Vino della Casa, per favore!!

My wife and I recently returned from a much-needed 3-week vacation in Italy. There was much wine and wild boar consumed, and clothes purchased. Just why is it that nothing I buy in the U.S. ever fits? I can buy off the rack in Italy and look 10 times better than I do here! Honestly, look around in the States, and you’ll notice that nobody seems to have clothes that fit!! Hrrumph! That’s another post.
We covered a lot of ground in our 3 weeks - Venice, Florence, Montalcino, Sienna, and Rome. We also had some great chow, but I was after something more ephemeral. I wanted to truly understand this “Italian-wine thing,” as I call it. Everybody whose ever been to Italy tells me how great the wine is there; “the house wine is terrific, and it’s cheaper than water!” is one common refrain. So why have all my Italian wine buying experiences here in California been so dismal? I mean, we know wine out here, and we import a good deal from the other wine lands as well. Usually when I buy Italian wine here it’s exceedingly astringent and has what I like to call a “doughnut-hole.” Think of it as a lack of body, or a “hole in the center” of the palate. Now it may just be my California-palate talking. That big unctuous jammy “thing” that you hear that all California wine has (this is not true, actually, but that’s one of the common refrains from east-coasters who think they’re all sophisticate and shit). So off I went to Italia, with my lovely and accommodating wife, in search of some answers!

Italy’s wine laws were, for me, far more complicated than even French wine laws, and every “wine expert” I dealt with seemed to be as confused by them as I was. Not a good sign. I’m not even going to try and tell you all about the myriad of regulations that Italian producers must adhere to, suffice it to say that if your looking for a Chianti or other known Italian style, make sure it has a DOC or DOCG label around it’s neck. The Italian Government actually hands these labels out, but in very small quantities, which means that when you see these labels you are assured of at least a level of quality that matches those regulations. In other words, it’s a safe bet.
I also discovered that, yes, the house wine, or vino della casa, is in fact a very good deal. If the house wines in the States were this fabulous, well, we’d be Italian. They are also only about 4 or 5 Euros per litre! Cheaper than water! So when in Italy, just order the vino rosso della casa and you’ll be happy all the day.

Montalcino is a quaint little medieval town in the heart of Tuscany, the kind that makes tourists cameras click non-stop for hours (we ran out of memory in ours). And other than the Sagra del Tordo that happens every year, there’s not much going on here. But this little hill is also ground zero for the production of one of Italy’s most renowned wines…Brunello!!


And this castle at the top of the hill is one of the best places to sample this style in all its glory. The Enoteca la Fortezza is located within the castle walls and has bottles from just about every Brunello producer in Tuscany. It also has a very knowledgeable and helpful staff to help you with Italy’s many and cumbersome regulations surrounding wine of every sort. We were lucky to have met Anne-Kirstine Jensen, who spoke English as though she were actually from the U.S. and she had spent some serious time in wineries in California, Italy and France.


Anne-Kirstine lined up a series of exceptional Brunellos for our education. All of them shared similar characteristics; not surprising since they're all Sangiovese. Slightly aggressive and tannic, but with a complex fruit character, a lovely chewy-ness and no “doughnut-hole,” Brunellos are some of Italy’s age-worthy wines. I could easily cellar my purchases for up to 10 years, maybe more. These are also some of Italy’s most expensive wines as well, but there are some surprises. I'll put the prices in, but we did not discover the price until after we had sampled all of them. That Anne-Kirstine is a crafty devil.
I’m blogging this with only my flavor memory to guide me so….


Casanova di Neri 2001

This one was deep, dark, chewy and if I remember had notes of black cherries on the nose and chocolate on the palate. Of course I liked this one, but at € 220 per bottle it was very expensive.










1999 Tenimenti Angelini Val de Suga Vigna del Lago

A little aggressive, dense fruit, tobacco on the nose, could benefit from some age. At € 58 per bottle, it's more affordable, but not my favorite.







2001 Le due Sorelle

Chocolate, dense, less aggressive, more character, more expensive. This one is not listed on their web site anymore and I can't remember exactly how much it was.
If I remember correctly this one also reminded me of Count Chocula cereal. Hey, it could happen.







1998 Riserva Capanna

The winner! Anne-Kirstine had obviously planned this. She served this one last, knowing that we would like it the best and be shocked by the affordable price tag. It worked. The Capanna was less astringent, had a broader flavor profile, and was very food friendly with lots cherry on the nose. And at only € 38.00 it was the least expensive of all of the Brunellos we tasted! Granted, with the weak dollar the price was around $ 57.00, but most of the Brunellos seem to average $100 per bottle in the U.S.

I truly fell in love with Italian wine (and hey the grub ain’t bad neither), but mostly as it relates to food. In France and California we have what could only be described as a “wine culture.” We talk about wine, read magazines about wine, we have a weekly section in the S.F. Chronicle that deals with nothing but wine. The Italians don’t do that. From what I can tell most Italians consider wine part of the meal, not a meal in itself. The Italian wines I experienced were clearly made for food, not for “quaffing.” OK. If I want a great food wine, I’ll look for the DOGC label, but when I want to sit and have a glass, I’ll reach for my California Zin.