Gambero Rosso – July-August 2019

In these weeks the Gambero Rosso taster team is at its peak of activity

for the realization of the Vini d’Italia 2020 Guide, at its 33rd edition:

more than 70 people, including yours truly, are visiting every corner

of Italy, tasting the new wines in tasting commissions, visiting win-

eries and exploring territories. And this is what I’d like to talk about:

wineries and terroir. In recent years some trends have become more and more firmly

established. Starting with the vineyard. If the diffusion of so-called “resistant” vines

is still very limited (we are still in the testing phase) the techniques of vineyard man-

agement are generally increasingly focused on sustainability. There is more aware-

ness, and not just of those who farm organically or under biodynamic regimen. Even

those who practice traditional viticulture are now more conscious of the environ-

ment, and have reduced treatments to a minimum, and now talk about biodiversity, a

subject until recently reserved for only a small group of pioneers. The trend towards

the rediscovery and added value of native grape varieties is unstoppable, and the

new vineyards in the best companies are the result of mass selections with rootstocks

calibrated to each vineyard plot. The times of searching for the best clone of each

variety have faded: we are coming to a more precise, reasoned and conscious viticul-

ture, without the senseless excess of high densities per hectare that in the past years

definitely did not lead to appreciable quality improvements. If we look at the cellars,

the new projects are less monumental: they tend not to leave a visible trace on the

territory as in previous decades, but they are rather hidden and integrated into the

landscape; by now all the wineries are aiming at saving energy: working by gravity,

using local materials, and recycling as much as possible from the water. In wine cel-

lar management, control software is increasingly sophisticated but simple to use, and

often done remotely via smartphone or tablet. In the cellar, where steel still reigns

supreme, cement in its most modern, non-vitrified, thermally-controlled version is

making a comeback as the pride of Italy. Many less barriques, but rather chosen more

carefully, while oaks of medium and larger size are in growth. If a few years ago

terracotta amphorae and alternative containers were extravagant whims of small

avant-garde natural wine producers, today we find them in variable percentages in

many wineries. Amphora wine (modern and technological) is becoming a reality, a

precious ingredient in the final cuts that the oenologist also uses in more traditional

labels. The result of all this? The most elegant, balanced wines that best illustrate the

territory with its most typical grapes. These, for now, are only travel notes and im-

pressions, but in a few months we will deliver, as we do every year, a comprehensive

report of every corner of our wonderful Italian Wine..

— Marco Sabellico

The evolution of wine and wine producers