In My Glass – Grapes of Southern Italy

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A Tale of Two Grapes

Exploring wines native to Italy

BY » Trevor Burton PHOTOGRAPHY BY » Trevor Burton

Italy has existed as a country for only about 160 years, since it was created in 1861. The country that is now Italy was dominated by city-states, duchies and principalities for much of the medieval and Renaissance period. Each had its own, distinctive and unique culture and that shows through, today, in the foods and wines throughout the country. Italy has 20 defined wine regions and about 2,500 different grapes used to make the huge portfolio of Italian wines. This tasty tale is about two of the grapes.

Anglianico is the grape that dominates the shin bone and instep of the “leg” of Italy—the Campania and Basilicata regions. I like to hang about with wines from Basilicata. There’s a funky reason. In Basilicata vines grow on the slopes of an extinct volcano, Monte Vulture. The DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) of the wines is Anglianico del Vulture. In Italian the name is melodic. For Anglophones, I picture them as concerned about the wine’s name. In my imagination, I think there’s a hesitation to go for a wine named after a bird that feasts on dead animals—to them, the wine has some carrion baggage. Again, in its native tongue, the wine’s name is an aria from an Italian opera.

Aglianico del Vulture wines are rich and powerful. When young, the wines are noted for their high tannins and acidity, and dark fruit concentration. As they mature, they take on nuances of earth, tar, spice and dark chocolate, emerging as complex and refined reds showing balance and depth. This characteristic is very similar to that of Barolo from the famous Piemonte region in the north of Italy. In fact, Aglianico del Vulture has been dubbed the “Barolo of the South.” In short, these wines are a great value—a lower than normal demand because of its name and a really tasty wine.

Go even further south and you end up in Sicily. Not surprisingly, given its location in the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Sicily has been a significant center of viticulture for more than 2,500 years. This is a place that seems to be specifically designed to produce wine. There is consistent bright sunshine and a reliable, moderate rainfall, The climate is Mediterranean— what else would you expect? Add to that the paucity of the island’s soils and the hilly landscape with a still active volcano and the resulting terroir is almost perfect for growing grapevines.

One of the island’s main grapes is Nero d’Avola, also known as Calabrese. These wines are a great alternative to “muscly” reds, they have a nuanced but complex structure. Traditionally blended with other grapes, Nero d’Avola is now making a name for itself as a mono-varietal wine. The wines are ruby red in color, with light violet hues. They

A simple but delicious treat of bruschetta in Italy. give off a fragrance of red fruits, red and black cherries and prunes. On the palate they have a fruity flavor with a pleasant spicy finish.

There’s an old adage; “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Well, a while ago, my wife and I were nowhere near the eternal city, we were in the Sicilian town of Taormina. So, instead of imitating Romans, we decided to do what the Taorminans do. One sunny afternoon we found our way to a little out-of-the-way, side street restaurant. Once there, we treated ourselves to a couple of glasses of Nero d’Avola and a simple serving of bruschetta. Perfectly simple and simply perfect, a real treat. Italy has so many grapes to explore. Anglianico and Nero d’Avola are a great place to start. Really neat wines that are great values. Fun to explore, delicious to taste.