Salute! Blog #3

When in Rome you drink. It's just the culture. Wine comes with dinner and it is usually pretty great.

A few weekends ago I got the opportunity to visit Le Cimate, a vineyard in Umbria. We got to see how wine is made, drink some good wine, and just enjoy the landscape of Umbria. 

This winery is known for its Montefalco Sagrantino DOCG. Recently I read what the DOC (Controlled denomination of origin, Denominazione d'Origine Controllata), DOCG (denomination of controlled and guaranteed origin, Denominazione d'Origine Controllata e Grarantina), and IGT (typical geographic indication Indicazione Geografica Tipica) actually mean. Basically Italy has a lot of grapes and they make a lot of wine. They needed to create a system to classify the wine. They stole this from the French and were implemented in 1936 by the Italian Government. There were rules and regulations that limited and determined who could make new DOCs. There are production regulations that set boundaries as to who can make it, what kind, what color, grape varieties, minimum alcohol levels etc. If DOCs have a lot of rules and regulations DOCGs have even more. Because there are so many hoops to jump through for DOCGs the quality of wine increases. The first DOC was a Vermaccia di San Gimignano in Tuscany in 1966 and the first DOCG was Brunello di Montalcino in Tuscany in 1980. Tuscany basically rules the Italian culinary world. The IGT also has rules but it is more about the grapes used and the ratios. An IGT has an acceptable quality at competitive prices and elevated local wines above the average table wine. Below is a list and picture of the wines available at Le Cimate. 

MACCHIETO – ROSSO UMBRIA IGT

ARAGON – BIANCO UMBRIA IGT

SAUDADE – ROSATO UMBRIA IGT

MONTEFALCO SAGRANTINO DOCG

MONTEFALCO ROSSO DOC

TREBBIANO SPOLETINO DOC

MELIADE – ROSSO UMBRIA IGT PASSITO

UMBRIASILVER – BIANCO E ROSSO UMBRIA IGT IGT

AMARCORD – MONTEFALCO SAGRANTINO PASS.

When we were at Le Cimate we were granted a tour around the vineyard. It was 23 hectors with 12 hectors red grapes and 11 hectors white grapes. He showed us the Sangrantino grapes, but unfortunately they weren't doing too great since there was a draught this year. He did let us try some of them and they were really dense and packed full of flavors. He told us a Sangrantino takes 5 years to make as opposed to a Chardonnay which can take about a month. Interesting fact, white wine does not have to be made with white/green grapes. Red grapes can be used to make a white wine, you just have to immediately take out the skins. A rosé or pink wine can be made either by mixing white and red wines or it can be made by infusing the skins for up to four hours during the beginning of the fermentation process.  Le Cimate was opened in 2012 as a private company, but before that it was used for a corporation. Basically its profits were not its own. Today they sell all over the world such as the US, Hong Kong, Japan, and Northern Europe and they are continuing to expand.

I'm not a big alcohol drinker, in fact I don't really like the taste of alcohol, but I find it fascinating how it is part of the culture. Way back in history alcohol was used basically as a tonic to help with digestion. Though I don't personally like drinking, I love learning the history behind wine. I find it fascinating that there are so many types of wines with various tastes and flavors that can be produced from grapes depending on various variables. Wine is not as simple as an "I Love Lucy" episode where you just crush the grapes with your feet. There is history and tradition (national, regional and local) ingrained in each wine and I think it's just fascinating. So next time you drink contemplate the tastes and the origins. Enjoy the wine to the fullest. 

SALUTE!