ITALIAN ODYSSEY

Whenever I fancy an Italian wine, I always think of Chianti or Valpolicella. Now that’s what I call a chronic lack of imagination when you consider Italy boasts more than 1,000 grape varieties and makes many more different wines. So feeling a tad more ambitious, I decided to break the routine and plunge into something inspirational and exciting from the country of Bacchus. I chose a red Bardolino from the shores of the beautiful Lake Garda, hoping that its vibrant and young acidity would send my taste buds soaring. Alas, it failed to excite or boost my spirit. It was tame and timid, but luckily complemented our pasta with a light tomato sauce well.

2003 Bardolino Classico DOC (Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara), Tedeschi, Veneto – 12% - to be served chilled at 12°

After dessert – raspberry and blackberry soufflé – I realised that it was time I went on an Italian odyssey to get some idea of the range of vignoble delights the country has to offer. So after a lot of head scratching, I’ve settled on the following twelve wines for my case to be tried before I can even begin to feel I have some grasp of Italian wine:

1. Barolo (Nebbiolo grape), Piemonte
2. Barbera d’Asti, (Barbera grape), Piemonte
3. Gavi (Cortese grape), Piemonte
4. Friulano (Friulano), Friuli-Venezia Guilia, Collio
5. Amarone della Valpolicella (Corvina, Rondinella, Molinara), Veneto
6. Nero d'Avola (Nero d'Avola), Sicily
7. Rosso di Montalchino (Sangiovese), Tuscany
8. Pinot Grigio
9. Aglianico del Vulture (Aglianico grape), Basilicata
10. Soave Superiore (Garganega), Veneto
11. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (Montepulciano), Abruzzo
12. Frascati (Malvasia, Trebbiano), Latium

Unfortunately, Super-Tuscans and Brunello de Montalcino have to be excluded until next time, for budgetary reasons. Wish me luck!