Ian D’Agata, Scientific Director of the Vinitaly International Academy, was conducting seminars on Piedmont’s indigenous grapes at the 2014 Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair, introducing Grignolino, a pale red, low alcohol wine with zesty acidity and herbal, floral notes, and Brachetto d’Acqui, a sweet, slightly sparkling red, to the largely Asian audience.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay may be noble, but I think the world has more than enough of them. Italy has the fortune of having probably the most varieties of indigenous grapes that would probably not thrive outside their native country. Wine lovers are lucky that Italian winemakers are rediscovering them rather than abandoning them. The wine world would be a lot duller without them.

Italian wine... hidden gems

I always love Italian wine so naturally will not want to miss any tasting opportunities. The most memorable recently was the Vino Veritas portfolio tasting at Colour Living.

The venue is a lifestyle store featuring stylish kitchen and bathroom pieces as home furnishings. I think it’s a pretty cool setting for wine tasting. People will remember it and hopefully remember the wine as well. A few guests certainly will—they were playing with an over-sized bathtub on display, and water suddenly came out...

VinoVeritas is an Italian wine importer founded by Michael Palij MW, who selects the wines personally and recently moved to Hong Kong. There were 17 wines for tasting and I was impressed by the selection—all good quality, very reasonably priced and not short of hidden gems.

I particularly like Vigneti Massa (Walter Massa) from Colli Tortonesi, a five-generation winery in Piedmont. Its ‘Costa del Vento’ white wine made from indigenous Timorasso is concentrated with lively acidity and a savoury palate that could probably age for a few years. According to Jancis Robinson’s Wine Grapes, Timorasso used to be the most praised white variety in Piedmont until it was taken over by the more productive Cortese (used in Gavi) when vineyards were replanted after phylloxera in the early 20th century. It is only in the last few decades that a handful of producers, notably Walter Massa, have started replanting and have doubled its vineyard area from 6ha in 2000. Timorasso, in Jancis’s words, is a "rare, high-quality Piedmontese earning renewed recognition".

Walter Massa also makes red wine. His ‘Bigolla’ Colli Tortonesi Barbera DOC 2003 is still young with generous black fruits and an opulent mouthfeel, very different from the typical Barbera on the market. Apparently, Walter met Michael some time ago at a restaurant and insisted Michael try some of his wine. Michael was impressed and the rest is history. We are lucky to have Walter's wines in Hong Kong.

Ten days later I moved east from Piedmont to Friuli where Roberto Cioaca from Heritage Wines treated us to an intimate lunch at the Piedmontese restaurant La Piola with the winemaker/owner from Masùt da Rive, another family winery with four generations of history, now run by the brothers Fabrizio and Marco Gallo. They inherit and preserve the values of their father, and only make wines that truly respect the environment and express the land. By the way, ‘Masùt’ is the family nickname and ‘da Rive’ means on the hill. They sensibly did not use the family name Gallo on the label to avoid stepping on the US Gallo family’s turf.

Back to the wines, the Ribolla Gialla, an indigenous grape from the region, is refreshing with a crisp acidity and creamy mouthfeel—a pleasant summer drink and a steal at less than $200. Friulano, another native grape which Fabrizio describes as a young cousin of Sauvignon Blanc, indeed has the shadow of Sauvignon Blanc but minus the pungent herbaceousness, which makes it more suitable for pairing with food such as crispy dishes or white meat and less tiring when drunk alone. By the way, it is also known as Sauvignon Vert or Sauvignonasse, a descendant of Sauvignon Blanc.

Masùt da Rive also has other wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Nero (aka Pinot Noir), both not particularly the cup of tea of Ali Nicol, publisher of Wine Times HK, who was also at the tasting. Nevertheless, at the end, Ali was happily drinking both. Guess that says something about the wine!

Walter Massa is available from VinoVeritas.
Masùt da Rive is available from Heritage Wines.

Big shot tastings in Hong Kong: what’s the impact?

March is set to be a busy month on the Hong Kong wine scene, with wine lovers torn between two equally famous yet very different wine gurus: Jancis Robinson and Robert Parker. Each of them, coincidentally, has two evenings of dinners in Hong Kong—on the same dates. When Robinson is answering questions from WSET diploma students and graduates on the 5th, Parker will be showcasing iconic French wines and their New Word counterparts to 300 guests. The next evening, Robinson will be lending her support to the charity ‘Room to Read’, with wines sponsored by Watson’s, while Parker will be sharing his ‘legend’ wines with some 200 guests, each paying US$1,000+ for the privilege. Hong Kong is just one of the stops on their Asian tours and luckily it seems their schedules only clash in Hong Kong.  

In the last few years there has been no shortage of wine ‘big shots’ staging high profile events in Greater China. Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, two respected French critics, have held tastings under the banners ‘Le Grand Day of Indulgence’ and ‘Wine Experience’ in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and I believe the ticket price of HK$18,000/person in Hong Kong for an intimate whole-day gathering of 50 guests is still the record price. James Suckling, an American wine critic who now spends half his time in Hong Kong, has his ‘Great Wine Tasting of Bordeaux’ and ‘Great Wine Tasting of Italy’ events priced at around HK$2,000/person for VIP tickets.

All these glamour events no doubt create excitement and buzz among Hong Kong’s wine connoisseurs and paint a rosy impression for producers, yet somehow I wonder if they really help expand the Hong Kong wine market. Let’s look at things from the consumer point of view:

Those who sign up for or aware of these events will almost all be wine collectors or serious wine lovers who appreciate and drink wine nearly every day. They won’t drink more because of these VIP events as their livers are pretty much working at capacity already.

For those who hardly drink or are not interested in wine, they won’t know how influential these big shots are and won’t drink more because of them. So these events have little or no impact on them.

That leaves the last group, which is actually the majority of wine consumers in Hong Kong—occasional drinkers who have some interest in wine but don’t know much about it. What is the impact of these events on them (bearing in mind that they won’t attend the events but may hear about them)? Will our VIP presenters inspire them to drink and enjoy more wine, or will they be led down the path of believing that only expensive wines are worth drinking? Sadly, I fear it will be the latter because of the herd mentality. And that is a pity because it means the middle market, which ought to be the core of any mature wine market, is left hollow and undeveloped.

I’m not saying high profile tasting events are bad (we all enjoy them, don’t we?). But I do think that for a still developing market like Hong Kong, perhaps it would be more beneficial—more help in building a solid, sustainable market—if the big shots could, in addition to the lavish tastings, host some simpler, more affordable tastings for new and curious wine consumers, aimed at providing that spark that inspires them to love wine for what it is rather than chasing labels. We can then, over time, nurture them into core wine consumers as opposed to occasional drinkers. In turn, they will inspire other average consumers to give wine a try. And of course some of them will one day grow to become the enthusiasts who sign up as guests of these high-profile exclusive events!