All in the (wine) family
Most wine lovers can quickly name the grapes and regions that we love most. But what if we love a wine style that goes beyond such narrow boundaries?
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Can I give you an example? Of course I can! I am very likely to purr with pleasure when I open a red wine from Chianti, Abruzzo, or the southern reaches of the Côtes-du-Rhône.
The connections among these three wine regions might not seem immediately intuitive. These three wine-producing regions are all Mediterranean, but you’d have to drive some 700 miles to travel from Avignon in the Southern Rhône to Siena in Chianti to Abruzzo. You’d cross from France into Italy on a drive that would take about 12 hours if you didn’t make any stops (which would be a very silly thing to do, since there’s so much to see, do, and taste along the way).
Not only are these regions geographically diverse, but each boasts its own wine-making tradition, climate, and soils. And, significantly, each uses different grapes to make its wine. Chianti’s primary fruit is the local Sangiovese grape, but it traditionally adds regional Italian grapes such as Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, Colorino, and more, international varieties like Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah, and occasionally even limited splashes of white varieties Malvasia and Trebbiano. Southern Rhône reds draw from just as broad a selection, with Grenache playing a leading role, backed by Syrah, then Mourvèdre and Carignan among its 13 permitted grapes. Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, in contrast, is built entirely on the local grape Montepulciano.
You can make the 690-mile road trip from the Southern Rhône to Chianti to Abruzzo in just under 12 hours, but it would be silly to take such a great wine road trip without stopping to see the vines and taste the wine. Follow this wine road on Google Maps.
So we’re looking at three wines from disparate regions, made in distinct cultural traditions from different grapes. And yet, they do share certain family resemblances that make them feel connected, especially in contrast with other delicious red wines as disparate as Bordeaux, Burgundy, or California or Australian Cabernets.
• Their flavor profiles emphasize fruit with back notes of herbs and earthy minerality. Even if the wines spend time in oak, it’s usually subtle, often from well-used, large barrels. You won’t find the powerfully oaky vanilla scents of big New World reds here.
• They almost always display tart, food-friendly acidity and moderate tannic astringency, characteristics that make these wines natural companions with whatever is on the dinner table. Indeed, culturally and historically, they are made to go with food.
• They don’t overwhelm the palate with high alcohol. Although warming climate is pushing up alcohol levels around the world, these wines rarely exceed 14% alcohol and often claim a modest 12.5% alcohol level, sufficient to provide warmth and body but without the high-octane heat that weighs down many market-leading wines.
• Summing up, these three categories share a Mediterranean sensibility. They usually show generous fruit, lively acidity, rustic earthiness, and a tradition of accompanying food at the dinner table.
Of course there are differences, and it doesn’t take a sommelier or wine judge to pick them out. Chianti is known for its acidic tang and tart cherry and dried cherry profile. Montepulciano centers on darker fruit, blackberry, and plum. Southern Rhône reds often lead with Grenache raspberry, Syrah black pepper, and Provence herbs. But if their flavors aren’t identical, they rhyme; and it’s not difficult to discern a common soul.
Most wine lovers can quickly name the grapes and regions that we love most.
But what if we love a wine style that goes beyond such narrow boundaries?
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo tends to fill the bargain shelfs at your wine shop, and you can find great calues in the $10 to $15 range. Today’s featured wine, Cirelli la Collina Biologica 2022 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, goes for a few dollars more at C$22 average U.S. retail, but it’s an excellent wine, well worth the upward toll.
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