The local, small produced wines are getting more important
Posted on: 06-05-2019 om 10:44:53
| Karina Imschoot
The grandeur and success of Italian wine in the world is mainly linked to a handful of vines: Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Nero d'Avola, Montepulciano, Verdicchio, Vermentino, Glera. All strictly native.
Yet they are only the visible tip of a giant iceberg, consisting of more than 500 varieties that are allowed and produced in Italy. A heritage of biodiversity that is anything but symbolic, because if it is true that we are still mostly talking about marginal economic phenomena, history shows that the success or failure of a vine is the result of a huge variety of factors: ecological, social, economic and, of course, climatic factors.
Therefore, varieties such as Pelaverga, Freisa, Nascetta, Grignolino, Arneis, etc., may for some reason prove to be the champions of viticulture in the future.
Each vine has its own history, there are no scarce vines, there is certainly some native vines that offers less good wine than others, but we must always remember that most of the native vines are still studied in depth. The Sangiovese themselves experienced their first important moment of study with the "Chianti Classico 2000" project (in 1987, ed.), and today we know a little more, but this shows that even the most planted grapes in Italy until some time ago were still little known.
Nascetta, Arneis, Grignolino, Vespolina etc... are now on the rise. By putting them on the test tables more often, they are also bought more often. Last week at our tastings of Made In Piedmont Wines, the Sizzano of Paride Chiovini itself was mentioned as a wine that can perfectly be placed opposite one of the largest Barolo. Glad to hear this and certainly a motivation for the small, family producer.
Indigenous, local varieties, which were abandoned, are re-evaluated. There are no bad vines: Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Croatina, Malvasia Rosa, Primitivo, Nero d'Avola, give beautiful wines, we are lucky to have them, and it is our duty to protect Italian diversity by giving space and opportunities for economic growth to the many varieties of Italian wine, because this is a country heavily dependent on the economy of wine.
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