Friday, June 25, 2021
In this masterclass, we first travel to the southwestern Italy, to visit the wine growing region of Campania. Forming the "shin" of Italy’s boot, the region is surrounded by the wine regions Lazio, Molise, Puglia, and Basilicata, and on its western coast is the famous Amalfi coastline that borders that Tyrrhenian Sea. Campania is made up of 5 Provinces - Naples (Capital), Caserta, Benevento, Avellino, and Sorrento, and also has 3 islands - Capri, Ischia, and Procida.
Campania owes much of its winegrowing success to its varied climates and terroirs. It has an abundance of sunshine, dry and hot summers, mild winters, a long growing season and the volcanic soils from Mount Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei, and Mount Epomeo. The coastal Mediterranean breezes blow in from the Tyrrhenian Sea, tempering the heat and adding freshness and bright acidity to the fruit.
With vine growing and winemaking dating back to the 12th century, Campania is among the oldest wine regions in Italy. They cultivate a wide variety of indigenous grapes, most of which are grown on hilly and mountainous terrain. 60% of the wines produced are red and rosé wines, while 40% are white wines. In my view, Campania makes some of the most interesting white wines in Italy using the varieties Fiano, Greco, and Falanghina.
Fiano is one of Italy's oldest grape varieties and was cultivated during Roman Times. The Romans called this grape "Vitis Apiana", which was Latin for "vine of the bees" as the bees were very attracted to the sweet pulp of this grape. Fiano is mostly grown in Southern Italy, primarily in Campania in the hills surrounding Avellino, and thrives in this warm, dry climate, while also preferring high altitudes and volcanic soils.
The Fiano grape is straw yellow in colour and offers intense aromas and flavours of tropical fruits like pineapple, peach, golden apple, pear, citrus, floral, nutty hazelnut, spice and honey notes with balanced acidity, good weight and texture on the palate, and has good ageing potential. The wine we tasted in this masterclass is from the Summonte sub-zone withing the Fiano di Avellino DOCG appellation, an appellation known for producing some of Italy's most distinguished white wines. This DOCG specifies that 85% of the wine must be Fiano, with varieties Greco, Coda di Volpe, and Trebbiano Toscano permitted to make up the final blend.
For the second topic of this masterclass, we travel east to the winegrowing region of Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot, which is surrounded by the Adriatic Sea to the east, and the Ionian Sea to the south. Puglia is a land of agriculture and a leader in wine and olive production. Although Puglia produces the second most volume of wine in Italy (behind Veneto), a new era has emerged in recent times with a focus on quality over quantity. Approximately two-thirds of the wine produced in Puglia is red, while the remainder is white wine. The landscape is mostly flat, with some hilly terrain, while the climate is sunny, hot, and dry, with Mediterranean winds blowing in from the seas.
Primitivo's origin's are unknown at this time, but it is thought to have existed since the 8th century B.C., before Greek colonization. The name Primitivo translates to "early one" as this varietal is early ripening. Today, Primitivo's home is in Puglia and is the region's most famous variety. With over 12,000 hectares of vines cultivated, Primitivo is among Italy's top 10 most planted red varieties. It is worth mentioning that Zinfandel - commonly found in California - is genetically the same as Primitivo.
Primitivo is a dark blue skinned grape with high pigmentation, but can be fussy to cultivate and cellar. It grows best in dry and hot climates and accumulates a lot of sugar - hence, the perceived sweetness in many Primitivo wines. The aromas and flavours commonly found in Primitivo wines are fruit forward with black cherry, blueberry, blackberry, plum, prune, marmalade, violet, spice, and earthiness, and acquire additional complexities when aged in wood. The wines tend to be high in alcohol with good tannins, full bodied, rich, and smooth.
The tasting kit for this masterclass included an antipasto platter with authentically Italian Grana Padano DOP cheese, Fior di Latte from Campania, Olive Verdi di Cerignola from Puglia, and a traditionally Puglian Focaccia Barese that was made in-house by Head Baker Luca Rotatori at Spaccio, Terroni's central kitchen.
Previous masterclasses explored Montepulciano & Aglianico, Sangiovese & Vernaccia di San Gimignano, and Nebbiolo & Valpolicella. These classes are quite informative and the wines are fantastic! I am very much looking forward to the final masterclass in the series that takes place in , where we will explore the volcanic wines of Mount Etna in Sicily. Anyone can register for the free online masterclass via the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario Canada, as well as purchase the wines by the bottle through the Agent - Cavinona - so you can taste along. For a limited time, use special discount code ICCOJUNE for 10% off any case purchase on Cavinona.com.
@trueitaliantaste #ExtraordinaryItalianTaste #TrueItalianTaste #iffoodcouldtalk
Tasting Notes:
GUIDO MARSELLA FIANO DI AVELLINO 2018 - DOCG, Campania, Italy (XD) - $43.93100% Fiano from Summonte that was organically grown at 650 metres elevation on clay and rocky soils. Aged on fine lees in stainless steel tanks for 12 months. Clean, fragrant, and elegant aromas of ripe tropical fruit, peach, golden apple, and citrus with subtle nutty notes. It’s medium+ bodied with very good fruit concentration and slightly oily texture on the structured palate with ripe golden apple, pear, and citrus with leesy mineral and saline adding savoury notes to the flavour profile. It has fresh, bright acidity, while the leesy mineral flavours linger on the long, structured finish. Score: 92 pts
CARVINEA PRIMITIVO 2017 - IGT Salento, Puglia, Italy (D) - $28.11
Grown on tufaceous and calcareous soils, this 100% Primitivo was aged in French oak for 9 months. The fresh, medium-high intensity aromas offer sweet spice, dark berry and cherry notes with touches of plum and raisin. Pretty floral aromas appear with time in the glass. On the medium+ bodied palate, it has juicy acidity and refined, textured tannins. It is slightly off-dry (i.e. a touch sweet) and jammy on the flavour profile with more sweet spices, dark berry, and licorice flavours that tapers to savoury, minerally and slightly spicy with very good length on the persistent finish. Score: 90+ pts
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