What sort of wine should a producer spend time and money producer? Should he produce an international-style wine, a wine that Robert Parker would like and would then promote? This then begs the question: What is an international-style wine?
Some purists would suggest that modern techniques used internationally that are now in use in Southern Italy have already done the damage and so all ensuing wine can only be of the international style. In layman’s terms international-style wines are the ones that are fruit-forward on the nose and palate, with supple tannins, aged in oak barriques, and that don’t take ten or twenty years to age before being able to drink. This is a New-World style wine that many believe Robert Parker enjoys.
Many producers are making mixes of local and world varietals which now conjure up names like “Super Sicilians” or “New Style Campania.” The resulting wines are weighty, intensely saturated, inky, and heavy on fruit and oak, and thus miss one of the vital components of a top-flight wine: these wines simply lack nuance and finesse because they’re so unrestrained and unbalanced. They are designed to gain market attention because they play by market rules, not because they play by their own rules/customs.
In Campania, for example, one will find Fianos and Grecos with high remaining sugar levels, and Taurasis that include a fair quantity of Merlot as well as the traditional Aglianico. Aglianico del Vulture is nothing but Aglianico, while in Sicily a Nero d’Avola can be mistaken for a Cabernet. These wines are produced, in part, with the help from wine advisors like Michel Rolland and Northern Italian Riccardo Cotarella, folk who have no real appreciation of the South’s wines. The only area that has not compromised its wines is Basilicata.
It’s got to be acknowledged that because Southern Italy’s climate has more in common with Australia and California than with Northern Italy, Southern manufacturers should seriously consider the success of those wine making regions. That goes past what varietals to plant and may also include learning their selling strategies. However, for the creators who do take some time to discover which varietals will work well in certain vineyards, paying focused concentration to micro-climates, terroir, and climate, the results have been rather rewarding and the soul of Southern wine hasn’t been lost. Librandi is one of these producers who is leading the way, but money and influence from the North and elsewhere still rule the landscape, at least for the present.
Nic Haegeli still regards himself relatively new to the wine business, but he now has a number of years of experience as a wine manager at Colonial Spirits, an Acton liquor store. With a BA in History and a Master of Public Policy in International Relations, Nic never visualized himself working with wine. However, he did grow up in Alsace, France… so, it makes sense when you understand where he comes from.
Be sure to visit Colonial Spirits’ Wine Blog, where Nic and the rest of the wine managers at Colonial Spirits of Acton post about their collective passion for wine.
Tags: acton liquor store, Cabernet Sauvignon, italian red wine, online wine sales