Forza Italia, Basta Inghilterra

Apologies to those who don't follow the game of football (soccer) but last night was a pivotal night for the English football team. The qualifying stages of the European Championships played their final games last night and half of Europe held it's breath in anticipation of making the Top 16 clubs that compete in the European Championships Finals.

England always get through, the idea that England isn't a top 16 European footballing nation is ludicrous, after all we have Owen, Rooney, Lampard, Gerrard, John Terry, some of the best players in the world.

So, last night we had our friends Jack and Gwen over and opened up a lovely wine, the Antinori Chianto Classico Riserva 2001, in anticipation of a win or a draw over Croatia. England needed just 1 point to go through and were playing at the New Wembley, what could be simpler right?
WRONG.

England stunk. In the face of our wonderful Antinori, England were the cheapest bottle of straw covered Chianti you can find. Weak, insipid, uninspired and with a poor finish, I can not even give a score to this vintage. Shocking! 2 goals down in 15 minutes, only to pull them back in the second half and gave a nation hope. I knew we'd go on to lose. I've watched England compete in too many sporting events not to know, I've watched Henman at Wimbledon, the Rugby team, the Formula One drivers. I think all of us watching, live or on the box, knew that we wouldn't hold on, that we'd fall on our own sword and lose the game.

So, I'm giving up on being English. I'm just going to ignore my heritage and hide my passport because I'm tired of being a loser! Yesterday I applied for my Italian "Residenzia" at the local comune. I was expecting a long wait, an arduous task of to-ing and fro-ing but I was all done in 20 minutes! So now, I am officially a resident of Italy.

I can flash my Carta Identita at the airport and no one need ever know that I'm English again! My Team, that being the Italian football squad, are the current World champions. Oh yes, and My Team, that being the Ferrari Formula One racing team, are the current F1 champions.

So, for all you poor English readers with your rubbish teams and terrible wine I'm going to review another of my beautiful homegrown Italian wines, the aforementioned Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2001. This wine went wonderfully well with our "Burger Night", consisting, as you'd imagine, of burger and fries. The burgers were fantastic home made masterpieces so on this occasion, matching with the Chianti went very well. This wine would be well suited to a hearty meaty pasta dish and could easily accompany a nice steak dinner.

Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2001 - BUY - €20
Very dark colour in the glass, intense dark ruby red with some nice pinky looking hues. The nose is fruity, spicy with the most noticeable aroma profiles of blackberries and vanilla. On the palate we've got some good tannic structure and some noticeable acidity, the wine is well balanced and enjoyable with good length on the finish as well as warming alcohol. Mid to Full bodied wine. 91 Points

I really recommend this Chianti to you. If you've been exposed to bad Chianti in the past you're probably left with a negative "What the deuce" attitude about this wine. Chianti is a little devil, you have to be certain of what you're buying and I'm certain of this. Wonderful year for Chianti so please try some.

Where can I buy this wine?
Americans - Shopperswines - $25
Europeans - Italian Wine Shop - €20
Brits - Winedirect - £15.95

I'm afraid I have some bad news for you all. Tomorrow I leave for my vacation so there wont be a daily update on the blog. However, I am collecting material for a super dooper double blog entry about the USA's Italian wine scene. That sounds boring but really it wont be! Have faith!

Question of the Day?
What does your nation do best?

Italian Wine

Italian wine is what this blog is all about right? Then today's blog is going to go through the fundamentals of Italian wine. When was Italian wine first producer? Who is the most important producer of Italian wine? Who drinks the most Italian wine?

So when did it all begin?

Italy has been producing wine as far back as records show. The ancient Etruscans were the first to plant vines but it fell to the Romans to create an Italian wine superpower. At the height of their powers most of Italy was planted with vines and they had created a blueprint for the current Italian winescape. Almost all the areas where we currently find wine were already producing 2000 years ago. The Romans embraced wine more than any other civilisation and wine was drunk daily in all walks of life. Roman wine was stored and traded in giant amphorae (SEE ABOVE). They even knew the secrets of ageing wine with records from the time showing how aged wine was preferred and more expensive. During Roman times the greatest and most exclusive vineyards were in the vicinity of Rome and ran along a strip southwards to Naples following the Via Appia. As the empire expanded, trade routes opened and roman roads took hold allowing greater access to the whole of Italy and mainland Europe. Vineyards in Tuscany and the Veneto began to catch up with wines from around the capital and the great Augustus would today have been an Amarone fan as he favoured the wines of the Veneto.

