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- Swede - 04-05-2000
I'm starting a cellar and concentrating on Italian Wines. I would like to find pictures, information, pamphlets on some of the wineries. I'm mainly interested in Gaja, Fontodi, Luce, Bruno Giacosa. I would appreciate suggestions on how to find this information.
- Innkeeper - 04-05-2000
Try going to www.ulysses.it/ for starters.
- misterjive - 04-20-2000
Also try www.wine.it , also as the Italian Wine Internet. But if you know anyone in the restaurant business, distributors can be your allies in your quest. I have seen restaurants not only purchase bottles of Bruno Giacosa Barbaresco from vintages 5-7 years older than anything the local wine stores havein stock, but also be given literature and wine paraphenalia (corkscrews, wooden cases, even wristwatches) from producers such as Antinori, Ruffino, and Banfi.
A few recommendations: if you want cellar candidates and you want to focus on Italian wine, start with Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello. That's it for Italian varietals. Then move toward Cabernet-based Super-Tuscans, or Super-Anywheres, so long as they are more Cabernet than Sangiovese. Then think about Italian Syrahs from reputable producers that you hold in high esteem. Then look for Cab Franc, of which there are some great ones from Friuli. Then maybe think about Primitivo, but I don't think it will age well. The truth of the matter is that ageworthy Italian wines are just as likely to be based on French varietals as they are on the one truly ageworthy Italian varietal, Nebbiolo. As for the ageworthiness of Brunello, it is indeed on a par with Bordeaux, but it is a freakish grape, being the brown-skinned clone of the not-so-ageworthy Sangiovese. Amarone, based on the Corvina grape, also ages well, but I think this is due more to the way it is made than it is to the grapes it is made with.
Call me crazy, but when I think "cellar", I think ageworthy, and when I think ageworthy, I think French. Barolo is certainly a worthy purchase, but before too long, you'll want some Bordeaux in your cellar.
But if you're still dreaming of Italy, don't neglect to check out the other, lesser-known wines based on Nebbiolo--Gattinara, Sfurzat, Grumello, Inferno, Sassella, and Valgella. All of these save Gattinara are from the Valtellina region of northern Italy, an area rich in wine lore and history whose inhabitants have been working magic with the Nebbiolo grape for centuries. Ohh--and one more thing--Sangioveto is a synonym for ancient vine Sangiovese, and certain exmples of it may gain in complexity (as do certain Chiantis, even) for up to ten or more years. See if you can find a bottle of Sangioveto for your budding cellar!