Saturday, September 3, 2011

Italian Different types of Red Wine

By Arturo Simony


Every year it is very common for Italian wine to be at the top of the pile when it comes to quality rankings. If you consider that Italy is only a few hundred square miles smaller than the state of California then this fact is far more interesting.

Italy produces billions of liters of wine every year, and has a legacy of over 4,000 years. As a result, Italy has some of the most unique and quality wines in the world.

Italian wines usually tend to be very acidic; this is due to the fact wines which contain high amounts of acidity are very well matched with food. One of the vital attributes of Italian wines will be the touch of the land that you can smell and taste in each and every bottle. The nose could have hints of fresh mushrooms, soil, minerals and grass. These benefits are usually referred to as an earthiness.

Medium Body - Though you will find a number of wines which are more substantial, like Barolo, virtually all wines are moderate bodied in nature. Once again, appropriate for the wide array of food dishes that go down better if not weighed down by heaviness.

Since the local climate in Italy is really ideal for growing grapes, most of the grape varieties have been developing throughout the last several thousand years.

You can find over 20 key kinds of red grapes growing in Italy, but we're going to start with what are debatably the most important three:

Sangiovese - Grown in many vineyards through the entire Italian country side, especially in Tuscany and Umbria, this is actually the main grape in the producing of Chianti and the popular Super Tuscan wines. Medium in body, the wine will have high levels of tannins and robust acidity with tastes of herbs and cherries.

Nebbiolo - explicit to the Piedmont district, this variety of grape produces two of the most infamous Italian wines: Barolo and Barbaresco. For anyone who is considering starting up their own wine cellar these 2 wines are the must haves. The grape is intense with elevated levels of acidity and high tannin levels, calling forth flavors of strawberries, mushrooms and truffles.

Barbera - This grape runs side by side with Sangiovese as the most popular grape variety in Italy. This particular grape is a bit lighter than its partner, the tannin levels are a bit lower while it still maintains high acidity levels. The fruity flavors are inclined to be more distinct than in other grapes, it is for this reason that this wine is excellent for a summer meal.




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