When Rome fell and Italy was awash with Barbarians it saw the end of fine wines for an extended period although the vineyards did not fall into disuse. The luxurious Roman lifestyle was gone and wine was treated as a beverage and not a commodity. In the middle ages there was less exporting of wines, even internally, and the citizens of Rome would drink wine produced within a certain radius of the capital.

In the 14th century Italy began once more to find her feet. The population doubled and many moved into the cities creating booming city states. There formed an elite, educated class who went on to create fabulous cathedrals, fountains and monuments. Italy was divided into city states with Venice being the most important. This was a time of philosophers, merchants, explorers and painters and such fine people need great wine!

The famous Florentine banking family, the Antinori's, decided to diversify and went into the wine trade. Today Antinori's vineyards are still the most celebrated in Italy producing such brilliant wines as the Tignanello, Solaia and Guado al Tasso. It was during this time that fine wines became seen as a symbol of status and the perfection of viticulture; a passion.

Skipping forward to today, we can consider Antinori to be the most important wine producer in Italian history but the House of Antinori is not the most important wine producer of today. That honour falls to Angelo Gaja.

Who is the most important producer of Italian wine?

Angelo Gaja gets it. Italian wine makers are generally not the most commercially aggressive creatures and neither are the powers that be within the Italian system. Horrified that Italians have begun exploring the wines of France, Australia and even, (the shame), California, the Italian producers need to step up their game to keep their home market. Italy has fallen to 5th in the UKs favourite wine market tables and all looks rather bleak. Step forth Angelo Gaja.

Gaja is on a one man mission to revitalise Italian wine. He works tirelessly promoting his brands at home and abroad and has a cult following. A poignant note in the history of Gaja is the example of his Darmagi wine. Darmagi in Italian means "shame", this was the words uttered to Gaja from his grandfather when he experimented with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in his Piedmont vineyards.

These experiments set the scene for Gaja vineyards across the Piedmont and Tuscany and today Gaja produces the finest blended wines in the country. They may be inspired by Bordeaux but they are made with Italian flair and show the importance of Italy's terroir. In honour of Signor Gaja, today's tasting note will be for his Darmagi.

Who drinks the most Italian wine?

Well, it might surprise you but actually Italy drinks the vast majority of it. However after this we can count on four other markets. Germany is a huge importer of Italian wine. Anyone in the wine business will know of the famous wholesalers and excellent websites that sell Italian wine. German Ebay also has a glut of Italian wine daily and if you live in Germany you have to check this out as many great wines are going for less than I can buy here in Italy.

Next on the list is France, if Germany was a shock in top spot then France in second is even more bizarre. There is no love lost between these two great rivals but it seems the French buyers like to dabble with Italian wine, importing over 5 million hectolitres a year.

Way behind but in third is the USA. This is the fastest growing market for Italian exports and while the Americans don't drink anywhere near as much wine as they do beer, Italian wine is their #1 imported wine! I always said the Americans were a nation of supreme taste!

Trailing in fourth, my home nation, the British. We have no real wine of our own and our love affair with claret continues but Italian wine is falling way behind, Australian, California and now Chilean imports! It might be the fifth largest importer but still over 1 million hectolitres a year make their way to British shores.

Gaja Darmagi 1997 - BUY - €106
Very dark purple, close to black but beginning to lighten with age, this Darmagi is my favourite ever produced from a super vintage. Cabernet Sauvignon with 4% Cabernet Franc this comes forth in the nose of blackcurrents and oak mixed with tobacco and vanilla. It's on the palate where this wine really show's quality with a kinder acidity and well balanced tannins. Full bodied and lustrous with a long and fruity finish. Needs another 5 years to be at its best. 94 Points

Where can I buy this wine?
Europeans - Bracali Distribuzione - €106
Americans - McArthur Beverages - $180
Brits - Fine and Rare - £89

Question of the day?

What has been the worst bottle of wine you have drunk all year?